Blake Ellinghaus Claims WPT bestbet Scramble Championship for $294,900

Last Updated on September 10, 2026 by Bala Kumar

Blake Ellinghaus is a World Poker Tour champion for the first time. The Illinois pro took down the $5,000 buy-in bestbet Scramble Championship at bestbet Jacksonville in northern Florida, closing out heads-up play by rivering a straight for the win. It is by far the biggest score of a career that, before this week, had brought in only about $140,000 in tracked live cashes.

Ellinghaus got into the tournament cheaply, winning his way in through a $580 satellite, and then simply never let go of a big stack. He sat second in chips after Day 1, held that same spot through Day 2, and moved into the overall lead heading into Wednesday’s final table.

A Final Table That Kept Swinging

The title did not come easy. Online-poker veteran Bryan Paris surged early to grab the chip lead, and Jared Reinstein, Ellinghaus’s eventual heads-up opponent, took a big pot off him in the process. Hugh Membrino piled on next, doubling through Ellinghaus after winning a 60/40 flip. For a stretch, the tournament looked like it belonged to someone else.

Ellinghaus answered every time. He flopped top pair with the best kicker to send Membrino out in sixth place, then survived a similar double-up scare from Skyler Dennis before eliminating him in fourth. Along the way, Reinstein’s pocket aces held to end Michael Macchia’s run in fifth, locking in a six-figure payday for everyone left at the table.

Once Dennis was out, Ellinghaus stopped trading blows and started pulling away. Pocket jacks held against Paris’s pocket nines to end the online pro’s day in third, and Ellinghaus carried a commanding 6:1 chip advantage into heads-up play against Reinstein.

Reinstein clawed back one double-up in heads-up play, but it was not enough to turn the tide. The finish came in a single hand: Ellinghaus rivered a straight and shoved, and Reinstein, who had flopped a straight draw but ended up making only a pair, called and was eliminated in second place for $184,000, handing Ellinghaus the trophy, the WPT Champions Club membership, and the tournament’s full $294,900 top prize.

Final Table Results

Ellinghaus becomes the second player in as many years to win this bestbet Jacksonville stop after buying in through a satellite, a reminder of how much value the smaller qualifying paths can carry in a $1 million guaranteed field.

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