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In the end, there was one Gladiator left standing.
After four starting flights and three days of play, Stephen Winters topped a 20,647-player field to win Event #20: Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold’em.
Winters outlasted the enormous field and defeated Simon Britton in the first hand of heads-up play to secure a first-place prize of $401,210 and his first WSOP gold bracelet. Britton takes home $253,300 for his second-place finish.
“I guess this is for the little guys,” Winters said. “I just play a few small tournaments each year, so it was exciting just to be relevant for once.”
Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold’em Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Stephen Winters | United States | $401,210 |
2 | Simon Britton | United States | $253,300 |
3 | Quang Vu | United States | $192,030 |
4 | Brendon Herrick | United States | $146,450 |
5 | James Morgan | United States | $112,350 |
6 | Sung Pil Kim | United States | $86,710 |
7 | Steve Foutty | United States | $67,320 |
8 | Jordan Johnson | United States | $52,590 |
9 | Caleb Levesque | United States | $41,337 |
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Winner’s Reaction
Winters survived the zaniness of the tournament by staying grounded. While he didn’t have a rail of supporters present to cheer him on at the final table, Winters stayed in constant touch with his family throughout the tournament.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever repeat this again, but I might play the Main “
He received all the encouragement he needed from his wife and children. In fact, Winters called his family before his post-match photography shoot and allowed them to participate in his moment via FaceTime.
“It was fun to have my kids kind of railing me from home,” Winters said with a wide smile. “Like, every time I would report on how I was doing, they’d be like, ‘Oh, daddy, try to get a thousand, try to get in top 900, and then they kept setting bars and bars and bars, and it’s just the whole thing (is) surreal to be at this point.”
In the meantime, Winters pointed out he was supposed to fly home Wednesday, a day after winning the Gladiators event.
But the plans could be subject to change for the WSOP newest bracelet winner.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever repeat this again, but I might play the Main (Event) now,” Winters said. “We’ll see.”
Final Day Recap
A total of 14 players, all of whom were vying for their first WSOP bracelet, advanced to Day 3, with Britton and Winters the top two chip counts.
By the time the final table was reached, Winters was in the lead, and that lead grew with the elimination of Caleb Levesque in ninth place. However, doubles for Quang Vu and Sung Pil Kim would eat into that lead, before Britton eliminated Jordan Johnson in eighth.
Brendon Herrick would find himself in the chip lead, and eliminated Steve Foutty next, before Winters would double back through Kim before eliminating the same opponent in sixth place to regain the chip lead.
The action was fast-paced with the chip lead exchanging hands regularly, as James Morgan hit the rail.
But Winters would open up a commanding position with the back-to-back eliminations of Herrick and Vu to the rail, and with the overwhelming chip lead, Winters needed just one hand to best Britton in heads-up play to leave him as the last Gladiator standing in the arena.
This concludes the live coverage from Event #20, be sure to stay tuned to CelestialPoker for all of the action from rest of the 2024 World Series of Poker.
In this Series
- 1 Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
- 2 Jose Garcia Wins Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em for $79,134
- 3 Asher Conniff Wins First Bracelet in Event 1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $408,468
- 4 Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
- 5 James Chen Wins WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo ($209,350)
- 6 Darius Samual’s 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 7 Mixed Game Legend John Hennigan Wins Seventh Bracelet at 2024 WSOP
- 8 Bryce Yockey BLASTS 25K Fantasy Draft Price After $5K PLO Bracelet Win
- 9 “I’m Only Here to Win Bracelets,” says Nick Guagenti as He Captures His Second
- 10 Malcolm Trayner Made a Millionaire in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 11 Great Scott! Seiver Adds to Legacy with Fifth WSOP Bracelet
- 12 David Prociak Conquers The $1,500 Badugi for His Second Bracelet and $129,676
- 13 Simeon Spasov Wins $1,500 6-Max to Claim Second Bracelet for $439,815!
- 14 Robert Mizrachi Joins Brother on Five WSOP Bracelets After $10,000 Dealer’s Choice Victory
- 15 20 Years in the Making: TJ Murphy Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 16 Caleb Furth Captures Maiden Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $265,361
- 17 Dylan Weisman Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 18 Brent Hart Rises From Pack to Win Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
- 19 John Racener Spins Shortest Stack Up to WSOP Gold in LHE Championship
- 20 Aaron Cummings Wins His First Bracelet In Lowball Triple Draw Event
- 21 “Feeling Vindicated”: Brek Schutten Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for $1,405,641
- 22 Sean Troha Completes Hat Trick in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
- 23 Huge Comeback Inspires Daniel Sepiol to First Bracelet in $1,500 Shootout
- 24 Daniel Vampan Claims First Bracelet and $148,635 in $3,000 Limit Hold’em 6-Max
- 25 Stephen Winters Defeats 20,647 Players to Win $300 Gladiators of Poker ($401,210)