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Blake Ellinghaus has captured his first World Poker Tour title, topping a field of 294 entries in the $5,000 WPT bestbet Scramble Championship at bestbet Jacksonville. The Illinois native earned $294,900, by far the largest score of his career, after edging out Jared Reinstein heads-up.
Prior to this event, Ellinghaus had accumulated just $140,000 in live tournament earnings. He qualified for the $1 million guaranteed tournament through a $580 satellite, a modest investment that turned into a life-changing result.
Ellinghaus held a strong stack for most of the tournament, finishing second in chips after both Day 1a and Day 2 before grabbing the overall lead entering the Day 3 final table.
The final table was far from smooth sailing. Online poker veteran Bryan Paris surged early to seize the chip lead, and Reinstein also took a big pot off Ellinghaus. Hugh Membrino then doubled through the eventual champion after winning a 60/40 flip, but Ellinghaus answered back, busting Membrino in sixth place ($57,000) with top pair, top kicker.
Reinstein’s pocket aces later eliminated Michael Macchia in fifth ($75,000), securing six-figure payouts for the remaining four. Skyler Dennis briefly doubled through Ellinghaus as well, only to be sent out in fourth place ($100,000) soon after.
Ellinghaus then pulled away for good, knocking out Paris in third ($135,000) when his pocket jacks held against pocket nines. Heads-up, he carried a 6:1 chip advantage over Reinstein and ultimately closed it out after rivering a straight, with Reinstein’s river pair falling short for a runner-up finish worth $184,000.
