The 2024 WPT Prime Championship is officially in the books and we have the winner. His name is Zak VanKeuren, and for his efforts, he takes come an eye-watering amount of $1,162,350.
To get across the finish line, VanKeuren had to outlast a massive field of 9,670 players, an impressive turnout that came a few hundred short of matching the last year’s record. It goes without saying that the initial $5,000,000 guarantee was blown out of the water as well.
Last year’s winner, Calvin Anderson picked up just shy of $1.4 million, but the difference doesn’t make the seven-figure payout for the winner of a $1k event any less impressive.
Massive Payday for the American
VanKeuren, who is a US player, is no stranger to tournament success. Over the span of his career, leading up to this huge moment, he managed to secure well over $500,000 in cashes.
Those are decent career earning but they fail in comparison to his latest score of $1,162,350, which he picked up for his triumph in the 2024 WPT Prime World Championship.
For VanKeuren, this is the culmination of his efforts. As he explained in the winner’s interview, he spent the last few years working with the right people to improve his game, and if results are any indicator, he’s found himself a pretty good crowd to hang with.
It was a rather dominant performance by Zak, who took credit for six out of total eight eliminations during yesterday’s final table. A mandatory occasional setback or two were not enough to prevent him from realizing his poker dream.
It is the best end to an already great poker year for VanKeuren. Happy about the big win that will allow him to invest into himself and make significant improvements in his day-to-day life, he’s aware that winning massive tournaments is not a given by any stretch.
VanKeuren is aware that the best you can do is play the poker hands you’re dealt and take the good with the bad. So many things have to come together for someone to outlast close to ten thousand other players, but this was his moment, and he did not let it slip.
WPT World Championship Fever Continues
One of the big tournaments is in the books, but the action is still heating up at the Wynn. Several events are underway right now, including the big $5M freeroll, which will see its final nine players come back today to play it down to the winner.
The WPT Ladies Championship is down the final few tables, and with 485 entries, the tournament has massively shattered its $250,000 guarantee.
The first starting flight of the $10k WPT World Championship saw an impressive number of 751 entries, and today’s Day 1B will likely outperform that number.
Zac VanKeuren, the WPT Prime champion, will be getting into the mix in the big one tomorrow for Day 1C. While his quest for poker glory continues, he’ll take a brief timeout to celebrate his momentous win with those closest to him and recharge batteries before jumping back into the action.
It will be another exciting day at the Wynn, but the focus will most certainly be on the ClubWPT Gold freeroll, which will make one of the remaining nine players a millionaire in a few hours’ time!
