Yang Zhang Scores $717,879 Win in WSOP’s Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em

Yang Zhang claimed his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet in a remarkable victory at the 2023 Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold’em. After being away from WSOP for three years due to the pandemic, Zhang marked his comeback by beating a record-breaking field of 1,735 entries, with his winnings amounting to $717,879.

Zhang’s love for the game never waned during his absence. He noted after his win, “I love the game from the beginning until now but because of COVID, I didn’t play. But ya, I really love the game.” His previous WSOP cash was in 2019, and he also reached a final table back in 2016 where he placed eighth out of over 6,700 entries.

This win marked Zhang’s biggest career score so far, boosting his earnings to over $2.2 million. Describing the victory to reporters he said, “I think it’s a milestone of my poker life. It’s kind of a great achievement for me.” With more tournaments on his agenda, Zhang aims to climb even higher on China’s all-time money list, where he currently ranks sixth.

Day four of the tournament kicked off with 15 players returning to the table. Despite the high stakes, players like Justin Chu, Samy Boujmala, Aliaksandr Shylko, and Aliaksandr Hirs were unable to overturn their deficit.

Ankush Mandavia was eliminated before the first break, triggering a redraw for the final table. The first casualty at the final table was Kartik Ved, whose ace-king lost to Oganyan’s pocket aces.

Many short stacks doubled up, but Szabo was eliminated after going all-in from the button, leaving nine players in the game. Marino and Shorr soon followed suit, with Marino losing to Zhang and Shorr to Lynskey.

As the field narrowed down to five, Dimitrov’s pocket queens were outdone by Zhang’s pocket kings, while Normand met an unfortunate river card against Lynskey. The following games were marked by numerous eliminations and recoveries, but Zhang managed to maintain his lead.

It took over three hours to move from four to three players, with Van Fleet being the next to exit. Lynskey managed to snatch the lead from Zhang briefly, but Zhang fought back and took control.

The final head-to-head battle with Oganyan was intense. However, Zhang managed to maintain his hefty chip lead, eventually securing victory. The tournament ended with Oganyan unable to convert a straight draw, and Zhang’s fans erupting in celebration.

Final Table Results

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