The 2024 WPT World Championship at the Wynn has just wrapped up, bringing a host of stories about big winners, intense moments, and, perhaps more than anything, re-kindled love for live poker action.
Hallways and ballrooms of Wynn/Encore were once again filled to the capacity with eager poker players of all shapes and sizes, from seasoned veterans of the game to those who were playing their very first live tournament.
Stealing the show was Scott Stewart, who took home the WPT World Championship title after a grueling heads-up battle. But there are many other stories worth telling, including that of Chris Moorman, who managed to make the final table of this event two years in a row, and ended up finishing fourth both times.
You can read the full recap of the festival below, highlighting all of the biggest moments that marked this December at the Wynn.
2024 WPT World Championship Highlights
| Event | Entries | Winner | 1st Place Prize |
| $1,100 WPT Prime Championship | 9,670 | Zak VanKeuren | $1,162,350 |
| $5M ClubWPT Gold Invitational Freeroll | 1,457 | Chase Bricker | $1,000,000 |
| $1,100 WPT Ladies Championship | 485 | Tirza Sanders | $90,432 |
| $25,800 WPT Alpha 8 Championship | 111 | Travis Egbert | $684,684 |
| $3k NL | 1,570 | Adam Hendrix | $618,365 |
| $10,400 WPT World Championship | 2,392 | Scott Stewart | $2,563,900 |
Scott Stewart’s Name Added to the Mike Sexton Cup
Following over eight hours of play, Scott Stewart managed to outlast the other five of his final table opponents to claim the victory in the 2024 WPT World Championship.
The action at the final table kicked off in high gear, with two players eliminated within the first few hands, and it looked like it would be a short day.
Not long after, Chris Moorman, who was making back-to-back appearances on the Championship final table was eliminated as well. With that, he matched the last year’s result, finishing in fourth place once again.
After this, things slowed down a bit, and it took a while to get to the final stage. Eventually, though, Eddie Pak, the chip leader to start the day was sent to the rail, and it got down to two: Rob Sherwood and Scott Stewart.
Stewart started the finals skirmish as a two-to-one chip leader, but Rob was a tough nut to crack, and he was able to get right back into the game. From that point on, it was a long and grueling battle of fairly even stacks.
After a lot of back and forth, it was eventually Stewart who emerged victorious, finally winning a decisive pot to leave his opponent with just a few blinds, only to finish the job a couple of hands later.
| Position | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Scott Stewart | $2,563,900 |
| 2nd | Rob Sherwood | $2,200,000 |
| 3rd | Eddie Pak | $2,000,000 |
| 4th | Chris Moorman | $1,150,000 |
| 5th | Ryan Yu | $875,000 |
| 6th | Christian Roberts | $665,000 |
WPT Prime Championship Featuring Huge Field Once More
The WPT Prime Championship attracted a mind-boggling number of entries. With 9,670 registrations, it shattered the $5M guarantee and it came close to breaking the last year’s five-figure record.
Despite WSOP Paradise and EPT Prague happening during the same time frame, the tournament was pretty much filled to capacity. This meant that the eventual winner of this $1,100 event would walk away with a seven-figure payday.
It took several days of play to reveal the name of that winner, but when all the hands were dealt, and chips had stopped flying, it was Zak VanKeuren standing tall, pocketing $1,162,350 for his tremendous run in the 2024 WPT Prime Championship.
VanKeuren put on quite a show during the final table, eliminating six of eight remaining players to book by far the biggest score of his poker career.
Chase Bricker Wins a Life-Changing Amount in a Freeroll
The ClubWPT Gold Invitational Freeroll was certainly one of the biggest highlights of this year’s WPT World Championship festival. The tournament featured a prize pool of $5,000,000 and it dished out entries for 2,000 players for free via different promotions prior to and during the festival.
Naturally, not all of those appeared, so in the end, it was a field of 1,457 players, which made the tournament that much more valuable. Of those who turned up to play, 503 made money, picking up at least $1,000.
On top of regular prizes, there were many additional ones up for grabs, including mystery bounties and 100 entries to the $10,400 WPT World Championship.
However, it was the top prize that everyone was talking about, as the winner of this freeroll was going to take home $1,000,000, and once the final table kicked off, the heat was truly on. Pay jumps were big and the gap between even the fourth and the first place finish was massive.
While none of the players were eager to bust, one by one, they were sent to the rail until one man, Chase Bricker, was left holding all the chips in play. Although he says he’s not a full-time pro, this most recent win might entice him to reconsider that position.
Year-Turning Victory for Tirza Sanders in the WPT Ladies Championship
The 2024 WPT Ladies Championship was another tournament that exceeded expectations. The organizers put on a very respectable guarantee of a quarter of a million, but that guarantee was almost doubled thanks to an impressive turnout of 485 entries.
Not surprisingly, the event saw some of the best ladies in the game throw their hats into the mix, looking to capture the title and the $90k payday.
Despite very tough competition, it was actually Tirza Sanders who emerged victorious when it was all said and done. Sanders, who said in a winner’s interview that 2024 was a rough year in terms of poker, managed to turn things around at the last minute, picking up $90,432 for her largest career cash.
Travis Egbert Dominates the Tough Field in the WPT Alpha8 Championship
The $25,800 buy-in Alpha 8 event was the one reserved for high rollers and, naturally, attracted some of the best players around. In the end, there were 111 entries, creating a prize pool just shy of $2.8 million.
Putting up $25k on the line for the privilege to compete for the first place of $684k were many big names, including the likes of Igor Kurganov, Sam Sovrel, Shannon Shorr, and Sean Winter – and these are just the ones that made the final table.
It goes without saying that all of these, as well as many others who joined the action, are no strangers to high-roller events and big buy-in tournaments. However, seizing the day was Travis Egbert, coming on the heels of several victories in WSOPC events in 2024, albeit with much smaller buy-ins.
Although Egbert isn’t what you’d describe as a high roller, he’s certainly a proper grinder with great poker skills, and those skills came in handy on his path to victory in the extremely difficult WPT Alpha8 Championship.
The 2024 WPT World Championship Wraps Another Year of Poker
With the conclusion of the 2024 WPT World Championship at the Wynn, we can draw a line under this year as far as live poker is concerned.
Wrapping things up with such a big and successful festival is certainly a good way to say goodbye to 2024 and start looking towards 2025, where many more fun and exciting events await.
For now, though, players can take a well-deserved break, before the action returns in full swing in a few weeks’ time.
