Thomas Ward: Rising Star in New Zealand Poker Scene

Thomas Ward is the third ranked Poker professional in New Zealand. The 34-year-old Kiwi has been competing for over 15 years mainly on the Asian Poker circuit, particularly in Macau where he has recorded most of his tournament successes. Ward’s maiden championship was in 2013, where he clinched first place at the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Macau cashing his first 5-figure paycheck of $ 13,031.

Ward’s first top cash came in November 2014 at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Auckland where he finished runner-up at the Main Event banking $ 82,574. He would repeat the same finish at Macau in the same APPT Series, recording a career best live cash of $ 481,960.

Thomas Ward’s continued success

Thomas Ward from New Zealand
Thomas Ward

Though Ward would have limited success outside the Asian circuit with his best showing at the 45th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2014 Las Vegas, cashing in the $10,000 World Championship No Hold’em Event with a tidy $33,734 paycheck, the Kiwi would remain consistent in the tournament tables of Macau. His consistent deep runs particularly from 2016 to 2018 would net him nearly a quarter of a million US dollars in prize money. Ward would then bag a significant title at the 2023 U Series of Poker (USOP) Da Nang, winning the High Roller Bounty Hunter Event and padding his earnings by $46,255.

Ward opened his 2024 campaign with a deep run at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Cambodia Championship. To date his Total Live Earnings have reached $ 1,268,158. This is discounting his World Series of Poker On-Line winnings of more than 1.4 million with a single event high in August 2020 where he bagged a whopping $ 1,353,634.

*Profile by Mike Alcazaren

Links:

USOP Danang Day 4 recap: Romain Bier wins second trophy; Thomas Ward, Sergei Iablokov, Alen Bakovic, Lee Koangho

*Profile by Mike Alcazaren

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