Logo-PGT

Dong Chen is now a WSOP bracelet winner after winning Event #15: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max at WSOP Paradise for $411,659 in prize money. Chen defeated Frenchman Thomas Santerne heads-up to win his first WSOP bracelet.

This was Chen's fourth cash at WSOP Paradise following deep runs in Event #1: $1,650 Mystery Millions and Event #6: $3,300 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Handed. Following his victory, Chen now moves to more than $1,416,000 in live tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. He also moves to 22nd on China's All-Time Money List and has a total of 23 WSOP cashes dating back to 2019.

Originally scheduled to be the penultimate event of WSOP Paradise, Event #15 was rescheduled to earlier on the schedule and would need an unprecedented third day to come to a conclusion. The 169-entrant field created a prize pool of $1,639,300, which eclipsed the $1,000,000 prize pool guarantee. The final 26 players finished in the money, and the likes of Brandon Wilson (26th), Tyler Cornell (23rd), Jessica Teusl (21st), Chin Wei Lim (14th), Chanracy Khun (13th), Armin Rezaei (9th), and Sergi Reixach (8th) were all eliminated prior to the final table being set.

Frenchman Jean-Noel Thorel held the chip lead over the final seven players before Roman Hrabec exited in seventh after losing a race with ace-ten against pocket sevens. Zhewen Hu exited next when his queen-jack for a straight draw and flush draw were drawing dead when the chips went in against Chen's flopped ace-high flush. Thomas Santerne found a huge double with pocket jacks against the ace-king of Event #1 winner Jin Hoon Lee. Lee then exited next when his king-jack suited was outdrawn by Chen's ace-eight.

The final four players agreed to conclude play for Day 2, with Chen holding the chip lead. On the resumption of play, Mike Watson would be the first player to fall when he ran his king-jack into the pocket kings of Santerne. Chen kept pulling away from his two French opponents before Thorel exited in third when his king-ten couldn't improve against Chen's aces. Chen would hold a near nine-to-one chip lead over Santerne, entering heads-up play, and although Santerne found a quick double, the end was around the corner when he was all-in with second pair against the top pair of Chen. Both players shared the same kicker, and when Santerne couldn't improve to trips, he was eliminated in second place, and Chen claimed his first WSOP bracelet and the $411,659 first-place prize.

2023 WSOP Paradise Event #15: $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em 6-Max Final Table Results

Place Player Country Prize PGT Points
1st Dong Chen China $411,659 412
2nd Thomas Santerne France $254,417 254
3rd Jean-Noel Thorel France $182,188 182
4th Mike Watson Canada $132,800 133
5th Jin Hoon Lee South Korea $98,564 99
6th Zhewen Hu China $74,512 75

Dong Chen Claims First PGT Victory; Top 40 on PGT Leaderboard Remain Intact

Dong Chen's first WSOP bracelet in Event #15 was his career PGT victory and second PGT cash. Chen now sits on 429 PGT points heading into the final few events of the season. 

The remaining final tablists, excluding Mike Watson, all registered their first PGT cash of the season, while this was Watson's second. Chanracy Khun's 13th-place finish earned him 25 PGT points which moved him to 173rd on the PGT leaderboard with 329 PGT points. 

Brandon Wilson collected 17 PGT points for his 26th-place finish and moved to 165th on the PGT leaderboard with 339 PGT points.

To view the PGT leaderboard, check out pgt.com/leaderboard.

Only PGT Last Chance Series Remaining in PGT Season

Event Number Starting Date Event
127 January 2, 2024 PGT Last Chance #1: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em
128 January 3, 2024 PGT Last Chance #2: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em
129 January 4, 2024 PGT Last Chance #3: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em
130 January 5, 2024 PGT Last Chance #4: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em
131 January 6, 2024 PGT Last Chance #5: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em
132 January 7, 2024 PGT Last Chance #6: $10,100 No-Limit Hold'em
  January 9-10, 2024 PGT Championship $1,000,000 Freeroll

For complete PGT schedule information, check out pgt.com/schedule.

*Dong Chen winner picture courtesy of WSOP.com

Connect with PokerGO.com on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. Watch daily poker clips on the PokerGO YouTube channel. Join the conversation on the PokerGO Discord server. You can save $20 off an annual subscription to PokerGO.com by using the code “PGT2023” at checkout.

WSOP, Mike Watson, PGT, Dong Chen, WSOP Paradise, Thomas Santerne, Jean-Noel Thorel, Jin Hoon Lee, Zhewen Hu