Andrew Lichtenberger marked his 36th birthday in an extravagant manner. The seasoned poker professional emerged as the victor from a field of 85 participants, clinching the championship title in event number 5 of the 2023 Poker Masters. This victory marked his 16th recorded live tournament win.
In the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event held at the PokerGO Studio within the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Andrew Lichtenberger secured the champion’s purse of $204,000. With this win, his total career tournament earnings soared to over $15.9 million, adding another impressive chapter to the World Series of Poker bracelet winner’s storied career.
Notably, this marked Lichtenberger’s fifth appearance at a final table in 2023, and it was his first championship title of the year. His outstanding performance earned him 1,122 Card Player Player of the Year points, propelling him into the ranks of the top 500 contenders in the 2023 POY race, sponsored by Global Poker.
Furthermore, Lichtenberger secured 204 PokerGO Tour points for his victory, making it his third cash of the Poker Masters series. He previously finished seventh in event number 3 and thirteenth in event number 4. With a total of 266 PGT points and earnings amounting to $265,700, he now occupies the third spot in the race for this year’s Poker Masters Purple Jacket, trailing behind only Vladas Tamasauskas (506 points) and Ren Lin (299 points).
This event awarded cash prizes to the top 13 finishers from its $850,000 prize pool. Only six contenders advanced to day 2, with two-time bracelet winner Daniel Lazrus leading the pack and Lichtenberger holding the fourth chip position at the start.
Koray Aldemir, the 2021 WSOP main event champion, was the first to exit in sixth place with $51,000 in winnings. His K-J hand couldn’t prevail in a preflop showdown against Daniel Lazrus’ 8-7 suited.
Brock Wilson achieved his third cash and second final-table appearance of the festival in this event, but his journey ended in fifth place. His A-7 suited was bested by the A-K of Lazrus and the pocket tens held by bracelet winner Brian Kim. Wilson took home $68,000.
Lichtenberger soon surged into the lead, winning a significant pot against Kim with the same top pair of tens but with a higher kicker. Kim then eliminated Niko Koop in fourth place ($85,000) by making eights full of kings on the river, triumphing over Koop’s kings and nines.
The next pivotal all-in confrontation witnessed Lichtenberger shoving from the small blind with pocket threes. Lazrus accepted the challenge and called all-in from the big blind with pocket sixes. Lichtenberger flopped a set and maintained his lead, ultimately ousting Lazrus in third place ($102,000).
The heads-up battle commenced with Andrew Lichtenberger holding 7,625,000 chips against Kim’s 3,000,000. It didn’t take long for all the chips to find their way to the center. In a few hands, Lichtenberger open-shoved from the button with AHeart Suit6Spade Suit, and Kim called with ASpade SuitQSpade Suit from the big blind. The board favored Lichtenberger, showing 7Spade Suit4Diamond Suit3Heart Suit6Diamond SuitADiamond Suit. With aces up, Lichtenberger secured both the pot and the title, while Kim earned $144,500 as the runner-up.
Here is a look at the payouts and rankings points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points | PGT Points |
| 1 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $204,000 | 480 | 204 |
| 2 | Brian Kim | $144,500 | 400 | 145 |
| 3 | Daniel Lazrus | $102,000 | 320 | 102 |
| 4 | Niko Koop | $85,000 | 240 | 85 |
| 5 | Brock Wilson | $68,000 | 200 | 68 |
