Jans Arends - SOMUCHPOKER
Jans Arends is a Dutch professional player who first made a name as an on-line Poker star going by his alias “Graftekkel”. His recent success in live play, however, has seen him transition to serious live tournament contender.
The 32-year-old Dutchman from Groningen, Netherlands developed his poker skills playing cash games in 2009. Arends’s early career in live tournament showed moderate success mainly in his native country and Spain during the 2016-2017 seasons, making table finishes and respectable prize money. In 2019, Arends clinched his first six-figure cash of $181,573, finishing fourth in the €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 2019 PokerStars European Poker Tour Prague.
The following years, Arends though, would focus on grinding it out on-line, specializing in Multi-Table Tournaments with great success. He would get his first gold bracelet on-line in September 2022, winning the World Series of Poker ONLINE 2022 at GGPoker. This would be a springboard for a breakout 2023 in live-felt action.
Jans Arends burst into the big-time, high stakes poker scene with a spectacular debut at the 2023 Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Vietnam, Hoi An, making a final finish at Event 2 then taking down Event 5 as champion. His first major live tournament title binked a second career live-cash high of $ 921,178 adding to the runner-up cash of $ 406,000. This was the perfect set-up for a memorable performance at the 54th World Series of Poker Las Vegas. The Dutch hot hand began with a 3rd place finish at the $50,000 High Roller Event then days later, clinched his first live WSOP bracelet (second overall) emerging champion at the $100,000 High Roller. The win would mark a career-best live cash of $ 2,576,729.
Arends would continue his 2023 success at the high stakes events, making deep runs at the 2023 ARIA High Roller Series, Las Vegas, and Triton Super High Roller Series Monte Carlo.
Jans Arends’s total live earnings have reached the $5M milestone at $5,646,205 making him 3rd in the Netherlands All Time Money List.
*Profile by Mike Alcazaren
