The World Poker Tour has officially named 23-year-old Harvey Castro as its Season 23 Player of the Year, rewarding a year defined by sustained high-level results across multiple stops rather than a single headline win.
Castro locked up the POY title with 1,850 points and $411,320 in WPT earnings during the 2025 season. While he did not capture a WPT Main Event title, his consistency at major events proved decisive in a tightly contested race.
The foundation of Castro’s POY campaign was laid with a runner-up finish in the WPT Rolling Thunder Main Event, where he earned $193,600, followed by a victory at the WPT Prime Lodge Championship for $225,020. Those results alone placed him firmly in the POY conversation, but he continued to add points throughout the season.
Castro also finished fourth in a $10,000 6-Max event at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, collecting $81,600, and posted a runner-up result in a $10,000 event at the PokerGO Cup for $193,500. The steady accumulation of deep runs allowed him to separate from the field despite competing against players with larger single-event scores.
Second place in the POY standings went to Kharlin Sued, who finished the season with 1,600 points. Sued captured the WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star title in December for $480,700 and ended the year with higher total WPT earnings than Castro, but fewer overall points.
Schuyler Thornton finished third with 1,575 points after winning the WPT World Championship for $2,258,856, the largest payday of the season. Despite the massive score, Thornton finished just behind the top two in the final standings.
Season 23 WPT Player of the Year Results
| Rank | Player | POY Points | Earnings | Cashes | Final Tables | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harvey Castro | 1,850 | $411,320 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | Kharlin Sued | 1,600 | $576,400 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | Schuyler Thornton | 1,575 | $2,298,516 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | Mike Vanier | 1,550 | $423,200 | 5 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Art Peacock | 1,425 | $806,500 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Nico Betbese | 1,400 | $709,440 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 7 | Kevin Nee | 1,325 | $620,200 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Danny Wong | 1,275 | $341,780 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Soheb Porbandarwala | 1,250 | $1,969,344 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 10 | Aaron Johnson | 1,200 | $1,010,400 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Beyond the WPT, Castro also posted notable results on other major tours during the year. A former soccer player at Southern Methodist University, Castro has transitioned quickly into the top tier of professional tournament poker.
Season 24 of the World Poker Tour is already in progress, with upcoming stops including Las Vegas in February for the WPT Venetian Las Vegas Spring Championship. Players aiming to make an early move in the next POY race can qualify for major events through online satellites on WPT Global, which are currently awarding packages to the $1 million guaranteed $1,100 WPT Prime Cyprus Championship.
