Michael Wang Wins $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em Event At 2015 World Series of PokerWang Earns $466,120 After Topping A Stacked Final Table |
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Going into the final table of the $5,000 no-limit hold’em event at the 2015 World Series of Poker, you would be forgiven for overlooking Michael Wang. After all, not only were former bracelet winners Bryn Kenney, Amir Lehavot and Greg Merson still in the hunt, but so were the red hot Jason Wheeler, Byron Kaverman and Joe Ebanks.
But despite the fact that his competition had the edge with experience, the 26-year-old Wang was undeterred and came out on top for his first career WSOP bracelet and the $466,120 first-place prize that came in the first open event of the summer.
There were a total of 422 entrants in the event, creating a total prize pool of $1,983,400. Other notables who made the money included Mark Radoja (36th), Tony Gregg (31st), Brian Hastings (29th), Jeremy Ausmus (27th), Andy Frankenberger (25th), Jesse Martin (21st), Alex Bolotin (18th), Nam Le (13th), and David Sands (10th).
The Livingston, New Jersey poker pro had a previous high tournament cash of $216,904 in 2014 when he finished runner-up at the Hollywood Poker Open Championship before winning this event. Wang most recently took third in the PaddyPower Irish Poker Open main event for another €111,750. He now has over $1.5 million in career live tournament earnings.
“I’m still trying to process it,” Wang said. “This is the most prestigious prize in poker. This is the best thing in the game that’s ever happened to me. It’s going to take some time for this to sink in.”
The event had some sizable Card Player Player of the Year implications as well. With his runner-up finish, Kenney picked up 1,200 POY points, moving him into eighth place overall. Ebanks earned 360 points for his seventh-place finish, putting him into the top 30. Kaverman was already having a stellar year and his additional 120 POY points for ninth place moved him into 19th place in the standings.
Here is a look at the final table results.
| Finish | Player Name | Prize | POY Points |
| 1 | Michael Wang | $466,120 | 1440 |
| 2 | Bryn Kenney | $287,870 | 1200 |
| 3 | Artur Koren | $208,177 | 960 |
| 4 | Greg Merson | $152,126 | 720 |
| 5 | Jason Wheeler | $112,339 | 600 |
| 6 | Amir Lehavot | $83,838 | 480 |
| 7 | Joe Ebanks | $63,210 | 360 |
| 8 | Long Nguyen | $48,137 | 240 |
| 9 | Byron Kaverman | $37,030 | 120 |
For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.
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