The Wynn Las Vegas hosted the inaugural $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em event of the World Poker Tour Prime Championship in 2022. This tournament, with a $2 million guarantee, exceeded expectations with an impressive turnout of 5,430 entries. Building on this success, the second edition of the WPT Prime Championship raised the stakes by increasing the guarantee to $5 million while maintaining the same buy-in. In 2023, the event attracted 10,512 entries, generating a substantial prize pool of almost $10.2 million.
After four starting flights and four days of intense competition, Calvin Anderson emerged as the sole victor. The seasoned poker professional, based in Las Vegas, secured a career-best prize of $1,386,280 along with the coveted WPT Prime Championship trophy. With this triumph, Anderson, a four-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, now boasts over $5.9 million in recorded tournament earnings.
In addition to the substantial cash prize and title, Anderson earned 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year points for his victory. This marked his first Player of the Year-qualified title and his sixth final-table finish of the year. Accumulating a total of 3,522 points and over $1.8 million in Player of the Year earnings to date, Anderson has climbed to the 70th position in the 2023 Player of the Year standings presented by Global Poker.
While the WPT Prime Championship events didn’t contribute to the Player of the Year race, Anderson showcased his skills by winning two tournaments during the 2023 WSOP Online, securing his third and fourth bracelets in the $1,000 pot-limit Omaha six-max event and the $5,300 no-limit hold’em six-max event.
A total of 1,309 players cashed in on this event, with a minimum cash prize of $1,700. The top 12 finishers all received six-figure payouts. Notable players making deep runs included Daniel Lowery, a 14-time WSOP Circuit ring winner (18th), recent North American Poker Tour Las Vegas high roller champion Sam Laskowitz (15th), 2023 WSOP main event runner-up Steven Jones (10th), and Mukul Pahuja (7th).
The final day commenced with Jay Lu leading, and Anderson in the second chip position. The journey to the final table saw eliminations, including Valeriy Pak in sixth place ($290,000) and Bob Buckenmayer in fifth place ($380,000). Jon Glendinning finished in fourth place, earning $505,000.
The climactic moments of the tournament featured pivotal hands, such as Anderson’s double-up against Lu and Pinson’s ascent to the chip lead. The heads-up battle between Pinson and Anderson showcased dramatic swings, with Anderson ultimately securing victory with trip sevens against Pinson’s top pair. Pinson received a career-best payout of $910,000 as the runner-up.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at the final table:
| Place | Player | Earnings | POY Points |
| 1 | Calvin Anderson | $1,386,280 | 1,440 |
| 2 | Aaron Pinson | $910,000 | 1,200 |
| 3 | Jay Lu | $675,000 | 960 |
| 4 | Jonathan Glendinning | $505,000 | 720 |
| 5 | Bob Buckenmayer | $380,000 | 600 |
| 6 | Valeriy Pak | $290,000 | 480 |
| 7 | Mukul Pahuja | $225,000 | 360 |
| 8 | Tri Dao | $173,000 | 240 |
| 9 | Yuebin Guo | $135,850 | 120 |
