The 2023 PGT Championship concluded with a victory for Germany’s Daniel Smiljkovic, who outlasted a star-studded field of both top poker players and celebrities, including Hollywood actress Arden Cho, to secure the trophy and a $500,000 first-place prize. The prestigious event brought together the top 40 players on the PGT leaderboard and 14 Dream Seat winners for a $1,000,000 freeroll tournament.
The competition featured some of the world’s best players, including Isaac Haxton, Chris Brewer, Stephen Chidwick, Alex Foxen, Erik Seidel, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and 2022 PGT Championship winner Jason Koon. Dream Seat winners added diversity to the field, including notable qualifiers like Albert Hart, Julio Clavell, and Steve Kearney (PokerGO annual subscribers), Caleb Hancock (PokerGO social media winner), Ian Steinman and Ryan Bell (GTO Wizard), Jeff Lennon (RunGood Poker Series), and Arden Cho, who qualified as the Eat Mezcla Dream Seat winner.
The tournament started with 50 of the 54 eligible players, leading to a final table where Smiljkovic, known as “SmilleThHero” online, entered as the chip leader. The first to exit was Darren Elias, followed by Artur Martirosyan’s with an unlucky two outer on the turn. Daniel Weinman’s impressive 2023 ended in fourth place, and Leon Sturm’s strong start in three-handed play couldn’t prevent his elimination in third place by Smiljkovic.
Heads-up play began with Cho holding a significant chip lead and she had a chance to close it down with getting pocket nines against German’s AK. However, flop brought and Ace and the real battle has just begun.
The lead exchanged hands multiple times. In the final hand, Smiljkovic’s J5 clashed with Cho’s A9 preflop all-in, J spiked on the turn, resulting in Cho’s second-place finish and Smiljkovic’s championship win.
2023 PGT Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Daniel Smiljkovic | Germany | $500,000 |
| 2nd | Arden Cho | United States | $200,000 |
| 3rd | Leon Sturm | Germany | $120,000 |
| 4th | Daniel Weinman | United States | $80,000 |
| 5th | Artur Martirosyan | Russia | $60,000 |
| 6th | Darren Elias | United States | $40,000 |
As the 2023 PGT season concluded, Isaac Haxton was crowned the 2023 PGT Player of the Year. Haxton’s phenomenal season included four wins, 14 cashes, and over $7.2 million in PGT earnings, contributing to his impressive total of $16,961,907 won in 2023. Haxton’s victories spanned prestigious events like the PCA, PokerGO Cup finale, and the $25,000 U.S. Poker Open event. His first WSOP bracelet win and a domination at the Super High Roller Bowl underscored his status as one of poker’s greats.
Haxton’s 2023 accomplishments will be officially recognized with the $50,000 PGT Player of the Year bonus and the PGT Player of the Year Gold Plate at the 5th Annual Global Poker Awards on February 24, 2024.
Isaac Haxton’s 2023 PGT Results
| Date | Event | Place | Winnings | PGT Points |
| January 19, 2023 | PokerGO Cup Event #8: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em | 1st | $598,000 | 359 |
| March 17, 2023 | PGT PLO Series Event #7: $15,000 PLO Bounty | 6th | $68,400 | 68 |
| March 31, 2023 | U.S. Poker Open Event #8: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em | 1st | $432,000 | 259 |
| June 6, 2023 | WSOP Event #16: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller | 1st | $1,698,215 | 750 |
| June 25, 2023 | WSOP Event #57: $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller | 11th | $126,938 | 76 |
| June 30, 2023 | WSOP Event #71: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller | 7th | $329,142 | 197 |
| September 22, 2023 | Poker Masters Event #8: $25,200 No-Limit Hold’em | 7th | $62,500 | 38 |
| September 28, 2023 | Super High Roller Bowl VIII | 1st | $2,760,000 | 550 |
| October 16, 2023 | Super High Roller Bowl: Pot-Limit Omaha | 2nd | $836,000 | 251 |
| November 28, 2023 | ARIA High Roller Event #17: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 4th | $25,000 | 25 |
| December 7, 2023 | WSOP Paradise Event #5: $25,000 PLO High Roller | 9th | $83,100 | 50 |
| December 13, 2023 | WSOP Paradise Event #13: $10,000 PLO Championship | 7th | $39,100 | 39 |
| January 2, 2024 | PGT Last Chance #1: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 7th | $45,500 | 46 |
| January 4, 2024 | PGT Last Chance #3: $10,100 No-Limit Hold’em | 2nd | $139,400 | 139 |
2023 PGT Top 10 Leaderboard
| Rank | Player | PGT Points | Wins | Cashes | PGT Earnings |
| 1st | Isaac Haxton | 2,847 | 4 | 14 | $7,243,295 |
| 2nd | Chris Brewer | 2,490 | 2 | 24 | $7,411,126 |
| 3rd | Stephen Chidwick | 2,402 | 2 | 18 | $3,935,653 |
| 4th | Daniel Weinman | 2,300 | 1 | 2 | $12,180,000 |
| 5th | Alex Foxen | 2,103 | 1 | 23 | $2,753,924 |
| 6th | Ren Lin | 1,987 | 1 | 23 | $2,934,340 |
| 7th | Sam Soverel | 1,954 | 2 | 25 | $2,280,987 |
| 8th | Nick Schulman | 1,709 | 3 | 22 | $2,530,419 |
| 9th | Steven Jones | 1,700 | 0 | 1 | $6,500,000 |
| 10th | Jeremy Ausmus | 1,695 | 0 | 20 | $2,437,553 |
