The World Poker Tour® has crowned its newest champion: Nick Yunis. Securing his first major title at bestbet Jacksonville, Yunis claimed victory in the WPT® bestbet Scramble Championship, earning $347,850. His prize includes a seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas this December and a Golden Passport to the ClubWPT™ Gold* $5M Invitational Freeroll.
“I still can’t believe it. I’m like, ‘Am I dreaming?’ I’ve been playing for so long and I always wanted to accomplish this… a major title,” said Yunis. “I’m thankful to God, to my supporters, my family that’s watching. My wife couldn’t come because of the baby, but I know they are extremely happy for me and I’m just over the moon.”
The $5,000 buy-in event drew 361 entrants across two starting flights, creating a $1,642,550 prize pool that paid the top 46 finishers. All cashers also earned WPT Player of the Year points.
“Thank you to all the players that came out to bestbet Jacksonville, as well as the staff and dealers that helped put on such a fun event,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “Nick made his mark, and we happily welcome him to the WPT Champions Club and look forward to seeing him next month at the WPT World Championship.”
Yunkyu Song, fresh off his victory at WPT Prime Playground in Montreal, finished runner-up, taking home $252,059. The remaining final table payouts included:
- 3rd place: Eric Afriat (three-time WPT Champion) – $165,000
- 4th place: Joe Jordan – $123,000
- 5th place: Nick Funaro – $93,000
- 6th place: Dion Jagroo – $71,000
Other notable players who cashed include WPT Commentator and Champion Tony Dunst (16th), Joe McKeehen (17th), WPT Champion Vitalijs Zavorotnijs (22nd), WPT Champion Josh Reichard (30th), and Dan Stavila (34th). Both Reichard and Stavila added to their WPT Player of the Year totals with their performances.
Eric Afriat earned 600 POY points for his third-place finish, but Yunkyu Song’s 800-point runner-up performance propelled him to the top of the leaderboard with 2,200 points.
