Ian Matakis Wins Player of the Year at World Series of Poker

Ian Matakis, a 25-year-old poker prodigy from Minnesota, won the Player of the Year title at the World Series of Poker. He started playing poker at the age of 8, learning the rules from his sister. Ian Matakis studied accounting at the University of Minnesota but dropped out after the second semester to focus on poker.

During this year's World Series of Poker, Ian Matakis played 22 cash games, 9 online and 13 offline. He won a bracelet in an online tournament, playing from his phone and later from his laptop at home. Ian Matakis played his first $50,000 buy-in tournament, a PLO event, during the World Series of Poker. He finished 9th in a $50,000 PLO tournament, earning $200,000, and 3rd in a $3,000 6-max PLO tournament.

Ian Matakis met Sean Deeb during the World Series of Poker and they became friends. Ian Matakis plans to play more mixed games next year and is currently learning from online videos.