$5,000 Voyage Championship
Day 1 Completed
2024 WPT Voyage
$5,000 Voyage Championship
Day: 1
The first-ever WPT Voyage is in the books, and the fun times in the Caribbean on board the Valiant Lady are now a distant memory.
While there were plenty of non-poker highlights — including a pajama party, tennis and golf outings and pickleball lessons from Vince Van Patten — it was the poker tournaments that brought hundreds of grinders on board. And while most of of those players went home with seashells as souvenirs, a handful of them were fortunate enough to leave with a WPT trophy in their travel bags.
One of the biggest winners of the weeklong Voyage was Aram Oganyan, who took down the $5,000 buy-in WPT Voyage Championship for $203,845 after a three-way chop with Carlo Basurto (2nd - $202,885) and Austin Srur (3rd - $188,670). Meanwhile, Brazil's Gregory De Faria shipped the $1,100 WPT Voyage Prime Championship outright for $155,400.
The $1,100 buy-in WPT Prime Voyage Championship attracted 968 runners over three starting flights before surviving players returned for Day 2 to compete for a share of a $968,000 prize pool. When the dust settled, Brazil’s Gregory De Faria finished as the last player standing to claim the title and $155,400 first-place prize.
Throughout the event, which took place on the Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady, the World Poker Tour (WPT) live reporting team of Liam Gannon, Mike Patrick, BJ Nemeth and Mickey Doft were on-hand to capture all the action.
During that time, they caught some either interesting or game-changing hands. Check out five of them below.
“This is a Disaster”
On Day 1a in Level 14 (2,500/5,000/5,000), a player opened for 12,000 and Trent Boudreau called from the hijack. The small blind called and then Jeff Platt moved all in for 98,000 from the big blind. The original raiser jammed over the top, Boudreau called to put both players at risk, and the small blind got out of the way.
Jeff Platt: K♥J♥
Original Raiser: J♦J♠
Trent Boudreau: A♠K♠
“This is a disaster,” Platt said upon discovering between his two opponents he was drawing thin. Indeed, the poker commentator watched helplessly as the board ran out 4♠10♠8♣7♠7♣ to give Boudreau the double elimination.
Fortunately for Platt, he reentered a different flight and went on to finish the tournament in 108th place for $2,000.
Holloway’s Rollercoaster Ride
On Day 1b in Level 12 (1,500/3,000/3,000), PokerNews Podcast host Chad Holloway got his stack of 103,000 all in preflop and was racing against Michael Wang.
Chad Holloway: A♦K♠
Michael Wang: Q♦Q♥
It was a classic flip, and Holloway took a big lead when the A♠J♣2♠ flop delivered him a pair of aces. Neither the J♣ turn nor 4♣ river changed a thing and Holloway shipped a big double.
In the very next hand, a middle-position player raised to 10,000 and Holloway just called from the big blind with the 9♠9♦. He then checked top set on the 9♥7♣2♠ flop and smooth called when his opponent bet 14,000.
On the A♥ turn, Hellmuth checked for a second time and then snap-called when the middle-position player moved all in for 43,000. The middle-position player was drawing dead with the K♣10♣ and Holloway pulled in another nice pot when the 8♣ completed the board on the river.
Unfortunately, Holloway’s stack dwindled and in Level 17 (5,000/10,000/10,000) he shoved his last 90,000 from the button with the K♥4♠ and was called by the K♣Q♥ of Jeff Farnes in the big blind.
Holloway was dominated and left drawing thin when the Q♠Q♦6♠ flop gave Farnes trip queens. The 3♦ turn left Holloway drawing dead and he was eliminated short of the money after the meaningless 7♦ was put out on the river.
Robin Poker’s Boat on a Boat
On Day 1c in Level 2 (200/300/300), PokerNews Ambassador Lukas “Robin Poker” Robinson and two other players were on the turn with around 8,000 in the pot and a board reading K♥K♦Q♦6♦. Two checks saw Robinson bet 3,000 from the hijack and only Bartley Dowling called from the small blind.
When the 10♥ appeared on the river, Dowling checked and Robinson bet 10,000. Dowling called only to muck when Robinson rolled over the K♣Q♥ for a full house.
Robinson went deep but in Level 16 (4,000/8,000/8,000) he moved all in for 65,000 holding the K♣10♠ on the button and Darrell Floyd called from the small blind with the A♥Q♠. The board ran out Q♦Q♣2♠3♦10♦ and that was all she wrote for the Game of Gold star.
Game of Gold’s Olga Ousted
Speaking of Game of Gold stars, Olga Iermolcheva was on the WPT Voyage and made Day 2 of the Prime tournament. In Level 18 (6,000/12,000/12,000), she found herself all in for approximately 200,000 and up against WPT Prime World Championship winner Calvin Anderson.
Olga Iermolcheva: A♥5♥
Calvin Anderson: A♠7♠
Both players held an ace but Iermolcheva had a kicker problem. Unfortunately for her, it didn’t get resolved as the board ran out 8♣6♥2♠6♣3♣ to send her out in 19th place for $2,000.
Big One for the Eventual Champ
With 44 players remaining on Day 2 in Level 22 (15,000/30,000/30,000), Zoltan Lanszki raised to 60,000 from middle position and then called off for 640,000 after Gregory De Faria moved all in for 690,000 from the button.
Zoltan Lanszki: A♥K♣
Gregory De Faria: A♠Q♠
Lanszki got it in as a heavy favorite and maintained the lead on the J♦4♠3♥ flop. Unfortunately for him, the running 7♠ turn and 9♠ river gave De Faria a runner-runner flush. Lanszki finished in 44th place for $4,500 while that hand helped De Faria on his way to winning the whole thing!
*Images courtesy of WPT.
The WPT Voyage $5,000 Main Event attracted 293 runners, and after three long days of play it was Aram Oganyan who came out on top for $214,245 after a three-way deal with Carlo Basurto and Austin Srur.
The tournament was a fun one taking place on the high seas on Virgin Voyages’ Valiant Lady. Between Days 1 and 2, there was even a stop at George Town in the Cayman Islands. Throughout the event, the World Poker Tour (WPT) live reporting team of BJ Nemeth and Mickey Doft were on hand to capture all the action.
During that time, they caught some either interesting or game-changing hands. Check out five of them below.
Popular Brazilian Blogger Busts One
On Day 1 in Level 10 (1,000/2,000/2,000), WPT champions Club member Matthew Wantman raised to 4,500 and Brazilian vlogger Romulo Dorea three-bet to 13,000 from the cutoff before Kayvan Payman four-bet jammed for 50,000 from the small blind.
Wantman got out of the way but Dorea wasted little time in calling with the A♥Q♥, which was behind the K♣K♠ of Payman. The Q♦9♠6♣ flop gave Dorea a little help, but it was the A♠ on the turn that gave him the lead.
The 2♥ river was no help to Payman, and the pot was pushed to Dorea, who was recently interviewed by Lance Bradley in this feature article on WPT’s website.
PokerNews Reporter Done in By WPT World Champion
On Day 1 in Level 8 (600/1,200/1,200), PokerNews Podcast host Chad Holloway moved all in for 15,200 from the button only to have reigning WPT World Champion Dan Sepiol, who won $5.3 million at the Wynn Las Vegas last December, call from the small blind.
Holloway held the A♥6♥ but was behind the A♠8♣. The K♥Q♦J♣ flop made a chop likely, and indeed the 9♦ turn meant the two would split the pot if neither paired their kicker on the river. Well, this is the WPT World Champ we’re talking about, so it only made sense the 8♥ spiked on the river to give Sepiol the win, which he put to good use by making it all the way to fifth place in the tournament.
Check out the WPT Hub on PokerNews here!
The Rise and Fall of a Bearded Russell Thomas
On Day 1 in Level 12 (1,500/3,000/3,000), former WSOP November Niner Russell Thomas raised to 6,000 from the cutoff and then called when Jesse Lonis three-bet jammed for 65,000.
Russell Thomas: 9♠9♣
Jesse Lonis: A♠J♦
It was a flip and the proverbial coin came down in Thomas’ favor after the board ran out 8♠8♦5♥5♣6♠ to dispatch Lonis.
Five levels later in Level 17 (5,000/10,000/10,000), it was Thomas moving all in from middle position for 40,000 and Sepiol three-bet to 70,000 from the hijack to clear the field. Thomas tabled the K♠J♦ and was looking to get there against the A♣9♦ of Sepiol.
That proved easier said than done though as the board ran out 10♦7♠5♣8♥10♠ to send Thomas to the rail.
WPT Ambassador Andrew Neeme Makes a Deep Run
On Day 2 in Level 21 (15,000/25,000/25,000), WPT Ambassador and vlogging godfather Andrew Neeme was in the big blind and checked a flop of K♠9♣4♦, which opened the door for Farid Jattin to bet 50,000 from early position.
Neeme called and then checked the J♥. Jattin bet 140,000, Neeme called, and the K♦ completed the board on the river. Neeme checked for a third time and Jattin moved all in. Neeme called off for 470,000 with the A♥A♦, but it was no good as Jattin rolled over the K♣5♣ for trips to crack Neeme’s pocket aces and send him out the door in 19th place for $17,000.
ClubWPT Regular Josh Guindon Finishers in 11th Place
Also, on Day 2 in Level 23 (20,000/40,000/40,000), ClubWPT and Stream Team Regular Josh Guindon called from the small blind before Sepiol moved all in from the big. Guindon called off for 650,000 with the A♥K♥ and was primed to double against the Q♣6♣ of Sepiol.
However, the 9♠8♣7♠ flop gave Sepiol both straight and flush draws, while the 9♦ turn added some chop outs. Unfortunately for Guindon, the 3♣ river gave Sepiol a club flush and ended the ClubWPT regular’s run in 11th place for $24,000. Not too shabby given Guindon came on the cruise after winning a seat into the WPT Prime Voyage Championship and opted to buy into the Main Event as well.
*Images courtesy of WPT.
The $1,100 buy-in, $500K GTD WPT Prime Voyage Championship attracted 968 runners over a trio of starting flights, and on Thursday 122 players returned to action. They were already in the money competing for a share of a $968,000 prize pool, and after a long day of play, it was Brazil’s Gregory De Faria emerging victorious to capture the title and $155,400 first-place prize, which included a $10,400 seat into the season-ending WPT World Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas.
Before the win, De Faria had just $14,062 in lifetime tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob with a prior career-best of just $3,930 for finishing 22nd in the 2022 Kings Series of Poker Special (KSOP) in Baleário Camboriú.
WPT Voyage Prime Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gregory De Faria | $155,400 |
| 2 | Trent Hopper | $97,000 |
| 3 | Nico Betbese | $72,000 |
| 4 | Brandon Takao | $54,000 |
| 5 | Brian Monigold | $41,000 |
| 6 | Allison Hollander | $31,000 |
| 7 | Gustavo Carmona | $24,000 |
| 8 | Lukas Zaskodny | $18,500 |
Others to cash the tournament were Darren Rabinowitz (10th - $14,600), Maria Scardaville (13th - $10,700), Brian Green (17th - $9,100), Jesse Sylvia (19th - $9,100), Nancy Birnbaum (24th - $6,400), Larry Ormson (42nd - $4,500), Calvin Anderson (55th - $3,800), Josh Reichard (58th - $3,200), Princess Love (61st - $3,200), and Ethan Yau (71st - $2,700).
According to WPT Live Updates, Princess Love fell in Level 20 (10,000/20,000/20,000) after Oliver Jarny raised to 50,000 from the hijack with pocket tens and then called when Princess Love three-bet jammed for 100,000 with queen-jack suited. It was a race but Jarny’s pocket pair held strong to put an end to Love’s run.
Similarly, Birnbaum busted in Level 24 (25,000/50,000/50,000) in a race situation after getting it all in with ace-queen of spades and failing to get there against the pocket jacks of Brian Monigold.
The elimination of 2013 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champ Ryan Riess in ninth place for $14,600 established the final table of eight with Nico Betbese and De Faria sitting atop the counts by a decent margin.
WPT's Vince Van Patten Teaches Poker Players Pickelball in the Cayman Islands
Final Table Action
On Hand #12 of the final table, Lukas Zaskodny lost a flip with pocket jacks to the ace-queen of Brandon Takao making him the first casualty. Not long after on Hand #17, Gustavo Carmona was next to go after calling off on the river with a queen-high straight only to see De Faria tabled a king-high straight.
Fan favorite Allison Hollander, who many players know for her work at bestbet Jacksonville, took her leave in Level 30 (100,000/200,000/200,000) on Hand #28 when she got her short stack all in with king-queen and was up against Takao’s ace-seven suited. Hollander failed to get there and had to settle for sixth place, good for $31,000 in prize money.
It took a while for the next elimination to occur but it came on Hand #68 when Monigold got his stack all in with two red sevens and lost a flip to Trent Hopper’s ace-queen suited. In the very next hand, Takao followed him out the door in fourth place losing ace-deuce to Hopper’s pocket queens, and just four hands later Betbese bowed out in third his king-jack being pipped by the ace-jack of De Faria.
De Faria held a slim chip lead headed into heads-up play, and the two would battle for more than 50 hands! On Hand #131, which took place in Level 34 (250,000/500,000/500,000), De Faria had opened up a lead and moved all in with queen-nine of hearts and Hopper called off with king-six offsuit. The board ran out with three hearts and Hopper officially finished as runner-up while De Faria claimed the title and $155,400 first-place prize.
While tournament play at the WPT Voyage has ended, Friday will see sailors enjoy a day at Bimini in The Bahamas where a player party will take place at Virgin Voyages’ private beach club. Upon returning to the Valiant Lady, players will have the opportunity for one last night of cash games before returning to Miami for disembarkation on Saturday morning.
*Images courtesy of WPT.
The WPT Voyage kicked off earlier this week with a pajama-themed meet-up game and some tournament action in the form of a $2,200 buy-in Turbo No-Limit Hold'em event. That event drew 86 entries, including resident crusher Jesse Lonis and content creator Ben Ludlow, for a prize pool of $197,800.
Ludlow was among the 11 players who cashed the event, finishing in tenth place for $5,576 after the elimination of Michael Wang, who received the same payout. But it was Taylor von Kriegenbergh who came out on top to win the trophy and $58,319 after a heads-up battle with Daniel Neilson, who earned $38,878 for his runner-up finish.
Others at the final table included Americans David Moses (8th - $6,740), Matthew Wantman (4th - $18,537) and Corel Theuma (3rd - $26,358), as well as Brazil's Ueberton De Aquino (6th - $10,293) and Germany's Niko Koop (7th - $8,152).
WPT Voyage $2,200 Turbo NLH Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | United States | $58,319 | |
| 2 | Daniel Neilson | United States | $38,878 | |
| 3 | Corel Theuma | United States | $26,358 | |
| 4 | Matthew Wantman | United States | $18,537 | |
| 5 | Eduardo Gil | United States | $13,542 | |
| 6 | Ueberton De Aquino | Brazil | $10,293 | |
| 7 | Niko Koop | Germany | $8,152 | |
| 8 | David Moses | United States | $6,740 | |
| 9 | Aram Oganyan | United States | $5,829 |
*Photos courtesy WPT
Dozens of poker players on board the WPT Voyage got a special experience on Tuesday, April 2 when the Valiant Lady set up shop on the shore of Grand Cayman in the Caribbean. Those poker players became pickleball grinders as they received lessons from WPT commentator Vince Van Patten, a former tennis pro who made the transition to professional pickleball.
Van Patten, whose pickleball prowess was highlighted by Sports Illustrated last month, was joined by pickleball champion Mattias Johannson for two separate sessions of the popular sport on the balmy Cayman Islands with plenty of palm trees bordering the courts.
There was never a doubt the historic World Poker Tour (WPT) World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas would return in 2024. But now we have official series dates for what will be one of the biggest events in poker history.
The series, now in its third year, is scheduled to run Dec. 3-20 at the luxurious Las Vegas Strip resort.
“We are ecstatic to continue our partnership with the World Poker Tour for the third consecutive year,” said Ryan Beauregard, executive director of poker operations at Wynn Las Vegas. “Over the coming months, we'll work diligently to craft an event schedule poker players from all over the world won’t want to miss.”
World Poker Tour Season XXII will conclude with the third annual WPT World Championship. The full schedule isn't out yet, but expect the biggest events to return such as the WPT Prime Championship and WPT World Championship.
WPT Season XXII Second Half Schedule
Recapping the 2023 WPT World Championship
Last December was not only a historic month for the World Poker Tour, but also poker in general. The series at Wynn attracted 33,712 entries and paid out more than $100 million.
That included the biggest event of them all, the $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship, the first ever $40 million guaranteed poker tournament. Dan Sepiol beat out a field of 3,835 entrants to win $5.3 million, capping off one of the most memorable series in poker history.
But that was far from the only major tournament during the series. Take, for example, the $1,100 buy-in WPT Prime Championship that attracted a World Poker Tour record 10,512 entries, generating a prize pool north of $10 million. Calvin Anderson was the last player standing in that massive field, and received nearly $1.4 million.
The WPT Ladies Championship, also an $1,100 buy-in event, was conquered by Lisa Costello for $85,297, who beat out 457 entrants. This year's series figures to be just as big, if not bigger, and World Poker Tour CEO Adam Pliska is already excited.
“With great pride, we unveil the festival dates for the highly anticipated 2024 WPT World Championship,” Pliska said. “The tradition continues as we enter our third year alongside the incredible Wynn Las Vegas team, so mark your calendars in preparation for what is sure to be another memorable December.”