From a $580 Satellite to a WPT® Title: Blake Ellinghaus Wins the bestbet Scramble Championship

Blake Ellinghaus turned a $580 satellite into an enormous week in his poker career.

The Illinois player won the 2026 WPT® bestbet Scramble Championship at bestbet Jacksonville for $294,900 and a seat at the WPT® World Championship in Las Vegas. It's his first WPT® title, and by far the largest score of a career that had barely cracked six figures before this run. He sealed it by rivering a straight heads-up against Jared Reinstein.

Here are the full final-table payouts, and how he came out on top.

Champion and top prize

Ellinghaus topped a 294-entry field in the $5,000 buy-in Main Event. It ran September 4–9 and cleared the $1,000,000 guarantee. He'd been near the top of the counts for most of the tournament, second in chips after his Day 1 flight and again after Day 2. He emerged the outright leader from Day 3 onward, but the title still took some earning at the final table.

For the win, he banked $294,900. The figure includes a $10,400 entry to the WPT® World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December. For a player who arrived with roughly $140,000 in prior live cashes, it's a career-redefining result. Even better, it started with a $580 satellite seat.

Final-table results and payouts

PlacePlayerPrize1Blake Ellinghaus$294,900 + WPT® World Championship seat ($10,400)2Jared Reinstein$184,0003Bryan Paris$135,0004Skyler Dennis$100,0005Michael Macchia$75,0006Hugh Membrino$57,000

How the final table played out

For a chip leader, Ellinghaus had to do plenty of fighting. Bryan Paris, an accomplished online tournament player, ran hot early to seize the lead. Reinstein took a big pot off Ellinghaus, and Hugh Membrino doubled through him in a coin-flip.

Every time the deck pushed back, though, Ellinghaus answered.

He sent Membrino out in sixth ($57,000), his top pair and top kicker holding against a weaker kicker. Reinstein's pocket aces then did the work at the other end of the table, busting Michael Macchia in fifth ($75,000). This locked up six-figure paydays for the last four.

Ellinghaus regained control from there. He eliminated Skyler Dennis in fourth ($100,000) after Dennis had earlier doubled through him, then closed out Paris. It was the toughest out at the table, in third ($135,000), when his pocket jacks held against Paris's pocket nines.

That left him heads-up against Reinstein with a commanding lead of roughly six to one. Reinstein found one double to climb back into it, but not for long. On the final hand, Ellinghaus rivered a straight and moved all-in. Reinstein, who had flopped a straight draw, called after pairing on the river, and it wasn't enough.

Reinstein took home $184,000 for second, and Ellinghaus had his title.

The $580 backstory

This is the run poker players daydream about. Ellinghaus won his seat through a $580 satellite, one that returned nearly $295,000 and a WPT® trophy. Along the way he knocked out one of online poker's most decorated players in Bryan Paris. He leaves Jacksonville having more than doubled his entire career earnings in a single tournament.

It's the kind of result the Scramble has a habit of producing. Last year's edition, in November 2025, went to Connor Rash for $315,530.

What's next

Along with the cash, $10,400 seat sends him to the WPT® World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas this December. It's a fitting next chapter for a player who, a week ago, had never won a WPT® event.

For a Cinderella story that began with a $580 satellite, the road now leads to the Strip.