After busting the 2018 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 46th place when Michael Dyer cracked his pocket aces with pocket tens, James Obst began questioning whether he wanted to remain a professional poker player. In July of 2018, Obst revealed he was leaving poker and turning his attention to professional tennis.
Obst played at the 2019 WSOP in Las Vegas but then wasn't seen at the poker tables until he returned to "Sin City" for the 2023 WSOP. It was like he'd never been away, racking up nine cashes, including a fourth place in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship.
Back on the live tournament grind, Obst won his second WSOP bracelet in 2024, taking down the $10,000 Limit Seven Card Stud Champion, adding to the $10,000 Razz event he won in 2017. On September 25, 2024, Obst became a World Poker Tour champion after being the last player standing from a 396-strong crowd in the AUD$8,000 WPT Australia Championship at The Star Gold Coast.
| *Rank | Player | Prize (AUD) | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | James Obst | $585,359 | $398,512* |
| 2 | Travis Endersby | $389,478 | $265,157 |
| 3 | Daniel Murphy | $285,669 | $194,483 |
| 4 | Oleg Ivanchenko | $211,929 | $144,281 |
| 5 | Matthew Wakeman | $159,024 | $108,264 |
| 6 | Dillan Patel | $120,694 | $82,168 |
| 7 | Yuanting Wang | $92,649 | $63,075 |
| 8 | Malcolm Trayner | $71,930 | $48,970 |
| 9 | Gautam Dhingra | $56,481 | $38,452 |
*includes a USD$10,400 seat to the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas.
The unofficial nine-handed final table – WPT prefers six-handed final tables – was set late into Day 4 when Van Marcus was sent packing by Malcolm Trayner. Obst had a colossal stack of 210 big blinds when only nine players remained, with Yuanting Wang (130) and Matthew Wakeman (101) occupying the other top three spots.
The 13th hand of the unofficial final table proved unlucky for Gautum Dhingra, and it was his last participation in the event. Travis Endersby min-raised to 60,000 on the button, Dhingra three-bet all-in for 580,000 from the small blinds, and Wakeman called in the big blind. Endersby ducked out of the way, leaving Dhingra's ace-five of hearts go up against Wakeman's black aces. Dhingra flopped a flush draw but it didn't come in, and he was gone.
Trayner, who won his first bracelet in Las Vegas this summer, was the next to fall. Trayner three-bet all-in from the small blind for 19.5 big blinds with pocket fives after Wang had opened from the button. Wang called with ace-jack of spades and hit runner-runner spades for a flush.
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Wang's elimination brought the curtain down on Day 4, and the players returned for the fifth and final day with Obst still in a commanding position.
The very first hand of the official final table saw Dillan Patel bow out. Patel open-shoved 14 big blinds from the small blind with queen-jack, and Endersby looked him up with pocket fours. Endersby improved to an unnecessary set on the river, and Patel bit the dust. It was a superb result for Patel because he won his seat via a satellite in London and turned that ticket into AUD$120,694, more than three times larger than his previous best live result.
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The finalists breathed a sigh of relief on the 107th hand of the final table because it would be Wakeman's last actions. Wakeman was a regular in high-stakes online poker tournaments and knows his way around a poker table. The popular grinder three-bet all-in with pocket fives after Obst opened but found himself up against Daniel Murphy, who had shoved with queen-ten of hearts. Murphy turned a flush to leave Wakeman void of chips and the tournament with only four players.
Those four became three after the untimely demise of Oleg Ivanchenko, who moved all-in for a little over eight big blinds from the small blind with queen-ten of diamonds, and Murphy called with ace-deuce. Murphy's ace played after both players missed the board, and Ivanchenko headed to the cashier's desk.
Murphy then busted in third place to send the WPT Australia Championship into the heads-up phase. Endersby jammed from the small blind with ace-three, and Murphy called in the big blind with pocket eights. An ace on the flop left Murphy drawing to one of the remaining two eights, but they failed to appear. Once the stacks were counted, it was determined that Endersby covered Murphy by a solitary big blind.
Obst went into the heads-up battle with Endersby holding a four-to-one chip lead, and it took only five hands for him to press home that advantage. The final hand saw Obst initially limp but then quickly call when Endersby committed his entire stack. Endersby had a legitimate hand in king-jack of diamonds, but Obst had tried trapping with ace-king. Endersby flopped an open-ended straight draw, but the king on the river was one pip away and gifted Obst the victory and his first WPT title.
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The WPT is next in action from October 14 through October 30 for WPT Playground in Kahnawake, ten minutes south of downtown Montreal. From there, it heads to Jacksonville in November for WPT bestbet Scramble, jets off to Korea also in November, before the Seminole Hard Rock Rock 'n'Roll Poker Open takes the tour through to early December.
The 2024 season concludes with the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas from December 3-23, where a massive $5 million freeroll is scheduled.
Obst will be competing in the US$10,400 WPT World Championship in Las Vegas because a seat was part of his prize. You could join Obst in the season-ended event by winning your way into it via the many satellites WPT Global runs.
Images courtesy of the World Poker Tour
