The World Poker Tour reaches audiences across 150 countries and territories worldwide.The prestigious WPT Champions Cup, renamed the “Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup,” serves as the iconic trophy traveling to every WPT Main Tour event annually.
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As one of the leaders in the televised sports industry, the World Poker Tour sought to rebrand their championship events. With some of the poker player buy-ins known to be a hefty fee just to join the tournament, WPT knew they would need to match that level of investment in a substantial way.
Instead of having a standard trophy presented to each winner of a tournament, they opted to create a champions cup that would emulate a level of accomplishment unlike any other.
This championship cup was to have varying degrees of personalization details. There needed to be a way to record and honor past winners in a perpetual way similar to that of the Stanley Cup.
We knew that in order to take this idea to it’s fullest potential, we were going to have to do a lot of testing on many different elements. From final product to packaging, the WPT champions cup program was going to be as custom as it gets.
In the making of the Championship Cup, the Cristaux Team uses over 120 real poker chips.
When it came to the initial design, one of the biggest challenges we encountered was incorporating elements of the poker game into the piece. Which elements would stand out amongst the rest and truly make this championship cup shine?
Poker chips might be the most definitive component of the game. But there’s also the velvet table and the symbolism behind each play card that make poker a noteworthy game.
While cards may be a more pliable component to a design, poker chips are the very definition of game. While we bounced back and forth between ideas, attempted multiple variations of a design mold, we decided to incorporate both poker chips and playing cards in the final design in a prominent and distinctive way.
Fast forward to the final product: custom packaging and shipping solutions became a welcomed challenge for our Production Team. Seeing that the final piece scaled to over four feet high, but we had to design a carrying case that would safely transport it all over the world to wherever the poker tournament tour is being held.
The final piece was an unparalleled level of craftsmanship. Using actual WPT poker chips and playing cards, we let their branding stand as the centerfold to the piece.
We created a free flowing pattern. Within this pattern are distinct armatures that are made in a way to feel cup-esque without being an actual “cup” by definition.
The base of the award is designed as a perpetual, tiered system of remberance and honor. Each winner is recognized with a personalized etching that includes each particular winning name and winning hand. To top it off, to personalize the winner experience even further, each winner at every event receives a miniature cup.
In total, the manufacturing of this piece includes almost every method in the books: from drilling and digital print to wood staining and electroplating, there is not much that we don’t do to customize the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup.
