Poker Hall of Famer, Mike Sexton, who is voice for the World Poker Tour (WPT) and often referred to as “the ambassador of poker” has finally claimed a WPT title to his name.
The Las Vegas resident outlasted a field of 648 players to win his debut WPT title in Montreal, Canada. The World Poker Tour has now been going for fifteen years. Sexton joins Australia’s Tony Dunst to become the second member on the WPT team to win an event on the poker tour they broadcast.
Heads-Up Play at the WPT Montreal Final Table
Sexton battled against Benny Chen in heads-up play. Chen actually held a monster 10-to-1 chip advantage heading into the heads-up battle, but neither player was going to give up without a fight.
However, with the pots going back and forth, the momentum turned towards the WPT commentator’s favor after around 150 hands of heads-up action when Chen moved all-in with KcJd, but was up against Sexton’s pocket Queens, which held up. If Chen wasn’t already in bad shape pre-flop, he had all but lost any chance of scooping the pot when Sexton flopped top set.
In addition to the title, Mike Sexton received a $317,896 (CAD $425,980) payday, and it takes his overall live tournament earnings to more than $6 million dollars. Chen received CAD $286,110 for his runner-up finish, which he can’t be too displeased with.
As you’d expect most of the railbirds were cheering for Sexton at the WPT Montreal final table. They really wanted the 69-year-old poker ambassador and just all-around good bloke to get the job done.
“I think the last time @MIkeSexton_WPT won a tournament it was for a million against me! Well, he just won another big one! Congrats Mike!,” Daniel Negreanu posted on Twitter.
The final table results for WPT Montreal have been published here. It might have been the first taste of victory for Mike Sexton on his very own WPT tour, which he’s been a part of commentating alongside Vince Van Patten for televised final tables, but he’s also earned a World Series of Poker bracelet for winning a $1,500 Seven-Card Stud Split event in 1989.
During the televised WPT final tables, one of his signature phrases would be “May all your cards be live and your pots be monsters”. In addition to being an avid poker player and commentator, he’s also a spokesman for PartyPoker, one of the largest online poker rooms in the world.
Automatic Entry into the Tournament of Champions
Sexton will now be gaining entry into the Tournament of Champions at season’s end, which has a $15,000 buy-in, a rare opportunity indeed.