One peak at Micheal Wang’s Hendon Mob profile, and it’s easy to see that the Las Vegas pro is not to be trifled with at the poker table. Since 2009, Wang has wracked-up dozens of victories, two World Series of Poker bracelets, two WSOP Circuit rings, and two PokerGO Tour high-roller titles.
Now he gets to add a World Poker Tour title to his trophy case after he took down the WPT Playground Championship for CAD $412,300 last week. That number includes a $10,400 entry into the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. It wasn’t only his first win at a WPT event, but the first time he made a final table in one.
“Right now, it still feels a little surreal. I’m sure it will hit me a little more when I go home or take it in a little more,” Wang told the WPT after his victory. “I’ve been coming to WPTs for so many years and haven’t had a final table, so it means the world to me. I can’t believe it happened.”
The CAD $3,500 WPT Playground Championship attracted a field of 840 entrants through three starting flights who built a prize pool of CAD $2,688,000 (US $1,934,857). The top 105 made the money.
After Baron Ma (CAD $196,000), Jordan Grant (CAD $146,000), Zachary Fischer (CAD $111,000), and Amirpasha Emami (CAD $84,000) were knocked out, Wang and Santiago Plante agreed to an ICM deal that allowed them to play for the title and the entry into the WPT World Championship.
The winner also would get their name on the Mike Sexton Memorial Cup.
“Thank you to Playground and the wonderful player base that made for another spectacular festival in Montreal,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “Congratulations to Michael for cementing his name in the WPT Champions Club, and good luck to him at Wynn in December.”
Other notable players who cashed in the WPT Playground Championship were four-time WPT Champion Darren Elias (31st), Dan Stavila (76th), and WPT Global Ambassador Patrick “Egption” Tardif (101st).
“We are incredibly grateful and thrilled to see the WPT and Playground collaboration deliver yet another exceptional series this year,” said Ryan Bevens, VP of Gaming Operations at Playground. “This partnership continues to grow stronger, and we eagerly anticipate building on this success together in 2025.”
Bevens isn’t just blowing smoke — the fields were swollen. The CAD $590 WPT 500 Playground event attracted 1,598 total entries. Travis Macmillan was the winner for CAD $100,860. And the $1,150 CAD WPT Prime Playground attracted 1,587 entrants. It was won by Yunkyu Song (CAD $227,270).
The WPT next hits Jacksonville, Fla., for the bestbet Scramble Championship Nov. 15.
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize in CAD |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Wang | Las Vegas, NV | $384,738 (US $276,634 and seat into WPT World Championship) |
| 2 | Santiago Plante | Montreal, Quebec, Canada | $292,653 (US $210,417) |
| 3 | Baron Ha | Windsor, Ontario, Canada | $196,000 (US $141,083) |
| 4 | Jordan Grant | Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada | $146,000 (US $105,093) |
| 5 | Zachary Fischer | East Northport, NY | $111,000 (US $79,899) |
| 6 | Amirpasha Emami | Toronto, Ontario, Canada | $84,000 (US $60,464) |
