World Poker Tour Emperors Palace
After finishing runner-up in two prior World Poker Tour main events in 2014, American poker pro Dylan Wilkerson finally broke through this week when he emerged victorious in the 2014 WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic $3,500 no-limit hold’em main event.
Season XIV of the World Poker Tour saw another event come to a completion over the weekend, as the WPT Emperors Palace Poker Classic wrapped up. The R36,000 Main Event (approx. $2,600) was won. Follow horse racing with Alex Hammond on Sky Sports - get live racing results, racecards, news, videos, photos, stats (horses & jockeys), plus daily tips.
Wilkerson topped a field of 166 entrants to capture the title and the $147,509 first-place prize in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Wilkerson also earned 468 Card Player Player of the Year points for his first win of the year at his fifth final table. With a second=place showing in the sizable WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star main event for $728,650 and his runner-up finish in the WPT Fallsview main event for another $205,925 already under his belt, Wilkerson now has year-to-date earnings of $1,223,816.
Emperors Palace World Poker Tour
Wilkerson’s Player of the Year point total now sits at 3,784 which is good enough to move him into sixth place in the overall standings.
Wilkerson came into the final day as one of the shorter stacks of the 17 player’s that made it to day 3, but managed to build his stack and by the time he made it to heads-up play he was virtually tied with eventual runner-up Richard Barnard.
Wilkerson was able to build a lead before the final hand arose. Barnard raised to 175,000 from the button and Wilkerson moved all-in from the big blind. Barnard made the call with the KQ only to see that he was in big trouble against Wilkerson’s AQ.
The board ran out 1066Q5 to secure the pot and the title for Wilkerson. Barnard earned $85,651 for his runner-up showing.
Here is a look at the payouts and POY points awarded at this final table:
Emperor Palace Restaurant
| Place | Player | Earnings (USD) | POY Points |
| 1 | Dylan Wilkerson | $147,509 | 468 |
| 2 | Richard Barnard | $85,651 | 390 |
| 3 | Diane Crous | $54,721 | 312 |
| 4 | Chris Convery | $38,543 | 234 |
| 5 | Aaron Overton | $29,740 | 195 |
| 6 | Darryn Lipman | $22,602 | 156 |
| 7 | Seth Berger | $17,606 | 117 |
| 8 | Cape Connexion | $13,086 | 78 |
| 9 | Hendrick Appel | $9,279 | 39 |