WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Won by Corey Wade

After six days of play, the World Poker Tour Main Event at the Seminole Hard Rock in Tampa has concluded, with one man coming out on top.

American Corey Wade, who prior to this tournament had live career earnings of $310,081, has won the event for $471,686.

With a field of 1,165 players and a buy-in of $3,500, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Main Event offered up an entertaining week of play. Here’s a look at how it all unfolded, and Corey Wade’s path to victory.

Colby Covington Strikes Again

A few months ago, UFC star Colby Covington was making poker headlines with his performances.

The mixed martial arts fighter, who has an impressive 17-3-0 record in the UFC, won his first poker tournament in August. Picking up a cash of $25,875 at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel Hollywood in Florida, and cashing several more times in 2022, Covington has proved that he’s a tough opponent on the felt and on the mat.

By the end of Day 1a, Covington had amassed a stack of 212,500 chips, good for 85 big blinds. With two starting flights in the tournament, many players would take such a chip stack and head straight into Day 2. However, Covington decided he’d re-enter, and see if he could better his Day 1a play. Speaking to the media, he had this to say,

“I just decided I’m already up here in Tampa, I got nothing else to do. I love poker. I don’t play for the money, I play because I love the game. So, you know, I just wanted to come out here and see if I could put a better bag in and just show that I’m a pretty good player and put two bags in there.”

Covington did in fact improve in his Day 1b play, ending the session in fifth place, with 350,500 chips and 140 big blinds.

Play Reaches a Final Table

However, Covington’s luck was to run out across the week, as the UFC star didn’t make it to the latter stages.

By Day 6 of the event, six players remained at the final table of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Tampa Main Event: Corey Wade, David Tuthill, Seth Berger, Fred Paradis, Steven McKoy and Brock Wilson.

McCoy was the initial chip leader, with more chips than all other players combined. Berger was the shortest stack on 25 big blinds, 40 short of McCoy’s stack. Despite the stack sizes, Brock Wilson was definitely the favorite, having $5.3 million in previous live cashes. However, Tuthill, McCoy and Berger would all have fancied their chances, as each came into the tournament with seven figure previous tournament earnings.

After three hours of play that saw no player bust, the action suddenly turned to the demise of David Tuthill and Seth Berger, who finished in sixth and fifth.

Corey Wade Joins Elite Club

Eventual champion Corey Wade made his move soon after, ousting one-time chip leader McCoy by winning a race.

Wilson also bowed out soon after, leaving just Corey Wade and Paradis—the only two players at the final table to not have seven figures of previous tournament winnings—in a heads up battle.

Corey Wade held almost twice the chip count of Paradis however, courtesy of his wins against McCoy and Berger. This ratio slipped even further, with Paradis behind about 5:1 at one stage. However, following a double up, Paradis jammed pre-flop with A 3 for his tournament life, and was called by Corey Wade with Q 9.

Both men made a pair on the flop, with Paradis ahead on a pair of aces, and Wade behind holding a pair of queens. However, in dramatic fashion, Wade made triple queens through a Q on the river, handing him the tournament title.

The win sees Wade join an elite club that have won WPT events, alongside the likes of Daniel Negreanu and Phil Ivey.