Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Holdem

After a thrilling four days on the poker felt, Yang Zhang has topped a record-breaking field in Event #44: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em to capture his first World Series of Poker gold bracelet and the first-place prize of $717,879. Zhang outlasted a total of 1,735 entries and defeated some of the best players in the world.

Zhang has been absent for three years from the WSOP due to the pandemic but said it's great to finally be back in a place he is familiar with. "I love the game from the beginning until now but because of COVID, I didn't play. But ya, I really love the game." Zhang's last WSOP cash came back in 2019 and his only other final table was back in 2016 when he finished in eighth place in a field of over 6,700 entries.

It will go down as Zhang's largest career score to date and add to his already accumulated $2.2 million in earnings. It will also go down as one of his greatest accomplishments and Zhang had to pause when asked what winning a WSOP bracelet feels like. "I think it's a milestone of my poker life. It's kind of a great achievement for me."

Zhang also mentioned that he plans on sticking around for the entire summer and will be hopping in some poker tournaments tomorrow when more events get underway. This most recent score has moved Zhang to sixth on China's all-time money list and he hopes to continue to move his way up the leaderboard.

Final Table Results

Final Day Action

There were 15 players who returned for the fourth and final day of this tournament and there was no shortage of action right from the start with many short stacks looking to make their move. While there were significant pay jumps on the table, no amount of stalling could help the likes of Justin Chu, Samy Boujmala, Aliaksandr Shylko, and Aliaksandr Hirs climb their way out of the deficit.

Ankush Mandavia was also eliminated prior to the first break which led to the redraw for the unofficial final table. Multiple coolers led to many eliminations on the final table and first on the chopping block was Kartik Ved. His ace-king was no match for the pocket aces of Oganyan who vaulted up the leaderboard.

After some of the short stacks continued to double up, it was Szabo who found himself as the shortest and moved all-in from the button. Van Fleet had a chance for a double-elimination when Oganyan also pushed all in from the small blind, but Oganyan flopped a set to double up and also sent Szabo to the rail in ninth place.

It was a tough day at the office for Marino who failed to climb above 25 big blinds at any point and his short-stacked efforts eventually ran short when he ran pair into pair in the blinds and came out on the wrong end of it. Moments later, it was another clash of the blinds between Zhang and Shorr where all of the chips went into the middle preflop. Zhang flopped a set and Shorr was left drawing dead by the turn, bowing out in seventh place.

It was time for another cooler which brought the field down to just five players. Dimitrov collided with the chip leader Zhang, both holding premiums. Dimitrov rolled over pocket queens but Zhang one-upped him with pocket kings. There was no sweat on the runout and Dimitrovs received praise from his tablemates on his way out.

Normand, the French Canadian young star was starting to put himself in the mix but ran into an unfortunate river card when he clashed with Lynskey. While the Aussie escaped with a double-up, Normand was left with just a couple of big blinds and was eliminated on the next hand. With eliminations coming fast and furious, there was thoughts that the tournament could be on the verge of ending, but the deck had other things in store.

Despite Zhang holding the lead for the majority of the final table, he was never really able to put anyone away once they got down to four players. It took over three hours for the next elimination to occur after countless double-ups from the short stacks. It was Van Fleet 'Apestyles' who came back from dinner break and instantly got his stack in the middle. Zhang had more than enough chips to look him up and managed to flop a pair that held up, narrowing the field to just three.

On the very next hand was when Zhang momentarily lost his chip lead to Lynskey who won a massive flip. However, it wouldn't last long as Zhang fought back and worked his way back to the top. Within just 30 minutes, Zhang woke up with pocket aces when he needed it most after facing an all-in from Lynskey. It was a safe runout and Zhang took a commanding lead going into heads-up with Oganyan.

The two players battled hard from the onset with chips changing hands with each pass of the card. However, Zhang never let his large chip lead disappear and eventually found himself in a dominating position when all of the chips went into the middle. Oganyan flopped a straight draw to give himself some additional outs but found no help on the turn or river. The Chinese rail exploded with cheers as they celebrated their nation's fifth victory this summer.

Zhang quickly explained his final table strategy and felt that there was less pressure on himself compared to his opponents. "I didn't consider much about the ICM at the final table so I just played a normal game. I didn't have the pressure of the money so I was able to make them fold more."

That wraps up the coverage for this event at the WSOP but stay tuned to PokerNews for many more bracelet winners in the coming tournaments.

Yang Zhang found a call from the small blind and Aram Oganyan checked to the flop.

The flop came     as Oganyan led out for 1,000,000 and received a call from Zhang.

With the turn of   both players checked around.

The river was the   and Oganyan continued for 1,700,000. Zhang three bet to 5,600,000 and Oganyan made a quick call. Zhang revealed    to scoop the pot.

Yang Zhang	51,100,000	8,700,000
Aram Oganyan	17,300,000	-9,700,000

Yang Zhang raised to 1,700,000 on the button and Aram Oganyan defended from the big blind. The flop came     and Oganyan checked to Zhang who bet 1,500,000. Oganyan check-raised to 4,400,000 and Zhang called.

The turn brought the   and Oganyan went into the tank until the blind level changed and then shoved all in for around 15,000,000. Zhang quickly folded and Oganyan collected the pot.

Yang Zhang	42,400,000	-2,400,000
Aram Oganyan	27,000,000	6,900,000

On just the second hand of heads-up action, Yang Zhang announced all in on the button. Aram Oganyan thought for a minute and then called off his stack of 11,100,000.

Aram Oganyan:   
Yang Zhang:   

Oganyan was in the lead but Zhang had two live cards to work with. The board ran out       and Oganyan doubled up with two pair.

Yang Zhang	46,400,000	-11,700,000
Aram Oganyan	23,000,000	11,300,000

Yang Zhang raised to 1,600,000 from the button and Alex Lynskey raised to 4,200,000. Zhang made the call to the flop.

The flop came     and Lynskey led out for 2,000,000. Zhang made a quick call.

With the   on the turn, Lynskey continued for 4,600,000, Zhang again made the call.

The river was the   as both players were quick to check around. Zhang showed    to scoop the pot and take a commanding chip lead.

Yang Zhang	46,500,000	15,100,000
Aram Oganyan	11,700,000	3,600,000
Alex Lynskey	10,000,000	-9,700,000

Yang Zhang jammed all in from the small blind for 11,900,000 and received a call from Alex Lynskey in the big blind. Both players showed their hands.

Yang Zhang:   
Alex Lynskey:   

The board ran out       as Zhang's stronger pocket pair held and he doubled up.

Yang Zhang	25,000,000	13,000,000
Alex Lynskey	19,700,000	-24,100,000
Aram Oganyan	11,500,000	-3,600,000

The action folded to Jon Van Fleet in the small blind who ripped all in for his last 5,400,000. Yang Zhang asked for a count and then called with the big stack in the big blind.

Jon Van Fleet:   
Yang Zhang:   

The flop came     to give Zhang a pair of fours but Van Fleet picked up a flush draw. The   on the turn also gave him a straight draw but it was too many outs as the   paired the board on the river to eliminate Van Fleet.

Yang Zhang	33,500,000	8,500,000
Jon Van Fleet	0	-7,200,000

Players are now on on dinner break and will return at approximately 6:40 p.m. local time. Blinds will be 400,000 and 800,000 with an 800,000 big blind ante.

Yang Zhang	25,000,000	-1,600,000
Alex Lynskey	19,700,000	2,800,000
Aram Oganyan	15,100,000	-1,200,000
Jon Van Fleet	7,200,000	-300,000

Yang Zhang raised to 1,200,000 on the button and Aram Oganyan called from the big blind. The flop came     and Oganyan check-called a bet of 900,000 from Zhang.

The turn was the   and both players checked to the   on the river. Oganyan checked one more time and Zhang put together a bet of 3,100,000. Oganyan called and Zhang tabled    for just ace-high. Oganyan showed    for two pair and raked in the pot.

Yang Zhang	32,100,000	-4,900,000
Aram Oganyan	16,300,000	5,800,000

Aram Oganyan raised to 1,200,000 on the button and Yang Zhang jammed all in from the big blind. Oganyan instantly called off his stack of 7,950,000.

Aram Oganyan:   
Yang Zhang:   

The flop came     but Zhang's pair of tens was not enough as of yet. The   and   runout ensured Oganyan of a double up.

Yang Zhang	32,650,000	-2,250,000
Alex Lynskey	18,300,000	-700,000
Aram Oganyan	16,800,000	9,950,000
Jon Van Fleet	5,600,000	325,000