Mike Holtz came up a bit short of his second bracelet on Wednesday, but the Las Vegas online poker crusher appears to be destined for his second major online poker award in three years.
Those who play on WSOP.com know of Holtz under his screen name “BrockLesnar,” a tribute to former WWE pro wrestling legend Brock Lesnar. Over the years, he’s been one of the poker site’s top tournament performers, so much so that he won Player of the Year in 2021.
As of mid-June, he’s on pace to win the award again in 2023 even though there’s still plenty of play remaining. PokerNews caught up with the local poker pro to discuss his online poker prowess at the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas at the Horseshoe.
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On Wednesday, Holtz was busy playing some live poker in Event #31: $600 Mixed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha Deepstack. We caught up with him on a break during the final table. At the time, he admitted his odds of winning weren’t great given he was down to just seven big blinds. He’s instincts were correct as he busted in seventh place out of 2,758 entrants for $30,081.
Scott Dulaney went on to win the bracelet and the $194,155 first place prize.
The Shaun Deeb of WSOP.com?
Winning the WSOP.com Player of the Year award is quite valuable. The champion receives a $10,000 prize, along with a ring and $1,500 worth of online poker tournament tickets. Last year’s winner was “sacakewalk.”
Holtz is, in some ways, the Shaun Deeb of the WSOP.com poker site in that he’s motivated to chase Player of the Year, much like Deeb is each summer in Las Vegas. According to the internet poker grinder, he plays about six multi-table tournaments per day with an average buy-in of around $180.
Despite his online success, Holtz’ opinion on which type of bracelet is more meaningful to him might surprise you.
“Even though I won the online bracelet, it would still mean more to win (this one),” he said of the bracelet he was competing for on Wednesday.
In 2022, he won his lone bracelet online in the $777 Lucky 7s on WSOP.com for $76,157. He also has three World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) rings, all three of which took place online. He’s already won two rings this year, a huge part of why he’s running away with the WSOP.com Player of the Year award.
At present, “BrockLesnar” has 38,035 points in 2023, which is significantly higher than his closest competitor — “011POKERDR” — who has 30,317 points. The defending champ is having another strong year, but is 10,500 points off the lead.
Tony Dunst (“Panoramic”), the co-host of the World Poker Tour (WPT), is in sixth place with 25,559 points.
Current 2023 WSOP.com Player of the Year Standings
| Place | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BrockLesnar | 38,035 |
| 2 | 011POKERDR | 30,317 |
| 3 | YoelRomero | 28,536 |
| 4 | Pollux | 28,491 |
| 5 | sacakewalk | 27,500 |
| 6 | Panoramic | 25,559 |
| 7 | lunar | 24,067 |
| 8 | Art.Vandelay | 23,553 |
| 9 | MrLarryDavid | 22,228 |
| 10 | myGAME | 21,751 |
The deficit between first and second place might not seem insurmountable given the year is only half over. But Holtz is confident that he’s about to become a two-time WSOP.com Player of the Year.
“He’d have to basically win back-to-back bracelet events to catch me,” he said of his closest competition. “I’m like a -750 or -800 to win probably.”
The battle hasn’t been won yet, but Holtz is going to continue putting in the volume, much like Deeb does during the WSOP, so perhaps he’s right that beating him for POY at this point is an improbable task.
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