Lee Markholt Wins World Poker Tour 2008

March 31 - After trying his luck fifteen times at the World Poker Tour Challenge, Lee Markholt was finally awarded the title of champion at the prestigious event that took place in Reno this weekend.

Markholt played at a particularly tough final table that held the likes of Phil Ivey, David "the Dragon" Pham and Michael "the Grinder" Mizrachi.

Lee Markholt beat 206 opponents to grab nearly $500,000 in cash for his efforts. He came head to head with Bryan Devonshire and beat this final opponent in just two hands, thanks in part to a major chip advantage that definitely gave him the upper hand. Devonshire was going for his first major title win, after coming in second in the 2007 World Series of Poker event.

Phil Ivey came in a disappointing 10th place around the table and won $46,000. This was the first time that Ivey did not make the TV final table after cashing in a World Poker Tour Event. David Pham was the only player out of the ten finalists who made the TV table.

This year's competition saw a sharp drop in the number of contestants, a direct result of the buy-in increase from $5,000 in 2007 to R7,500 this time around. While 425 players registered last year, only 261 did so this year. This, of course, explains the smaller payouts and prize pool.

The final results of the World Poker Tour Challenge were as follows:

1st Place - Lee Markholt - $493,815

2nd Place - Bryan Devonshire - $271,625

3rd Place - Zachary Hyman - $149,862

4th Place - Jason Potter - $103,030

5th Place - David Pham - $93,664

6th Place - Jeff DeWitt - $84,297

7th Place - Michael Mizrachi - $75,000