Ben Hamnett is the latest name to be inscribed onto the World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship trophy, after defeating a monstrous field at the WPT Borgata Open in Atlantic City.
For his efforts, Hamnett took home a first prize of $818,847 and a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship Final to be held at the Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, in 2013.
1,181 players made the trip to New Jersey, including the likes of Jeff Williams, Kyle Bowker, Allen Cunningham, David Pham, and the WPT’s very own Tony Dunst.
112 players were guaranteed at least $7,070 for their efforts, and Bobby Oboodi, Dwyte Pilgrim, Shaw Cunix, and Steve Brecher, were amongst the WPT Champions Club members that cashed in the event.
Prior to the final table, Hamnett had earned a smidgen over $100,000 in a career stretching back as far as 2006.
His previous best showing in a WPT event was back in 2011, after picking up $37,000 for finishing in 11th place. His greatest ever cash was achieved this summer, when he finished 274th in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event for $38,453.
When the final table started, Hamnett was the second shortest stack with only Ofir Mor starting with less. But despite his position, 39 big blinds still had plenty of play, as eventually proved with Hamnett taking down the title.
The heads-up fight came down between Hamnett and Matthew Burnitz – the man who started the final table as the chip leader – and the final hand was a race between the [Kc] [Qh] of Hamnett, versus the [Jh] [Th] of Burnitz.
The [Qd] [8c] [2d] [3d] [5c] handing Hamnett a pair of queens and a place in the WPT record books.
