Ryutaro Suzuki A total of 361 players showed up to the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Event #36: $3,000 Nine Game Mix , generating a prize pool of $963,870 and first-place prize of $221,124 . When the final hand was dealt around 1:30 a.m. local time inside the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas , it was already past 5 p.m. in Japan, where a poker-mad nation witnessed a new homegrown star.
Ryutaro Suzuki , just 22 years old, became just the seventh World Series of Poker bracelet winner from Japan when he defeated Walter Chambers in a short heads-up match, bringing an end to a dominating final table performance. Suzuki won an online Circuit ring in 2021 for $140,050 but his previous best live WSOP cash was for a 69th place finish in the Eight Game Mix less than a week ago for just over $3,000.
Suzuki’s magical run to the bracelet was chronicled the entire way by a large contingent of Japanese media and supporters, showing the growth of the game and its potential in a nation of more than 125 million people. After his victory, Suzuki recognized the importance of this win for the Japanese poker community.
“Now the Japanese poker community is really growing up. There were a few bracelet holders, especially in mixed games. So it’s really so special for me and the poker community,” Suzuki said through translator Tamon Nakamura , himself a rising Japanese star and fourth-place finisher in this event.
Suzuki only took up mixed games a year ago and enjoyed the experience so much that he bookmarked this year’s WSOP as the year when he would try to put everything he learned to the test against the game’s most experienced and seasoned professionals. With his fearless aggression and sharp strategy, he overpowered one of the toughest fields at the WSOP, prevailing over several past bracelet winners until he joined their ranks.
“I’m not so long experienced in mixed games. But last year I experienced mixed games and it was really fun for me. So I target this year for mixed game events. I practice […]
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