Maria Ho Delivers 'Worst Beat You'll Ever See' in CPT Championship
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The poker pro defeated the amateur in a showdown in the 2024 Celebrity Poker Tour Championship between Maria Ho and Impractical Jokers star Brian Quinn as the acclaimed poker comentator won $50,000, the championship belt and her second CPT title.
More than 60 celebrities — ranging from retired professional athletes Mike Bibby, Mario Chalmers and Adrian Peterson to influencers Bryce Hall, Tana Mongeau and Vegas Matt and content creators Ninja, Ethan Klein and Sketch — competed in Wednesday night's championship event inside PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas.
Ho, a Women in Poker Hall of Famer who won a CPT Game Night in March, was a favorite heading into the celebrity-packed event and got plenty of assistance from the deck. She delivered "one of the worst beats you'll ever see" to third-place finisher Sofie Dossi as she made a runner-runner full house against the contortionist's flopped Broadway.
"I definitely got a lot of big hands as you could see at the final table," Ho told PokerGO's Natalie Bode and CPT's Blake Wynn after the victory. "But everybody played really well. Like a lot of the women especially. We hung in there, we were trying to get an all-women final table today. It didn't quite happen, but I'm super proud of everybody's showing tonight."
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (In USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maria Ho | United States | $50,000 |
| 2 | Brian Quinn | United States | $20,000 |
| 3 | Sofie Dossi | United States | $10,000 |
| 4 | CJ So Cool | United States | $5,000 |
| 5 | Hayes Pullard | United States | $4,000 |
| 6 | Adrian Peterson | United States | $3,500 |
| 7 | Lena Ayad | United States | $2,500 |
| 8 | Bryce Hall | United States | $2,500 |
| 9 | Hila Klein | United States | $2,500 |
Athletes & Influencers Pack the Studio
The eighth CPT event of the year was the biggest of them all as dozens of celebrities and their entourages mingled in the PokerGo Studio. While most guests wore designer outfits, chains and bedazzled watches, Sketch showed up to his first CPT event dressed as one of Santa's elves just a few weeks too early.
“I was feeling it today," the Texas-based streamer told PokerNews before the event kicked off. "I can wear it more than once. I might wear it the full month of December."
The celebrities were grouped by profession across seven poker tables, with the athletes occupying the west half of the studio and the streamers and poker players on the east side. Meanwhile, the main feature table saw Klein, Hall and Ninja battling with Impractical Jokers stars Quinn and Joe Gatto.
Also grouped among the football and basketball pros was Houston rapper Maxo Kream, who learned to play poker just a week ago by playing on Twitch.
“I do a lil' some’some. I play poker more with finesse. As long as you’ve got your finesse game right, ... there's time and opportunity. You just get the hand that’s dealt to you. But I’m a’ight," Kream told PokerNews, adding that he is more of a craps player and was already up on the weekend in Vegas.
Kream, who rose to prominence in 2018 with the autobiographical single "Roaches" about growing up in Houston, also gave some insight into his new album Personification, which was released on Nov. 15.
“The thing I did new (with this album) was go back to all my other projects ... Because I hadn’t dropped in three years, so I just took them all and put them in one thing and delivered them to the folks. That’s why it’s (called) Personification: each persona.”
Ho's Path to Victory
Kream wasn't the only poker newcomer in the field. At the next table over, Bibby's table mates had to explain that his trip aces wouldn't beat the tens full of aces of his opponent. Similarly, CJ So Cool didn't realize he doubled up with ace-high as his opponent's pocket threes were counterfeited by the double-paired board.
But there were also plenty of experienced players in the field, including CPT champions like Qiyu "Nemo" Zhou and Princess Love. Love was eliminated on the money bubble by none other than Ho, who happens to be her poker coach (a fact revealed on the Life Outside Poker podcast earlier this year).
After sharing a hug with her apprentice and a surprise appearance from 17-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth, Ho headed to the final table and went on to steamroll the likes of Hall, Hila Klein, H3 Game Night champion Lena Ayad and CPT co-founder Hayes Pullard.
Ho's bad beat on Dossi set her up with a dominant chip lead over Quinn, who doubled up to less than ten big blinds once before losing a second all-in confrontation with the accomplished poker pro.
"I have played poker like once a year every five years," Quinn told CPT. "The fact that I went this far is insane. It makes no sense."
The victory made Ho the first-ever two-time champion. Ahead of the event, she told PokerNews she was excited to play with her friends outside of the direct poker world.
“This is all about the fun," she said. "If anybody’s watched a CPT stream, they know that everybody here is trying to have a good time. They want to win, but it’s not going to be the stone-faced sunglasses, hoodie situation.”
Check out a full stream of the event by heading to YouTube or Twitch.
