Luis Zedan Becomes First El Salvadorian To Win World Series Of Poker Bracelet

Luis Zedan became the first player from El Salvador to win a World Series of Poker bracelet Saturday afternoon.

In an unscheduled fourth day of play, Zedan bested the final five players that returned and took down the $1,000 pot-limit Omaha. He defeated a field of 1,526 entries and earned $236,673 for his efforts.

When play resumed at noon, Zedan came into the final day with a massive chip lead. He held 15.7 million in chips, compared to Thida Lin, who was second in chips with 6.19 million. Despite the lead, Zedan was comfortable and felt no pressure on him.

“Do I think it was mine to lose? No. I think it was mine to win,” Zedan told WSOP reporters after the win.

Lin scored the first knockout of the day, eliminating Ryan Goindo in fifth. Goindo was in the lead with a hand that contained pocket aces, but Lin flopped two pair and turned a full house to send Goindo home with an extra $55,845 in his pocket.

Zedan scored the next to knockouts of Ryan Robinson in fourth and Sam Razavi in third. Just 40 minutes into the day, Zedan and Lin were heads-up. Zedan held 25 million of the 30.5 million in play.

It only took a few hands of heads-up play for Zedan to eliminate Lin in second. He turned the nut straight against Lin’s two pair and a smaller straight draw. The rive bricked off and Zedan finished off his first bracelet victory in under an hour. Lin earned $146,195 for her runner-up finish.

“I believe that anybody can win as long as you commit yourself to playing, to learning,” said Zedan.

Zedan told reporters that he is plans to donate 35 percent of his winnings to charity.

Along with the money, Zedan earned 1,080 Card Player Player of the Year points. It is his third cash and third final table of the year. He sits in 136th place in the 2019 POY race, sponsored by Global Poker.

Final Table Results:

For more coverage from the summer series, check out the 2019 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, results, news, player interviews, and event recaps.

Most Viewed Articles