Michael Wang Finally Bags His First WPT Title

The recently-concluded CAD $1.5 million GTD World Poker Tour (WPT) Playground Championship saw 840 participants vying to get the top prize. However, this was almost missed by one competitor, as Michael Wang almost didn’t participate in the Montreal event.

Wang clawed his way through the $3,500 World Poker Tour Playground Championship, and after seven hours of action, Wang came out on top. 

With his first WPT title, Wang bags a hefty $296,779 prize, and a WPT championship belt on top of a seat in the WPT World Championship.

Who Were the Participants in the Final Table?

The final table of the GTD WPT Playground Championship saw 6 finalists hoping to land the winning hand and have their hands raised by the end of the final draw. The finalists were Michael Wang, Santiago Plante, Baron Ha, Jordan Grant, Zachary Fischer, and Amirpasha Emami.

* – denotes heads-up deal

The first elimination came on the 4th Hand when Amirpasha Emami, who had the shortest stack, three-bet jammed with pocket nines. However, Emami’s hand ran into Jordan Grant’s pocket queens, and Grant’s hand was enough to eliminate the 31-year-old Emami. 

Zachary Fischer was the second player to bow out of the competition on the 114th Hand. His final play saw Fischer play pocket aces against Grant’s all-in for 7.45 million with his pocket 10s. Fischer was in a good spot to double, but the flop went to Grant’s favor, giving him an open-ended straight draw. 

The turn completed it and Fischer exited in fifth place. That said, Fischer managed to land a career-high score of $79,899, besting the $29,035 he received for finishing eighth in the 2022 Venetian DeepStack Series $1,100 NLH Event.

Jordan Grant’s run was cut short on the 135th Hand. After going all-in during the preflop with king-queen suited against Wang’s two black nines, Grant flopped a flush draw. However, the succeeding cards didn’t lean in his favor – a nine on the turn gave Wang a full house. 

Grant exited the final table at fourth place for a $105,093 prize. His earnings for his fourth place finish more than doubled his previous career-high score of $50,900 for finishing 230th in the 2023 WSOP Main Event.

Baron Ha, the day’s chip leader, was next to bow out of the final table at the 149th Hand. Ha pressed all his 12 stacks on his king-seven on the button. However, Wang’s pair of sevens in the big blind. The pocket pair held, and Ha was eliminated, taking home $196,000 for finishing in third place.

The final two competitors were Wang and Santiago Plante. Wang had the 24.3 million to 17.4 million chip lead against Plante, who finished fourth in the EPT Barcelona Main Event for $552,005 last year. The two worked a small deal to lock up some money while leaving some to play for along with the shiny WPT Playground championship belt.

On the 168th Hand, Wang ballooned his chip lead against Plante. Wang jammed the button with queen-jack, while Plante called off with king-deuce. The flop saw a queen which rewarded Wang the title. Plante finished second place, bagging CAD $292,653 (US $210,417) in prize money.

What’s Next For Michael Wang?

Following his win, Wang was relieved to finally get his first ever WPT title,

“I really got the monkey off my back,” he said after the win. “I was happy with the final table and this is so much above that. It feels a little surreal and I’m sure it’ll sink in a little bit later.”

Apart from the grand prize, Wang also won Playground Poker’s championship belt. This posed the question on Wang – will he wear it to Wynn for the World Championship? 

Wang responded, “I saw the previous champ wore it and it looked pretty good on him… I was like, ‘Wow, that’s a good look.’ That’s not usually my style but he was rocking it.

Wang’s next target will be to compete in this year’s WPT World Championship. Should he win, it will add to his amazing 2024 run.