Scott Stewart is the winner of the 2024 WPT World Championship. The last man standing from the massive field of 2,392 entries, Stewart picks up $2,563,900 and his name will be etched into the legendary Mike Sexton Cup, alongside some of the biggest poker legends.
It was a long road to victory for Stewart, although, unlike yesterday’s penultimate day, the action started off fast and furious at the final table, with three players eliminated in quick succession.
It was clear from the get-go that all six had their eyes set on the prize and there’d be no punches pulled. This resulted in the final table quickly getting down to three, who went on to make a deal and restructure the payouts, making sure each of them took home at least $2,000,000.
Although it looked like it could be a short day here at the Wynn, once the play got to heads-up, things slowed down, with Rob Sherwood and Scott Stewart exchanging pots and taking turns for the chip lead.
This is how it all went down!
2024 WPT World Championship Final Standings
| Finishing 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 |
Quick Exit for Christian Roberts
It was a very short final table for Christian Roberts, who barely had enough time to get comfortable in his seat before being eliminated just four hands in.
Roberts picked up A♠Q♠ in the cutoff and proceeded to 3-bet Scott Stewart’s hijack open. After taking a moment, Stewart moved all-in and Roberts quickly called, only to be delivered the bad news as Scott woke up with A♥A♦.
Christian needed a lot of help and the flop produced some, as he picked up a flush draw. However, turn and river bricked out, ending his run at a WPT Champion title. For his efforts, though, he picked up $665,000.
Ryan Yu Follows
On the very next hand, Ryan Yu moved all-in over the raise from Chris Moorman. Then Eddie Pak in the big blind came over the top, which was more than enough to get rid of Moorman.
Yu held pocket nines, which is a decent enough hand to attack a big stack raise, but Pak woke up with a monster in a form of A♣K♦. Still, Ryan was in a decent spot with his pocket pair, and just needed to hold.
That final part didn’t quite work out, though, as the flop came A♦K♠J♣, leaving him dead to two outs. The A♠ on the turn sealed the deal, completing a full house for Pak, and Ryan Yu was ousted in fifth, picking up $875,000.
History Repeats Itself for Chris Moorman
Last year, Chris Moorman was in this very spot, sitting at the final table of the WPT World Championship, looking to close the deal, but he couldn’t make it past the fourth place. This year, he was looking for some vengeance, but poker gods clearly have a strange sense of humor, as Moorman finished the tournament with the same exact result.
Before his final hand, Chris lost a big pot when his pocket sixes came up short against pocket queens of Rob Sherwood. Moorman even rivered a six to give him a set, but it was inconsequential, as Sherwood found a queen on the flop to make the rest of the runout virtually non-important.
A few hands later, Moorman got into a raising war with Eddie Pak, which ended with Chris 4-betting to 9.1 million from the cutoff and Pak calling from the small blind.
The rest of the money went in on the flop of J♣J♦7♦, and Moorman was looking great to double up with pocket queens against Pak’s pocket tens. However, ladies were not kind to Chris at this final table as a miracle 10♣ made an appearance on the turn, all but locking the hand up for Pak.
The board ended with the irrelevant 3♥, and once again, Chris Moorman’s run was abruptly ended. He cashes for $1,150,000 and a hope that the next year he can maybe do it all over again and avoid bad beats and coolers when it matters the most.
Rearranging the Numbers
With Moorman’s exit, the final table was down to three, and players decided to take a look at the numbers. With millions up for grabs and things changing quickly on a turn of a single card, who could blame them?
After doing some ICM calculations, a new payout structure was set in place, with everyone guaranteed to pocket at least $2,000,000, which certainly helped alleviate some of the pressure.
There was still plenty left to play for, though, as there was a $200,000 difference between the second and the third place, and over half a million separating the winner and whoever busted first.
End of Road for Eddie Pak
Eddie Pak started today with high hopes, coming in as a chip leader. However, he couldn’t quite turn that strong starting position into a victory.
His departure from the final table was courtesy of Scott Stewart who was a real force to be reckoned with, constantly putting his opponents in tough spots and not being afraid to put his chips to work.
Pak’s final hand started innocently enough, with Stewart raising from the button to 2.7 million and Pak putting in the chips to match the raise.
The flop of K♦4♦3♠ got checked through, and it looked like this wasn’t going to be a significant pot. The turn paired the bottom card, as it came 3♦. Pak check-called Scott’s 4,000,000 bet, and they proceeded to the J♦ river.
With four diamonds on the board, Pak now took over the betting lead, firing out for 11.5 million. Stewart took his time, before announcing an all-in to put Eddie Pak at risk. Pak gave it a couple of minutes, but eventually put in the calling chips with a queen-high flush, only to be shown the bad news.
Scott Stewart revealed J♠J♣, filling up on the river, signifying the end of the journey for Pak, who picked up exactly $2,000,000 for his third-place finish.
With that, it was time to set the stage up for the heads-up play, with Stewart starting as a two-to-one favorite over his last remaining opponent, Rob Sherwood.
Scott Stewart Claims the Title
Despite starting with a significant chip lead, Scott Stewart couldn't make it a quick heads-up skirmish. Instead, Rob Sherwood managed to get right back into the tournament, and from there on, it was a battle of wits, patience, and endurance.
The two exchanged blows, with pots going both directions, but no one able to quite close the deal. But, with over $300,000 hanging in the balance and the prestigious title up for grabs, there was no room for mistakes.
Eventually, with both players having nearly equal stacks, they got all the chips in the middle with Stewart holding pocket kings for a big lead over Sherwood's pocket sixes. Flop, turn, and river changed nothing, and Stewart managed a big double-up, leaving Rob with just a few big blinds.
Although Sherwood managed to double up once, he couldn't do it two times in a row, as Scott Stewart's J♣10♦ held up against 7♥3♦, and it was all over.
Stewart's rail went crazy, chanting and cheering, bringing the $10k WPT World Championship to a fitting conclusion that is definitely worth its chapter in poker history!
