Stephen Winters claims victory in Event #20 WSOP: Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold’em

Stephen Winters claims victory in Event #20 WSOP: Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold’em

Source: pokernews

A total of 20,647 participants entered the arena for Event #20: Gladiators of Poker No-Limit Hold’em, part of the 2024 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas, which generated a prize pool of $5,079,162.

When the dust settled from the competition, Stephen Winters emerged as the lone combatant to entertain the masses and claim victory.

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 a WSOP gold bracelet, the first of his poker career. Britton takes home $253,300 for his second-place finish.

The win provided vindication for Winters, who might have seen himself as an underdog.

“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.”

The accomplishment proved relevant, indeed, as the win cemented Winters’ place among a select group of poker players with WSOP bracelets.

He earned it by outlasting a vast field consisting of WSOP bracelet winners Men Nguyen, who fell victim to Winters near the end of Day 2, Shaun Deeb, Brett Shaffer, Daniel Heimiller, Mark Seif and Steven Wolansky, among other notable players.

Absorbing the enormity of what he just accomplished won’t be lost on Winters any time soon.

“This is a whole other crazy level,” he said.

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.

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 children 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.”

Stephen Winters claims victory in Event #20 WSOP

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