Dong Chen Wins World Series Of Poker Limit Hold’em Championship

In any context, battling a World Series of Poker closing desk that features Benny Glaser, Jeremy Ausmus, Jesse Lonis, and Gus Hansen isn’t going to be simple. Especially when even the opposite gamers on the desk even have main titles to their names.

But to take action in a $10,000 buy-in restrict maintain’em occasion, having solely ever performed one different devoted event in that format, seems like setting your self up for an inconceivable problem.

And but, that’s precisely the place China’s Dong Chen landed. The emergent Chen battled by means of one of many hardest closing tables conceivable on his solution to victory within the WSOP $10,000 restrict maintain’em championship. He earned his second profession WSOP bracelet and $285,200 because the final participant standing, defeating Glaser heads-up to disclaim him a ninth profession WSOP title.

“Poker-wise, this wasn’t my first rodeo,” Chen advised PokerInformation following his victory. “I’ve battled with legends in no-limit hold’em. But limit hold’em is something new that I just recently unlocked, so it feels really good.”

Chen has event outcomes courting again to 2017, however he’s leveled up over the previous few years. He gained a $10,000 six-handed no-limit maintain’em occasion at WSOP Paradise in 2023, and now has two bracelet wins in 5 profession WSOP final-table finishes.

One Bet At A Time

Outside of mixed-game codecs, restrict maintain’em tournaments get precisely two alternatives for a short highlight annually, each on the WSOP. Following Dennis Weiss’ victory within the $1,500 buy-in version of the event, the $10,000 restrict maintain’em championship occasion obtained its second to shine. By the shut of registration, 121 entrants took their shot at this bracelet, constructing a complete prize pool of $1,125,300.

Nineteen gamers reached the cash, and the playdown to a seven-handed closing desk noticed a path of poker legends fall by the wayside. Daniel Negreanu (thirteenth), Phil Ivey (ninth), and Josh Arieh (eighth) every narrowly missed out on an opportunity so as to add to their respective bracelet totals.

At the beginning of the ultimate desk, Glaser held a slim lead over Chen, and each gamers have been properly forward of the remainder of the pack.

While a number of of the shorter stacks doubled early, Dylan Smith was not as lucky. The 2024 World Poker Tour Rock-n-Roll Poker Open winner and combined sport standout misplaced most of his chips to Glaser in an enormous pot with no showdown. He then left himself with lower than one huge blind after a conflict with Hansen.

Those chips went in quickly thereafter, and Lonis and Chen every performed alongside to the river of a 7♣7♦4♥A♣J♦ board. Lonis guess Chen out, tabled A♦9♣, and Smith’s king-high had him headed to the rail in seventh place ($38,191).

Chip Lead Musical Chairs

Chen was briefly relegated to one of many shortest stacks, however Hansen was the following participant on the chopping block. Hansen’s chips went in on a J♥7♥4♠ flop, and his A♥Okay♥ had a world of outs in opposition to Ausmus’ pocket tens. But blanks on the flip and river meant that Hansen was out in sixth place ($49,665). The bracelet winner and three-time WPT champion now has greater than $10.1 million in profession earnings after this rating.

Jerry Wong was proper behind Hansen on the way in which out the door. The 2023 WSOP $10,000 razz champion, who notably completed eighth within the 2016 WSOP principal occasion, made his stand in a three-way pot in opposition to Glaser and Chen. Chen guess the river of an A♣10♥6♣5♦2♠ board, Glaser folded, and Chen tabled A♠Okay♣. Wong’s Okay♥Q♦ was not sufficient, and his event run resulted in fifth place ($66,560).

At the beginning of four-handed play, Glaser held a small lead over Lonis, with Chen recovering to climb again into third, and Ausmus in the back of the pack. In quick order, Ausmus ascended into the lead earlier than Lonis took his time on high. Glaser charged again, turning into the primary participant to clear 3 million, and Chen slipped again right into a dangerously quick place.

Glaser appeared poised to lock down his ninth profession bracelet, accumulating double Lonis’ second-place stack as Ausmus and Chen held only a few huge bets every. Chen nailed an open-ended straight draw on the river of a king-high board to assert an enormous pot from Lonis, sending the 2 gamers in reverse instructions. Lonis recovered rapidly, solely to run into Ausmus’ second occasion of quads on the closing desk. Lonis couldn’t get well from that loss, and his previous few chips went in with A♥Okay♥ in opposition to Glaser’s Okay♠8♥.

Glaser discovered an 8♠ on the flip, sending the defending Card Player Player of the Year to the rail in fourth place. The two-time bracelet winner now has almost $31.8 million in recorded cashes.

Chen’s Charge

As the boundaries grew bigger and play prolonged into the evening, the chips circulated between the ultimate three gamers for a prolonged stretch. Chen’s aggression finally pulled him all the way in which again into the lead. Ausmus remained the quick stack for lengthy stretches, however saved pulling shut earlier than dropping again to a brief stack.

Ausmus misplaced an enormous pot to Glaser with no showdown. He folded on the river to go away his stack on the brink. He quickly obtained all in on a Okay♣J♦4♦9♦ with a king in hand, however Ausmus was drawing lifeless in opposition to Chen’s turned diamond flush with 8♦6♦. Ausmus’ third $10,000 closing desk in per week resulted in his finest end of the summer time up to now, in third place ($130,380). The vlogger and CoinPoker ambassador nonetheless sits at six profession bracelets. This was already his third closing desk of the sequence, having completed fourth within the stud championship and sixth within the $10,000 supplier’s alternative.

Chen began heads-up play with a strong lead, and pure aggression and robust runouts allowed him to blitz to victory. On essentially the most essential hand of their heads-up battle, Chen flopped two pair with Q♦4♦ and rivered a full home, claiming an enormous pot from Glaser, who claimed he had rivered a membership flush.

On the ultimate hand of the event, Chen’s A♠4♠ took on Glaser’s 10♣8♠. Glaser took the lead on a J♠8♣6♠ flop, and lower down Chen’s outs on a 10♥ flip. But the 5♠ river made Chen’s flush and sealed his victory.

For his efforts, Chen earned 660 Card Player Player of the Year factors, his first qualifying results of 2026. Ausmus’ 440 POY factors pushed him as much as thirty third within the yearlong race introduced by CoinPoker. Lonis’ 330 POY factors put him in eleventh place as he appears to be like to go back-to-back.

Chen additionally earned himself 285 PokerGO Tour factors in direction of the excessive curler tour’s season-long leaderboard with this triumph.

Final Table Results

Photo credit score: WSOP / Miguel Cortes