Andrew Lichtenberger Wins 2023 Poker Masters Event #5 on his 36th Birthday for $204,000

Andrew Lichtenberger's 36th birthday was one to remember, as he bested a field of 85 entries to win Event #5 for $204,000.

Lichtenberger came into the final table fourth in chips and held steady while players busted around him. No double-ups were needed for him as he gradually chipped up throughout. It wasn't until three players remained that Lichtenberger scored his first knockout, getting it in with pocket threes against Daniel Lazrus' pocket sixes. A three found the flop and the stage was set for heads-up play.

Beginning with more than a 2-to-1 chip lead against Brian Kim, it wasn't long before the cards were on their backs. Lichtenberger was behind again, this time with ace-six against Kim's ace-queen, but the birthday rungood was real as Lichtenberger paired his six on the turn to close it out.

2023 Poker Masters Event #5 Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize
1st	Andrew Lichtenberger	United States	$204,000
2nd	Brian Kim	United States	$144,500
3rd	Daniel Lazrus	United States	$102,000
4th	Niko Koop	Germany	$85,000
5th	Brock Wilson	United States	$68,000
6th	Koray Aldemir	Germany	$51,000
7th	Matt Bond	United States	$42,500
8th	Shannon Shorr	United States	$34,000
9th	Ariel Mantel	Argentina	$34,000
10th	Ren Lin	China	$25,500
11th	Chance Kornuth	United States	$25,500
12th	Alex Foxen	United States	$17,000
13th	Jesse Lonis	United States	$17,000

Koray Aldemir was the first to fall at the final table, committing his final few big blinds with king-jack against start-of-day chip leader Daniel Lazrus' eight-seven suited. Lazrus flopped the world with an open-ended straight draw and flush draw before he rivered a pair to send Aldemir out in sixth place.

Brock Wilson was the next to go after getting into a three-way all-in with ace-seven suited. Wilson had the worst of it, trailing Kim's pocket tens and Lazrus' ace-king. Not enough help came for Wilson and he was out in fifth place.

Niko Koop fell in fourth place after calling all on the river with two pair. Brian Kim, however, had rivered a full house to bust Koop. The three-handed battle lasted a little while, but ultimately it was Lazrus who bowed out when his pocket sixes failed to hold against Lichtenberger's pocket threes.

The ensuing heads-up match was brief, as both players picked up an ace. Kim wound up all in with ace-queen against Lichtenberger's ace-six, but a six on the turn gave Lichtenberger the win. With his victory, Lichtenberger jumped to third on the Poker Masters Leaderboard.

2023 Poker Masters Leaderboard Top 10

Place	Player	Wins	Cashes	Winnings	Points
1st	Vladas Tamasauskas	2	3	$506,400	506
2nd	Ren Lin	0	3	$298,800	299
3rd	Andrew Lichtenberger	1	3	$265,700	266
4th	Darren Elias	1	2	$259,500	259
5th	Chino Rheem	1	1	$218,400	218
6th	Brock Wilson	0	3	$194,600	194
7th	Aram Zobian	0	1	$171,000	171
8th	Eric Baldwin	0	1	$155,200	155
9th	Jonathan Little	0	1	$154,700	155
10th	Alex Foxen	0	3	$152,500	153

The 2023 Poker Masters series continues through September 26. The series consists of 10 high-stakes poker tournaments, culminating in the $50,000 NL Hold'em finale. The player to accumulate the most PGT leaderboard points during the series will be crowned Poker Masters champion, winning the Purple Jacket and $50,000 championship bonus. For full schedule details, visit pgt.com/schedule.

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