You add that they’re back-to-back and it makes the feat even more remarkable. Bluff Magazine also reported that no player has ever won the same event twice in the nine years that the World Poker Tour’s (WPT) has been running, let alone back-to-back. Then if you also consider that the EPT has never seen a two-time winner and you can see the buzz around Vanessa Selbst is entirely warranted.
In terms of the final table’s play, Selbst was even, at one point, the short stack amongst the final five players. She steadied the ship though and after entering heads-up with Dan Shak at a 1-3 disadvantage in the chip count the American brought home the $450k prize. Selbst can also state that she’s the only person to ever win the NAPT Mohegan Sun. The newly crowned Queen of live poker anyone?
It took Scarborough only 20 minutes of heads-up play with Seidel to shepherd the veteran to the door and claim his first major title. With it came $273,664, a WPT bracelet and a $25k seat at the WPT Championship. Seidel’s impressive year continued as he walked away with $155,103 as the runner up.