Matthew Wantman Joins the WPT Champions Club on the Eve of the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions

“I started off red hot, running so good that it’s unfathomable.”

Matthew Wantman, a former chef-turned-professional poker player from Stoneham, Massachusetts, finished Day 4 of the WPT ARIA Summer Championship on a hot streak, building up a chip lead before picking up pocket aces to eliminate WPT Champions Club member Noah Schwartz in seventh place. That gave Wantman a huge lead going into today’s WPT Final Table, and his good fortune continued as he scored three more knockouts in the first 15 hands on his way to his first WPT title.

“I woke up with jacks and queens three times within 10 minutes, and knocked out a player every time,” Wantman said after his victory.

In Hand #4, Wantman’s pocket jacks held up against Ryan Laplante’s to eliminate Laplante in sixth place.

In Hand #10, Wantman’s pocket queens held up against Jim Collopy’s to eliminate Collopy in fifth place.

In Hand #15, Wantman picked up pocket queens again, and they held up against the of two-time WPT champion Kevin Eyster. Eyster hit the rail in fourth place, and just like that, half the final table was gone.

“But then things got really tough three-handed,” Wantman said, as he faced Igor Kurganov and last season’s Hublot WPT Player of the Year Art Papazyan. The average chip stack was worth 128 big blinds, and the final three players battled for more than four hours.

Photo:  Last season’s Hublot WPT Player of the Year, Art Papazyan (right), bluffed Matthew Wantman (left) in a key pot the night before, and Wantman didn’t want to face him heads up.

In Hand #155, Papazyan four-bet all in for 39 big blinds with , but Kurganov called with , and Papazyan was dominated and never caught up. Papazyan, a two-time WPT champion, earned $209,980 for his third-place finish.

“Art played really well,” said Wantman. “He bluffed the shit out of me yesterday [click here to read about that hand], and I was kind of concerned about him. So once he busted out, I was super relieved, because he was not the one I wanted to go heads-up against. For some reason, Art was just giving me some problems.”

The heads-up battle between Wantman and Kurganov started out fairly close in chips — Wantman had 4.07 million to Kurganov’s 3.61 million, and it would last about two hours. But 11 hands into heads-up play, they would play the key hand of the heads-up match for a pot worth 3.19 million.

Photo:  Igor Kurganov used six of his Time Chips to tank for more than three minutes in Hand #166, with his long-time girlfriend, professional poker player Liv Boeree, sweating the action behind him.

In Hand #166, Kurganov check-called the flop before check-raising the turn on a board of . Wantman called, and the river card was the , putting a four-card straight on the board with three diamonds.

With the 30-second Action Clock in play, Kurganov bet, Wantman raised, and Kurganov — who rarely used any of his 30-second Time Chips this tournament — used six of them as he tanked for more than three minutes.

Kurganov eventually folded, claiming he had turned a straight, and Wantman took the pot without saying anything about his hand. That gave Wantman a nearly 3-to-1 chip lead, and even though heads-up play lasted about two hours, Kurganov was never able to narrow the deficit by much.

“Igor was extremely tough,” said Wantman. “I ran really well against him heads-up.”

In Hand #213, Kurganov open-shoved for 18 big blinds with , but Wantman snap-called with , and Kurganov was dominated. The board came , and while Kurganov paired his six on the turn for a sweat, Wantman won his first WPT title with two pair, jacks and tens. Kurganov earned $285,650 for his runner-up finish.

Photo:  When asked if he’d be celebrating tonight with the TOC starting early tomorrow, Matthew Wantman said, “We’re in Vegas, so yeah, we’re celebrating. We’ll be out until 1:00 or 2:00 am, no problem. Maybe even later. We’ve got to celebrate.”

When asked what it feels like to win a WPT title, Wantman said, “Honestly, it feels amazing. I’m kind of speechless, because it takes a while before you realize it actually happened. It’s very surreal. But it’s a great feeling. It’s something I’ve long been striving for.”

Wantman’s weekend plans suddenly include the Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions, which begins tomorrow morning at 11:00 am. Wantman thinks it may help him adapt to the reality that he’s now a member of the WPT Champions Club.

“Playing in the Tournament of Champions is going to reinforce it, and it’ll just feel so good to be a part of the Champions Club. I’m really excited for the tournament tomorrow. I’ve heard such great things.”

WPT ARIA Summer Championship – Final Table Results

1st:  Matthew Wantman  –  $443,475*
2nd:  Igor Kurganov  –  $285,650
3rd:  Art Papazyan  –  $209,980
4th:  Kevin Eyster  –  $156,220
5th:  Jim Collopy  –  $117,640
6th:  Ryan Laplante  –  $89,685

* First prize amount includes Matthew Wantman’s $15,000 entry into the season-ending Baccarat Crystal WPT Tournament of Champions.

Photography by Jamie Thomson / PokerPhotoArchive.com

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