WSOP Update: Jens Kyllonen Takes Down The $25K PLO and China claims 2nd bracelet

 Online Legend Jens Kyllonen wins the 2016 WSOP $25,000 PLO High Roller

This event treated fans to another strong showing of world class pros, along with the usual sprinkling of wealthy recreationals and unknown hopefuls. The total number of entries grew to 184, which is an excellent showing for a non Holdem event with a $25,000 buy in. This generated a prize pool of $4,370,000 and a 1st place payout of $1,127,035. Some of the notable names that took part include: Yevgeniy Timoshenko, Joe Hachem, Daniel Negreanu, George Danzer, Jason Mercier, Erik Seidel, Justin Bonomo, Di Dang, Dan Smith, and both Mizrachi brothers.

By the end of day 2, things were getting interesting at the top, with Michael and Robert Mizrachi sitting in 2nd and 3rd, as Ludovic Geilich led the way. Paul Volpe occupied 6th on the chip counts, and Dan Smith was sat in 11th spot. Day 3 saw the field play down to a final three, with Volpe falling in 13th, Michael Mizrachi in 12th, and Robert Mizrachi in 9th. Former chip leader Ludovic Geilich hit the rail in 7th, and Finnish player Jens Kyllonen led the way with around half the chips in play. Tommy Le was following behind, and Dan Smith was the short stack. Things changed quickly as day 4 began though, with pots being traded back and forth. Dan Smith was building chips and becoming a threat, before a huge pot with Kyllonen saw him get most of his chips in as a 2 to 1 favourite. The board ran out well for Kyllonen however, and Smith fell soon after. Tommy Le and Kyllonen endured a roller coaster heads up match, but in the end, Kyllonen emerged with the gold bracelet and $1,127,035 prize money.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Jens Kyllonen	$1,127,035
2	Tommy Le	$696,558
3	Dan Smith	$487,361
4	Ryan D’Angelo	$347,641
5	Veselin Karakitukov	$252,909
6	Dmitry Savelyev	$187,724
7	Ludovic Geilich	$142,227
8	Sean Winter	$110,035

China joins Japan on the list of Asian nations who have two WSOP champions

China is a nation moving up in the poker world, despite the legal difficulties facing live poker in the country. The WSOP of 2016 has seen evidence of this fact, with several Chinese players having deep runs through the series. None however, have gone deeper than Yue Du this week. The Chinese amateur took some time away from running his business to participate in the WSOP, and chose to enter a $5,000 NLH event that was stacked with talent. Clearly unfazed by the reputations of his competitors, Yue Du put in an excellent performance, bagging up a top three stack at the end of day 2, leading the way at the end of day 3, and taking the bracelet home at the end of day 4.

Interestingly, Du was not the only Chinese player to cash this event, as there were four in total. Hui Yang finished in 103rd, Weiyi Zhang 81st, Yunsheng Sun 47th, along with the man who won it all. Aditya Agarwal also cash this event in 82nd. China joins Indonesia and Japan on the list of Asian nations who have two or more WSOP champions, and when you put that fact alongside the numerous Chinese players who are cashing at the 2016 WSOP, there is certainly cause to be optimistic. Poker growth in China is something the poker world would love to see, and there are perhaps early positive signs to be found here.

The final table was certainly an interesting one, as Jason Mercier‘s girlfriend finished 3rd, and promptly agreed to become his wife as he came over to the table to propose as she busted. Dominik Nitsche also brought some extra star quality to the table, but eventually bowed out in 4th. Yue Du takes home $800,586 for his accomplishments in event 59.

Place	Player	Prize
1	Yue Du	$800,586
2	Michael Gentili	$494,586
3	Natasha Barbour	$348,374
4	Dominik Nitsche	$248,640
5	Ismael Bojang	$179,923
6	Marius Gierse	$132,030
7	Matt O’Donnell	$98,269
8	Sertac Turker	$74,201
9	Arne Coulier	$56,851