Lisa Costello Triumphs in the 2023 WPT Ladies Championship

The 2023 WPT Ladies Championship, one of the highlights of the 2023 WPT World Championship Festival, concluded with Lisa Costello emerging as the champion. With a $1,100 buy-in, the tournament attracted 457 entries, building a prize pool of $443,290. In a thrilling finale, Costello defeated Ashley Sleeth in heads-up play, securing the championship title and $85,297 in prize money.

The final table was set when Anastasia Knapp and Jessica Richards were simultaneously eliminated in a tie for 9th place. Entering the final day, Sleeth was in the lead, closely followed by Chris Read and Costello. The final table commenced with high intensity, seeing the first elimination, Michelle Gibson, in 8th place, followed by Alida Veliu in 7th.

At this stage, Read was leading the remaining six players, while Costello found herself short-stacked before doubling up through Kathy Stahl, leaving her with only a handful of chips. Stahl then displayed remarkable resilience, surviving multiple all-ins, tripling and doubling up, and outlasting Ada Lang, Aylar Lie, and Read, who all finished in 6th through 4th places, respectively.

Costello began to gain ground as the game progressed, extending her chip lead. Stahl’s remarkable run eventually ended in 3rd place, losing a classic flip with AKs against Costello’s pocket Jacks.

Entering the heads-up battle against Sleeth, Costello held a commanding lead of more than 2:1, which expanded to 5.5:1 in the very next hand. Although it appeared the tournament might end quickly, Sleeth managed a lucky river hit to stay in the game.

The decisive moment came when Sleeth limped, prompting Costello to raise. Sleeth then went all-in for all her chips, to which Costello quickly responded with a call, holding AQ against Sleeth’s AT. The board ran out 976 K 5, with Sleeth flopping a gutshot straight draw but failing to improve.

Costello won the pot and the championship with ace-queen high, while Sleeth finished as the runner-up, earning $57,069.

Costello’s victory was particularly remarkable considering she was on the brink of elimination on Day 2, left with only five big blinds. Reflecting on her extraordinary comeback and victory, Costello said, “I think, honestly, I was just so grateful to actually be here after what happened yesterday… It’s just incredible that I was even here today. It feels unbelievable. This is such an incredible feeling. And I’ve played with some incredible people. And I just cannot believe that this is happening right now. I’m so happy.”

Watch the replay of the 2023 WPT Ladies Championship down below

2023 WPT Ladies Championship Final Table Results