Luis Cruz Wins partypoker WPT Main Event Nottingham for £200,000 and $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions Seat!

After five days of superb tournament poker, Luis Cruz has won the World Poker Tour Main Event and added his name to a list of winners on the top table of global poker. After beating Christopher Yong heads-up,   Luis Cruz has carved his name in poker history as the latest WPT Champions Club member after an utterly dominant heads-up performance.

It did not take long to get to a heads-up battle. A rapid final day of eliminations began with short-stack Alex Lindop’s departure after just one orbit. Lindop called Luis Cruz’s small blind shove from the big blind and would have hoped for a chop with each man having an ace, with Cruz’s five marginally higher than Lindop’s four kicker. But a three on the flop and a deuce on the river saw Lindop depart for £40,000 in time to make it home for a Sunday roast dinner.

Seamus Cahill didn’t last much longer, moving all-in with but crushed by Chris Yong’s , who rivered Broadway. Cahill couldn’t catch any help to bust in fifth place for £50,000 and he was barely on the rail to cheer on the final four before he was joined by Maxime Swennen. The $5 qualifier moved all-in with ace-high, and Luis Cruz called it off with , catching a flush by the turn to quickly bring about three-handed play.

Yong held the chip lead with three left, and he would move into heads-up play in the same dominant position with twice his nearest challenger’s chips, after a stunning hand saw Cardoso bust. Cardoso fired all three streets to try to force Yong off the pot in the final one Cardoso would play. It didn’t work, as Yong’s hand improved from a pair on the flop to two-pair on the turn and a full house on the river! Cardoso was out and Yong held all the power.

Heads-up began with Chris Yong staying in command and maintaining his 2:1 chip lead. But that did not last long. Cruz took back a few chips early on then made what was, in any tournament at any level, a superb call, when he called 700,000 chips on the river with queen-high against a strong bet from Yong. Suddenly, Cruz was level and Yong was visibly affected, his body language changing from a man in control to one who had been pushed back against the ropes. Every time he tried to fight back, the deck rewarded a serious of brilliant plays from Cruz, calling with bottom pair, playing the button expertly and then catching pocket aces twice in four hands to leave Yong on the brink of defeat after less than an hour of a friendly yet fierce duel.

The final hand was set up by a previous clash where Cruz took many of Yong’s remaining chips by turning a straight and tempting Yong on the river. The final hand saw Yong reduced to just four big blinds, and he moved all-in from the button with ace-high. Called by Cruz with king-high, Yong was still ahead after the turn, needing to fade a king or deuce. But that deuce landed on the river to give Luis Cruz the tournament. The Spanish player won £200,000 and his name will go onto the famous WPT Main Event trophy! He also takes home the $15,000 WPT Tournament of Champions ticket.

We’ll be back in WPT Main Event very soon, with events in Prague and Thailand  both on the horizon! Can you emulate Luis Cruz and add your name to the list of WPT Champions Club members? We hope to see you at the table very soon. From Europe’s largest cardroom, and a stunning final table, we’ll bid your farewell and leave you with those final table payouts in full: