In a fast-paced final, Craig Mason secured the title at the $5k WPT Venetian Fall Championship event at The Venetian Las Vegas following a deal, taking home $358,800 (including a $10k WPT World Championship ticket).
Of the 510 entries, only six players remained to take their seats at the final table. Nick Pupillo was the clear chip leader, well ahead of Daniyal Gheba. Anthony Piacquadio and Craig Mason started the day very short-stacked, with fewer than 20 big blinds. Soon after, Nick Pupillo had to relinquish his lead to Daniyal Gheba, but it was Craig Mason who was the first to double up with 
:6dd: against Gheba’s 
on a board of 
on the board.
The action continued with plenty of excitement and a constantly shifting lead, until Craig Mason, holding jacks, sent Anthony Piacquadio—who held 
—packing as the first player to be eliminated. The flop 
kept things exciting, but the turn was 
and the river 
, leaving five players remaining.
The action continued, with several players doubling up, before Craig Mason hit the kings and eliminated Nick Yunis with 
. Nick Pupillo also fell victim to Craig Mason. As the big stack, Mason went all-in from the SB with 
; Nick Pupillo, holding 
, decided to call all-in from the BB. The board ran 
, and Pupillo finished in 4th place.
The remaining three players moved closer together, leading to a deal. The payouts were adjusted, and instead of $446,800 (including a ticket), only $358,800 awaited the winner. All three had already secured $276,000.
Despite the reduced payouts, the action continued back and forth for some time, and the chip lead changed hands several times. In hand #142, Craig Mason was able to double up with 
against on the board 
against on the board to take a clear lead. Matt Affleck then doubled up with against : 
from Daniyal Gheba, who was now left very short-stacked. Immediately afterward, Gheba went all-in with 
against Craig Mason’s ; the board ran 
, and the match went heads-up.
Craig Mason was the chip leader, but Matt Affleck was far from giving up on the title. He briefly took the lead, but Craig Mason regained the advantage, and the decision was ultimately made in Hand #163. On the flop 
, Matt Affleck went all-in with 
, and Craig decided to call with 
. The turn was , the river was 
, and Craig Mason celebrated his very first WPT title and $358,800, including a ticket. Matt Affleck took home $301,000 as consolation.
The WPT is now heading into the final stretch of the year, with the major WPT World Championship providing intense action throughout December at the Wynn Las Vegas.
As always, updates are available at wpt.com.
$5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas
Entries: 510
Prize Pool: $2,346,000
| Rank | Name | Payout | Deal |
| 1 | Craig Mason | $446,800 | $358,800 |
| 2 | Matt Affleck | $280,000 | $301,000 |
| 3 | Daniyal Gheba | $209,000 | $276,000 |
| 4 | Nick Pupillo | $155,000 | |
| 5 | Nick Yunis | $117,000 | |
| 6 | Anthony Piacquadio | $88,000 | |
| 7 | Mohammad Pourmandi | $67,000 | |
| 8 | Sonny Lee | $52,500 | |
| 9 | Raman Afanasenka | $45,000 | |
| 10 | Keith Lehr | $38,500 | |
| 11 | Aaron Massey | $38,500 | |
| 12 | Colin Robinson | $32,500 | |
| 13 | Cherish Andrews | $32,500 | |
| 14 | Jason Hickey | $28,500 | |
| 15 | Eddie Pak | $28,500 | |
| 16 | Derek Gregory | $25,000 | |
| 17 | Sam Soverel | $25,000 | |
| 18 | Andrew Ostapchenko | $22,200 | |
| 19 | Brandt Atkins | $22,200 | |
| 20 | Phil Hellmuth | $22,200 | |
| 21 | Shannon Shorr | $19,500 | |
| 22 | Joe McKeehen | $19,500 | |
| 23 | Chahn Jung | $19,500 | |
| 24 | Austin McCullers | $16,900 | |
| 25 | Giuseppe Pantaleo | $16,900 | |
| 26 | Anthony Marquez | $16,900 | |
| 27 | Jesse Lonis | $16,900 | |
| 28 | Landon Tice | $16,900 | |
| 29 | Daniel Chan | $16,900 | |
| 30 | Paul Lozano Martin | $16,900 | |
| 31 | Darren Rabinowitz | $16,900 | |
| 32 | Joel Micka | $14,400 | |
| 33 | Byung Eun Shin | $14,400 | |
| 34 | Barry Shulman | $14,400 | |
| 35 | Spencer Simpson | $14,400 | |
| 36 | Casey Coughlan | $14,400 | |
| 37 | Jeremy Felicetti | $14,400 | |
| 38 | Bill Klein | $14,400 | |
| 39 | Dennis Naroditsky | $14,400 | |
| 40 | Asher Conniff | $12,100 | |
| 41 | Danny Qutami | $12,100 | |
| 42 | Jim Collopy | $12,100 | |
| 43 | Kelly Becker | $12,100 | |
| 44 | David Pelosi | $12,100 | |
| 45 | William Kerkaert | $12,100 | |
| 46 | John Phan | $12,100 | |
| 47 | Francis Anderson | $12,100 | |
| 48 | Mike Meskin | $10,200 | |
| 49 | Justin Sternberg | $10,200 | |
| 50 | Daniel Maor | $10,200 | |
| 51 | Anthony Zinno | $10,200 | |
| 52 | Jeremy Wien | $10,200 | |
| 53 | Gladys Landegger | $10,200 | |
| 54 | Zhijiang Bi | $10,200 | |
| 55 | Victor Chu | $10,200 | |
| 56 | Ziao Guo | $9,200 | |
| 57 | Gregor Sverko | $9,200 | |
| 58 | Mike Souchak | $9,200 | |
| 59 | Steven Frew | $9,200 | |
| 60 | Tomas Szwarcberg | $9,200 | |
| 61 | Taylor Paur | $9,200 | |
| 62 | John Riordan | $9,200 | |
| 63 | Mearl Wisehart | $9,200 | |
| 64 | Elvyn Bello | $9,200 |
World Poker Tour Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship 2026
Date: October 28 through November 15
Location: The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino, Las Vegas
Events: 36 + Satellites
Buy-Ins: $400 to $5,000
Schedule –> click
