Illinois native Blake Ellinghaus turned a $580 satellite ticket into the biggest score of his career, taking down the $5,000…
Read MoreBlake Ellinghaus Wins WPT bestbet Scramble for $294,900
Illinois native Blake Ellinghaus turned a $580 satellite ticket into the biggest score of his career, taking down the $5,000 WPT bestbet Scramble Championship at bestbet Jacksonville in Northern Florida. The $1 million guaranteed event drew 294 entries, and Ellinghaus outlasted the field to bank $294,900 at Wednesday’s final table. It’s his first World Poker Tour title, and it earns him a seat in the WPT Champions Club.
- Ellinghaus won his first WPT title and $294,900 after qualifying through a $580 satellite.
- He came in with just $140,000 in prior live tournament cashes, so this was a career-changing result.
- Jared Reinstein finished runner-up for $184,000, and online legend Bryan Paris took third for $135,000.
A Satellite Qualifier Runs the Table in Jacksonville
Ellinghaus did not buy in directly. He won his seat through a $580 satellite, then spent most of the tournament near the top of the counts.
He finished Day 1a second in chips and closed Day 2 in the same spot. On Day 3, he grabbed the chip lead heading into the final table, putting him in the driver’s seat for the trophy.
The venue itself is worth noting. Bestbet Jacksonville is one of the busier stops on the Florida poker map, and it has become a regular WPT host in the state’s Northern corridor.
The Final Table Fights Back
The last six did not roll over. Paris, one of the best online poker pros the game has produced, ran hot early and grabbed the chip lead away from Ellinghaus.
Reinstein won a big pot off Ellinghaus, and Hugh Membrino doubled through him after taking down a 60/40 flip. For a stretch, the leader looked mortal.
Then Ellinghaus reasserted control. He flopped top pair, top kicker to bust Membrino, who held top pair with a weaker kicker, in sixth place for $57,000. Reinstein’s pocket aces sent Michael Macchia out in fifth for $75,000.
Skyler Dennis doubled through Ellinghaus to stay alive, but Ellinghaus soon busted him in fourth for $100,000. He then woke up with pocket jacks against Paris’s pocket nines, and the jacks held to end the online star’s run in third for $135,000.
Heads-Up Ends on a River Straight
Ellinghaus carried a 6:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Reinstein. Reinstein doubled once to stay in the fight, but he could not close the gap.
On the final hand, Ellinghaus rivered a straight and moved all in. Reinstein called with a flopped straight draw that bricked into only a pair on the river, and he settled for second and $184,000.
For more results from the tour, Tight Poker’s World Poker Tour news hub tracks every stop.
Full WPT bestbet Scramble Final Table Results
Why This Win Matters
A $294,900 payday changes the math for a player who sat on $140,000 in career cashes. Ellinghaus more than tripled his lifetime earnings in a single afternoon and stamped his name on the WPT Champions Club, poker’s roster of tour winners that leads all the way up to the WPT World Championship. The Scramble keeps producing life-changing results, too. Last year Connor Rash won the same event for $315,530, so first place here has been elite money two years running. Not bad for a $580 flyer.