The Road to Victory
This year's championship attracted a total of 1,865 entries, creating a massive prizepool of $18,277,000, with the winner set to receive a $2.5 million reward. Entering the final day as the massive chipleader was Soheb Porbandarwala, the only player at the table with a previous WPT title. Porbandarwala held nearly half of all chips, more than doubling the count of the second-place Thornton. However, Thornton quickly erased this deficit.
He gradually eliminated each of his opponents at the final table. First, he knocked out Maxx Coleman in 6th place, then sent Jeremy Becker packing, and continued his dominance by eliminating Chad Lipton in 4th place.
Jeremy Brown took 3rd place when his J d 8 c ran into Thornton's 4 s 4 h. Although the board 8 h 4 c 3 h 5 s 3 s provided him two pairs, Thornton secured a full house, tightening his lead over Soheb.
The Deal and Flash Finish
As heads-up play began, Thornton and Porbandarwala agreed on a deal, playing for around $129,000, the title, and a ticket to next year's event.
The final duel was surprisingly one-sided. Thornton quickly secured a massive pot with a set of aces, gaining a 5:1 chip lead.
This game marked the beginning of an incredible streak, as he won 12 hands in a row, completely disarming his opponent. He capped off the series with the final hand of the tournament. Thornton called his opponent's all-in with A h K s against Porbandarwala's A h 6 h. Despite the K c 5 h 4 h flop giving Porbandarwala a flush draw, the turn T s and river T d didn't help, and Thornton sealed his victory with two pairs.
Schuyler Thornton's final table performance was like a runaway steamroller. Facing a significant chip disadvantage at first, once he gained momentum, he steamrolled over every obstacle on his path to the title. Thornton's career live earnings now exceed $4 million, and his name will forever be engraved on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
WPT World Championship Final Table Results:
|
Position |
Player |
Country |
Winnings |
|
1. |
Schuyler Thornton |
USA |
$2,258,856* |
|
2. |
Soheb Porbandarwala |
USA |
$1,969,344 |
|
3. |
Jeremy Brown |
USA |
$1,250,000 |
|
4. |
Chad Lipton |
USA |
$940,000 |
|
5. |
Jeremy Becker |
USA |
$710,000 |
|
6. |
Maxx Coleman |
USA |
$540,000 |
* The winning prize includes a $10,400 entry to next year's championship.
Sources: WPT, Flickr, YouTube
