Darren Elias Wins 2023 U.S. Poker Open Event #7 ($313,200)

It was only a matter of time until Darren Elias captured his first PokerGO Major Title, and now he can add a U.S. Poker Open title to his resume after his victory in U.S. Poker Open Event #7: $15,000 No-Limit Hold'em.

Elias topped the field of 87 entries to earn the first-place prize worth $313,200. The win comes after two earlier cashes in this year's U.S. Poker Open and places Elias second on the series leaderboard. Elias collected cashes in both Event #1, where he finished 9th for $42,000, and Event #5, where he finished 7th at the livestreamed final table for $44,000. 

It was all Elias all day at the final table as he blasted his way through his opponents. He kickstarted his day by taking out Chris Brewer in 6th place when Brewer moved all in with queen-ten and Elias was holding pocket jacks. Brewer found no help on the board and Elias would move into the early chip lead after starting the day second in chips. 

Sean Winter was the next to fall when he lost a flip to Brandon Wilson. Winter moved all in with ace-king and Wilson called holding pocket tens. Wilson ended up making quads to end Winter's day in 5th place. He earned $104,400 for his run. 

Elias would eliminate his final three opponents starting with Masashi Oya, the start of day chip leader. In Oya's final hand, he flopped top pair and put out a small bet. Elias called with backdoor and gutshot draws and found one of those outs when he made a straight on the turn. Elias check-raised all in and Oya called it off drawing dead to be eliminated in 4th place for $130,500.

Wilson took home his second 3rd place finish this week when he was eliminated by Elias next. Wilson got it in good against Elias when he called all in blind versus blind with ace-queen against ace-deuce, but Elias spiked a deuce on the flop and held for the elimination. Wilson earned $156,600 for his second six figure cash of the week. 

Heads-up play lasted just a few hands as Elias carried in a massive chip lead. He finished off Sam Soverel quickly when Soverel limp-called with pocket sevens against Elias' ace-king. The flop brought Elias a king and that would hold to earn him the win in the tournament. Soverel earned $221,850 for his runner up finish and the 222 PGT points he claimed put him on top of the U.S. Poker Open series leaderboard for the time being. 

The win is the four-time World Poker Tour Champion's first PokerGO Tour Major title and brings the decorated pro's live tournament earnings to over $11,000,000 according to TheHendonMob.com. 

2023 U.S. Poker Open Event #7 Results

Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Watch daily poker clips on the PokerGO YouTube channel. Join the conversation on the PokerGO Discord server. You can save $20 off an annual subscription to PokerGO.com by using the code “PGT2023” at checkout.