After three days of poker at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, Dong Meng became the first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner of the summer as he took down the Tournament of Champions for $200,000 and his second bracelet.
The $1 million freeroll event was open to bracelet and Circuit ring winners from the 2023-24 season. There were 559 bracelet winners around the country who made the trek to Commerce and eight survived for the streamed final table on Day 3.
Meng, who won last year’s $1,000 Flip & Go for $160,490 after defeating heads-up opponent Wesley Fei, had another successful heads-up battle as he bested WSOPC Grand Victoria Seniors Event winner Kevin Will.
“It means a lot,” he said in a winner’s interview. “Having two bracelets, especially no-limit bracelets in a consecutive year I think is amazing. I’m not a professional player, I’m an amateur.”
Others at the final table included two-time ring winner Rick Gebhart (4th – $63,000), online bracelet winner Cody Bell (5th – $46,000) and Houston firefighter and bracelet winner Scott Dulaney (7th – $26,000).
Read About Day 2 of the Tournament of Champions
WSOP Tournament of Champions Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dong Meng | United States | $200,000 | |
| 2 | Kevin Will | United States | $120,000 | |
| 3 | Nathan Wasson | United States | $87,000 | |
| 4 | Rick Gebhart | United States | $63,000 | |
| 5 | Cody Bell | United States | $46,000 | |
| 6 | Ramon Kropmanns | Brazil | $35,000 | |
| 7 | Scott Dulaney | United States | $26,000 | |
| 8 | Alan Merdita | United States | $20,000 | |
| 9 | John West | United States | $16,000 |
After the post-stream eliminations of Albert Gorelik and John West at the end of Day 2, eight players returned for Day 3 with all eight players looking for a career-best cash of $200,000.
Alan Merdita was the first to go at the final table as he ran pocket kings into the slow-played pocket aces of Bell. Dulaney was next out in seventh place for $26,000 as his top pair was out-kicked by Meng.
Following the eliminations of Bell and Brazil’s Ramon Kropmanns and, Gebhart fell in fourth place for $63,000 before Nathan Wasson ran pocket deuces into the queens of Meng to go out in third place for $87,000.
The elimination gave Meng a dominant chip lead over Will, who managed to double before a fatal blow where he jammed king-five and ran into Meng’s ace-queen.
While many players were upset about the Tournament of Champions being held away from the World Series, Meng said he enjoyed the experience.
“I’d just say I really enjoy playing at Commerce, I think you guys have first-class staff and dealers and the whole experience has been amazing.”
There are just a few days until the 2024 WSOP kicks off in Las Vegas, and PokerNews is ready to provide news and live reporting updates every step of the way.
*Lead photo courtesy Alicia Skillman & 8131 Media
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