Dan Sepiol Wins WPT World Championship ($5.3 Million) w/ Brilliant Final Table Performance
Table Of Contents
One of the largest tournaments in poker history, the $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship, came to its conclusion with Dan Sepiol finishing off Georgios Sotiropoulos to close it out for the $5,282,954 first place prize via a heads-up ICM chop.
Day 7 �� the final table �� began a bit after 4 p.m. PT Thursday afternoon from inside Wynn Las Vegas. A World Poker Tour (WPT) Champions Club spot and millions of dollars were at stake between the final six players from the 3,835 entrants who sought a piece of that juicy $40 million guaranteed prize pool.
WPT World Championship Final Table Results
Rank | Player | Prize |
---|---|---|
1 | Dan Sepiol | $5,282,954 |
2 | Georgios Sotiropoulos | $4,167,246 |
3 | Andrew Lichtenberger | $2,798,700 |
4 | Chris Moorman | $2,095,300 |
5 | Ben Heath | $1,583,100 |
6 | Artur Martirosian | $1,207,000 |
Final Table First Half Action
When play began Lichtenberger had a sizable chip lead and Sepiol was among the short stacks. But the shorty pulled off the bluff of the tournament against the big stack early in the day.
Sepiol three-bet preflop with K?10? in position against "Lucky Chewy" who had A?10?. On a flop of 4?3?3?, Lichtenberger checked and then called a bet of 3,500,000, about one-fourth the size of the pot. When the 9? hit on the turn, it was bad news for Sepiol because he only had 29,000,000 behind and his opponent picked up a flush draw.
Still, he bet 8,000,000 and again received a call. But the 3? on the river was a blank, and with 38,000,000 in the pot, Lichtenberger checked one more time before releasing his hand �� the best hand �� to an all in wager of 21,000,000 chips.
Moments later, Sepiol showed some more aggression when he jammed preflop with 5?5? to force the shortest stack, Martirosian, off A?10?. He'd nearly doubled his stack at that point simply by being being the aggressor.
Coincidentally, an hour or so later, Martirosian would move all in with the pocket fives, and Sepiol would call with pocket sevens and hold up. The sixth-place finisher took home $1,207,000.
Sepiol would then turn a straight against Heath, who rivered two pair, and use that hand to move into the chip lead after starting the day with just 29 big blinds. He was finding the right mix of luck and well-timed aggression to dominate play.
Heath, who entered the tournament with nearly $20 million in The Hendon Mob cashes, was next to bust (fifth place for $1,583,100) moments after having his chip stack decimated by Lichtenberger. In his final hand, he raised to 12,900,000 with Q?J?, leaving just 5,000,000 behind. Sotiropoulos, with A?7? in the big blind, put him all in and he made the call.
No help came for Heath on the board as Sotiropoulos hit top pair, and he was eliminated in fifth place for $1,583,100. Although he'd just doubled up, Sotiropoulos was still the short stack, but would soon after win a decent pot to jump ahead of Moorman.
Moorman would then call off his final 16 big blinds with Q?J? and run into a higher queen �� K?Q? �� that Sotiropoulos had in the hold. The board came out A?A?10?9?7? and Moorman, one of the top tournament and online players in poker, busted in fourth place for $2,095,300.
Three-Handed Play Begins
Following the elimination of Moorman, Lucky Chewy held a slim lead over Sepiol, while Sotiropoulos was riding a "short" stack, although with 46 big blinds, he had plenty of dancing chips to make a run at the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup trophy.
Not long after, the tournament completely shifted in Sepiol's direction as he would win the biggest pot of the tournament and send one of the most accomplished poker pros in history home.
Lichtenberger limped in the small blind for 2,500,000 with A?K? before the big blind, Sepiol, made it 8,500,000 with J?J?. A limp-raise to 32,500,000 was in store, followed by an all in jam �� and then a call �� for 142,300,000 effective. Off to the races the two poker pros went, and it was Sepiol whose pocket pair held up on the 7?Q?9?2?10? board.
The high-stakes poker legend was out in third place for $2,798,700, and Sepiol would begin heads-up play with a huge chip advantage over Sotiropoulos.
Sepiol, a Mid-States Poker Tour (MSPT) and World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) champion, appeared to be moments away from a career-defining win. Just two years ago, he won a social media contest to compete in a WPT home game at Steve Aoki's house against Phil Ivey and Aoki, a WPT ambassador at the time.
On Thursday, he was competing for life-changing money and the biggest score in WPT Main Tour history, surpassing Eliot Hudon, who took down this same event last year for $4.1 million.
But the tournament win wasn't a guarantee for Sepiol when heads-up play began despite being up 4-1 in chips. Sotiropoulos, a Greek poker star with nearly $4 million in live tournament results prior to the WPT World Championship, is no slouch and wouldn't go away easily.
Following a lengthy break after Lichtenberger's elimination to film some interviews for television, the final two players returned to the felt to battle for the trophy and millions of dollars.
Sotiropoulos would give his heads-up opponent a battle, especially early on. But he wasn't able to make up much ground for quite some time as he couldn't seem to scoop a big pot. But after dropping back to around 10 big blinds, he'd win a 60/40 to double up. And then he'd double up a second time moments later, and then again into the chip lead after being down 11-1 in chips at one point in the match.
Sepiol would regroup and get it all back before long. The tournament would inevitably end with Sotiropoulos going all in with K?Q? but losing to K?3? when a 3? appeared on the turn. For the runner-up, he took home $4,167,246 as a consolation prize after the final two players agreed to an ICM chop earlier on a break.
Sepiol, on the other hand, earned $5,282,954 for dominating a tough final table. In doing so, he moved into fourth place on Indiana's all-time live tournament earnings list, according to The Hendon Mob. He now has just over $6.6 million lifetime, less than $50,000 short of Mike Sexton, the longtime WPT announcer who passed away in 2020.
Like Sexton, Sepiol is a WPT Champions Club member and now an Indiana poker legend.
Dan Sepiol Plays Poker at Steve Aoki's House
*Image courtesy of World Poker Tour.
In this Series
- 1 Award-Winning WPT World Championship Returning to Wynn in December
- 2 WPT World Championship at Wynn to Set Record w/ $40 Million Guarantee
- 3 Tennessee Home Game Grinder Qualifies Into WPT World Championship
- 4 Iraq War Veteran Qualifies for WPT World Championship on ClubWPT
- 5 Here's How to Qualify for the $40 Million Guaranteed WPT World Championship
- 6 Alaskan Gold Miner Among Latest To Qualify For WPT World Championship
- 7 Premier Meet-Up Game with Phil Ivey Will Kick Off the WPT World Championship at Wynn
- 8 World Poker Tour Reveals Live Streaming Schedule for WPT World Championship
- 9 Women in Poker Initiatives Will Be at the Forefront During WPT World Championship
- 10 Over $55M in Guarantees for WPT World Championship Series at Wynn from Nov. 29-Dec. 23
- 11 Cancer Survivor Qualifies for WPT World Championship In Las Vegas
- 12 "Johnnyhaha" Riesterer Wins Seat Into WPT World Championship In Las Vegas
- 13 ClubWPT Qualifier Luis Gutierrez Ready to Take on WPT World Championship
- 14 PN Pod Special Edition: Phil Ivey & Gus Hansen at 2023 WPT World Championship; Everything You Need to Know
- 15 Phil Ivey & Gus Hansen Drop Down to Low-Stakes Poker (For One Day)
- 16 Mexican Pro Jacobo Montoya Seeking Another Score in WPT World Championship
- 17 Multiple Big Winners Already Crowned at WPT World Championship Festival
- 18 Mike Leah, George Tomescu Among Latest Big Winners in WPT World Championship Festival
- 19 Did Wynn Figure Out the Perfect Bubble Stalling Solution During WPT Prime Championship?
- 20 Alan Keating Bags Big Stack on Day 1a of WPT World Championship
- 21 Lynn Gilmartin Spins Up a Stack on Day 1b of WPT World Championship
- 22 Meet Some of the ClubWPT Qualifiers Playing the WPT World Championship
- 23 $40 Million Guarantee Within Reach as WPT World Championship Approaches Day 1d
- 24 Kristen Foxen Turns a Full House But is Drawing Dead in WPT Ladies Cash Game
- 25 Class of 2023 Reflect on Joining the WPT Champions Club
- 26 "WPT's Long-Term Plan Playing Out" says Pliska After World Championship Overlay
- 27 Class of 2023 Reflect on Joining the WPT Champions Club
- 28 "WPT's Long-Term Plan Playing Out" says Pliska After World Championship Overlay
- 29 Garrett Adelstein Books Another Six-Figure Win in WPT Cash Game
- 30 What Players Should You Expect for the WPT $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop?
- 31 Aces Cracked to Bust the Bubble on Day 2 of WPT World Championship
- 32 Will the WPT World Championship Have a Repeat Winner?
- 33 Defending Champ Eliot Hudon Out; Naj Ajez Leads WPT World Championship
- 34 WATCH: Joe Hachem Folds Kings Near WPT World Championship Bubble
- 35 WPT x Daniel Arsham Celebrity Invitational Features Actor Neil Patrick Harris
- 36 Reality TV Star Princess Love Among 45 Left in WPT World Championship
- 37 Phil Ivey Busts on Day 1 of $1M WPT Big One for One Drop
- 38 Dan Smith Bags Chip Lead w/ 6 Left in WPT Big One for One Drop
- 39 Ben Jacobs Leads WPT World Championship Final 16; Moorman, Lichtenberger & Sepiol Alive
- 40 Mikita Badziakouski Ships $1 Million Buy-In WPT Big One for One Drop ($7.1 Million)
- 41 Daniel Lowery Caps Off Career Year With WPT Seniors Win Just Weeks After His 50th
- 42 PN Podcast: MI Player Kidnapped & Zip-Tied & Dan Sepiol Talks Winning WPT World Championship
- 43 Ren Lin Wins $50k WPT Alpha8 for $1,045,781; Jason Koon Runner-Up
- 44 Dan Sepiol Wins WPT World Championship ($5.3 Million) w/ Brilliant Final Table Performance
- 45 Lucky Chewy Catches Fire to Lead Stacked WPT World Championship Final Table
- 46 2023 WPT World Championship Hands of the Week: WSOP Champ Felted By Hall of Famer
- 47 Gamble, Weng & Coleman Win at WPT World Championship Festival; Leah Claims 2nd Trophy
- 48 Calvin Anderson Wins WPT Prime Championship for $1,386,280
- 49 Actor Neil Patrick Harris Takes Brutal Cooler in WPT Celebrity Poker Tournament