Justin Bonomo came into the final table of Event #9 and, despite a valiant effort by Daniel Rezaei heads-up, went coast-to-coast to capture the title and the $333,000 first-place prize.

Bonomo started the day with nearly 45% of the chips in play and took a four-to-one chip lead into heads-up, but Rezaei quickly gained the upper hand when his pocket sixes held against the pocket fours of Bonomo on the first hand of play. Two hands later, Rezaei wrestled the chip lead away from Bonomo when his pocket sevens once again held, this time against the ace deuce of Bonomo.

Bonomo, now facing a four-to-one chip disadvantage, didn’t blink and managed to claw his way back, eventually retaking the chip lead when he picked off Rezaei on the river. Facing an all-in for this tournament life, Bonomo used two-time banks before declaring, “I really think you are bluffing me. I call,” tabling ace-high.

Rezaei would indeed show the bluff as he tabled jack-high. Bonomo let out a deep sigh, collected the pot, and took a nearly two-to-one chip lead, which he would not relinquish.

Rezaei would eventually fall in second place for $222,000 when his rivered two pair of queens and deuces was bested by Bonomo’s superior two pair of aces and queens.

The final table was a quick one, lasting just under two and a half hours as Bonomo used his chip lead to his advantage and had the added benefit of the deck as he had a hand in eliminating all five of his opponents.

Chino Rheem was the first to fall when his fives full of deuces were bested by the eights full of Bonomo as he collected $46,250 for the sixth-place finish.

The deck would continue to find Bonomo as he picked up pocket kings against the king-jack of Orpen Kisacikoglu. A jack on the flop gave Kisacikoglu hope, but the turn and river offered no help as the Event #6 winner headed to the payout desk to collect the $74,000 fifth-place prize.

Andrew Lichtenberger would be the next to run into the buzzsaw of Bonomo as his pocket jacks ran square into Bonomo’s pocket queens in a blind vs. blind battle. The board ran clean, and the Event #5 winner could only shake his head as he walked away with $101,750 for his fourth-place finish.

Continuing on the theme of the deck finding him at the right time, in another blind vs. blind battle, Bonomo picked up pocket kings against the pocket queens of Stephen Chidwick, leading to the biggest pot of the tournament. With just under 4.5 million in the middle, Bonomo’s kings faded the last two ladies in the deck, and Chidwick was out the door in third place for $148,000.

With the win, Bonomo captures with first Poker Master title and moves into seventh with 314 points in the race for the purple jacket. Vladas Tamasauskas still leads the stands with 506 points, 120 points ahead of Chidwick and Rheem, who sit in a tie for second with 386 points. Lichtenberger sits in fourth with 327 points, and Ren Lin rounds out the top five with 325 points.

The 2023 Poker Masters continued at the PokerGO Studio from ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and Justin Bonomo bagged the chip lead as six players remain in Event #9: $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em.

Bonomo holds nearly 45% of the chips in play and leads Orpen Kisacikoglu, Stephen Chidwick, Chino Rheem, Andrew Lichtenberger, and Daniel Rezaei into the final day of play as the six players return at 12 p.m. PT on Monday, September 25 with the delayed final table stream beginning at 1 p.m. PT on PokerGO.

The field of 37 entrants created a prize pool of $925,000 and the top six finishers earned a piece of it. Ren Lin and Chris Brewer were eliminated deep into the tournament before Isaac Haxton became the unfortunate bubble boy. He got his short stack in with ace-nine against Chidwick’s king-queen and a queen hit the river to eliminate him. The six remaining players then bagged and tagged to return for the streamed final table as they eye the $333,000 first-place prize, 200 PGT points, and Event #9 trophy.