Botez Wins Poker Champs, Takes $250,000
Alexandra Botez went undefeated through an eight-player heads-up knockout bracket at Poker Champs, organized by Doug Polk with ClubWPT Gold, earning $250,000.
Botez Goes Undefeated in Heads-Up Bracket
Alexandra Botez, the chess champion and streamer known to a wide audience as BotezLive, won the Poker Champs heads-up knockout tournament and collected the top prize of $250,000. The event was organized by Doug Polk in collaboration with the online platform ClubWPT Gold and built around a field of eight invited streaming personalities rather than tournament regulars.
Botez navigated the entire bracket without losing a match. The format was a direct knockout bracket for eight participants, played heads-up, meaning each round required a player to win a match to advance. The total prize pool was set at $500,000, with payouts reserved for the top four finishers.
A Field Built for Entertainment, Not Pros
Poker Champs carried a strict rule: professional poker players were barred from participating. The stated aim was to deliver an entertaining show and introduce poker to a broader audience through eight selected streaming stars. Each participant was paired with a top-tier poker coach; Botez worked with the well-known coach Uri Peleg.
That coaching structure is a common feature of celebrity and streamer poker events, where players with limited tournament experience receive guidance on heads-up strategy, bet sizing, and ICM considerations before and during play.
Botez's Path Through the Bracket
Botez's run to the title involved three victorious matches.
In the first round, she defeated Eric "erobb221" Robbins Jr., securing a place in the semifinals and a guarantee of at least $50,000.
In the semifinal, she beat Dennis "PaymoneyWubby" Richardson. The key moment came when Botez moved all-in holding K h 3 s on a board of K d T s 4 h T h 2 d, against an opponent holding Q h Q d. Her hand held, opening the door to the final.
In the final match, Botez faced Thomas "sodapoppin" Morris. She won the first game after completing a straight and reading her opponent's bluff. The second game was decided on the flop A s A d 2 s, where Botez called her opponent's all-in with T h T d. Sodapoppin had bluffed with K d 4 s, and the turn 6 d and river J c sealed his fate.
With the win, Botez claimed her highest poker prize to date without losing a single match.
Final Standings and Payouts
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- Alexandra "BotezLive" Botez — $250,000
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- Thomas "Sodapoppin" Morris — $125,000
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- Tyler "Tyler1" Steinkamp — $75,000
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- Dennis "PaymoneyWubby" Richardson — $50,000
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- Félix "xQc" Lengyel — $0
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- Eric "Erobb221" Robbins Jr. — $0
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- Emily Beth "Emiru" Schunk — $0
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- Joshua "YourRAGE" Maynard — $0
Why the Result Matters
Heads-up knockout formats compress variance into short, high-pressure matches. With only two players in each match, hand reading and aggression matter more than the deep-stack patience that defines multi-table tournaments. For a crossover event like Poker Champs, the format also produces fast, watchable poker for a streaming audience.
Botez's background in competitive chess is frequently cited as an advantage in poker, particularly in pattern recognition and decision-making under time pressure. The event's design, pairing each streamer with an experienced coach, reflects a broader trend in poker marketing: using recognizable non-professional personalities to reach viewers who may not follow the tournament circuit.
Poker Champs was not a traditional open-field tournament, and its results do not count toward major professional rankings. It was, by design, a showcase event with a fixed eight-player field and a $500,000 prize pool.
FAQ
- Alexandra "BotezLive" Botez won the event, going undefeated through the eight-player bracket and earning the $250,000 first prize.