Series Review · World Series of Parker 2023
One Game, Five Nights, and a Repeat Champion
The third series dropped the mixed-game format entirely and played Omaha Hi/Lo five times. Eric Denny won three of them.
The first two World Series ran a different game every event, on the theory that the variety was the point. The third one did the opposite: Omaha Hi/Lo, all five times. That turns a series of curiosities into something closer to a championship — the same game, the same skills, five chances to prove you are better at it than the room. The room found out.
Five events, one game
| Date | Winner | Field | Pool | First prize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-1 | January 27 | Eric Denny | 6 | $270 | $160 |
| 3-2 | March 24 | Charlie Drotar | 9 | $470 | $235 |
| 3-3 | May 26 | Lee Ugarte | 9 | $510 | $240 |
| 3-4 | July 28 | Eric Denny | 9 | $550 | $260 |
| 3-5 | October 20 | Eric Denny | 7 | $270 | $170 |
The money grew with the format. $2,070 across the five events is nearly double what either of the first two series paid out, and the July event alone put $550 on the table — more than any World Series night before it.
Eric Denny wins three
Eric Denny won the January opener out of six players, then went eighth of nine in March — his only bad night of the series — and third in May. In July he won the biggest event of the year with eight knockouts — more than anybody has recorded in any World Series tournament, ahead of the seven Greg Howell made winning the heads-up bracket in 2018. In October he won the finale as well.
Three wins from five starts, $715 in prize money and 19 knockouts, all three of them series highs and none of them close. He is the first man to win the World Series of Parker twice.
The other two nights
Charlie Drotar won the March event, nine players and $235, with five knockouts — his first World Series win at the tenth attempt, across all three series. Paul Coffman was runner-up.
Lee Ugarte took the May event for $240 with six knockouts, beating Angela Cain heads-up. It was his second World Series win, five years after the H.O.R.S.E. event that closed the first series.
The runner-up list is worth reading on its own: Andrew Shier in January, Paul Coffman in March, Angela Cain in May, Steve Sarbaugh in July, in only the second tournament he had ever played, and Rick Mazza in October. Five events, five different men and women one hand short.
The final standings
| World Series of Parker — 2023 final | Events | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Denny | 5 | 179.33 |
| 2 | Lee Ugarte | 3 | 111.00 |
| 3 | Charlie Drotar | 4 | 104.70 |
| 4 | Andrew Shier | 5 | 89.83 |
| 5 | Rick Mazza | 5 | 85.70 |
| 6 | Angela Cain | 3 | 74.48 |
| 7 | Steve Sarbaugh | 3 | 66.67 |
| 8 | Paul Coffman | 3 | 65.52 |
Denny won it by 68.33 points, the largest margin the series has produced. The first two World Series were settled by nine points and by twenty-one; this one was over by July.
Thirteen players entered at least one event, the most since the opening series, and forty entries across five nights is the busiest the World Series has been.
Eric Denny is the WSOP Champion for a second time, and the only man to hold the title more than once.