From January 9 through February 12, Venetian Las Vegas played host to the 2023 DeepStack Showdown, which was a 57-event series that offered millions in guarantees

All told, the series catered to 7,274 entrants (not including satellite entries) and awarded $3,544,569 in prize money. The series, which also hosted a pair of Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) events, crowed winners such as Robin Visser, who first won Event #11: $500 NLH Epic Stack for $10,939 and then three days later won Event #18: $300 NLH Bounty for $2,868. Likewise, George Heim of Anchorage, Alaska won two titles in Event #17: $400 NLH Epic Stack for $9,058 and Event #21: $500 NLH Epic Stack for $9,761.

Others to claim titles were Steve Federspiel (Event #12: $400 Big O for $3,746), Peter Hengsakul (Event #27: $400 NLH Epic Stack for $7,068), and Spencer Champlin (Event #49: $600 NLH Monster Stack for $21,075.

Here are some other notable winners from the series.

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Kao Saechao Wins Three Titles!

Back on January 4 in the DeepStack Poker NYE Series, Washington’s Kao Saechao won Event #47: $400 NLH Monster Stack for $9,546. By the end of the month, he was capturing an incredible three more titles during the DeepStack Showdown.

Less than a week after his first win of the month, Saechao topped an 87-entry field to win Event #3: $400 NLH Epic Stack for $9,271. Five days later, he was back at it navigating his way through a 39-entry field to win Event #14: $400 PLO for $5,143.

Finally, Saechao topped a 35-entry field on January 30 to win Event #40: $300 NLH Bounty for $2,900.

Event #3 Final Table Results

Fuentes & Romero Win MSPT Venetian Titles

The firstMSPT Venetian tournament of the series was at the $1,100 buy-in price point and it was Zack Fuentes topping a 665-entry field to win the tournament for $117,060.

Straight after, a $1,600 MSPT Venetian took place and that tournament attracted 721 runners. After three long days of play, PokerCoaching.com coach James Romero came out on top to win $171,167 after a heads-up deal with Zach Donovan, who took home $150,000 for finishing in second place.

“It feels great man, I finally have a lion trophy,” Romero told MSPT officials after the win. “I’ve been a poker pro for 15 years, a live pro for about 5 of those years,” when talking about his background in high-stakes poker tournaments. “I now have a trophy from every hotel and it feels good man.”

$1,600 MSPT Venetian Final Table Results

_{*Denotes heads-up deal.}

Mike “BrockLesnar” Holtz Victorious in Epic Stack

On January 25, Event #32: $500 NLH Epic Stack attracted 138 runners and offered up a $58,236 prize pool that was paid out to the top 15 finishers. Among those to cash but fall short of the final table were Jaime Sanchez (11th - $1,083), Peter Hengsakul (13th - $996), and Kimberly Olenak (14th - $996).

At the final table, it was Mike Holtz defeating Rob Goldstein in heads-up play to win the title and $16,597 prize. If that name sounds familiar it’s probably because you recognize him from his online prowess, specifically on WSOP.com where he plays under the name “BrockLesnar.”

He was the 2021 WSOP.com Player of the Year – he spoke to PokerNews about that accomplishment here – and then in October of last year, he won the WSOP Online Event #17: $777 NLH Lucky 7s by defeating Jordyn “ThLstCrdBndr” Miller during a short heads-up battle. That gave him his first bracelet and $76,157. Now, Holtz has a live title on his poker résumé.

Event #32 Final Table Results

2023 DeepStack Showdown Winners

What’s Coming Up Next?

The Venetian is already hosting their DeepStack Extravaganza I, which kicked off on February 13 and will run through March 5. That series will offer more than $1.5 million in guaranteed prize pools across 35 events.

Click here for a look at the full DeepStack Extravaganza I schedule.

_{*Images courtesy of Venetian.}