James Obst wins WPT Australia Championship

James Obst has picked up his first World Poker Tour title, earning $398,512 after dominating the field in the WPT Australia Championship, defeating nearly 400 entrants.

On top of the prize money, the Australian also won a seat in the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas this December.

"It’s honestly just insane. It’s happened too quick to process it," he said following his victory.

"I’m thankful for all the support that my friends showed off and got in the photos with me, and everyone who’s reached out afterwards to congratulate me. Yeah, just feeling fantastic."

Registration closed with 396 total entries for the AUD $8,000 WPT Australia Championship at The Star Gold Coast.

A prize pool of just under $2,000,000 (USD) ultimately paid out the top 50 finishers, all of which also earned WPT Player of The Year points for their cash.

"Congratulations to James for battling his way into the WPT Champions Club," said WPT CEO Adam Pliska.

"There are only two more stops for the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup this season before settling back in Las Vegas for the year-end World Championship."

Other notable victories during the festival were Phoebe Yan winning the Ladies Australian Championship for $15,120, Chen Li taking first in the annual Shane Warne Legacy tournament, a fundraising event in memory of the late Shane Warne, and Corey Kempson winning the AUD $20,000 Super High Roller for (AUD) $354,541.

Walking away as Player of the Festival with a $5,000 WPT Passport and POF trophy was Bert Perry, who took second place in both the AUD $800 Pot Limit Omaha and AUD $2,000 Mini Championship events, finishing with 1,275 total points.