Ren Lin Outplays Jason Koon to Claim WPT Alpha8 Title and $1.04 Million
Ren Lin ended 2023 the way he spent the entire 12 months, winning another tournament with a star-studded line-up. The $50,000 WPT Alpha8 tournament, held as part of the 2023 WPT World Championship festival, gathered 69 participants and lasted two days.
The field was packed with true poker stars. Among those who took part in the tournament were: Alex Foxen, Justin Bonomo (9th place and $108,761), Ike Haxton (8th place and $125,494), Brad Owen (7th place and $152,266) and others. Alex Foxen was busted out on the bubble after an unlucky hand: his pocket nines lost to Lin's weak queen-four hand, which collected a pair of queens.
And in the end it was the Chinese pro Lin who won the event. He managed to defeat another star of professional poker, Jason Koon, in heads-up.
"You know, Jason Koon, he's my idol," Lin said after the final. "He is my favorite player in the world. I just can't believe I managed to beat him. I had a lot of good heads-up hands and got really lucky in some situations. But I beat him. Fair".
For his victory, Lin received an exclusive trophy in the form of an eight and a payout of $1,045,781. Koon got $669,300 in prize money for his runner-up place.
Final top-three results in $50,000 WPT Alpha8:
| Place | Player | Країна | Призові |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ren Lin | China | $1,045,781 |
| 2 | Jason Koon | USA | $669,300 |
| 3 | Martin Kabrhel | Czechia | $468,510 |
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