After 16 years of grinding on the poker event path, Nick Yunis lastly broke by and received his first main title in Florida.
Yunis is the winner of the $5,000 World Poker Tour bestbet Scramble Championship. He received $315,791 plus a $10,400 entry into the $10,400 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas this December, in addition to a Golden Passport to the ClubWPT Gold $5 Million Invitational Freeroll.
Yunis, who was born in Chile however makes his residence 355 miles south of Jacksonville in Coral Gables, was “over the moon.”
“I nonetheless can’t consider it. I’m like, ‘Am I dreaming?’ I’ve been enjoying for thus lengthy and I at all times wished to perform this — a serious title,” he the WPT. “I’m grateful to God, to my supporters, my household that’s watching. My spouse couldn’t come due to the child, however I do know they’re extraordinarily glad for me and I’m simply over the moon.”
Two beginning flights attracted 361 entrants who generated a prize pool of $1,642,550. The highest 46 finishers had been paid.
That is Yunis’ largest lifetime money. Whereas he’s received loads of occasions, he by no means took residence a WPT title or a World Collection of Poker bracelet. He got here shut a number of occasions, together with a runner-up end in a $1,500 WSOP Eight Recreation Combine occasion in 2022 the place he began heads-up play with a 4-1 chip benefit, however by no means sealed the deal.
It has not been straightforward for the 40-year-old.
“It’s very onerous,” Yunis informed WPT’s Tim Fiorvanti. “I feel that the majority poker gamers, , have every kind of superstitions, and it’s simply onerous as a result of tournaments are so emotional. You get so deep, you set in so many hours. You’re drained, you’re emotional, and then you definately take a nasty beat. When that occurs over and again and again, you begin to assume it’s by no means gonna occur, and it’s simply the character of the beast. It’s a very robust sport in that sense.”
He received some nice recommendation from buddy Farrid Jattin that helped him on the closing desk.
“He really informed me, ‘Disconnect your self from the consequence fully. Simply attempt to be within the zone. Play your sport, it doesn’t matter what occurs. You have to be happy with your self.’ And that, I feel, was very key for me, , you simply need to not take into consideration the consequence, as a result of on the finish of the day, that’s simply anxiousness. You don’t want that when you’re making an attempt to carry out,” Yunis stated.
Tune practically double-dips
Whereas Yunis was going for his first WPT title, two gamers on the closing desk had been making an attempt so as to add extra. Three-time WPT champ Eric Afriat stalled in third, which left Yunis dealing with Yunkyu Tune heads-up. Tune, a relative newcomer to dwell event poker, simply received his first WPT main in Montreal final month.
Like Yunis, the $252,059 prize for second was Tune’s greatest lifetime money — however his high seven cashes all got here in 2024 and features a third-place end in a $2,000 WSOP bracelet occasion the place he completed third for $197,443. His consecutive deep runs vaulted Tune to the highest of WPT’s Participant of the Yr leaderboard, simply 450 factors in entrance of Afriat.
Rounding out the highest six had been Joe Jordan ( $123,000), Nick Funaro ($93,000), and Dion Jagroo ($71,000). Different notable gamers who made the cash embrace WPT Commentator and Champion Tony Dunst (sixteenth), Joe McKeehen (seventeenth), WPT Champion Vitalijs Zavorotnijs (twenty-second), WPT Champion Josh Reichard WSOP Circuit guru (thirtieth), and Dan Stavila (thirty-fourth).
“Thanks to all of the gamers that got here out to bestbet Jacksonville, in addition to the employees and sellers that helped placed on such a enjoyable occasion,” stated WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “Nick made his mark, and we fortunately welcome him to the WPT Champions Membership and sit up for seeing him subsequent month on the WPT World Championship.”
