The World Poker Tour (WPT) Champions Cup will now be renamed as the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, in honor of the legendary poker icon who has been an integral part of the tour’s success over the years, and has helped bring the game of poker to audiences across the globe.
“Incredible Honor”
Sexton was there from the very beginning. He helped conceptualize the WPT and promoted the tour for 15 years, having worked as commentator, alongside Vince Van Patten, his long-time partner at the broadcast booth.
His long and rich experience as a poker pro, innovative ideas, hard work and dedication, and his humility in dealing with the people around him contributed big time in taking WPT to its current status – a premier international poker tour brand organizing world-class tournaments. For all these years, Sexton has been a great ambassador of the game, well-known not only for his poker achievements, but also for the great things he has done off the felts.
Sexton was with the WPT since it began in 2002. In 2017, he gave up his role as WPT commentator to join partypoker, the world’s second largest online poker site.
But despite Sexton’s departure from the brand he helped build, no bridges have been burnt, and in an interesting twist of fate, both the WPT and partypoker entered into a successful partnership right in the middle of a global health crisis, paving the way for major online tournaments that provided an alternative way for players to take a shot at massive guarantees right from the comfort of their own homes.
Now, in an expression of gratitude for his contribution not just for the success of the WPT but towards the overall growth of poker in general, Mike Sexton’s name will be engraved on the WPT Champions Cup, an honor he rightfully deserves. The Champions Cup is a huge trophy, containing the names of all WPT Main Event champions. It’s studded with diamonds, taking anyone who holds it to a trip down memory lane.
Next season, it will be called the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, and the honoree himself couldn’t be happier. In a Twitter post, Sexton said he’d never imagined that his name would get etched on the prestigious trophy. If there’s anything that would top being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, that’s having your name engraved on the Champion’s Cup, Sexton declared.
Sexton’s Achievements as A Poker Pro & Ambassador
Mike Sexton is among WPT’s most successful players. Throughout the course of his career, he has won 15 WPT cashes, but a title didn’t come until 2016 when he took down the WPT Montreal Main Event for 317,896. His career WPT earnings currently sit at nearly 1 million. He is currently in 39th place for the most WPT final table appearances, and 216th in terms of WPT earnings.
Apart from the WPT, Sexton also found huge success in other huge tournaments, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP). He is a gold bracelet winner, having won the $1,500 Seven Card Stud Split at the 1989 WSOP. His 46 WSOP cashes are something to be proud of, accounting for over $900,000 of his total live earnings which have now reached $6,708,146.
However, Sexton is better known for his work as a promoter and commentator. He has travelled across the globe to promote the games, and has established strong affiliations with other major poker companies and organizations. He founded the popular Tournament of Champions, an exclusive tournament for event winners.
Sexton now sits as Chairman of partypoker and has continued to work hard in bringing fresh ideas to the table. With the ongoing partnership between both the WPT and partypoker, more exciting things are about to happen in the world of poker. The online platform is currently hosting the WPT World Online Championships which comes with a whopping $100 million guarantee.