Pros Emerge Victorious as Fight for Poker Masters Purple Jackpot Takes Place Online

April 20th, 2020 | by Jason Reynolds

The 2020 Poker Masters is currently in full swing and, so far, some of the game’s finest have emerged victorious.

Jason Koon is among the big winners in the 2020 Poker Masters on Partypoker. (Image: Partypoker Live)

Taking place on Partypoker this year due to coronavirus lockdowns, the Poker Central event has attracted a wealth of stars since April 12.

With notoriety, titles and generous prizepools on the line, pros have been out in force over the last week. Heading the list of recent winners is Jason Koon. The Team Partypoker Ambassador picked up $549,000 after winning Event #16.

Partypoker Pro Uses Home Advantage to Win Big

Anteing up $25,500 along with 71 other entrants, Koon was able to battle his way through to a stacked final table on April 20. With Ole Schemion just missing out on a place in the eight-handed finale, Koon was among the early favorites.

However, with Steve O’Dwyer and Conor Beresford among his challengers, the American (playing from Canada) wasn’t going to have it all his own way. Indeed, it took the elimination of Dan Smith in eighth to loosen up the table enough for Koon to make his move.

As the all-star line-up faded, only Justin Bonomo could stop Koon. Despite $180,000 separating the payouts for first and second, the two pros couldn’t agree a deal. In the end, that benefitted Koon as he added a Poker Masters title and just short of $550,000 to his list of achievements.

Elsewhere in the jam-packed festival, Mustapha Kanit, Timothy Adams and Ludovic Geilich have also become Poker Masters champions. However, they’re unlikely to be the last big-name players to take home a title.

The online festival is set to run until April 26 when the $51,000 main event will bring the action to close. Before that happens, the game’s top players have got plenty more $10,300 and $25,500 MTTs to test themselves in.

Poker Masters Maintains Appeal Despite Changes

For Partypoker and Poker Central, the decision to run the 2020 Poker Masters online has been a success. Although the change was made due to the coronavirus pandemic, it hasn’t hurt the allure of the event.

Indeed, as one of Poker Central’s Big Three festivals, the Poker Masters has become a staple for high-stakes players since launching in 2017. The initial event was streamed live from the PokerGo studio in Las Vegas and featured five events.

In 2018 and 2019, the number of tournaments was increased. Like the Masters Tournament in golf, the top performer across the entire series is given a jacket. For golfers the garment is green, for poker players it’s purple.

Germany’s Steffen Sontheimer wore the inaugural Purple Jackpot before Ali Imsirovic and Sam Soverel won in 2018 and 2019, respectively. This year, the organizers have been able to cram more MTTs into the schedule due to the fact it’s taking place online.

For those involved, that not only means a guaranteed prizepool of $16.5 million but more chances to earn points and win the 2020 Poker Masters Purple Jacket.