One of the most carefree, lovable guys in all of poker just won one of the most prestigious titles in all of poker. The wild man from California, Scott Stewart, claimed the $2,563,900 top prize in the 2024 WPT World Championship, all with Charlie the Double Doodle by his side.
After a wild six-hour heads-up match with England’s Rob Sherwood that lasted well over 100 hands, Stewart was able to celebrate his first seven-figure score in style. If Stewart’s looks and demeanor are familiar, you may have seen him during his previous career-best run, when he took home $535,000 for his 13th-place finish in the 2017 WSOP Main Event.
After much celebrating with family and his rambunctious rail, Stewart only had one thing on his mind: calling his mom. As he called, she gave him an all-too familiar message: “Don’t spend money foolishly when you drink.”
She had been watching Stewart and his rail pound Budweiser after Budweiser as she tuned into the live stream, staying awake for the entirety of the broadcast.
“Mom couldn’t make it, bad right knee right now,” Stewart told the World Poker Tour.
“It’s gonna get fixed, but for a little bit she can’t walk long distances. But I knew she was there in spirit. I knew she was gonna be awake. There’s no way she was going to bed without seeing if I won or lost.”
It looked as if the broadcast would be a quick one, as the final table reached heads-up play after just 69 hands. Unfortunately for everyone on site, it would be another 103 hands to separate Stewart and Sherwood, with Stewart eventually laying claim to the title after a seemingly never-ending back-and-forth battle.
| Place | Player | Prize | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scott Stewart | $2,563,900 | USA |
| 2 | Rob Sherwood | $2,200,000 | England |
| 3 | Eddie Pak | $2,000,000 | USA |
| 4 | Chris Moorman | $1,150,000 | England |
| 5 | Ryan Yu | $875,000 | South Korea |
| 6 | Christian Roberts | $665,000 | Venezuela |
It was nearly over on hand number 86 of the night, 17 hands into heads-up play, when Stewart found himself with pocket queens against Sherwood’s ace-jack with the title in sight. Sherwood would bink an ace on the flop, sending the heads-up match into what would be a classic marathon.
Despite the Englishman’s early stroke of luck, Stewart was more than respectful towards his opponent’s play.
“That queens versus ace-jack hand, I had whittled him down to exactly where [I wanted him],” Stewart told WPT. “He had a shove stack, and I had the perfect hand. Then after that, it just felt like it flip flopped, and he couldn’t lose.
“God, he was a tough player. Heads up, he was so stoic, and I felt like he never bluffed. Then he bluffed in the perfect spot where I really burned time banks, after [not having done so] this whole tournament.”
In fact, at one point, Stewart was down to 12 big blinds as a 6-to-1 dog but, in large part to his tremendous rail, he was able to fight back. In the end, he was able to celebrate his crowning achievement, with the real damage coming in the form of pocket kings holding against Sherwood’s pocket sixes for all but just under two big blinds.
Though Sherwood found a double, Stewart was able to get in next hand with J♣10♦ against Sherwood’s 7♥3♦.
The board ran out K♣J♦5♠5♣8♠ and everyone was finally able to fully let loose.
“They were consistently the best rail ever,” Stewart said. “Never a dull moment, and never a moment of doubt.
“I’ve got this friend, Sam, he’s a really bad influence on me. And then they were like, man, this guy, Jake, too, is bad news. Got to stay away from him. But I just kept plugging away. I lost my hair, gained some weight, but I’m still playing and it all ended up working out. It just took 15 or 16 years.
“Penthouse suite tonight. I know it’s late, but there’s no bedtime in Vegas!”