Charania Storms Back at Bellagio to Capture Second World Poker Tour® Title and $1,477,890; Lichtenberger Tops Largest WPT Alpha8 Field in History to Earn $2,104,245
Las Vegas, NV (December 20, 2014) — On Saturday, both Mohsin Charania and Andrew Lichtenberger were victorious at the Bellagio, winning the televised WPT® Five Diamond World Poker Classic and the televised WPT Alpha8™ Las Vegas, respectively.
Charania captured his second World Poker Tour®title and $1,477,890, Lichtenberger won the largest WPT Alpha8 event in history and $2,104,245, and both players walked away with a pair of Monster 24K Headphones and a luxury Hublot King Power Unico watch.
Charania, 29, defeated BLUFF.com Ones to Watch Garrett Greer in a wild heads-up battle in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Greer started the match with a more than four-to-one chip advantage, and had Charania down to his last six big blinds before the Chicago native doubled up five times. The fifth and final double up was a coin flip for 94 percent of the chips in play, and Charania’s pocket threes held up against Greer’s ace-king.
Four hands later, Charania eliminated Greer, joining Daniel Negreanu and Antonio Esfandiari as the third player to capture their second World Poker Tour title in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. Charania’s first WPT title came in the Season XII WPT Grand Prix de Paris, where he earned $449,856. The 29-year-old professional poker players now has more than $4.8 million in career live tournament earnings.
“Right now I’m just trying to soak it all in,” Charania said after the victory. “Being a two-time champion feels pretty damn good.”
Greer earned $869,683 for his runner-up finish, pushing his live tournament earnings total to more than $1.6 million.
The Season XIII WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic attracted 586 entries, generating a total prize pool of $5,684,200. Two-time bracelet winner Brett Shaffer was the chip leader entering the final table, but ultimately fell short in third place. German all-time money leader Tobias Reinkemeier was the first player to exit the official final table of six, and was followed out the door by Ryan Fee and Ryan Julius.
Several notables reached the money, but fell short of the final table in the, including WPT Champions Club members Daniel Negreanu, Jared Jaffee, Keven Stammen, Will Failla, and Anthony Zinno.
WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic Final Table
1st Mohsin Charania – $1,477,890
2nd Garrett Greer – $869,683
3rd Brett Shaffer – $562,736
4th Ryan Julius – $383,684
5th Ryan Fee – $272,842
6th Tobias Reinkemeier – $218,842
1st Mohsin Charania – $1,477,890
2nd Garrett Greer – $869,683
3rd Brett Shaffer – $562,736
4th Ryan Julius – $383,684
5th Ryan Fee – $272,842
6th Tobias Reinkemeier – $218,842
Across the hall at Bellagio, Lichtenberger, 27, bested friend and fellow Las Vegas resident Tom Marchese heads up to earn the WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas title and his first career seven-figure score. Known by his online handle “luckychewy,” Lichtenberger finally sealed the deal at Bellagio after finishing fifth in the Season XI WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, fourth in the Season X WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, eighth in the Season IX WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, and 13th in the Season VII WPT World Championship. Lichtenberger now has more than $6.1 million in career live tournament earnings.
Marchese earned $1,240,965 for his efforts. This is his third seven-figure score of 2014, and he now has nearly $8.8 million in career live tournament earnings.
The largest event in the tour’s history, WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas attracted a total of 55 entries, generating a total prize pool of $5,395,500. Phil Laak and bubble boy Brandon Steven both reached the official final table of eight but were unable to secure a minimum cash of $323,730. Day 2 chip leader Brian Rast, WPT Champions Club member Noah Schwartz, Jason Les, and Bryn Kenney all reached the money, but failed to secure one of the top two spots.
WPT Alpha8 Las Vegas Final Table
1st Andrew Lichtenberger – $2,104,245
2nd Tom Marchese – $1,240,965
3rd Brian Rast – $755,370
4th Noah Schwartz – $539,550
5th Jason Les – $431,630
6th Bryn Kenney – $323,730
1st Andrew Lichtenberger – $2,104,245
2nd Tom Marchese – $1,240,965
3rd Brian Rast – $755,370
4th Noah Schwartz – $539,550
5th Jason Les – $431,630
6th Bryn Kenney – $323,730
The World Poker Tour returns to action on January 17 with WPT Alpha8 Florida at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. On January 25, the Main Tour continues at Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa with the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open presented by partypoker.
WPT Media Contact
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About World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour (WPT) is the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online, and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in more than 150 countries and territories, and is currently producing its 13th season, which airs on FSN in the United States. Season XIII of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com, a unique online membership site that offers inside access to the WPT, as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club available in 35 states across the United States.ClubWPT.com also sponsors Season 2 of the new WPT Alpha8 series of super-high roller poker tournaments which is currently in production and which airs on FOX Sports 1 in the United States. WPT participates in strategic brand license, partnership, and sponsorship opportunities. WPT Enterprises Inc. is a subsidiary of bwin.party digital entertainment plc. For more information, go toWPT.com.
World Poker Tour (WPT) is the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online, and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in more than 150 countries and territories, and is currently producing its 13th season, which airs on FSN in the United States. Season XIII of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com, a unique online membership site that offers inside access to the WPT, as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club available in 35 states across the United States.ClubWPT.com also sponsors Season 2 of the new WPT Alpha8 series of super-high roller poker tournaments which is currently in production and which airs on FOX Sports 1 in the United States. WPT participates in strategic brand license, partnership, and sponsorship opportunities. WPT Enterprises Inc. is a subsidiary of bwin.party digital entertainment plc. For more information, go toWPT.com.
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