Joshua McSwiney has been close to the poker promised land before. Back in 2022, he reached a star-studded World Series of Poker final table in a $5,000 Mixed No Limit Hold'em/Pot Limit Omaha event with Joao Simao, Ryan Riess, Marius Gierse and Fred Goldberg, and ultimately finished sixth.
Coming into 2025 it was McSwiney's lone six-figure live tournament cash, but that all changed on Wednesday as McSwiney triumphed with the biggest win of his poker career. McSwiney won the WPT Prime Gold Coast Championship, taking down a top prize of $177,680 (AUD$283,336) after defeating Patrick Yazbeck heads-up at The Star Gold Coast.
McSwiney and Yazbeck each set career bests
McSwiney and Yazbeck battled back and forth, each holding the lead heads-up, and after pulling even deep into their match the pair agreed to a deal. The pair left over $20,000 on the table to play for, which included the $10,400 seat to the 2025 WPT World Championship that would be awarded to the eventual champion.
On the final hand of the tournament, with McSwiney having ground Yazbeck down to less than 10 big blinds, an all-in was inevitable. Yazbeck's 
was looking solid against McSwiney's 
through an 
flop. But the running 
and 
on the turn and river gave McSwiney a runner-runner flush and the title.
Yazbeck, who settled for the $156,775 second-place prize, more than doubled the total of all of his previous career live tournament cashes, according to his Hendon Mob profile.
The official six-handed final table of the WPT Prime Gold Coast Championship was an all-Australian affair, with Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne all accounted for. Most notably Michael Egan, who has a history of major results in high rollers and over $1.5 million in career earnings, finished fifth.
WPT Prime Gold Coast Championship final table results
| Place | Player | Prize |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joshua McSwiney | $177,680* |
| 2 | Patrick Yazbeck | $156,775 |
| 3 | Jiaxu Chen | $98,910 |
| 4 | Joseph Antar | $73,874 |
| 5 | Michael Egan | $55,744 |
| 6 | Daniel Klinger | $42,500 |
* - first-place prize includes $10,400 seat to 2025 WPT World Championship
McSwiney stakes early claim in WPT Player of the Year race
It's early days in the 2025 WPT Player of the Year race, but McSwiney's victory earns him 900 points and places him squarely amidst the early frontrunners. For context, Yunkyu Song's 2024 WPT POY campaign ended with 2,275 points.
McSwiney has traveled to Las Vegas each summer since 2022 and has cashed in WPT-branded events all over Australia as well as in Cambodia, so he may well find himself ample opportunity to chase such an award.
Lead photo courtesy of World Poker Tour
