Gavin Cochrane took down the WPT World Online Championships 8-Max Championship for a top prize of $540,664 and a $15,000-entry into the season-ending Tournament of Champions including flights and accommodation as he bested a field of top-quality players to come out on top.

With a total of 1,062 entries, there was over $3 million in the prizepool, and Cochrane it was who got his name on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, coming into the final table as chip leader and riding out a dramatic last battle to emerge as a deserved winner.

Going into the final table, Cochrane had over 34 million chips, which in real terms was 115 big blinds. His nearest challenger was the other Britain-based player at the final table, Thomas Boivin, but he sat on 60 big blinds.

Despite leading as play got under way, Cochrane would suffer an early setback as his missed straight draw saw Dmitry Yurasov double-up into the lead. It was the worst possible start for Cochrane, but he used the energy to carry on playing consistently excellent poker, dominating the late stages of an event which was as fun to watch as it looked to play in.