Mike Watson has been a prime poker event participant for practically twenty years, with stay outcomes relationship again to 2006. The 40-year-old Canadian poker professional has cashed for over $29 million on the circuit, with main victories on a number of prime excursions. The one trophy that has all the time eluded Watson, although, was a World Collection of Poker bracelet. Lastly, 17 years after recording his first WSOP money, Watson has lastly captured his first piece of WSOP {hardware}.
“I do suppose that if I’m a really profitable event participant, successful the bracelet isn’t the most important precedence. However, it’s positively gotten to the purpose now the place I simply hold getting shut and it retains not taking place, and that has gotten irritating,” Watson informed Card Participant in an interview again in 2022 when requested about shut calls in bracelet occasions.
Watson took down the 2024 WSOP On-line $1,000 no-limit maintain’em six-max championship to earn $138,327 and the coveted {hardware}. This win formally made the Toronto, Ontario resident the tenth participant in historical past to attain poker’s ‘triple crown’, with victories on the WSOP alongside fundamental occasion wins on the World Poker Tour and the European Poker Tour. A full listing of triple crown winners might be discovered on the backside of the web page.
Watson practically crossed successful a bracelet off his to-do listing in 2012. He received a excessive curler occasion throughout that yr’s World Collection of Poker Europe, however the occasion was listed as a non-bracelet event regardless of happening on the similar venue because the bracelet-awarding tournaments throughout the identical collection in Cannes. Watson topped a tricky discipline of 60 entries in what amounted to a $66,060 buy-in when rendered in US {dollars}.
His WPT win got here again in 2008. He topped a discipline of 446 entries within the 2008 WPT Bellagio Cup IV $15,400 buy-in to earn $1,673,770. As for the EPT, he received the PokerStars Caribbean Journey for $728,325 in 2016 after which took down the 2022 EPT Monte Carlo fundamental occasion in 2022. These tournaments have been $5,300 and $5,651 to enter, respectively, with 928 and 1,098 entries.
Watson can also be a four-time Triton Poker occasion winner. That places him in a tie with Fedor Holz and Wai Kin Yong for third place on the tour’s titles leaderboard. Solely ten-time champion Jason Koon and five-time champions Mikita Badziakouski, Phil Ivey, and Danny Tang have secured extra trophies on the tour.
Watson had loads of powerful competitors down the stretch in his run to the bracelet, with the likes of bracelet winner Mitch Halverson (sixteenth), bracelet winner and two-time WPT champion Kevin Eyster (tenth), and WPT champion Matthew Salsberg (sixth) all operating deep.
Here’s a have a look at the payouts awarded on the remaining desk:
Place
Participant
Earnings
1
Michael Watson
$138,327
2
Michael McNeil
$101,118
3
Michael Balan
$74,324
4
John Gallaher
$54,630
5
Derek Kwan
$40,428
6
Matthew Salsberg
$30,108
7
Scott Castelluccio
$22,629
8
Frank Bonacci
$17,137
9
Aidan Lengthy
$13,066
Listed here are the ten Triple Crown winners:
Gavin GriffinRoland De WolfeJake CodyBertrand “ElkY” GrospellierDavidi KitaiMohsin CharaniaHarrison GimbelNiall FarrellRoberto RomanelloMike Watson
Go to the Card Participant 2024 World Collection of Poker web page for schedules, information, interviews, and the most recent occasion outcomes. WSOP protection sponsored by International Poker.
