Recently, we saw the conclusion of the historic World Series of Poker Paradise Super Main Event and the World Poker Tour Championship Alpha 8. Both events saw the two 24-year-old poker players outlast seasoned pros on their way to historic wins. Here is a quick recap of their victories in the Super Main Event and the WPT Championship Alpha 8.
2024 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Quick Recap
The 24-year-old Yinan Zhou from China outlasted a field of elite poker players, becoming the inaugural World Series of Poker ( WSOP) Paradise Super Main Event winner and earning a career-best $6 million top prize. The 2024 World Series of Poker Paradise $25,000 buy-in Super Main Event saw an impressive turnout of 1,978 across four flights and three online flights. However, it fell short of touching the record-breaking $50 million guarantee by $550,000.
The $50 million prize pool was eventually shared by the top 297 players. Several notables made the money, including two Indian players—Adesh Tiwari (294th), and bracelet winner Santhosh Suvarana (240th). Santhosh, a high roller sensation from India had a good run at the series as he also finished 5th in Event #15: $5,000 The Closer and 8th in Event #13: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, walking away with $50,800 and $209,420, respectively.
The final 9 were formed on Day 4 and returned to Day 5 to crown a champion. Four-time bracelet winner Michael Addamo led the final eight and was ready to lock up his fifth bracelet.
High-stake pro Justin Bonomo was eliminated in 7th place after his pocket threes ran into the jacks of Yinan Zhou. Bonomo picked $1,300,000 for his impressive deep run.
Michael Addamo, with a bigger stack, bluffed a lot during the start of the final table, which eventually backfired him. Addamo lost his stack to Zhou, later bowing out to Liv Boeree in 6th place to collect $1,650,000.
Liv Boeree was marching toward becoming the first Woman in Poker to win a WSOP Main Event, but couldn’t double up and was eliminated by Brazil’s Marcelo Aziz. Boeree collected $2,800,000, the biggest-ever cash by a woman poker player in poker history.
Mustapha Kanit’s remarkable run ended in 3rd place. As the blind rose, Kanit became the short stack holding almost 15 BBs. He went all in with ace-three suited and was called by Marcelo Aziz holding nine-eight suited. The flop favoured Kanit, but the eight on the river gave Aziz one pair to knock out Kanit in 3rd place. Kanit earned $3,600,000 for his 3rd place podium finish.
Both Aziz and Zhou held almost even stack in the heads-up for the title, but Zhou soon took the lead. Aziz fought back and doubled up, but couldn’t overcome the massive stack of Zhou. The final hand saw Aziz go all-in holding king-six. Zhou made the call with ace-six suited. The board brought two sixes and Zhou secured the victory with his ace kicker and trips sixes. Aziz took home $4,600,000 for his runner-up finish, while Zhou was crowned as the 20024 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event Champion, collecting the massive $6,000,000 Million top prize.
Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Yinan Zhou | $6,000,000 |
| 2nd | Marcelo Aziz | $4,600,000 |
| 3rd | Mustapha Kanit | $3,600,000 |
| 4th | Liv Boeree | $2,800,000 |
| 5th | Christopher Nguyen | $2,100,000 |
| 6th | Michael Addamo | $1,650,000 |
| 7th | Justin Bonomo | $1,300,000 |
| 8th | Vadzim Lipauka | $1,000,000 |
| 9th | Georg Lehmann | $750,000 |
2024 WPT World Championship Alpha 8 Quick Recap
The 24-year-old Travis Egbert wins the 2024 World Poker Tour Championship Alpha 8 event at Wynn Las Vegas, banking a career-best payday of $684,684 and the trophy. It was the first WPT for the three-time ring winner, pushing his tournament earnings past $1.5 million.
The $25,800 WPT Alpha 8 event saw an elite 111-entry field, generating a total prize pool of $2,775,00, paid out to the top 13 players. Naz Ajez entered the final table with over 116 BBs followed by Travis Egbert. Both players ended up facing each other at the heads-up after Noel Rodriguez was eliminated in 3rd place.
Just before the heads-up kicked off, Azej and Egbert opted for a heads-up deal, splitting the remaining payouts to fight for the title and trophy. The final hand saw Egbert winning the heads-up with a set of aces, eliminating Azej out in runner-up place. Azej took home a massive $600,000 for his runner-up finish, while Egbert took home his first-ever WPT title.
Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Travis Egbert | $684,684* |
| 2nd | Naj Ajez | $600,000* |
| 3rd | Noel Rodriguez | $345,488 |
| 4th | Sam Soverel | $253,219 |
| 5th | Brock Wilson | $190,781 |
| 6th | Jun Obara | $145,688 |
| 7th | Sean Winter | $115,856 |
| 8th | Igor Kurganov | $94,350 |
| 9th | Shannon Shorr | $79,088 |
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Image Credit: WPT & WSOP
