The Coldwater, Ohio, native beat out a field of 328 players to capture the 2014 WPT® World Championship, sponsored by partypoker at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and $1.35 million, the largest first-place prize of Season XII
The 2014 WPT World Championship, sponsored by partypoker at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, crowned a new WPT Champion on Saturday night when Keven Stammen captured the title, the $1.35 million first-place prize, his name etched on the WPT Champions Cup, a pair of Monster 24k headphones, a Hublot King Power Unico Chronograph watch, and entry into the Season XIII WPT World Championship. The $1.35 won by Stammen represents the largest first-place payout of Season XII.
“For the first time in World Poker History, the WPT World Championship was held at the prestigious Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, and, along with WPT sponsors partypoker, Monster, Hublot, and DraftKings, elevated this season-ending event to a whole new level,” said WPT President Adam Pliska. “This location was worthy of the caliber of this WPT Championship, and as hosts of five of the six largest events in World Poker Tour history, we’d like to thank the Borgata for proving such a premier venue, and for being an excellent host to the WPT and the hundreds of poker players who participated in this event.”
The 2014 WPT World Championship is scheduled to air later this year on Fox Sports Network (FSN), so viewers will get a chance to see for themselves the impressive collection of talent at the final table: The new WPT World Champion Kevin Stammen, eight Season XII cashes with three WPT final tables; World Poker Tour’s own WPT Raw Deal analyst Tony Dunst; Byron Kaverman, six Season XII cashes; Curt Kohlberg, four total WPT final tables; poker pro Ryan D’Angelo; and Abe Korotki.
“From an amazing field we saw six players emerge who have a combined 16 WPT cashes and five WPT final tables this season alone, so this was definitely a hard-fought final table played at the highest level,” said WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage. “The exciting heads-up battle between two well-liked, and respected, players from the state of Ohio was the perfect end to an incredible tournament and unforgettable season.”
Also crowned during this event was WPT Season XII Player of the Year Mukul Pahuja, who cashed five times, made three final tables (plus one near miss), and was heads-up for a WPT title on two different occasions to rack up more than $1.4 million this season.
Alongside the WPT World Championship were two other significant events, one live and one online. A special charity celebrity and media tournament, hosted by event sponsor partypoker, saw New Jersey Devils legend Ken Daneyko, 2-time NBA Champion Malik Rose, the “Chocolate Thunder” himself Darryl Dawkins, New Jersey Devils CEO Scott O’Neal, poker legend Phil Hellmuth, and WPT hosts Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patten join forces to raise money for a worthy cause. Online, the inaugural New Jersey Championship of Online Poker (NJCOP) on nj.partypoker.com wraps up tomorrow at 5:00pm EST with the NJCOP Main Event, featuring a $200,000 guarantee with $50,000 going to first place for only a $200 buy-in. The NJCOP featured 15 exciting tournaments with $600,000 guaranteed over a 15-event span starting back on April 21.
Up next for World Poker Tour is the newly announced “partypoker presents: WPT500 at ARIA Resort & Casino.” Taking place July 1-6 inside ARIA’s Poker Room in Las Vegas, this all-new $500 + $65 buy-in no-limit hold’em poker tournament will feature a guaranteed prize pool of at least $1 million, along with a top prize of $200,000 or more guaranteed to the winner.