WSOP Main Event Finalist Looking for MSPT Venetian Success

Shawn Stroke, a 31-year-old recreational player from Long Island, New York, has put together a pretty strong run of cashes in recent years.

Stroke had a near miss on a bracelet in 2017, when he got second to William Reymond in the $365 online bracelet event for a score of $94K. He then cashed three more online bracelet events in 2019 for a total of more than $10K.

Last week, he was the second-largest stack coming into the 2020 WSOP Main Event final table, which meant he had locked up his biggest score ever, one that dwarfed even his total live cashes of $68K according to The Hendon Mob.

The mechanic has come a long way since losing his brother's bankroll as an underage player back in the day, and he soaked it all in ahead of the biggest final table of his life.

“Feels nothing less than amazing, taking it all in each day,” he said of making it to poker’s biggest stage. “I wake up and remind myself that this is real and envision myself hoisting that WSOP bracelet.”

Unfortunately for Stroke, the cards didn't go his way at the final table and he wound up bowing out in seventh place for $163,786.

Stroke stuck around Vegas after busting the WSOP Main Event and has ventured over to the Venetian to fire today's MSPT tournament.