As the 2018 WSOP winds down to its final days, and the world awaits the next Main Event champion, many have set their sights on the last remaining side events. Asian pros were part of that group with several running very deep such as James Chen, Lester Edoc, and Aditya Sushant. One player achieving ultimate success was China’s Wei Guo Liang. Wei won the Little One for One Drop event to become Asia’s newest bracelet winner. We’ve got those stories for you below.
Wei Guo Liang takes down the Little One for One Drop
The Little One for One Drop was a hot ticket among the Asian force. With a buy-in of just $1,111, many of them joined the action to help create the massive 4,732 field. Upon reaching the final day, with the field thinned down to just two tables, Filipino Lester Edoc, India’s Aditya Sushant, and of course, China’s Wei Guoliang were the last few remaining Asian hopes holding up the torch.
A win for any of the three would have been spectacular. Sushant looking for his second having won one last year; Edoc in search of a first gold to match the impressive stats he’s built up in the Philippines this year; and Wei, a win would not only fulfill the dream but it would also give China its fourth-ever bracelet during a time when online poker in the country is under heavy scrutiny.
As it turned, Sushant bowed out in a respectable 11th place earning himself $37,530; Edoc followed in 9th place for $48,157 – his largest WSOP cash; while Wei went on to triumph, seizing the title, a large lump of winnings worth $559,332, and his first WSOP bracelet. Upon his victory, Wei told the WSOP media,
“It means a lot to me” “Poker is booming in China right now. A lot of people watch this game regularly but only a few of us can be here and compete. We consider poker an epic game, like World Cup.” “It’s our dream to come and win a bracelet in Vegas. That’s the only goal.”
Wei defeated Francois Tosques at heads up, closing it out in dramatic fashion. On a board of J-9-2-Q with Wei calling Tosques bets at every stage, both hands were tabled, Wei with Q-10 top pair straight draw and Tosques with J-J set. The king landed on the river awarding Wei the straight and the title.
With this victory, Wei reached a huge milestone in his poker career, earning his best live score of over half a million to surpass $1M in live tournament career earnings.
Top 10 payouts
Prize pool: $4,258,800 – Buyin: $1,111 – ITM: 710 places
1st Wei Guo Liang – China – $559,332
2nd Francois Tosques – France – $345,415
3rd Christopher Staats – USA – $254,580
4th Sung Joo Hyun – Korea – $189,098
5th Richard Douglas – USA – $141,565
6th Jon Hoellein – USA -$106,822
7th Renato Kaneoya – Brazil – $81,251
8th Erwann Pecheux – France – $62,299
9th Lester Edoc – Philippines – $48,157
10th Richard Cox – USA – $37,530
Asian in the money at other WSOP events
With only a limited number of bracelets awarded each year, and thousands of players in pursuit, reaching the money is an achievement on its own. A large number of Asian players managed to cash multiple times at the series, one of them was Taiwanese pro James Chen. Chen cashed five times with his deepest at the $3K Pot Limit Omaha 6 Handed where he finished 5th out of 901 entrants. This awarded him a nice chunk worth $96,987.
Japan’s Takashi Ogura also cashed five times at the WSOP. While his largest earning of $49,335 was for his 222nd place finish at the Main Event, he pocketed a small one immediately after at the $1500 No Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha Mixed for his 13th finish out of 707 entrants for $8,542.
Article by Tricia David
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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