Ren Lin Crowned Inaugural PGT Texas Poker Open Main Event Champion

The first-ever PokerGO Tour Texas Poker Open $3,300 buy-in no-limit maintain’em most important occasion drew a discipline of 735 entries to the Champions Club Texas in Houston, TX. The sizable turnout noticed the event’s $2 million assure simply surpassed, with $2,205,000 in complete prize cash finally paid out among the many prime 86 finishers. The largest chunk went to champion Ren Lin, who secured belt buckle trophy and $400,000 for the win.

This was the seventh-largest rating of Lin’s profession, and his thirtieth money for six figures or extra. He now has greater than $11.6 million in lifetime event earnings.

Lin has now made six last tables in 2024, with this being his first outright victory. This newest deep run noticed him earn 1,368 Card Player Player of the Year factors. With 3,011 complete factors and almost $1.6 million in to-date POY earnings, he’s now ranked eighth within the POY rankings introduced by Global Poker. He’ll be trying to enhance on a career-best fifth-place displaying within the 2023 POY race.

Lin additionally earned 400 PGT factors for this win, sufficient to maneuver him inside the highest 25 within the season-long PGT points race.

This occasion ran from April 24-29, with eight beginning flights previous two days of combined-field motion. Among people who ran deep have been Andrew Lichtenberger (thirty third), Brad Ruben (thirty second), Victoria Livshitz (twenty eighth), David Coleman (twenty seventh), Jeremy Becker (twenty first), Isaac Kempton (sixteenth), Shaun Deeb (fifteenth), Jeremy Ausmus (eleventh), and DJ Alexander (tenth).

Lin was in second chip place when the ultimate desk of 9 was set, however he sat with roughly half as many chips as massive stack Yunkyu Song. 2013 World Series of Poker most important occasion champion Ryan Riess was the shortest stack when the ultimate desk started. Riess managed to outlast Miguel Use (ninth – $40,000), and bought all-in with pocket kings main A-4 for Song. The board introduced 4 golf equipment, although, giving Song the nut flush and the knockout. Riess earned $52,000 because the eighth-place finisher.

Lin scored his first knockout when his A-10 bested the Okay-Q of bracelet winner Tyler Brown (seventh – $66,000). PokerGO commentator and bracelet winner Brent Hanks quickly joined Brown on the rail, together with his flush and gutshot straight attracts failing to enhance in opposition to the highest pair of Jonathan Tamayo. Hanks earned $83,000 because the sixth-place finisher to develop his lifetime earnings to almost $2 million.

Daniel Holmes (fifth – $103,000) was the subsequent to fall, together with his Okay-J suited failing to beat the A-Q suited of a surging Lin. A cooler noticed Lin take a large chip lead throughout four-handed motion, together with his flopped prime two pair enhancing to jacks full on the river to greatest the fives stuffed with Song, who had flopped backside set. Song finally bowed out in 4th place, incomes $133,000 for his efforts.

Tamayo’s run concluded in third place when his Okay-10 bumped into the A-J of Daniel Moran. An ace-high runout noticed Tamayo head to the cashier to gather $180,000.

Lin entered heads-up play with 23,475,000 to Moran’s 20,625,000. A preflop cooler resulted in a quick battle, as the entire chips went in on the primary hand of the conflict. Lin raised on the button with JJ and Moran three-bet with 1010. Lin’s four-bet was met with a five-bet shove from Moran. Lin referred to as and the board ran out AJ535 to present Lin jacks full and the title. Moran earned $275,000 because the runner-up.

Here is a take a look at the payouts and rankings factors awarded on the last desk:

Photo credit: PokerGO / Antonio Abrego.