Dylan Smith narrowly missed capturing a World Poker Tour (WPT) title earlier in May 2024, finishing fifth in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown main event. Remarkably, just 188 days later, Smith seized another chance at glory, winning the $3,500 buy-in WPT Rock’n’Roll Poker Open main event. Outlasting a field of 1,435 entries, Smith earned the prestigious title and a career-best payday of $662,200.
“It feels phenomenal,” Smith said after his victory. “I didn’t know when I’d get a chance at redemption, and I’m really grateful it happened so quickly.”
Both of Smith’s WPT final tables have taken place at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in South Florida, a venue where he has earned eight of his 14 highest tournament cashes. With this win, Smith’s total live tournament earnings now approach $3.5 million across 103 recorded cashes.
The victory also earned Smith 1,440 Card Player Player of the Year (POY) points, his first title and fourth final-table finish of 2024. With 2,689 total points, he is now within striking distance of the top 100 in the 2024 POY standings presented by Global Poker.
The event featured a $3 million guarantee, but the impressive turnout boosted the total prize pool to $4,592,000, distributed among the top 181 finishers. Notable deep runs included two-time bracelet winner Jesse Lonis (29th), 2015 WSOP Main Event champion Joe McKeehen (26th), and WPT champions Matthew Wantman (8th) and Darryll Fish (7th).
Final Table Action:
The final day began with Matthew Beinner in the lead and bracelet winner Francis Anderson as the short stack. Paul Domb was the first to bust when his pocket jacks fell to Beinner’s pocket kings, earning him $140,000 for sixth place.
Anderson briefly gained momentum with a double-up but was later eliminated in fifth place for $184,000 when his pocket queens lost to Beinner’s ace-king. This boosted Anderson’s lifetime earnings to nearly $3.6 million.
Landon Tice, runner-up in the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, exited in fourth place. His pocket nines couldn’t hold against Florian Ribouchon’s pocket tens, earning Tice $245,000 and pushing his career earnings beyond $2.3 million.
Ribouchon’s run ended in third place ($325,000) after his pocket sixes lost to Beinner’s pocket nines, which improved to a full house. This marked the Frenchman’s second-largest career score, following his $1,003,554 runner-up finish in the 2023 WSOP Millionaire Maker event.
Heads-Up Showdown:
Beinner started heads-up play with a nearly 2:1 chip lead over Smith, but Smith quickly closed the gap. A series of pivotal hands, including a rivered straight and a king-high flush, swung the momentum in Smith’s favor, giving him a commanding lead.
The final hand saw Smith shove from the button with 7♣6♣. Beinner called with Q♥J♦, but the 7♦6♦ on the flop gave Smith two pair. Beinner turned a gutshot straight draw with the 9♣, but the 3♠ on the river sealed his fate. Beinner finished as runner-up, earning $440,000—more than double his previous best cash of $204,601.
Smith’s incredible run secured his first WPT title, cementing his status as a rising star in the poker world.
