One of the biggest events in poker history — the World Poker Tour (WP)T World Championship — concluded Tuesday night with Eliot Hudon claiming the $4,136,000 first place prize, beating out a massive field of 2,960 entrants at Wynn Las Vegas.
"At this point, it wasn't even about the money… If I'm going to make it this far, I kind of wanted to really win the trophy more than anything. I'm more in poker for winning more than the money,” said Hudon after his historic win. “I don't deserve it any more than these guys, it's just we all know how it goes, some people have more luck in some spots."
The final table, one of the fastest in World Poker Tour history (55 hands over 2.5 hours), began with a bang when Benny Glaser, who entered with a sizable chip lead, made an aggressive shove with ace-jack all in from under the gun. With four of the six players sitting on small stacks, the jam was an interesting play considering Hudon, who was behind him, also had a large stack, albeit smaller.
The shove made sense in that for Hudon to call given ICM considerations, he'd basically need to wake up with aces or kings. Well, he did wake up with kings and less than 10 minutes into play, he became the chip leader by a fairly wide margin when his opponent didn't get any help from the board.
Glaser, however, battled back and didn't let the rough hand derail his eyes on the prize. He's one of the best in the game with over $3.6 million in live tournament cashes entering the WPT World Championship, per Hendon Mob, which includes four World Series of Poker bracelets. But, in the end as you're about to learn, a bluff in the wrong spot cost him a shot to win the tournament.
WPT World Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eliot Hudon | $4,136,000 |
| 2 | Benny Glaser | $2,830,000 |
| 3 | Jean-Claude Moussa | $2,095,000 |
| 4 | Adam Adler | $1,608,000 |
| 5 | Frank Funaro | $1,301,000 |
| 6 | Colton Blomberg | $1,001,050 |
Final Table Action
Although each player at the final table had locked up $1,001,050 regardless of Tuesday's action. But there was far more on the table — $3.1 million pay jump increase possibility.
Following Hudon's early move into the chip lead, Colton Blomberg moved his nine big blind stack in with ace-high in a 60/40 against Glaser, who hit a flush and won the hand, sending Blomberg home in sixth place ($1,001,050).
The remaining five players could breathe a sigh of relief knowing they moved up the pay jumps. A few hands later and Hudon picked up kings yet again, and then used them to bust Frank Funaro, who was holding ace-ten, in fifth place ($1,301,000).
Action was moving quickly right off the bat but then the small stacks started battling back a bit. It wasn't for another hour before Hudon clipped Adam Adler in fourth place ($1,608,000), when a flush draw didn't come through.
Shortly after, Jean-Claude Moussa lost a 60/40 to, you guessed it, Hudon, and was out in third place ($2,095,000). That set up a heads-up match for a World Poker Tour title and millions of dollars.
Glaser was in a deep hole at the start of the match — 3-1 disadvantage — and he would never have an opportunity to chip into the lead. In fact, he was out just minutes after heads-up play began.
The run of bad luck began when he flopped a pair of aces with a superior kicker but ended up chopping the pot. Moments later, he picked the wrong time to attempt a huge and gutsy bluff.
With 7♣️
When the 9♦️ appeared on the turn, the big blind again checked and faced a bet of 8,000,000 this time. Glaser, who picked up a gutter ball, went for the check-raise to 28,000,000, which didn't scare his opponent away.
The river 5♣️ gave Hudon a straight, but Glaser jammed all in for his last 59,000,000. Hudon nearly beat him into the pot, made the call, and finished off the tournament at Wynn Las Vegas with a $4.1 million score. Glaser received $2.8 million as a consolation prize.
Hudon, who lives in Quebec, Canada, had just $200,000 in live tournament cashes before this event. He's now a multi-millionaire and a member of the prestigious WPT Champions Club.
The $10,400 buy in tournament began on Dec. 12 and was a rousing success. What started with a $15 million guaranteed prize pool, the largest in poker history, finished with just over $29 million in the pot. With that, the 20th season of the World Poker Tour comes to an end with its biggest event ever.
"The success of the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas was a spectacular way to commemorate 20 years of global, WPT events and the many players who have made WPT what it is today. We attempted to make this a true festival atmosphere and are so grateful for the overwhelming reception we received,” said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour. “On behalf of the WPT Family, we want to welcome Eliot to the WPT Champions Club and congratulate him on securing his honored role in the WPT legacy."
Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
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Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
