ShareImage courtesy of PokerNews.com
Ryan Leng has taken down the WSOP Event #23: Eight Game Mix 6-Max, preventing Connor Drinan from winning his second bracelet in two weeks. Leng adds to his own bracelet tally to become a three-time winner, one of only 109 people to ever break through that mark.
He picked up his first back in the WSOP Event #51 $ 1,500 No Limit Hold'em - Bounty and followed up with victory in the WSOP Event #13 $ 1,000 No Limit Hold'em - Freezeout ONLINE - US Only during July of this year.
Run Hot When it Matters
It’s interesting to note the American domination in these mixed games events. Only six players in the top 50 were from outside the United States. The old limit games are still widely spread in Nevada casinos but have all but died out in the online arena. This must be having an effect over the years.After emerging victorious, Leng said: “I’ve been studying mixed games lately. I definitely think the final table, the final two tables, I was certainly nowhere near the best player left in the field. I ran really hot. He’s the best. I used to play low-stakes online and I would pull up his tables on PokerStars and just sweat him. Playing him heads-up was just a freeroll for me. If I lost, I lost to one of the best. And if I ran well and won, then great.”
The final table stage was always going to be tough for Leng. Daniel Zack and Ryan Hughes were chasing their sixth and fifth cash of the series already.
And then, of course, Connor Drinan is an absolute monster in this format.
But Leng battled hard and took his chances when they came. He admitted he ran super hot during the final two tables, but he also played great as well.
When it was time to face-off against his heads-up opponent, Leng must have been hoping for anybody but Drinan. Out of a 484-player field he really couldn’t have drawn a tougher opponent.
It also didn’t start great, either. Before long he found himself at a 10-1 chip disadvantage, staring at all of his chips in the middle of the table with Q7 against Drinan’s A5. That could have been it before a miracle seven saved the day.
The rest of the match was a grind but Leng pulled off the seemingly impossible and sealed a popular victory .
Final results:
| 1 | Ryan Leng | $137,969 |
| 2 | Connor Drinan | $85,273 |
| 3 | Brett Shaffer | $56,839 |
| 4 | Daniel Zack | $38,752 |
| 5 | Schuyler Thornton | $27,038 |
| 6 | Ryan Hughes | $19,317 |
