Maria Ho Beats Influencers & NFL Star in Celebrity Poker Tour Game Night I
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The latest Celebrity Poker Tour (CPT) event took place inside the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas over the weekend, and a third consecutive woman champion was crowned. Maria Ho defeated the single-table field of TikTok stars and poker vloggers to win $10,000 and the golden CPT belt.
The poker commentator and Women in Poker Hall of Famer was a favorite to win the sit-and-go-style CPT Game Night I, and she delivered as she battled vloggers Brad Owen, Alexander "Wolfgang" Seibt and Ethan "Rampage" Yau, NFL running back Austin Ekeler and influencers Bryce Hall, Trent "BookitWithTrent" Attyah and Tommy Unold, who was an alternate but managed to finish runner-up for $5,000.
CPT Game Night I Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Ho | $10,000 | |
| 2 | Tommy Unold | $5,000 | |
| 3 | Austin Ekeler | N/A | |
| 4 | Brad Owen | N/A | |
| 5 | Alexander "Wolfgang" Seibt | N/A | |
| 6 | Trent "BookitWithTrent" Attyah | N/A | |
| 7 | Bryce Hall | N/A | |
| 8 | Ethan "Rampage" Yau | N/A |
Influencers Take Over PokerGO Studio
Just weeks ago, the PokerGO Studio hosted the PGT Mixed Games Series, which drew countless old-school legends who have been around the game for decades. Friday's CPT Game Night I provided a different atmosphere, with younger players in their early and mid-20s who have launched into stardom through social media.
That includes 24-year-old Hall, a bare-knuckle boxer who has over three million YouTube subscribers and more than five times that on TikTok. Hall, who was the last to arrive at the studio after flying in from Los Angeles, told PokerNews ahead of the event that he was gunning for Yau. As it turned out, he and Yau were the first two to go.
After players busted, some stuck around to enjoy the open bar and premiere catering of global fusion cuisine provided by Jing and to assess their play by watching the stream back. After he fell in fifth place, Seibt stepped out to re-watch a hand in which he correctly folded a straight against the full house of Ho.
As the event reached the final three, Ekeler, who was fresh off signing with the Washington Commanders, held the chip lead before losing it to Ho and surrendering the rest of his stack when his top pair was out-kicked by that of the eventual champion.
Ho had a three-to-one chip lead entering heads-up play and a lifetime of poker experience against the 22-year-old Unold, who gave PokerNews some insight into his playing style ahead of the event.
"A lot of people say I'm a really tight poker player and they don't like that," he said. "I just like to play the cards right, and they don't like that."
Ho stayed ahead until the final hand where she flopped a set of threes to crush the queen-nine of her influencer opponent. The victory made Ho the third consecutive woman to win a CPT event after Princess Love won the PGT Invitational II last month and Qiyu "Nemo" Zhou won the inaugural event in 2023.
After the game, the Celebrity Poker Tour invitees headed to Resorts World and played a $5/$5 No-Limit Hold'em cash game that featured straddles, double straddles and $25 Pot-Limit Omaha bomb pots. Attyah was the big winner in the splashy cash game, the highlights of which included Yau slow-rolling Unold and Seibt hopping on Instagram Live in the middle of the game for his nearly 700,000 followers.
*Photos courtesy Celebrity Poker Tour
