Las Vegas, NV (Dec. 20, 2023) – Mikita Badziakouski defeats 16 opponents to win $7,114,500 and become champion of the first-ever WPT® Big One for One Drop, which benefited the One Drop Foundation’s mission of ensuring sustainable access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene for communities facing extreme barriers.
“I mean, I feel great… the tournament itself is the biggest title I’ve ever had,” said Badziakouski after his victory. “I just got lucky in a couple big coolers. That’s how it goes, one of the sides has to get lucky and that was me today.”
“We were honored to host the first WPT Big One for One Drop with the help of the One Drop Foundation and our casino partner Wynn Las Vegas,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The iconic event added an extraordinary level of prestige to the WPT World Championship festival.”
The $1 million buy-in event drew a field of 17 players and a prize pool of $15,810,000. The televised final table featured the top six players while only the top four were destined for a payout.
Heads-up action left Austrian professional footballer turned poker pro Mario Mosboeck as the runner-up, earning $4,663,950. WPT Champion Dan Smith finished in third place for $2,806,750 and Isaac Haxton placed fourth for $1,224,800. Falling short of the money was WPT Champion Nick Petrangelo and Santhosh Suvarna.
Other players who entered the six-figure event included Chris Brewer, Stephen Chidwick, Matthias Eibinger, David Einhorn, Fedor Holz, WPT Ambassador Phil Ivey, Martin Kabrhel, Jason Koon, Adrian Mateos, Rick Salomon and Talal Shakerchi.
“A big thank you to all the players that participated in the WPT Big One for One Drop,” said Alexandre Meunier, One Drop Foundation’s Chief Marketing and Events Officer. “The charitable contribution of each buy-in is a tremendous help to progressing our worldwide efforts.”
All photos from the WPT Big One for One Drop can be accessed via the WPT Flickr Page.
For more information regarding this and all World Poker Tour® events, visit WPT.com.
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About the One Drop Foundation
The One Drop™ Foundation is an international philanthropic organization created by Cirque du Soleil and Lune Rouge founder Guy Laliberté with the vision of a better world, where all have access to living conditions that allow empowerment and development. Its mission is to ensure sustainable access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene for communities facing extreme barriers through innovative partnerships, creativity, and the power of art. Together with its partners, the One Drop Foundation deploys its unique Social Art for Behaviour Change™ approach designed to promote the adoption of healthy water, sanitation and hygiene-related behaviours and empower communities. For this to be possible, the One Drop Foundation creates novel fundraising initiatives supported by a visionary community of partners and donors. The One Drop Foundation is celebrating 16 years of turning water into action, with projects that will soon have improved the living conditions of more than 2.7 million people around the world. Interact with the One Drop Foundation on Facebook, LinkedIn and X, or on Instagram.