The race to become the player of the year for various poker rooms is usually tight and thrilling. One second a player is leading, and another, they are not. With that said, the World Poker Tour (WPT) has a new player of the year.
The race was tight between Steve Buckner and Chad Eveslage, with both putting in bold efforts to scoop the win. Eveslage held on tight, becoming 2022’s WPT Player of the Year.
The race to become a player of the year begins during the first event hosted by a poker room. It ends with the last event the poker operator holds before the year ends. For WPT, this event was the World Championship Main Event.
The event was scheduled for December 12 in Las Vegas. It attracted thousands of players whose total buy-ins led to the increase of the prize pool to $20 million from $15 million GTD.
Every player had a goal for playing at the Main Event. Some wanted a share of the prize money, while others wanted other perks. Chad and Steve wanted to finish with a career-best season with WPT.
Eveslage and Buckner were the top two players on the POY leaderboard before the World Championship Main Event kicked off. The two players were already finishing their best years for live poker event earnings ever. But, they were determined to win one more title.
Eveslage was quietly determined to take the POY position. Buckner, on the other hand, was loud and persistent. While each had their reason to want to win, both had a similar goal, to become WPT Player of the Year.
POY Points from the WPT Main Event
Eveslage had the most points before the WPT World Championship Main Event. But, he was yet to lock up the POY win. Following 399 hands at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, Eveslage won the title, pocketing over $1 million.
This was the second WPT championship. Steve was runner-up, earning $690k. He was in second place on the player leaderboard, with a good opportunity to pass Eveslage in the Main Event.
Meanwhile, Ray Qartomy was third on the leaderboard, followed by Josh Kay and Stephen Song. Stephen had won the WPT Prime Championship. Unfortunately, he did not earn enough points to climb the leaderboard.
Kay finished 279th place in the Main Event, earning some money. Unfortunately, Ray did not cash in.
Eveslage did not cash in either in the Main Event. This made him vulnerable as long as Buckner was still playing.
Fortunately for Eveslage, Buckner was eliminated in 319th place. This ended the race for POY, with Buckner finishing second while Chad took the title.
POY Standings
The World Poker Tour website displayed the final standings for the POY. While Eveslage won the title, the other two finishers also won prizes.
Chad had 2,325 points, earning him $1,450,825 plus a $15,000 WPT Passport. Steve had 2.275 points, which earned him $1,065,950 plus a $10,000 WPT Passport.
Kay came in third with 1,825 points. He won $824,080 and a $5,000 WPT Passport.
The players can use the passports to buy into any WPT live event around the world during the next season. Meanwhile, Eveslage has joined WPT’s list of the greatest poker players.
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