There were 639 players willing to put up $25k to play in the championship of season five of the World Poker Tour, and in addition to how they finished they have a nice story to tell - how they competed in the event that saw the crowning of the first champion that holds both a WPT Champ title and a World Series of Poker Championship title. Juan Carlos Mortensen emerged from the field as the champion, taking on a tough final table and outlasting the only other player in the event who could have made the same claim to double-fame as The Matador, Phil “Poker Brat” Hellmuth.
Hellmuth was the chip leader coming into Days Three and Four, but was not there on Day Five, the final day with only six players - Mortensen, Kirk Morrison, Paul Lee, Guy Laliberte, Tim Phan, and Mike Wattel.
There was over $15 million in the prize pool, and when Mortensen beat Kirk Morrison in heads up play he cinched a few other record breaking events as well. His almost four million dollar pay day was the biggest in WPT history, and he became the first player at the Bellagio - where the event was held - to break $5million in career earnings at that casino. Carlos, who won the WSOP in 2001, is known for his aggressive style and his cool manner at the table, and now he will go down in the books as the first ever champion of both the WPT and the WSOP.
PlacePlayerPrize1Juan Carlos Mortensen$3.97 million 2Kirk Morrison$2 million 3Paul Lee$1 million4Guy Laliberte$696,000 5Tim Phan$484,0006Mike Wattel$309,000
