The summer Bacchanalia that is the 2023 World Series of Poker is now in the history books. The massive 2023 WSOP Championship Event has concluded, with Daniel Weisman walking off with the record $12.1 million prize pool and the massive Championship bracelet. But there is something else we have to look at before we wrap up the WSOP for this year – how did Crystal Ball come out with its predictions?
To be kind, Crystal Ball needs some tuning (in fact, it was hiding for a few days while I carried around a hammer). The all-seeing orb was correct on one thing – it was the utter boldness of some of the players that would end up costing them a better finish in the tournament – but it was really off on the placement. Here is a look at how the 2023 WSOP Championship Event finished earlier this week, along with the prediction, and an explanation of just what happened.
Ninth Place – Daniel Holzner (predicted: Seventh place)
As Crystal Ball predicted, Holzner just never was able to get anything going with the monster stacks surrounding him. It is more the credit of the short stack at the table doing well than an indictment of Holzner’s play, however. Holzner’s departure in ninth was one of those cases of needing to catch the cards at the right time – Holzner didn’t, and he ended up the first one out because of it.
Eighth Place – Juan Maceiras (predicted: Fifth place)
It was Maceiras’ wildly entertaining and aggressive “any two” style that got him to the final table, and it was also that same style that ultimately saw him flame out hugely. With his chip stack, the Spaniard should have been able to last a bit longer than he did. Add to the fact that his opponents had a chance to review the video of the runup to the final table – and the play that Maceiras was utilizing – and it all came together in an epic crash.
Seventh Place – Toby Lewis (predicted: Ninth place)
Here is one of the success stories of the 2023 WSOP Championship Event final table, one that Crystal Ball did not see coming. Lewis played very well in grinding up his short stack, laddering up, and taking more than $500,000 more than he would have received for the ninth-place effort. It is not surprising that the British pro did so well, and it makes you wonder just what might have happened if he had some ammunition going into the final table.
Sixth Place – Dean Hutchison (predicted: Eighth place)
Hutchison did his best to drive deep into the event, but the big stacks would eventually catch up with him. A fine effort after starting the final table with the third smallest stack.
Fifth Place – Ruslan Prydyrk (predicted: Fourth place)
Crystal Ball zeroed in on this one quite well, to be honest. Prydyrk did not get out of line, made some excellent plays, and laddered up at the final table as far as he could. The Ukrainian was not exciting, but he also earned over two million dollars ($2.4 million, to be precise) by being boring.
Fourth Place – Jan-Peter Jachtmann (predicted: First place)
Jachtmann did nothing to discredit himself at the final table. He was among the top four through much of the Day Nine action and did quite well, considering he is a confessed Pot Limit Omaha player. Down to four players, Jachtmann tried to make a move with paint cards and ran into Adam Walton’s pocket Aces – hey, it happens, and it sent him out of the tournament.
Third Place – Adam Walton (predicted: Second place)
This is perhaps one of the most controversial finishes of any at this year’s final table. Although his knockout of Jachtmann pumped up his stack, Walton was still the shortie coming to Day Ten “final three” action. With the stacks as deep as they were, many thought that his push pre-flop with pocket eights was completely out of line, but it held in course with Walton’s previous moves on the table. That he chose completely the wrong time to push more than EIGHTY big blinds to the center (eventual champion Daniel Weisman held pocket Aces) will be discussed for some time to come.
Second Place – Steven Jones (predicted: Third place)
Going into the heads-up match with Walton with a 2:1 disadvantage, it might have been a bit much to ask Jones to overcome. He played admirably, however, keeping Weinman at bay – at least for a few dozen hands.
First Place – Daniel Weinman (predicted: Sixth place)
This was a complete whiff by Crystal Ball. The expected clash between Weinman and Jachtmann never materialized and Weinman simply played excellent poker. The knockout of Walton at the start of Day Ten did not hurt matters any and, after he was firmly ensconced in the top slot, Weinman wasn’t going to be denied the title.
As you can see, Crystal Ball is due for a tuneup! By next year, hopefully the oracle will have a bit better all-seeing eye towards the final table!
