2022 WPT Tampa
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
Tampa, Florida
Event 5
$1,100 Eight-Handed NLH (Re-Entry)
$50,000 Guaranteed
Entries:  119
Prize Pool:  $115,430
August 26, 2022

Clyde Maliauka topped the field in Event 5 to take home the fourth trophy of the tournament series early on Saturday. He was awarded the top prize worth $30,730, along with the WPT trophy that was the first trophy he has earned in a tournament win.

Maliauka was the big stack at the final table, and he used that to his advantage to bully his opponents on his journey to the win. “There were just so many short stacks, so my job as the big stack was to just bully everybody, and I think I did a good job of that today,” said Mailauka.

Here is a what he had to say shortly after his victory: “It means a lot, I’ve worked hard, I’ve studied a lot, and the results have shown. I’m really happy to bring home the win today.”

The local player Maliauka had many supporters on the rail at the final table, and he said he definitely uses that to his advantage. “I always run hands with all the friends I know in the poker community. I think that the best way to learn about poker is just talking about it with other people, so it’s helped a lot,” said Maliauka.

“For sure, I’m a Tampa local, I live here in Clearwater, and I definitely have my sights set on a lot of events here. I’m happy that it’s so close,” said Maliauka about his plans for the rest of the tournament series (including possibly setting his sights on the Player of the Series gold trophy).

He also had this to say about playing tournaments here at Seminole Hard Rock Tampa: “I love that the way you guys run events is really clean, you guys are clearly a step ahead of everybody else as far as tournament organization. I think the staff is fantastic, and I think you guys do an awesome job of running the tournaments, and that’s why I keep coming back.”

Here is a look at the full results from the tournament: