Defending WSOP Player of the Year Shuan Deeb and Minnesota's Ian Matakis remain neck and neck in the latest update from the 2023 World Series of Poker POY race. Deeb and Matakis have swapped the lead three times over the past four days. The standings, which include all cashes recorded by the WSOP through June 29, currently show Deeb with just a 20-point lead over Matakis, 3,358.77 to 3,338.48.
It's the tighest the POY race has been at any overnight juncture since the first POY points were entered into the system in late May. Deeb and Matakis stand nearly 600 points clear of Chad Eveslage's 2,745.19 total, with Chance Kornuth and Christopher Brewer holding down the fourth and fifth spots, respectively.
In the past week, Deeb has added five more cashes to his 2023 slate of qualifying finishes. He placed 26th in Online Event #9: $1,000 PLO Championship, 19th in Event #55: $1,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8 or Better, 75th in Online Event #10: $400 No-Limit Ultra Deepstack, 125th in Event #62: $1,500 Mixed No-Limit Hold'em, Pot-Limit Omaha, and 114th in Online Event #11: $888 No-Limit Hold'em Crazy 8's. For the 2023 series, Deeb has accumulated 15 cashes, including six in online events.
Matakis has stayed close with his own run of cashes. His own last week of results include a 128th-place showing in Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold'em, a 29th in Online Event #9: $1,000 PLO Championship, a 15th in Event #53: $1,500 MILLIONAIRE MAKER No-Limit Hold’em, and a 20th in Online Event #11: $888 No-Limit Hold'em Crazy 8's. For the 2023 series, Matakis has also accumulated 15 cashes at the 2023 WSOP to date, with six of those also coming in online bracelet events.
There's no doubt at all that Deeb wants to become the first player ever to win back-to-back WSOP POY honors. The mix of events he plays and the length of time each event takes to play mark one of the most favorable paths toward the POY honor, and he's not above throwing a bit of good-natured juju at the players likeliest to stop his run toward a POY repeat:
The top ten in the 2023 WSOP Player of the Year standings through June 29 are as follows:
- Shaun Deeb - 3,358.77
- Ian Matakis - 3,338.48
- Chad Eveslage - 2,745.19
- Chance Kornuth - 2,648.40
- Christopher Brewer - 2,554.61
- Michael Rodrigues Pires Santos - 2,476.23
- Nick Pupillo - 2,471.65
- Jeremy Ausmus - 2,423.60
- Josh Arieh - 2,307.95
- John Monnette - 2,266.28
