In the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown’s $25,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em high roller event, Thomas Boivin emerged victorious after beating a challenging final table of 105 players, winning the title and the top prize of $711,300. Thomas Boivin, a Belgian poker pro, attained his largest live tournament payout to date, surpassing the $428,000 he earned as the champion of the 2018 European Poker Tour Prague €25,000 tournament, increasing his career earnings to over $5.5 million.
Thomas Boivin’s recent victory also elevated him to 74th place in the 2023 Card Player Player of the Year standings, having achieved three final-table finishes, one title, and over $800,000 in winnings to date.
Additionally, other players made significant gains on the POY leaderboard as a result of this event. Ren Lin, who finished in third place, received $319,000 and 560 POY points for his 12th final-table finish of the year. With Lin’s two titles and almost $2.5 million in cashes in 2023, he is currently in second place in the rankings, trailing only Nacho Barbero with a total of 4,869 points compared to Barbero’s 5,235.
The tournament had a strong turnout and surpassed its $1,000,000 guarantee, with the top 15 finishers sharing a prize pool of $2,593,500. Some well-known poker players, including Kristen Foxen, Alex Foxen, Joe McKeehen, Jonathan Jaffe, Bryn Kenney, Joseph Cheong, and Martin Zamani, made it to the final tables.
Frank Lagodich finished as the runner-up with a career-high payout of $505,200, earning his fifth POY-qualified score of 2023 and entering the top 100 in the POY race.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
1 | Thomas Boivin | $711,300 | 840 |
2 | Frank Lagodich | $505,200 | 700 |
3 | Ren Lin | $319,000 | 560 |
4 | Eli Berg | $217,800 | 420 |
5 | Martin Zamani | $140,000 | 350 |
6 | Joseph Cheong | $103,700 | 280 |
7 | Bryn Kenney | $85,500 | 210 |
8 | John Racener | $74,500 | 140 |
9 | Aram Oganyan | $70,400 | 70 |