Day 24 of the 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas saw no fewer than five gold bracelets find new homes, and several new attendance records broken. Keep reading to discover what went down in Las Vegas on June 22.

Brian Rast became only the second player in history to win the $50,000 Poker Players Championship three times – Michael Mizrachi is the other — after they came out on top of Event #43 and banked $1,324,747. Rast’s victory has done his chances of being inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame no harm at all; it is hard to argue against the six-time bracelet winner’s inclusion after this latest performance.

Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em also crowned its champion after four days of intense poker action. When the dust had settled, Yang Zhang emerged with the tournament’s bracelet and the $717,879 first place prize.

Pengfei Wang gets to forever call themselves a WSOP champion after they triumphed in Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty. The tournament required an extra day after Day 1 ended with nine players from a field of 2,226 entrants. Day 2 lasted onlythree hours and saw Wang capture their first gold bracelet in what was their first-ever live tournament! Talk about beginner’s luck!

Brazilian superstar Yuri Dzivielevski became a three-time WSOP bracelet winner after taking down Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. after three days of intense mixed game action. Dzivielevski, who finished second in last year’s $50,000 Poker Players Championship, shone brightly on the third and final day, and emerged as a worthy champion.

The eighth online bracelet-awarding event, the $1,000 PLO Championship, was the fifth event to crown its champion on Day 24 of the 2023 WSOP. Some 383 PLO specialists turned out, and Stanislav “ForlorarDu” Barshak left them all in his wake, turning that initial $1,000 investment into $128,841 and a piece of much sought-after poker jewelry.

Another 4,488 Seniors Buy Into Their Championship Event

Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship was one of the events that broke its attendance record, with the 4,488 Day 1b entrants taking the total number of runners to 8,180, comfortably smashing the 7,188 record set in 2022.

By the end of the 11th level, only 894 players had chips in front of them, and nobody had more chips than Joseph Workman (510,000). Workman is the man to catch when the 1,624 surviving players from both flights return to their seats on Day 2.

Day 1b also saw the likes of seven-time bracelet winner Men “The Master” Nguyen (169,000) progress. Fellow bracelet winners Mike Allis (157,500) and Barny Boatman (67,500) also navigated their way through the vast Day 1b field.

Play resumes at 10:00 a.m. local time on June 23, with PokerNews‘ live reporting team on the ground throughout proceedings.

Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship Day 1b Top 10 Chip Counts

$10K PLO Championship Field Cut Down to 42; Danchev Leads

Bulgaria’s Dimitar Danchev (3,705,000) has by far the largest stack of the 42 players remaining in Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship. Although Danchev has almost 1.7 million more chips than any other players still in the hunt for the title, the players in the cashing pack are considered some of the best in the world.

Sam Soverel (2,034,000) is second in chips, while WSOP champion Dylan Weisman (1,855,000) is fourth.

Further down the chip counts, you find Ioannis Angelou Konstas (1,700,000), Ka Kwan Lau (1,165,000), Keith Lehr (895,000), and Juha Helppi (465,000).

Cards are back in the air from 2:00 p.m. local time on June 23, and PokerNews is the only place you can find the live updates.

Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship Top 10 Chip Counts

Tag Team Event Attracts 1,282; Palvini and Pasqualini Bag Up a Big Stack

Only 252 of the 1,282 entrants in Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em remain in contention for the $95,331 top prize and a gold WSOP bracelet. The most unique and relaxed event of the summer saw dozens of teams enter, some in full cosplay, but things are getting serious no Day 2 is reached and the money bubble looms.

Mark Evangelista (562,000) is the chip leader, and by some distance, Kenneth Gallo in second has 180,000 fewer chips.

Also in the overnight top five is the team made up of Jeremy Palvini and Jean-Paul Pasqualini, who crammed 305,000 chips into their overnight bags.

This event will have a new set of champions because Espen Jorstad and Patrick Leonard, champions in 2022, busted out before day’s end.

PokerNews‘ coverage of this remarkable event resumes at 12:00 p.m. local time on June 23, so be there or be square!

Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team Top 10 Chip Counts

Triple Draw Specialists Turn Out in Force For Mixed Event

Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw attracted 353 players, up from 309 in 2021, but only 145 of them are still in with a chance of becoming this tournament’s champion.

Marco Johnson, a two-time bracelet winner, has done his chances of glory no harm by bagging up 228,500 chips at the close of play.

Four other Day 1 survivors finished with more than 200,000 chips in their stacks. Nacho Barbero (216,500), Maxx Coleman (210,500), Bryan Micon (208,000), and Joseph Wagganer (200,500) being that quarter.

Day 2 will be a star-studded affair with the likes of Brian Yoon (157,000), Chino Rheem (87,000), and reigning WSOP Main Event champion Koray Aldemir (81,000) all jostling for position.

Join the PokerNews live reporting team from 1:00 p.m. local time on June 23 as they continue their industry-leading coverage of this event.

Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw Top 10 Chip Counts

What To Expect on Day 25 of the 2023 WSOP

The weekend may be rapidly approaching but the 2023 WSOP is not slowing down; not in the slightest. PokerNews’ Live Reporting team will be on the ground at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas bringing you live and exclusive coverage of the following events.

The 1,624 players remaining in Event #48: $1,000 Seniors Championship will start to reduce during Day 2.

There are also updates from Event #50: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, the popular Event #51: $1,000 Tag Team, and Event #52: $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw.

Two more tournaments kick off on June 23. Event #53: $1,500 Millionaire Maker looks set to be massive, not least because someone will become a millionaire by the time the event concludes.

Event #54: $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship is another tournament that will be packed to the brim with household names, so stay locked to PokerNews on June 23 and beyond for all the WSOP action you can handle.

Yuri Dzivielevski says he continues to study and work on his mixed games. His result today shows that he may need less work than he thinks.

Dzivielevski beat out a field of 836 entrants in order to claim $207,678 and his third WSOP bracelet in Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. at the 2023 World Series of Poker at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.

“I don’t know,” said Dzivielevski when asked if he felt that he had an advantage in any of the H.O.R.S.E. games in particular. “I’m working a lot on my game, so I don’t know exactly what is my best game, to be honest. Like, results show that limit hold’em is my best game, but I’m not sure – maybe it is?”

The well-dressed, often-smiling Dzivielevski enjoyed a large stack for the majority of the tournament. He found himself in seventh place at the end of Day 1, and improved upon that to be the runaway chip leader at the end of Day 2. He brought the biggest stack to the final table and ended the night with all of the chips in play.

Dzivielevski was aided at that final table by a rambunctious rail, who serenaded all in attendance with various chants throughout the night. “It helps a lot, believe me,” he said. It gives an extra power that I cannot explain. It’s pretty special to have all this rail like, I don’t know, maybe 50 people rooting for you is, of course, it’s pretty special. I’m feeling very loved for all this crowd. Pretty happy.”

Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Final Table Results

Day 3 Action

The day began with 28 players still remaining, but that number quickly went down once cards were in the air. Early eliminations included Gershon Distenfeld (23rd), Anson Tsang (19th), and Jeff Shulman (18th). The final table bubble was burst when the two pair of Daniel Makowsky fell to Dzivielevski’s set.

Final table action began with Randy Ohel eliminating Serhii Popovych in eighth when he scooped a Stud Hi-Lo Eight or Better pot.

Dzivielevski then scored his first elimination of the final table when he eliminated Denis Nesterenko in seventh with a rivered Broadway.

Thor William Morstoel was next to fall in sixth, sent home by Nghia “3 Putts” Le‘s nut flush in Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better.

Dzivielevski scored two more eliminations prior to heads-up play. He first eliminated Stephen Savoy in fifth before ending the very amusing Le’s night in third to bring the tournament down to its final two players.

His heads-up opponent would be Ohel, who had eliminated three-time bracelet winner Frankie O’Dell in fourth place with his nut flush in limit hold’em.

Dzivielevski and Ohel began heads-up play with almost identical stacks. Dzivielevski pulled out to an early lead and seemed primed to take down the bracelet early. Ohel was able to hang in, though, and began to turn things around. The once-loud crowd grew increasingly silent as Ohel stormed back, pulling into a virtual tie after showing down a queen-six to win in Razz.

Dzivielevski began to build a lead again, though, and it was one that he would not relinquish. After nearly two and a half hours of heads-up play, Dzievielevski turned quad aces in limit hold’em to eliminate the valiant Ohel and claim the top prize.

What’s next for the now three-time champ? “I’m going to keep working,” he said. “Keep playing every day, keep playing as many tournaments as I can. And that’s it. I hope to win more bracelets and, I don’t know, good results as well.”

This concludes PokerNews’ coverage of Event #47: $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. Stay tuned for continuing coverage of all events at the 2023 World Series of Poker.

After a thrilling four days on the poker felt, Yang Zhang has topped a record-breaking field in Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em to capture his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $717,879. Zhang outlasted a total of 1,735 entries and defeated some of the best players in the world.

Zhang has been absent for three years from the WSOP due to the pandemic but said it’s great to finally be back in a place he is familiar with. “I love the game from the beginning until now but because of COVID, I didn’t play. But ya, I really love the game.” Zhang’s last WSOP cash came back in 2019 and his only other final table was back in 2016 when he finished in eighth place in a field of over 6,700 entries.

It will go down as Zhang’s largest career score to date and add to his already accumulated $2.2 million in earnings. It will also go down as one of his greatest accomplishments and Zhang had to pause when asked what winning a WSOP bracelet feels like. “I think it’s a milestone of my poker life. It’s kind of a great achievement for me.”

Zhang also mentioned that he plans on sticking around for the entire summer and will be hopping in some poker tournaments tomorrow when more events get underway. This most recent score has moved Zhang to sixth on China’s all-time money list and he hopes to continue to move his way up the leaderboard.

Final Table Results

Final Day Action

There were 15 players who returned for the fourth and final day of this tournament, and there was no shortage of action right from the start, with many short stacks looking to make their move. While there were significant pay jumps on the table, no amount of stalling could help the likes of Justin Chu, Samy Boujmala, Aliaksandr Shylko, and Aliaksandr Hirs climb their way out of the deficit.

Ankush Mandavia was also eliminated prior to the first break which led to the redraw for the unofficial final table. Multiple coolers led to many eliminations on the final table and first on the chopping block was Kartik Ved. His ace-king was no match for the pocket aces of Oganyan who vaulted up the leaderboard.

After some of the short stacks continued to double up, it was Szabo who found himself as the shortest and moved all-in from the button. Van Fleet had a chance for a double-elimination when Oganyan also pushed all in from the small blind, but Oganyan flopped a set to double up and also sent Szabo to the rail in ninth place.

It was a tough day at the office for Marino who failed to climb above 25 big blinds at any point and his short-stacked efforts eventually ran short when he ran pair into pair in the blinds and came out on the wrong end of it. Moments later, it was another clash of the blinds between Zhang and Shorr where all of the chips went into the middle preflop. Zhang flopped a set and Shorr was left drawing dead by the turn, bowing out in seventh place.

It was time for another cooler which brought the field down to just five players. Dimitrov collided with the chip leader Zhang, both holding premiums. Dimitrov rolled over pocket queens but Zhang one-upped him with pocket kings. There was no sweat on the runout and Dimitrovs received praise from his tablemates on his way out.

Normand, the French Canadian young star was starting to put himself in the mix but ran into an unfortunate river card when he clashed with Lynskey. While the Aussie escaped with a double-up, Normand was left with just a couple of big blinds and was eliminated on the next hand. With eliminations coming fast and furious, there was thoughts that the tournament could be on the verge of ending, but the deck had other things in store.

Despite Zhang holding the lead for the majority of the final table, he was never really able to put anyone away once they got down to four players. It took over three hours for the next elimination to occur after countless double-ups from the short stacks. It was Van Fleet who came back from dinner break and instantly got his stack in the middle. Zhang had more than enough chips to look him up and managed to flop a pair that held up, narrowing the field to just three.

On the very next hand was when Zhang momentarily lost his chip lead to Lynskey who won a massive flip. However, it wouldn’t last long as Zhang fought back and worked his way back to the top. Within just 30 minutes, Zhang woke up with pocket aces when he needed it most after facing an all-in from Lynskey. It was a safe runout and Zhang took a commanding lead going into heads-up with Oganyan.

The two players battled hard from the onset with chips changing hands with each pass of the card. However, Zhang never let his large chip lead disappear and eventually found himself in a dominating position when all of the chips went into the middle. Oganyan flopped a straight draw to give himself some additional outs but found no help on the turn or river. The Chinese rail exploded with cheers as they celebrated their nation’s fifth victory this summer.

Zhang quickly explained his final table strategy and felt that there was less pressure on himself compared to his opponents. “I didn’t consider much about the ICM at the final table so I just played a normal game. I didn’t have the pressure of the money so I was able to make them fold more.”

That wraps up the coverage for this event at the WSOP but stay tuned to PokerNews for many more bracelet winners in the coming tournaments.

The 2023 World Series of Poker has awarded one of the most prestigious bracelets at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Out of a field of 99 entries in Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship, American poker pro Brian Rast has capped off a dominant Day 5 performance to claim his third Poker Players Championship and sixth career WSOP bracelet.

Rast defeated British businessman Talal Shakerchi in a very brief heads-up encounter that lasted just five hands, with Rast sealing his victory by making an eight-seven in Razz on the final hand.

Unlike in the previous years, the final day lasted fewer than five hours and went from four hopefuls to a winner in fewer than one dozen hands in quite remarkable fashion. The top two finishers shared the largest portion of the $4,727,250 prize pool with Rast banking a top prize of $1,324,747.

Shakerchi had entered the day as the chip leader, but his stack plummeted quickly before he was able to rebuild and make it to heads-up play where he entered at a five-to-one deficit. His third deep run during the ongoing 2023 WSOP in Sin City came with a consolation prize of $818,756.

Rast eliminated each of his previous three final-day opponents, then made quick work of Shakerchi as well to become just the 19th player in World Series of Poker history to win a sixth bracelet. His impressive poker resume prior to the event already merited an introduction into the Poker Hall of Fame (HOF), for which he is currently nominated once again, and Rast made a strong case that it will be just a matter of time.

He also becomes just the second player, along with Michael Mizrachi, to win the Main Event of mixed game players for the third time.

Final Table Result Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship

Winner Reaction

Rast immediately jumped on the phone to share the good news with his wife in Brazil and was still pumped with emotions when the first rush of victory had settled. There now appears little debate that he will at some point be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame and he certainly let his performance at the tables speak once again to further cement his status as one of the best mixed game players.

“My job is to come to the poker table and play when I want to and compete and we’ll let the people in the Poker Hall of Fame make that decision.”

“I mean, listen, I have my opinion but the truth is, is the people that vote on are in the Hall of Fame. So what I think doesn’t matter, you know, my job is to come to the poker table and play when I want to and compete and we’ll let the people in the Poker Hall of Fame make that decision and, you know, I just keep doing what I do and we’ll see what they say,” Rast clarified in the winner interview.

The monetary aspect for the seasoned high-stakes cash game player was not on the back of the mind nor was the repeat nomination for the Hall of Fame either that came through before the start of play, as he “rather just cleared all that nonsense out”.

Rast, however, appeared overjoyed from emotions just moments after his triumph and that also resonated with his feelings when the adrenaline had worn down a few minutes later.

“I mean, the most emotional maybe was after I won my first PPC, which was like my first major tournament I ever won. Maybe a little more emotional after this one than the second one. I don’t know, this one just, you know, it just, it just meant a lot, like I’d say, in like 16, 17 and 18, I was playing everything all the time,” Rast added.

The last victory during the WSOP came back in 2021 when he took down Event #51: 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em, and since then he reached another four final tables but came short of the sixth title. His latest milestone increased the tally to half a dozen and he did so against some of the toughest competition in the mixed game scene.

“Another thing is like, maybe as I’ve gotten a little bit older, I’ve kind of learned, like you really have to enjoy it when things work out because it doesn’t happen all the time.”

Throughout the tournament, Rast appeared laser-focused and clarified that he didn’t make any major adjustments on such a high level when facing “some of the very best guys” in the world of poker the last couple of days.

“I do think I made some headway with it is, you know, it takes a lot of concentration but, like, really watching a lot of hands, like, even when I’m not in it, trying to pick up reads on people. And, you know, I do think that there were a number of times throughout this tournament and even against some of the world’s best players, I felt very comfortable with a lot of my reads.”

The gratification of competing in high stakes and various mixed games has become apparent for the now six-time WSOP bracelet winner, who can certainly be expected again at the tables of the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas in the following days and weeks.

“I’m going to keep playing. And for me, the World Series of Poker has kind of become my favourite thing. And why is that because I play all the games.”

Action of the Final Day

Five players returned to their seats in the mothership and Talal Shakerchi was leading the way in pursuit of a potential maiden WSOP gold bracelet. The British businessman pulled further ahead in the opening stages only to drop to the bottom of the leaderboard with just a single big bet. Two double ups later, Shakerchi was suddenly back in the mix while Brian Rast was the commanding chip leader.

Shakerchi pulled all the way back into second place only to lose a bigger pot to Rast in 2-7 Triple Draw, who then cemented his lead in rather ordinary fashion. With nine different variants in the mix, it was the Cadillac of poker that got the chips into the middle. Kristopher Tong puts his hopes on pocket nines while Rast had ace-king suited. Two clubs on the flop were followed by an ace on the turn and there was no miracle escape for Tong anymore thereafter.

Obst was scooped by Rast in an Omaha Hi-Lo hand to bow out right after as three-handed play commenced with two-time PPC champion Rast holding more than four times as many chips as second-placed Shakerchi. Rast extended his run-good by scooping another pot to send Ashton to the rail and in a matter of minutes, the field went from four hopefuls to the final two.

Heads-up play commenced with a lead of more than five-to-one for Rast and they chopped twice before Rast earned yet another scoop to gain an even more overwhelming lead. Ultimately, the unstoppable wrecking ball swung a final time when Rast received a favourable runout in the second hand of Razz, concluding the short-lived heads-up duel with Shakerchi after a mere five hands.

The victory came in seemingly record fashion as Rast never looked back once he took over the top spot from Shakerchi, but he was certainly aware it wasn’t just the skill but also the run-good when it mattered the most during the final stages which contributed to the final outcome as he was “hit by the deck”.

That concludes the PokerNews coverage of Event #43: $50,000 Poker Players Championship and the second half of the annual summer camp is slowly gearing up for what many expect to be a record-breaking WSOP Main Event in July 2023.

The Winners of the WSOP Poker Players Championship

  DATE TIME ET EVENT GTD BUY-IN (GC)

  Mon 26 Jun 2023 20:30 Summer Series 01 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty] 20,000,000 99,000

  Mon 26 Jun 2023 21:30 Summer Series 01 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed 20,000,000 99,000

  Tue 27 Jun 2023 20:30 Summer Series 02 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Tue 27 Jun 2023 21:30 Summer Series 02 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Wed 28 Jun 2023 20:30 Summer Series 03 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, 6-Max] 20,000,000 99,000

  Wed 28 Jun 2023 21:30 Summer Series 03 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [6-Max] 20,000,000 99,000

  Thu 29 Jun 2023 20:30 Summer Series 04 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Thu 29 Jun 2023 21:30 Summer Series 04 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Fri 30 Jun 2023 20:30 Summer Series 05 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, 6-Max, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Fri 30 Jun 2023 21:30 Summer Series 05 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [6-Max, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Sat 1 Jul 2023 17:00 Summer Series 06 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty] 20,000,000 99,000

  Sat 1 Jul 2023 18:00 Summer Series 06 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed 20,000,000 99,000

  Sun 2 Jul 2023 17:00 Summer Series 07 A – GC 25,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, 6-Max, Super Deep] 25,000,000 99,000

  Sun 2 Jul 2023 18:00 Summer Series 07 B – GC 25,000,000 Guaranteed [6-Max, Super Deep] 25,000,000 99,000

  Mon 3 Jul 2023 20:30 Summer Series 08 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty] 20,000,000 99,000

  Mon 3 Jul 2023 21:30 Summer Series 08 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed 20,000,000 99,000

  Tue 4 Jul 2023 20:30 Summer Series 09 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Tue 4 Jul 2023 21:30 Summer Series 09 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Wed 5 Jul 2023 20:30 Summer Series 10 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, 6-Max] 20,000,000 99,000

  Wed 5 Jul 2023 21:30 Summer Series 10 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [6-Max] 20,000,000 99,000

  Thu 6 Jul 2023 20:30 Summer Series 11 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Thu 6 Jul 2023 21:30 Summer Series 11 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Fri 7 Jul 2023 20:30 Summer Series 12 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, 6-Max, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Fri 7 Jul 2023 21:30 Summer Series 12 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [6-Max, Deep] 20,000,000 99,000

  Sat 8 Jul 2023 17:00 Summer Series 13 A – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, 6-Max] 20,000,000 99,000

  Sat 8 Jul 2023 18:00 Summer Series 13 B – GC 20,000,000 Guaranteed [6-Max] 20,000,000 99,000

  Sun 9 Jul 2023 17:00 Summer Series 14 A Main Event – GC 50,000,000 Guaranteed [Progressive Bounty, Super Deep] 50,000,000 99,000

  Sun 9 Jul 2023 18:00 Summer Series 14 B Main Event – GC 50,000,000 Guaranteed [Super Deep] 50,000,000 99,000

After three hours on a surprise second day of Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty here at Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas during the 2023 World Series of Poker, Pengfei Wang has officially won the grand prize of $270,700 and his first WSOP bracelet by defeating Will Linden heads up. Linden took home $167,339 for his biggest career tournament cash.

Wang overcame a field of 2,226 players over the course of two days to claim his share of the $1,858,710 prize pool in the first-ever tournament he has played.

PokerNews caught up with him just after he won: “So excited! Yeah, so it’s actually my first time. It’s my first tournament ever. We sometimes play some private games and sometimes at the casino in Los Angeles for fun. We mostly play cash games; I don’t really have tournament experience. This time, it was a lot of good luck.”

If you’d look up his profile on The Hendon Mob, you’d come up empty-handed indeed. This is his first cash ever, and it’s a substantial one immediately. But what was more important? The bracelet or the money?

“Well, it means a lot to me. In the beginning, when I barely got to the final table, I had a short stack. I was worried and trying to get more money in the front. But when I reached the top three, I felt the bracelet was more important to me than the money.”

Event #49: $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty Final Day Results

Final Day Action

With the average stack worth 20 big blinds, and 20-minute levels throughout the day, the action promised to be fast-paced and that it was from the start. Kenneth Maurer doubled up almost immediately before Frank Lagodich was sent to the rail by Michael Burns. A few minutes later, Danny Scott was taken out by Chen An Lin.

But some of those chips went Wang’s way when he doubled through Lin with ace-king and spiked an ace on the river. Lin didn’t sit still for long though and came out victorious in what was probably one of the two most important hands of the day. He scored a big double-up through Alejandro “Papo MC” Lococo with pocket jacks versus kings. The jack in the window on the flop left the Argentinian rapper short.

One double-up for Lococo came along but he couldn’t keep it going as he then lost it all to Wang to finish in seventh place. Tony Gargano doubled up through Lin but gave all those chips right back to the Taiwanese player a few minutes later. Burns finished in fifth place when his stack was added to Linden’s who went on a bit of a heater to take the chip lead.

Maurer’s lower kicker meant the end of his tournament life as he lost his chips to Wang, and then doubled through Linden to take over the chip lead with pocket nines versus pocket eights. That didn’t last long though as Linden was back in control shortly after. He picked up pocket aces to eliminate Lin to get to the heads-up stage.

It could have all been over when Wang shoved with pocket eights. Linden held the suited king-jack however the two eights on the board gave Wang quads to stay alive and double up. A failed bluff took Wang out in front, the stacks went back to even for a bit, but Wang gained momentum.

In the end, Linden shoved on a turn with an open-ended straight and flush draws. Wang called with the same straight draw but he had already hit a pair of nines. Those held up when the final card was dealt to hand him the win while he jumped into the air from happiness.

After posing for the winner photos with his friends he mentioned that he was planning to go home on Saturday: “I might come back next week for the short deck tournaments.”

PokerNews will be here for it too if he decides to come back to try and win a second bracelet so make sure to follow along with all the WSOP updates on the dedicated tournament hub.