Photo Credits: WPT
Lorenz Schöllhorn took the WPT Prime Gold Coast Championship title after an exciting showdown at The Star, besting a field of 1,395 competitors. With a buy-in of $2,000 AUD ($1,300 USD), the tournament attracted a mix of seasoned and amateur players, totalling a prize pool exceeding $1.6 million. After five intense days of play, Schöllhorn walked away with the top prize of $257,729.
This victory is Schöllhorn’s first recorded live tournament win. His previous best was a 31st-place finish at the 2023 WPT World Championship festival in a $1,100 pot-limit Omaha event, where he earned $2,913. This latest win in the no-limit hold’em category provides the Swiss player a nice boost of his profile in the international poker community.
The climax of the tournament saw Schöllhorn enter the final table as the chip leader. In the decisive heads-up battle, he maintained a solid lead over Andres Vasquez. Schöllhorn, holding a King of Diamonds and Jack of Diamonds, faced off against Vasquez’s Jack of Spades and Jack of Hearts. The flop revealed 10 of Clubs, 8 of Diamonds, and 5 of Diamonds, giving Schöllhorn a promising flush draw. After a series of raises, Vasquez went all-in, only to be outflushed by Schöllhorn on the river with a 9 of Diamonds, securing Schöllhorn the championship.
Vasquez, despite his bold play, finished as the runner-up, taking home $171,782—his largest tournament payout to date. The tournament paid out to the top 175 finishers, with the final three each securing six-figure sums in USD.