Lily Lotfy Wins WPT Ladies Championship for $82,636
Table Of Contents
Lily Lotfy conquered a tough final table that included crusher Esther Taylor to claim the WPT Ladies Championship title for $82,636.
The newest World Poker Tour champion outlasted a field of 445 entries at Wynn Las Vegas in the no-limit hold'em tournament, part of the WPT World Championship festival. She did so in rare fashion, by going from Day 1 chip leader to the player left standing.
Lotfy Comes Out Victorious
Lotfy, who entered the tournament with just over $300,000 in The Hendon Mob cashes, returned to action on Sunday atop the leaderboard with 53 players remaining. Her lead was quite massive over Ying Zhu, who busted in 20th placce for $3,470.
Taylor was also among the chip leaders when Day 2 began. She'd continue to battle throughout the final session, and had increased her stack a bit when the final table of nine began. But she was down to 29 big blinds. Lotfy, on the other hand, continually grew her stack on Day 2, and remained in a commanding lead.
With six players left, Taylor had fallen to the smallest stack, but she'd earn a double-up against the chip leader with a pocket pair against queen-high.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lily Lotfy | $82,636 |
| 2 | Seina Asagiri | $55,284 |
| 3 | Mandy Baker | $42,319 |
| 4 | Ayaka Muraishi | $33,150 |
| 5 | Esther Taylor | $25,652 |
| 6 | Kultida Berman | $19,525 |
Kultida Berman, who lost a race moments earlier, was eliminated in sixth place for $19,525 when her small ace couldn't outflop the slightly superior small ace held by Ayaka Muraishi.
Taylor, fresh off her 26th place finish for $32,000 in the WPT Prime Championship, then got her chips in with K♣Q♠ on a flop of K♠10♦6♥ and was well out in front of Muraishi's J♥10♥. But the latter would hit runner-runner quads and sent "E-Tay" home in fifth place for $25,652.
Muraishi's heater paid off as it brought her close in chips to Lotfy, the first time the start-of-day chip leader had really been challenged. But that all changed when Seina Asagiri doubled to take a big chunk of Muraishi's stack. All the while, Mandy Baker was building her stack and had become Lotfy's new challenger.
Muraishi then lost a race to Baker and was eliminated in fourth place for $33,150. Baker had slightly taken over the lead, right up until Lotfy hit a full house to double through her back into a massive chip lead. Baker, about a half hour later, lost a race to Lotfy, which sent her to the payout desk with a $42,319 cash for third place.
When heads-up play began between Lotfy and Asagiri, the former held a 3:1 chip advantage. One hand later, on a board of 4♠3♦2♦3♠, Asagiri was all in for her tournament life with 7♦6♦, chasing a straight or a flush draw. Her opponent held A♠2♣, a hand that would have to dodge 18 outs. The 9♥ on the river was a brick, which meant Asagiri would have to settle for second place and $55,284.
Lotfy is the third annual WPT Ladies Championship winner, joining Tirza Sanders (2024), Lisa Costello (2023), and Lina Niu (2022).
*Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour.
