The WPT Alpha8 series made it’s return this week at the Wynn/Encore Las Vegas. The high-stakes tournament made its return a special one to benefit the OneDrop Foundation.
Outlasting the field of 45 of the most popular players in the game, Jonathan Jaffe came out on top to take home $1,537,600, the Alpha8 trophy, and the Wynn trophy.
WPT Alpha8 for OneDrop final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
| 1 | Jonathan Jaffe | $1,537,600 |
| 2 | Taylor von Kriegenbergh | $1,042,100 |
| 3 | Dan Smith | $701,700 |
| 4 | Aleksejs Ponakovs | $485,200 |
| 5 | Michael Lim | $350,100 |
| 6 | Iaron Lightbourne | $273,200 |
Path to victory
Jaffe came into the day with a chip lead over his five opponents at the final table. However, it would be anything but smooth sailing for the man from Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
The final six were cut down to three relatively quickly, with Lightbourne, Lim, and Ponakovs eliminated within the first couple of hours. However, the three-way match saw chips trade hands back and forth before one would fall.
Jaffe suffered a few blows at the hands of Smith and Von Kriegenbergh, to the point that he found himself the short stack. Still, he maintained his composure and picked his spots to even things up.
A key hand came when the three players all saw a flop in a four-bet pot. With Von Kriegenbergh all in, Jaffe was able to bet Smith’s better hand out of the pot to take down the side pot. Von Kriegenbergh drilled a set to triple up, and Smith was then left low.
Shortly after, Smith would be eliminated in third place when his queen-jack suited couldn’t improve against Von Kriegenbergh’s ace-rag.
Smith did take to Twitter to reveal a text from Jaffe just before play today. It might be an awkward BBQ.
Heads-up play
Once heads up, both stacks were nearly equal. Jaffe has a slight lead, and he chipped away at Von Kriegenbergh’s stack until the deciding hand came about an hour into play.
Von Kriegenbergh found himself in a flip for it all against Jaffe’s bigger stack. Jaffe’s pocket tens held up to take down the title.
Live the moment with Jaffe as the final card falls that we captured from inside the rail.
Congratulations to Jaffe for his masterful performance against some of the world’s elite poker players. Adding over $1.5 million to his impressive résumé, Jaffe demonstrated why he’s one of the best on the felt all three days of play.
All photos credit: Drew Amato/WPT
