Youngster's $25K Gamble Pays Off with WPT Alpha 8 Victory ($684,684)

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Dec 19, 2024 5 min read Last updated Dec 20, 2024

While Day 4 of the World Poker Tour World Championship captured most of the attention, a quieter but equally intense showdown unfolded at Wynn Las Vegas. The $25,800 WPT Alpha 8, the highest buy-in event of the WPT World Championships, played out without live streams or big crowds—just an elite group of players focused on the game.

For these top-tier luminaries, it wasn’t about fanfare. It was about closing out 2024 with one last shot at glory, battling some of the sharpest minds in poker for a year-ending triumph and taking the largest slice from the $2,775,000 prize pool.

After Noel Rodriguez left third place, Travis Egbert and Naj Ajez briefly laid down their metaphorical swords and shields and came to a truce, agreeing to a deal where each player banked $600,000. This left $84,684, and the Alpha 8 trophy up for grabs and a swift heads-up duel saw Egbert walk away as the unwounded gladiator.

A $25K field was uncharted territory for Egbert, whose bread-and-butter is found in the mid-stakes streets. Despite the inexperience in poker's upper echelons, the 24 year-old was far from being considered dead money. Two WSOP Circuit Main Event victories and a third place in the WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event in 2024 proved he could punch above his weight.

"I think just experience," Egbert shared when talking about what's made things click in 2024. "I've been playing for a few years now. So, as the experience keeps building, I feel more and more comfortable. I think that's pretty much it."

With the victory, Egbert also earned 450 WPT Player of the Festival points, enough to send him to the top of the leaderboard.

Egbert entered heads-up with around a 3:2 chip lead and opted to give Ajez more prize money than an ICM deal would have allowed. Originally, the payouts were set at $787,959 for first and $496,725 for second. By agreeing to the deal, Egbert forfeited an additional $100K he could have secured by holding firm. However, he told PokerNews that he had no regrets about sacrificing a bit of equity.

"I'm happy. I think it was the smart decision for me because obviously, it's just a lot of money. It doesn't matter how rich you are. Like $300,000 for heads up match, which is too much for me, honestly."

With such a fantastic year on the tournament circuit, one would forgive Egbert for having his head in the clouds, but he's taking a cautious approach regardless of the results he's posted

"Definitely keeping my feet on the ground." said Egbert. "I'm not going to do anything too crazy. I'll probably play a couple Aria studio ones [high rollers]. Other than that, I'm going to keep playing at Thunder Valley and coming here and the WSOP in the summer."

$25,800 WPT Alpha 8 Final Table Results

* Indicates heads-up deal.

Final Day Action

Just 22 competitors made it through Wednesday's opening session, with Shannon Shorr leading the pack after he bagged 2,890,000 (72 big blinds). Payouts were reserved for top 13 players, and the bubble edged nearer after the likes of Nicholas Seward, Thomas Boivin and 2024 WPT Seminole Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open Championship winner Dylan Smith fell by the wayside.

Boivin's exit set up the stone bubble, and a familiar face was at risk of leaving empty-handed.

2015 World Series of Poker Main Event champion Joe McKeehen, who pocketed $120K after winning a side event at the WPTWC, was all-in and at risk for his last three big blinds after making his move with queen-ten from the button. Poker Hall of Famer Brian Rast called with the dominating king-queen from the small blind and the cards went on their backs. Rast paired his king on the flop to leave McKeehen drawing thin. A nine on the turn brought in a gutshot draw for the Poker World Champ, but the river failed to bring in a jack, and McKeehen's departure ensured each remaining player $63,548.

Alexandros Kolonias was the first player to depart in the money, with Rast once again being the eliminator. Igor Kurganov downed Ed Sebesta in twelfth ahead of Naj Ajez rivering two pair against Shorr to take the chip lead with 11 players remaining.

Travis Egbert flopped trip deuces to down Justin Chu. Egbert's hot form continued and Rast was next in his crosshairs. Rast's ace-nine went into the muck after he shoved preflop and Egbert called with pocket nines. Rast was drawing dead on the turn after Egbert hit the case nine in the deck to bring around the final table.

Shorr was the first final table casualty, running queens into Egbert's aces, catapulting him to 5,900,000 chips.

Kurganov, who spoke to PokerNews on Wednesday and shared the story of how a heads-up match between Phil Hellmuth and tech mogul Elon Musk nearly took place, bowed out in eighth at the hands of Ajez. The latter found a three-outer to leapfrog theace-king held by Russia's All-Time Money List leader.

The contenders breathed a sigh of relief when high roller crusher Sean Winter was sent to the wrong side of the rail by Ajez in seventh and the Australian completed his final table hat-trick, flipping out Jun Obara in sixth.

Leaving in fifth was Brock Wilson. He was forced all-in from the small blind. Wilson's jack-ten little hope as Sam Soverel woke up with queens in the big blind and held out to score the bustout.

The sun-run for Ajez continued, and Soverel was the next victim. Soverel's Big Slick was no good on an ace-high board as Ajez flopped a set of nines.

At three-handed play, Egbert took the reigns, winning consecutive three-bet pots off Ajez. Egbert held more than half the chips in play with the rest shared between Ajez and Noel Rodriguez. Egbert left Rodriguez on fumes after getting value on the turn and river with trip nines. Ajez took Rodriguez's last few big blinds a few hands later and the stage was set-up for a heads-up showdown.

After an extended negotiation over the payouts, the duo returned to their seats, only for the heads-up battle to conclude in less time than the deal-making process itself. Egbert picked up aces and put his opponent all-in on the A♣ river. Ajez called and then quickly mucked, saying he had queen-ten.

With that, Egbert earned his third major title of the year, and his cashes eclipsing the $1 million mark. It was another career-defining moment, and one he'll no doubt hope to repeat countless times in 2025.

Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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