Lei Yu Wins Maiden Bracelet During 2024 WSOP Paradise

The ongoing World Series of Poker Paradise on The Bahamas has already awarded eight of the 15 WSOP gold bracelets, of which 13 are held live and two in the virtual arena. Among the winners was Lei Yu, who became the 17^th player from China to win one of live poker’s most sought after hardware.

Fellow countryman Yang Wang fell one spot short of achieving the same feat and several other Asian players earned deep runs during the festival so far. Let’s have a closer look at what has unfolded already, while the Super Main Event has reached the money stages in the live version.

WSOP Paradise 2024

Lei Yu Wins Maiden Bracelet At Deepstack NLH

Lei Yu’s maiden WSOP victory came in Event #6: $5,000 Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em, which drew a total of 363 entries for a prize pool of $1,815,000. He was no stranger to success on the live poker circuit with more than $1 million in cashes, but the gold bracelet was his ultimate pride according to the translated quotes in the winner interview. Wearing the Red Dragon Poker Team patch, he came into the final table with only nine big blinds but eventually came out on top after a stacked line-up filled with international top pros.

Among those to fall on the way were Gleb Tremzin, Bruno Volkmann, and Vlad Darie, before Yu took on well-known online grinder Blaz “Scarmak3r” Zerjav from Slovenia. The latter had yet another live poker runner-up finish in 2024 and received a consolation prize of $225,720, while Yu more than doubled his previous largest cash prize and topped up the bankroll with $293,050 for his efforts.

Biao Ding, Dong Chen Come Close

Another player from China had a shot at the coveted WSOP gold bracelet in Event #10: $10,000 Paradise Pot-Limit Omaha shortly thereafter. The tournament drew another solid turnout of 200 entries and Biao Ding finished in fourth place for $160,510. In a duel of former WSOP Player of the Year winners and three time champions, Mike Gorodinsky defeated Daniel Zack to claim WSOP bracelet number four and $393,250 for the efforts.

Another player from China reached the final table in the opening event, the $2,500 Mini Main Event. Dong Chen already had one WSOP bracelet to his name prior and was the first to bow out in tenth place for $51,080. Notables out of the 2,031 entries to reach the final table included Matas Cimbolas, Paul Newey, Mathew Frankland and Viktor Ustimov. The tournament was won by Jeffrey Hakim for a hefty $575,050 top prize.

Punsri, Wang, Yong, Thanarattrakul Reach Final Two Tables

The $1,000,000 Triton Million had several Asian top pros and invitees in the line-up but Punnat Punsri in 16^th place ($755,000) and Esti Wang in 12th place ($865,000) missed the final table. No final table appearances were recorded in the $100,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Super High Roller and Event #5: $25,000 Dealers Choice Championship, either, while Wai Kin Yong and Kannapong Thanarattrakul made it to the final two tables in Event #7: $100,000 Triton Main Event.

In Event #8: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, only one Asian player in a field of 122 entries earned a slice of the $6,100,000 prize pool. That happens to be Yang Wang, who fell short of victory by a single elimination. In a tournament filled with high-stakes crushers and PLO specialists, Wang made it to the heads-up stage against Stephen Chidwick but fell short of the glory.

Second place finishes can bring with it a lot of sorrow, but he earned the handsome consolation prize of $1,006,680 to sweeten the pain. For British crusher Chidwick, it was the second WSOP gold bracelet and second in the four-card variant for a staggering top prize of $1,357,080.

The second edition of WSOP Paradise will conclude on December 19 and all eyes will be set on the conclusion of Event #9: $25,000 WSOP Super Main Event, which narrowly missed to cover the ambitious $50 million guarantee.