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If you hadn’t heard of Corey Wade before the World Poker Tour’s $3,500 no-limit buy-in tournament in Tampa, you aren’t alone. The Arkansas resident scored his second victory of the year, but his first victory in a major event.
Last week, Wade topped a massive field of 1,165 entries to take home $471,686. The victory comes just a few months after his first career win for $33,176 in a $1,150 pot-limit Omaha tournament in Houston. However, it’s the first time Wade won either a WPT or a World Series of Poker event.
The Florida poker scene is quickly becoming one of the most popular destinations for poker players. Unfortunately, that doesn’t include mobile, as it’s still illegal to play online poker for money in the Sunshine State.
Wade bested Fred Paradis heads-up at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa. He finished the job in a thrilling final hand with an incredible twist.
Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Corey Wade | $471,686 |
| 2nd | Fred Paradis | $441,686 |
| 3rd | Brock Wilson | $411,678 |
| 4th | Steven McKoy | $226,000 |
| 5th | Seth Berger | $170,000 |
| 6th | David Tuthill | $130,000 |
Wade’s chip stack was a roller coaster en route to the final table
Wade was in a good position after Day 2, leading the 99 remaining players. But Day 3 started out rough for Wade. He lost a big pot to Kevin Ragusa, who bested Wade with a full house. Shortly after, Wade was all in against Dimitry Agrachov, whose A-K beat Wade’s pocket kings.
Wilson sent home by Wade’s kings
However, he overcame the losses and earned a spot the final table. Eventually, Wade was one of three players left. On the 190th hand, he sent high-stakes pro Brock Wilson home in third.
Wade held K-Q, while Wilson had a suited 7-9. After some back and forth on the pre-flop and flop, Wilson checked to Wade on the turn, who then bet 5.1 million with a J-7-5-K board. Wilson check-raised all-in. Wade called, tabled his hand and saw the good news. Wilson needed a 7 or a 9 to stay alive, but the river was an 8. Wade took the chips, which bumped his chip stack to 37.2 million.
Final card of the tournament wins it for Wade
From there, he sparred with Paradis for 74 hands before winning the heart-stopping final hand. Paradis raised to 1.6 million pre-flop. Wade went all in and Paradis called.
Wade turned over a suited Q-9, while Paradis showed a suited A-5. The flop was A-Q-10. Both players hit, but Paradis, of course, had the advantage. The flop was a 5, and Paradis was all but guaranteed the win.
However, the river revealed a Q, and Wade hit his three-of-a-kind, giving him his first World Poker Tour win and the largest cash of his career. With the victory, Wade now has $781,767 in career tournament earnings.
WPT tweeted out Wade’s win, offering him their congratulations for taking home the trophy after a long battle with Paradis.
Wade looks forward to WPT World Championship
Because of his win in Tampa, Wade gets a seat at the World Poker Tour World Championship in December at Wynn Las Vegas. How Wade will perform is a bit of a mystery.
Though his WPT resume is limited to one tourney, Wade began showing off his poker skills in some other mid and high-stakes events in Las Vegas. He finished second at the 53rd annual World Series of Poker $1,500 pot-limit Omaha hi-lo 8 or better last June. He took home a $179,010 purse for his runner-up finish.
His best WSOP no-limit hold’em finish was a 32nd-place in the $3,000 no-limit hold’em six-max event at the 2021 WSOP worth $12,826.
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