The PokerStars 50/50 Series is complete, with all 50 events crowning their worthy champions. PokerStars promised $3 million in guaranteed prize pools, but awarded over $4.1 million after a strong turnout by mid-stakes grinders. The biggest prize pool, as you would expect, belonged to the $50 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. It carried a $400,000 guarantee but a crowd of 8,904 entrants resulted in a $404,686 pot.
Several members of the Team PokerStars stable bought into the 50/50 Series Main Event, although none of them managed to walk away with a slice of the prize pool. Lex “L. Veldhuis” Veldhuis, Benjamin “Spraggy” Spragg, Sebastian “peace&love” Huber, and soccer sensation Neymar “Neymar-jr” Jr added to the prize pool but not their coffers.
PokerStars 50/50 Series Main Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vupe | Belarus | $56,558 |
| 2 | Dan “NukeTheFish!” Wilson | United Kingdom | $40,313 |
| 3 | andreyvolkan | Brazil | $28,737 |
| 4 | Fernando “ferkonishi” Konishi | Brazil | $20,484 |
| 5 | Jon “luckyfish89” Clark | United Kingdom | $14,602 |
| 6 | AKgringoAK | Brazil | $10,408 |
| 7 | ViniVera | Brazil | $7,419 |
| 8 | markan991 | Croatia | $5,289 |
| 9 | ChibediRO | Romania | $3,770 |
Everyone who reached the nine-handed final table locked in at least $3,770 for their efforts, with the top six finishers seeing their $50 investment swell to a five-figure sum.
Romanian “ChibediRO” was the first finalist to bow out; they collected the previously mentioned $3,770. Croatia’s “markan99” was the next to fall, their eighth-place finish coming with a $5,289 boost to their bankroll.
Four Brazilians had navigated their way to the final table, but two busted quickly. First, “ViniVera” saw their tournament come to an abrupt end in seventh, a finish worth $7,419, then “AKgringoAK” found themselves void of chips but in possession of the $10,408 sixth-place prize.
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The pay jumps were now substantial, especially considering the $50 buy-in. British star Jon “luckyfish89” Clark, a player with almost $5.9 million in online poker tournament winnings, finished his latest deep run in fifth-place, and banked $14,602.
Fifth place and $20,484 went to Brazilian Fernando “ferkonishi” Konishi before the elimination of “andreyvolkan,” also of Brazil, sent the 50/50 Series Main Event into the heads-up stage. Third place came with a $28,737 payday.
Heads-up pitted the 2016 Irish Open champion Dan “NukeTheFish” Wilson against Belarusian “Vupe.” The difference in prize money was a significant $16,200, yet the heads-up duo neglected to strike a deal to lessen the jump. The lack of a deal meant Wilson had to make do with a $40,313 payout when he fell at the final hurdle, with the same lack of a deal resulting in an impressive $56,558 payday for “Vupe,” the 2023 PokerStars 50/50 Series Main Event champion.
Full PokerStars 50/50 Series Results
*includes bounty payments