Craig Mason Wins WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Title
Mason defeated Matt Affleck heads-up to take the $5,000 event's top prize of $358,800 and his first World Poker Tour title.
Updated on Nov. 11, 2026 in Casino
Craig Mason won the $5,000 WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship after a 510-entry field was reduced to a final table of six. The final table ended in a three-way chop before heads-up play, with Mason defeating Matt Affleck.
Why it matters
The result gives Mason his first World Poker Tour title and a seat in the $10,400 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. It also adds to his total live tournament cashes, which now stand at $3.5 million.
Mason won $358,800 from a 510-entry field at the $5,000 buy-in, with Affleck earning $301,000 for second place. Mason's total live tournament cashes now stand at $3.5 million, though the extraction does not detail how that total compares with other players in the field.
The players
Craig Mason
Craig Mason is a professional poker player who has accumulated $3.5 million in total live tournament cashes.
Matt Affleck
Matt Affleck is a professional poker player who finished as runner-up in the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship.
The details
Daniyal Gheba was eliminated in third place for $276,000 after moving all in with Jx8x and losing to Mason's Qx8x. Affleck was later eliminated in second place after moving all in with AxQx on a 9x6x3x flop, losing to Jx9x as the best hand held through the river.
Timeline
Sunday: The tournament was played down to a final table of six.
December: The WPT World Championship takes place at Wynn Las Vegas.
Season Trajectory
The WPT Venetian Las Vegas Fall Championship is one of the tour's Las Vegas stops, and Mason's win positions him for the year-end WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The result moves him forward in the tour's championship series while the December event remains ahead.
Poker fans can follow the December WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, where Mason will compete with his seat from the Venetian event. Tournament entry for that championship carries a $10,400 buy-in.
The takeaway
Mason's first WPT title and his seat in the December World Championship show how a single Las Vegas stop can shape a player's path through the tour's year-end events. Readers following poker results should watch the Wynn event for how the field responds.
What happens next
The WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas takes place in December, where Mason will compete for the title.
Further reading
For more on the city's gaming scene, see Las Vegas Casino coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Pokernews.
