After three days of play, Michael Savakinas and Satoshi Tanaka were the last duo standing after they topped the record setting field in Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team at the 2023 World Series of Poker.
The members of Team Savakinas bagged their first WSOP bracelets and took home the first-place prize of $190,662.
The event gathered 1,282 teams and 193 of them secured the $1,602 min-cash. Team Savakinas started Day 3 as a short stack but were able to nav and managed to cruise to the 10-handed final table with 23 big blinds. Michael Savakinas and Satoshi Tanaka each took their turn, making their way through the final heads-up battle to secure the victory.
Tanaka attributed their natural chemistry as friends as one of the main keys to their success. “I think we get along outside of poker too, so naturally, if things go wrong in poker, we help each other out.”
Tanaka also mentioned that their strategy of how often they tagged in and out gave them an advantage. “When the final table started, we decided to switch on the levels, and I think that gave us an edge because no one else was doing that.”
Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team Final Table Payouts
| Place | Team/Players | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Savakinas – Satoshi Tanaka | United States | $190,662 |
| 2 | Vincent Moscati – Tanner Bibat | United States | $117,872 |
| 3 | Jonah LaBranche – Dustin Wills | United States | $85,040 |
| 4 | Rickey Evans – Roberto Valdez | United States | $62,090 |
| 5 | John Ventre – Kenneth Gallo | United States | $45,884 |
| 6 | Marcus Stein – Amber Donatelli | United States | $34,326 |
| 7 | David Williams – Theo Tran | United States | $26,000 |
| 8 | Carlos Inukai – Emmaniel Avila | United States | $19,942 |
| 9 | Justin Pechie – Ronnie Bardah | United States | $15,492 |
| 10 | Ramon Kropmanns – Jessica Serial | Brazil | $12,190 |
Final Day Action
Just 26 duos came back for the final day, and the action was hectic, with the final table being quickly established.
Ramon Kropmanns and Jessica Serial of Team Kropmanns, the only non-American team among the final table, finished in tenth place just before known grinders Justin Pechie and Ronnie Bardah of Team Pechie.
As the players moved to the feature table, a rail started to form to create a fun atmosphere which is ever present in this unique event.
Team Inukai (Carlos Inukai – Emmaniel Avila) and Team Williams (David Williams – Theo Tran) were the next to exit. Six-handed play lasted for a while before Team Stein (Marcus Stein – Amber Donatelli) were eliminated.
Team Ventre (John Ventre – Kenneth Gallo) lost a crucial flip against Team Moscati (Vincent Moscati – Tanner Bibat), which allowed the latter to shoot of the chip counts.
Team Evans (Rickey Evans – Roberto Valdez) took fourth place and Team Moscati held the lead when Jonah LaBranche of Team LaBranche (Jonah LaBranche – Dustin Wills) decided to put his stack in with king-seven of diamonds. He ran into aces, and Team Moscati started the heads-up battle with a huge advantage.
Heads-up play remarkably turned into an epic back-and-forth battle, with Team Savakinas staring down a four-to-one chip lead and at one point being down as much as eight-to-one. However, after three straight double-ups, Team Savakinas evened it up and won the next two all-in confrontations to seal the victory.
- 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)