What a year it’s been for Travis Egbert, the Californian grinder who only started taking poker seriously in 2021, and has already won a number of prestigious titles across multiple poker tours.
Yesterday marked the crowning moment of Egbert’s career, as he lifted the World Poker Tour Alpha8 trophy at the WPT World Championship and won $684,684 in the process, the biggest payday of his life.
Egbert entered the event on the wings of a successful year that saw him win three WSOPC rings and do well in smaller buyin events at the WPT World Championship. He walked away with one of the most prestigious trophies in poker and a cash prize that will help grow his poker career to new heights.
His path to victory was not smooth either, as he faced the likes of Sean Winter, Igor Kurganov, and Sam Soverel on the final table, making the result that much more impressive.
Here is a look at the final table payouts from the $25k Alpha8 event played at the WPT World Championship festival:
| Position | Player | Payout |
| 1st | Travis Egbert | $684,684 |
| 2nd | Naj Ajez | $600,000 |
| 3rd | Noel Rodriguez | $345,488 |
| 4th | Sam Soverel | $253,219 |
| 5th | Brock Wilson | $190,781 |
| 6th | Jun Obara | $145,688 |
| 7th | Sean Winter | $115,856 |
| 8th | Igor Kurganov | $94,350 |
| 9th | Shannon Shorr | $79,088 |
Travis Egbert Takes on the High Rollers
The $25k Alpha8 event is typically one that attracts many of the game’s biggest names and high-stakes poker professionals who tend to be extremely difficult to play against.
A total of 111 players entered the event, many of them poker’s A-listers, and 19 made it through to Day 2, with Shannon Shorr leading the pack with 2,890,000 in chips.
Despite making it to top 19, the players were not yet guaranteed a payout, as the relatively small field meant only 13 would get paid, and there was more work to be done.
Egbert entered the day as one of the middling stacks with 33 big blinds, but was able to work his way up the ranks, even as he faced off against some of the best players in the game.
Despite starting the day as the chip leader, Shannon Shorr was the first player to go at the final table, as his fortunes turned and he eventually lost a 6 million chip pot with [pnc]QsQc[/pnc] to Egbert’s [/pnc] AsAd[/pnc] , which propelled Travis toward the top.
Sean Winter was the next notable to go, as his [/pnc] AdTh[/pnc] could not hold against the [/pnc] Kh7h[/pnc] of the runner-up Naj Ajez.
Soverel built some momentum through the middle of the final table and eliminated Brock Wilson in 5th, but could not win the crucial coin flip with [/pnc] AhKd[/pnc] against Ajez’ black pocket nines.
Egbert got dealt pocket aces once again shortly after and won a huge pot against Ajez and Rodriguez, which gave him a commanding lead and a chance to dominate the table until heads-up.
Once Rodriguez was eliminated by Ajez in third place, the remaining two players took a break to discuss a deal.
Egbert and Ajez Deal, but the Trophy Stays in the US
Having defeated the remaining seven players at the final table, Egbert and Ajez were now free to discuss a deal on their own terms.
Despite Ajez doing the bulk of the day’s eliminations, it was Egbert with a commanding chip lead, which meant he could leverage his stack in the deal discussions.
After a lengthy conversation, the two agreed to lock up $600k each, while leaving just north of $80k for the winner, along with the beautiful Alpha8 trophy.
Not too long after the two made the deal, Egbert would walk away a champion, as he once again got a hold of pocket aces and was able to get three streets of value from the Australian.
A rivered set of aces was enough to take down the pot, although Ajez didn’t show his hand and it remains a mystery if aces alone would have been enough to win the title.
A Dream Year for Egbert Ends in Triumph
Travis Egbert started 2024 as a mid-stakes grinder with several years of experience and limited success across various poker tours.
The year was a successful one for Egbert even before WPT World Championship started, as he was able to capture three separate WSOPC rings and his career-best score of $214,565 along the way.
He arrived in Las Vegas in late November for presumably the last poker trip of the year, and was able to run deep in several of the preliminary events, capturing a 2nd and a 3rd place in small field $1k, for just under $50k.
Little did he know that the best was yet to come, as he entered the $25k Alpha8 event, likely the biggest buyin of his career, as a final attempt to crown a successful 2024 with another major trophy.
He was able to go all the way, defeat a stacked field in one of the toughest events of the festival, and walk away with the first WPT trophy of his career.
