Adrián Mateos wins Poker Masters Event #5 and reclaims series lead
Victory in Las Vegas pushes Mateos into Purple Jacket lead after earlier bubbles
Key Takeaways
- Adrián Mateos won Poker Masters Event #5 and moved into the series lead for the Purple Jacket.
- Mateos had a 6.1 million stack with three players left and closed the title in under 30 minutes.
- The victory pushed Mateos’s recorded live earnings past $70.5 million, per Hendon Mob.
- Mateos had bubbled Events #1, #3 and #4 earlier and bubbled another event later the same Saturday.
Adrián Mateos won the Poker Masters Event #5 in Las Vegas and, with that victory, took the lead in the race for the Purple Jacket. The Spaniard had suffered several bubbles earlier in the series but secured his first win of the festival on Saturday night.
Final and how he claimed the title
Mateos reached the final table holding the chip lead at the close of Day 1, when seven players remained. He kept that advantage in the final: he extended his lead on the very first hand by flopping two pair against Jeremy Becker’s top pair and forced a fold after shoving on the river. He eliminated Keith Lehr in sixth after Lehr had sent Matthew Wantman to the rail in seventh.
Eliminations were spread among several players: Becker knocked out Martin Zamani and Nick Schulman, a member of the Poker Hall of Fame, maintained a notable presence through the heads-up. With three players remaining, Mateos held a stack of 6.1 millones, more than Schulman and Becker combined. Less than 30 minutes later he closed out the title.
Becker was eliminated after a hand in which Mateos made trips on the turn; Becker had put his last 14 big blinds in after the river shove. Mateos finished the heads-up in just two hands after a raise to 350,000 and an all-in from Schulman from a 2.4 million stack. Schulman had 15 outs on the turn but did not hit on the river.
The victory pushed Mateos’s recorded live tournament earnings above $70.5 million, according to Hendon Mob, and gave him the provisional lead in the Poker Masters Purple Jacket race with five events still to play.
Previous bubbles and another bubble the same day
Before this win Mateos had bubbled Event #1 when his aces lost to Craig Mason, who made a set of nines on the flop. He finished runner-up to Nick Palma in Event #2 and bubbled Events #3 and #4. After winning Event #5, Mateos bubbled another tournament later that Saturday: he held A-Q versus Robert Chorlian’s A-6 and Justin Vaysman’s sevens, and the sevens held to give Vaysman a double knockout.
That elimination left Vaysman with the third-largest stack among the seven players who returned.
Standings and next action
The Poker Masters leaderboard after Event #5 showed these scores:
Adrian Mateos: 381 points
Nick Palma: 339 points
Myles Mullaly: 274 points
Joey Weissman: 265 points
Vitalijs Zavorotnijs: 224 points
Action resumes on Monday and the livestream will be available on PokerGO’s YouTube channel from 16:00 ET. The chip counts for Event #6 ($10,500 NLH) at the time of reporting were:
Sean Winter: 1,405,000
Victoria Livschitz: 1,395,000
Justin Vaysman: 1,205,000
Sam Laskowitz: 1,115,000
Brandon Wilson: 1,085,000
Tony Gregg: 805,000
Joey Weissman: 795,000
Live coverage will continue on the events calendar and in the news coverage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Adrián Mateos achieve at Poker Masters Event #5?
Adrián Mateos won Event #5 of the Poker Masters in Las Vegas and took the provisional lead in the Purple Jacket race with 381 points; the win also pushed his recorded live earnings above $70.5 million, according to Hendon Mob.
How did the final phase of Event #5 play out and how many chips did Mateos have?
Mateos reached the final table with the chip lead and held a stack of 6.1 million with three players remaining. He eliminated Becker and others and closed the heads-up in under 30 minutes against Nick Schulman.
What negative run had Mateos suffered before this win?
Before Event #5 Mateos had bubbled Event #1 when his aces lost to Craig Mason’s set of nines, finished runner-up to Nick Palma in Event #2, and bubbled Events #3 and #4.
What is the status of the Poker Masters after Event #5 and when does play resume?
After Event #5 the leaderboard showed Mateos on 381 points and Nick Palma on 339. Play resumes on Monday and the livestream starts at 16:00 ET on PokerGO’s YouTube channel.
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About the author
Sofía Carrasco
Poker Correspondent
Sofía Carrasco covers live and online poker — tournament series from the WSOP and EPT to the daily room grind, promotions, and the industry moves behind them. The reports keep every score, pot, and player name exactly as the record shows, and follow the story past the final hand: who qualified, what the structure rewarded, and how the field is shifting. For player moves, software, and regulation across the poker economy, Sofía Carrasco is the first read.
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