Chad Eveslage Wins WPT Venetian for $910,370; Leads POY Race
After what was a historic final table at WPT Venetian, Chad Eveslage has become the latest player whose name will adorn the Mike Sexton Champions Cup after defeating a 1,199 player field to win $910,370.
Eveslage also picked up 1,400 points in the Player of the Year standings, overtaking WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa winner Brian Altman, WPT Online Series Main Event winner Christian Rudolph and WPT Venetian runner up Mike Liang.
"I guess I think pretty highly of myself sometimes," Eveslage told the WPT Live Updates after his win. "People better than me have played more and not won, so I'm pretty fortunate.
"This whole tournament I kept going all in and winning. I think I'm really good but anybody would have won with my luck. It feels like I'm in the Twilight Zone, where the guy is in the casino and he can't lose."
WPT Venetian Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Country | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad Eveslage | United States | $910,370 |
| 2 | Mike Liang | United States | $606,890 |
| 3 | Kyna England | United States | $448,755 |
| 4 | Tim McDermott | United States | $335,200 |
| 5 | Daniela Rodriguez | Colombia | $252,945 |
| 6 | Kitty Kuo | Taiwan | $192,855 |
Final Table Recap
Three women came into the final table hoping to become only the second female player to win an open World Poker Tour title after Ema Zajmovic in 2017.
Related: Ema Zajmovic Makes History, Wins WPT Playground
However, Kitty Kuo was heading to the exit after only a couple of orbits. Daniela Rodriguez had doubled through her on hand five, and although the Natural8 Ambassador would double herself, she was eliminated by Eveslage.
Not going to hide my sad feeling, lose JJ << ATss, I hate keeping waiting next time, but I guess I have no choice .… https://t.co/fj3Ym5PnMo
— kitty kuo (@kittykuopoker)
Despite her double, Rodriguez was the next player to go after losing a flip with pocket sixes against the big slick of Eveslage who was now well clear of the chasing pack. The last remaining female player at the final table was Kyna England, who enjoyed a memorable triple-up to stay alive, her pocket jacks holding three ways to move clear of the bottom rung.
That helped her avoid the exit door, as Tim McDermott eventually fell in fourth place at the hands of Mike Liang. This helped boost Liang's chip counts, and England was unable to battle against the two stacks of in excess of 100 big blinds.
She fell in third place after failing to crack the tens of Eveslage and the tournament was heads-up with Liang holding a slight chip lead of only six big blinds over Eveslage.
Key Hand
The key hand of the final table came in only the second hand of heads-up play between Liang and Eveslage.
The WPT Live Updates explain how in a three-bet pot the players saw a flop of J♣10♠10♥. Eveslage called a bet from Liang and the turn was the K♥. Liang bet again and Eveslage called.
The river was the 8♠ and Liang moved all in, covering his opponent. Eveslage called with Q♥9♠ for a king-high straight, beating the Q♣10♣ trips of Eveslage and taking a huge chip lead.
Despite doubling up, the 20:1 chip lead was too much for Liang to overcome and Eveslage closed out victory with pocket queens, earning himself his very first WPT title and $910,370 in prize money. Liang would have to settle for second place and $606,890.
Recent World Poker Tour Results
WPT Venetian marks the third Main Event of the WPT Season 19 after the WPT Online Series on partypoker and WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa, won by Brian Altman.
It's been a busy few months for the World Poker Tour, so why not check out this list of event recaps right here on PokerNews!
- July 2021 - Chad Eveslage Wins WPT Venetian for $910,370
- June 2021 - Reigning WPT POY Brian Altman Wins WPT Tampa for Third WPT Title
- June 2021 - Phil Ivey Wins WPT Heads-Up Poker Championship
- June 2021 - Christian Rudolph Wins WPT Online Series Main Event
- May 2021 - Brek Schutten Wins WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown
- May 2021 - Balakrishna Patur Wins the WPT L.A. Poker Classic
- May 2021 - Veerab Zakarian Wins WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open
*Lead image courtesy of the World Poker Tour/Joe Giron
Based in the United Kingdom, Will started working for PokerNews as a freelance live reporter in 2015 and joined the full-time staff in 2019. He graduated from the University of Kent in 2017 with a B.A. in German. He also holds an NCTJ Diploma in Sports Journalism.
