The first four events of the Poker Masters at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas are in the books, while the final and fifth event is currently underway. The first four events at Poker Masters each had a buy-in of $50,000, while the freezeout finale was an $100,000 entry. The overall winner at the Poker Masters will get awarded a coveted purple jacket. The first four event winners were Nick Schulman, Steffen Sontheimer, Bryn Kenney, and Brandon Adams. Only 14 players are still alive in Event #5. You can follow along with a live stream and coverage via PokerGO.

Golf has the green jacket for the winner of the Masters. Now poker has purple locked up. The winner of the Poker Masters series at the Aria Casino in Las Vegas gets to slide on the coveted purple jacket. Sure, it looks more like a cheesy smoking jacket or something a porno producer from the 1970s would wear to an industry awards party (just think the award scene from Boogie Nights). I wonder how long will it take before someone is pawning their purple jacket at a dingy pawn shop in the shadows of downtown Las Vegas? Or how much will a purple jacket sell for on a bid site such as ebay?
The Poker Masters is a new series hosted at the Aria Casino. It's short with only five high roller events. Yes, the pedestrians and tourists need not apply. The Poker Masters is for serious pros and deep-pocketed semipros. If you wanted to play all five events, all you needed was $300,000 in loose change. The first four events had the same $50K buy-in, while the freezeout finale had a $100K buy-in.
You can follow the action over at PokerGO. You will need to buy a subscription.
Poker Masters - Event #1
Nick Schulman has been making a name for himself over the last couple of years as an announcer. Schulman offered up some of the strongest color commentary in recent years. His deadpan, wry humor is right up my alley, but Schulman has been able to do something that is difficult to pull off -- explain high-end concepts in simple layman's terms. It's one thing to provide inside baseball commentary, but to pull it off without alienating beginners is a near-impossible task. yet, Schulman crushed it.
Just when you almost forgot that Nick Schulman was one of the sickest players on the planet, he returned to the felt and walked away with the first win at the 2017 Poker Masters. Schulman shipped the opening event for a $918K score.
Schulman faded a field of 51 entries and defeated Matt Hyman heads-up for the win. The final table for Event #1 included notables such as Daniel Negreanu (8th place), Adrian Mateos (7th place), Dom Nitsche (fifth place), and Stefan Schillhabel (3rd place).
Poker Masters Event #1
Buy-in: $50,000
Prize Pool: $2,550,000
Entrants: 51
Payouts: 8
Event #1 Results:
1. Nick Schulman (USA) $918,000
2. Matt Hyman (USA) $561,000
3. Stefan Schillhabel (Germany) $306,000
4. Steffen Sontheimer (Germany) $204,000
5. Dominik Nitsche (Germany) $178,500
6. Koray Aldemir (Germany) $153,000
7. Adrian Mateos (Spain) $127,500
8. Daniel Negreanu (Canada) $102,000
Poker Masters - Event #2
The Germans continued their domination of high roller events. They finished 1-2 in Event #2 with Steffen Sontheimer edging out Fedor Holz heads-up for $900K in cash. Steffen Sontheimer cashed in both Event #1 and Event #2. He ended the first two events as the overall leader.
The second event on the docket was another $50K buy-in (with additional re-entries). In total, Event #2 attracted 50 runners. Steffen Sontheimer was the runner-up at the Super High Roller Bowl (also hosted at Aria) just before the WSOP began. The German finally claimed a title... and he got to pose next to the swanky purple jacket.
Other notables at the final table included Tom Marchese, Phil Hellmuth, Adrian Mateos, Dan Shak, Bryn Kenney, and Christian Christner. Spanish pro Adrian Mateos made his second final table at the Poker Masters.
Poker Masters Event #2
Buy-in: $50,000
Prize Pool: $2,500,000
Entrants: 50
Payouts: 8
Event #2 Results:
1. Steffen Sontheimer (Germany) $900,000
2. Fedor Holz (Germany) $550,000
3. Tom Marchese(USA) $300,000
4. Phil Hellmuth (USA) $200,000
5. Christian Christner (Germany) $175,000
6. Adrian Mateos (Spain) $150,000
7. Bryn Kenney (USA) $125,000
8. Dan Shak (USA) $100,000
Poker Masters - Event #3
American Bryn Kenney stepped into the spotlight as the latest winner at the Aria.The Germans got shut out of this event. I know... it's rare to NOT see a German flag in the payouts list. And the only non-American who cashed was from Spain... but it was not Adrian Mateos, who final tabled and cashed in the first two events.
Only the top 7 places paid out in Event #3. Bryan Kenney bested a field of 48 runners. He defeated Erik Seidel heads-up for the win. Seidel banked $576K for a runner-up finish. Jake Schindler finished in third, followed by Dan Smith in fourth place, Doug Polk in fifth place, and Cary Katz took sixth. Sergio Aido from Spain locked up the seventh and final payout.
Kenney cashed in the second event with a seventh-place finish. Kenney, Mateos, and Steffen Sontheimer are the only players who cashed in 2 out of the first 3 events.
Poker Masters Event #3
Buy-in: $50,000
Prize Pool: $2,400,000
Entrants: 48
Payouts: 7
Event #3 Results:
1. Bryn Kenney (USA) $960,000
2. Erik Seidel (USA) $576,000
3. Jake Schindler (USA) $312,000
4. Dan Smith (USA) $192,000
5. Doug Polk (USA) $144,000
6. Cary Katz (USA) $120,000
7. Sergio Aido (Spain) $96,000
Poker Masters - Event #4
Brandon Adams defeated Doug Polk heads-up to win the fourth event. Adams got to pose with the swanky purple jacket after he won $819K in cash. Doug Polk finished in fifth place in Event #3, but he had to settle on a runner-up position. Polk cashed in two events thus far.
The fourth event was the least attended out of all four Poker Masters events. This one only had 39 runners. Among those who cashed in this event... Polk, David Peters, ZeeJustin, Steffen Sontheimer, and Jake Schindler.
Steffen Sontheimer cashed in three out of four events thus far. Schindler cashed in his second. Sontheimer is the man to beat going into the final event.
Poker Masters Event #4
Buy-in: $50,000
Prize Pool: $1,950,000
Entrants: 48
Payouts: 6
Event #4 Results:
1. Brandon Adams (USA) $819,000
2. Doug Polk (USA) $468,000
3. David Peters(USA) $273,000
4. Justin Bonomo (USA) $175,500
5. Steffen Sontheimer (Germany) $117,000
6. Jake Schindler (USA) $97,500