Women are making waves in the world of poker. The latest victory comes from Katie Thurston, star of The Bachelorette, who topped a 79-player field at the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas to win the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III. On her way to victory, she overcame well-known celebrities, athletes, business leaders, content creators, and seasoned poker players in the field, earning an impressive $20,000 in top prize.
A Little About Katie Thurston Shining in Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III
The Lynnwood, Washington native began her television career as a contestant on Season 25 of The Bachelor and finished 11th place. Thurston then starred in Season 17 of The Bachelorette and followed that with a guest appearance in Bachelor In Paradise. Currently based in Los Angeles, she performs comedy and creates content. This is her first official poker score and puts her in a seven-way tie for 170th place on The Hendon Mob’s Celebrity All-Time Money List.
Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III Recap
The Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III had a star-studded lineup, including sports figures like Peyton Barber, Prince Amukamara, and Kenyon Drake, alongside basketball heroes Larry Sanders and Glen Davis and championship boxers Chris Eubank Jr. and “Sugar” Shane Mosley.
From the poker world, Brad Owen, Ethan “Rampage” Yau, and Alexander “Wolfgang Poker” Seibt joined in the competition, along with notable content creators who included Ashley Nocera, Zach Justice, Sean Kelly, Sofie Dossi, TV stars Parker McKenna Posey, Joe Gatto, and Nev Schulman, and past winners in Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou and Princess Love.
The play witnessed a mix of the brilliant and the bizarre, with contortionist Sofie Dossi, an America’s Got Talent finalist, performing one of the most unusual all-ins and baffling everyone at the table.
The final table had three women, the two past winners in chess streamer Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou and reality TV star Princess Love alongside the eventual winner Thurston who started FT as the chip leader. Trailing her was Invitational I winner Zhou who exited in seventh place.
The first player to exit the final table was Alex Bachman who hit the rail in ninth place. Mark Dohner followed in eighth after his pocket kings were bested by Carson Lueders in a hand that also had Thurston. The next to fall was CPT Invitational I winner Zhou whose queen-jack suited ran into Miguel Núñez Jr‘s ace-queen, leading to her elimination in seventh when Thurston turned a set against his jack-ten.
A little later, Princess Love shoved king-ten but was busted in sixth place when Núñez Jr. turned a set of nines. Steven “Hoodie Allen” Markowitz then shoved with ace-king suited against Núñez Jr’s pocket fives and was eliminated in fifth place. A few hands later, Ethan Yau went all-in with pocket eights against Thurston’s ace-four and ended his run in fourth-place.
During the three-handed play, Núñez Jr was slightly ahead of Thurston, with Carson Lueders being as the short stack. Lueders’s king-jack lost to Thurston’s queen-jack, which rivered a straight. The heads-up ended quickly with Thurston shoving with ace-jack and Núñez Jr calling with king-five. Thurston turned a straight, claiming the Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III title and the $20,000 top prize.
Celebrity Poker Tour Invitational III Payouts (USD)
1-Katie Thurston – $20,000
2-Miguel Núñez Jr. – $10,000
3-Carson Lueders – $5,000
4-Ethan Yau – $3,500
5-Steven “Hoodie Allen” Markowitz – $3,000
6-Princess Love – $2,500
7-Qiyu “Nemo” Zhou – $2,000
8-Mark Dohner – $2,000
9-Alex Bachman – $2,000
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Source: PokerGO
Image Credit: PokerGO
