Millionaire Maker Winner Pavel Plesuv Becomes Moldova’s First WSOP Champion ($1,201,564)
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The 2023 World Series of Poker at its home at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas has crowned a new champion. Moldova’s Pavel Plesuv has won his first bracelet for himself and his country after he was the last player standing in Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em. Although this is his first bracelet, Plesuv has found high success in prior WSOP events.
With the victory, Plesuv secured his biggest live cash to date. He stormed through the field of bracelet winners and went wire-to-wire on the final day to capture the $1,201,564 up top. Plesuv outmanoeuvred 10,429 other entrants over five days to claim the biggest slice of the $13,905,360 prize pool.
Plesuv was supported by a rail of friends and family as he seemed unstoppable, marching his way to the bracelet.
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Event #37: $1,500 Millionaire Maker Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pavel Plesuv | Moldova | $1,201,564 |
| 2 | Florian Ribouchon | France | $1,003,554 |
| 3 | Paul Gunness | United States | $650,058 |
| 4 | Andreas Kniep | Germany | $501,182 |
| 5 | Anton Smirnov | Russia | $373,524 |
| 6 | Myles Mullaly | United States | $287,522 |
| 7 | Vitor De Souza Coutinho | Brazil | $222,749 |
| 8 | Andras Matrai | Hungary | $173,683 |
| 9 | Charles Benoit | Canada | $136,302 |
Winner’s Reaction
“It feels amazing…I had some deep runs at the WSOP but no bracelets. So, it’s really nice to win my first bracelet in such a big field, and for such a big amount, my best cash. It feels amazing.” Plesuv told PokerNews after the triumph.
“Keep studying and keep believing in your dreams,”
“First of all, I will pay my taxes,” Plusev explained when asked what he was going to do with his seven-figure score. “Second, I will have some beer and a party, and I will continue supporting Ukraine and people in need. Maybe I’ll buy a house. We will see,” he added.
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When asked if he felt there was a tipping point or hand that was crucial to his win of the tournament.
“Follow your passion, and the results will come,”
“Honestly, I don’t have this feeling that I will definitely win. The stacks were pretty shallow, and it is swingy. If I lose this A♦2♦ vs A♣A♠ hand, I will not be the chip leader. I’d say the turning point where I got the chip lead and was far ahead of the others was at two tables on the second feature table. We got big stacks there close to each other, and I was getting good hands in good spots to accumulate some chips.”
Rounding out the winner’s interview, Plesuv gave inspiring words for all the recreational players and grinders out there.
“Keep studying and keep believing in your dreams. Follow your passion, and the results will come. Don’t let results affect your life too much. You can extract a lot of good things, even when you have a losing streak.”
Recap of the Day
The day started with Andreas Kniep putting the pressure on the rest of the table, and the first elimination could be credited to Kniep he beat Vitor De Souza Countinho in a flip to him. This eliminated the Brazilian in seventh place for $222,749.
The next casualty was Myles Mullaly, who saw himself on the wrong end of a two outer.
Anton Smirnov was departed next. He lost a flip to be eliminated in fifth place for $373,524. Shortly after, Plesuv coolered Kniep out of contention after cracking the latter’s aces.
Paul Gunness was eliminated in third place for $650,058. His Ace high hand lost a flip against Plesuv
The heads-up battle was a short affair, and on the final hand of the night, Plesuv bested the pocket jacks held by Florian Ribouchon to seal the victory.
In this Series
- 1 Peter Thai Wins First Bracelet of the 2023 WSOP: Event #1: $500 Casino Employees ($75,535)
- 2 Alexandre Vuilleumier Captures 2023 WSOP Event #2: $25K High Roller Title
- 3 Cody “1eggadaymike” Bell Wins WSOP Bracelet and $87,665 in the Triple Treys Summer Tip Off
- 4 Michael Moncek Wins Event #6: $5,000 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha for $534,499
- 5 Chad Eveslage Steamrolls to Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #5: $1,500 Dealer’s Choice (6-Handed) ($131,879)
- 6 Ronnie Day Reigns Supreme in Event #4: Tournament of Champions ($200,000)
- 7 Vadim Shlez Takes Down Event #7: $1,500 Limit Hold’em For $146,835
- 8 Chanracy Khun Wins Event #8: $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship
- 9 Nick Schulman Wins Event #9: Seven Card Stud For Fourth WSOP Bracelet ($110,800)
- 10 Ian “IanMa” Matakis Wins Online Event #2: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Bankroll Builder for $120,686
- 11 Ryan “dna2rna” Hughes Wins Third Bracelet, Defeats Shaun “fortnite” Deeb in Online Battle
- 12 Tyler Brown Crowned Champion of Event #3: $1,000 Mystery Millions ($1,000,000)
- 13 Kenneth O’Donnell Wins Event #11: $600 No-Limit Hold’em Deepstack For $351,098
- 14 The Chosen One: Chad Eveslage Wins Third Bracelet in the $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Championship
- 15 Estes Nabs Second WSOP MI Online Bracelet; Kershaw Victorious in First PA Event
- 16 Joseph Altomonte Returns to Poker With a Bang; Rakes in $217,102 and a WSOP Bracelet
- 17 Jeremy Eyer Defeats Felipe Ramos in Gruelling Heads Up Duel for $5K Freezeout Title ($649,550)
- 18 Danny “jackdaniels1” Wong Finally Bags WSOP Bracelet After 13 Hour Day
- 19 Isaac Haxton Removes Name from “Best Without a Bracelet” List w/ $25K High Roller Win
- 20 Brian Yoon Wins 5th WSOP Bracelet in $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship
- 21 Brazil Out in Force for Reis’ First Bracelet in $1,500 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em
- 22 Three Isn’t a Crowd for Jim Collopy Who Wins His Third WSOP Bracelet
- 23 Valentino Konakchiev Denies Andres Korn a Second Bracelet in $2.5K NLHE Freezeout
- 24 Michael Rodrigues Becomes First Badugi Champion in Event #20: $1,500 Badugi
- 25 Stephen Nahm Toasts To His Victory in Event #21: $1k Pot-Limit Omaha
- 26 Fifth Bracelet for Josh Arieh in Event #22: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship for $316,226
- 27 Leon Sturm Bests Bill Klein in Event #23: $50,000 High Roller ($1,546,024)
- 28 Two Big Bets and a Chair – David “ODB” Baker Fights Back from the Felt to Win His Third Bracelet
- 29 Jason Simon Becomes WSOP’s First Gladiator of Poker for $499,852
- 30 Renji Mao’s Deepstack Aggression Earns Him First WSOP Bracelet ($402,588)
- 31 Belyalovsky Defeats 2020 WSOP Online Domestic Main Event Champion Hebert
- 32 12 Year Drought Ends: Ben Lamb Runs “Hotter Than the Sun” to Win 2nd WSOP Gold Bracelet
- 33 Six is Sweet For Shaun Deeb in Event #27: $1,500 Eight Game Mix
- 34 Jans Arends Tops Star-Studded Final Table to Win $100K High Roller for $2,576,729
- 35 Benjamin Ector Busts Seven Straight to Win Event #28: $1,500 NLH Freezeout ($406,403)
- 36 Houston Firefighter Scott Dulaney Extinguishes the Opposition in Event #31 of 2023 WSOP
- 37 Cash Game Specialist Mark Ioli Wins First WSOP Bracelet for $558,266
- 38 John Monnette Joins Five-Timers Club With $1,500 Triple Draw WSOP Title
- 39 Sean Troha Wins 2nd WSOP Bracelet; Takes Down Event #34: $1,500 PLO for $298,192
- 40 “It’s Gonna Be Tough for You” Says Jerry Wong on Way to Winning 1st WSOP Bracelet
- 41 Chris Klodnicki Returns to WSOP, Wins $10,000 NLH Secret Bounty for 2nd Career Bracelet
- 42 Ryutaro Suzuki Becomes Japan’s Mixed-Game Master in Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix
- 43 Yuan Li Adds Name to List of 2023 WSOP Bracelet Winners after $2K NLHE Triumph ($524,777)
- 44 Benny Glaser Joins Five-Timers Club with Win in Event #38: $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 45 Morgan Magee & Josh Dempsey Lay Claim to WSOP Online Bracelets in MI & PA
- 46 “suited_h13” Last One Standing in WSOP Online Event #6: $500 No-Limit Hold’em Turbo ($134,527)
- 47 Chris Brewer Wins $250k Super High Roller and First Bracelet ($5,293,556)
- 48 Joe “jimjam01” Serock Wins 2023 WSOP Online Event #7: $500 PLO 6-Max ($93,911)
- 49 “I’ve Got It!” Qiang Xu Wins First Bracelet in $800 Deepstack ($339,033)
- 50 Scott Abrams Becomes Inaugural Big O Champion for $315,203
- 51 Braxton Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1,162,681; Now Headed to Son’s College World Series
- 52 Jeremy “ChipChecka” Ausmus Claims Sixth Bracelet in Online Event #8: $3,200 No-Limit Hold’em
- 53 Jay Lockett Turns $500 into $262,526 and a Bracelet at the 2023 WSOP
- 54 Braxton Dunaway Wins Monster Stack for $1,162,681; Now Headed to Son’s College World Series
- 55 William Leffingwell Brings A Bracelet Home to Houston a Week After His Friend Did the Same!
- 56 Pengfei Wang Plays First Tournament Ever; Wins $270,700 in Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty
- 57 Brian Rast Wins $50,000 Poker Players Championship For the Third Time ($1,324,747)
- 58 Yang Zhang Captures 2023 WSOP $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em Title ($717,879)
- 59 Yuri Dzivielevski Wins Third Bracelet and $207,678 in Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E.
- 60 Poker Player Proposes to Girlfriend After Winning WSOP Bracelet & $1,309,232
- 61 Team Savakinas Reign Supreme in WSOP Tag Team Event ($190,662)
- 62 Nick Pupillo Wins First Bracelet In $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw for $181,978
- 63 Justin Vaysman & Rudy Gavaldon Win WSOP Online Bracelets in Pennsylvania & Michigan
- 64 Ryan “GoFeltaFish2” Eriquezzo Multitasks His Way to His Third WSOP Bracelet
- 65 Lonnie Hallett Defeats Billy Baxter Heads-Up to Win 2023 WSOP Seniors Championship ($765,731)
- 66 Mike Gorodinsky Blazes Down the Home Stretch to Win $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship ($422,747)
- 67 Marcin Horecki Denies Mike Matusow as he Captures Poland’s First-Ever Live WSOP Bracelet
- 68 Retired Fireman Steven Genovese Climbs a Different Type of Ladder to Take Home a WSOP Bracelet!
- 69 Jason Daly Steamrolls Final Table of Event #58: $3,000 Limit Hold’em to Win First WSOP Bracelet
- 70 Millionaire Maker Winner Pavel Plesuv Becomes Moldova’s First WSOP Champion ($1,201,564)
