Dong Chen’s poker resume is impressive, but amongst the last seven of Event #38: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship, he seemed like the forgotten man.
There was Benny Glaser, coming off three World Series of Poker bracelets last year and eight in his future Hall-of-Fame career, sitting in the chip lead. Jeremy Ausmus was looking for his seventh bracelet to bolster his Hall credentials. Gus Hansen, one of the faces of the poker boom, was making his first WSOP final table in 15 years. Jesse Lonis, the blossoming poker superstar, was chasing his third bracelet. And Jerry Wong and Dylan Smith, no strangers to tough mixed-game final tables, rounded out the lineup.
Chen was easy to overlook amidst that group. The Chinese pro had more than $4.1 million in live earnings, including a WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 6-Handed High Roller at the 2023 WSOP Paradise. But he was, after all, playing in just his second Limit Hold’em event ever, his experience dwarved by those of his six opponents.
None of that mattered, for Chen beat all the legends today at the final table and dominated Glaser in a short heads-up match on his way to his second bracelet and $285,200 top prize. Chen admitted afterward that he didn’t feel overmatched at the final table. He had experienced it plenty of times before at events around the world.
Event #38: $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship Final Table results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dong Chen | China | $285,200 |
| 2 | Benny Glaser | United Kingdom | $190,260 |
| 3 | Jeremy Ausmus | United States | $130,380 |
| 4 | Jesse Lonis | United States | $91,844 |
| 5 | Jerry Wong | United States | $66,560 |
| 6 | Gus Hansen | Denmark | $49,665 |
| 7 | Dylan Smith | United States | $38,191 |
Winner’s Reaction
“Poker-wise, this wasn’t my first rodeo. I’ve battled with legends in No-Limit Hold’em. But Limit Hold’em is something new that I just recently unlocked, so it feels really good,” Chen said through a translator.
Chen’s first experience in Limit Hold’em came just a few days ago, when he cashed in 52nd place in the $1,500 event. “That was my first Limit Hold’em tournament, and this was my second Limit Hold’em tournament,” he said.
He found himself short-stacked and three-handed with Ausmus and Glaser, two players with a combined 14 bracelets between them who will each wind up in the Poker Hall of Fame one day. Chen’s strategy was simple: he was going to go on the attack and put the pressure on them.
“Both Ausmus and Glaser are really incredible players. My strategy was to be more aggressive, so I three-bet, four-bet a lot. That’s my default, go-to strategy,” he said.
“In terms of heads-up, it matters who hits the board. That’s the first. And, second, I carried my aggressive style into heads-up, where I three-bet a lot. So that won me quite a lot of pots. But eventually, it was just a matter of hitting the board more than my opponent.”
Chen is just the third player from China to win multiple WSOP bracelets, joining Xixiang Luo and Renji Mao. He says the Chinese poker community was behind him the entire way as he tried to make a little bit of history.
“At the end of yesterday, when I bagged for Day 2, everyone in the Chinese poker community was rooting for me, wishing me good luck. So pursuing more bracelets is one of my poker goals,” he said.
Day 3 Action
The remaining seven players returned to the Paris Las Vegas ballroom at 1 p.m. local time after making it through the 121-entry field, each securing at least $38,191 out of the $1,125,300 prize pool. Glaser was the chip leader with 2,255,000, while Chen was right behind him with 2,185,000.
Wong, who yesterday wanted to keep playing until he busted or doubled up rather than come back with a short stack today, earned an early double when his nines held up against Lonis’ sixes. Lonis then doubled up with two queens against Hansen. “Short stacks are fighting today,” Lonis said.
Smith, though, had no such luck as he got in his remaining chips in with king-ten, and Lonis hit two pair with ace-nine to win the pot and send Smith to the rail in seventh place.
Ausmus showed down flopped quads to knock Hansen down to a short stack. Wong, meanwhile, continued his ascent when he flopped the nut straight to win a pot off Chen. Chen dropped down to the short stack after losing back-to-back hands against Lonis and Wong. Lonis then called down Glaser with a rivered two pair, and Glaser flashed a king for top pair as he mucked. Lonis also hit top pair against Wong to win another pot and climb up near 2,000,000.
Hansen finally got in his last chips after flopping the nut flush draw against Ausmus’ tens, but he couldn’t improve and was eliminated in sixth place at his first WSOP final table since 2011. Wong dropped two pots before moving all in on the turn against Chen and Glaser. Chen bet out Glaser on the river, and then showed ace-king for top pair. Wong could only show king-queen and busted in fifth place.
Ausmus took the chip lead four-handed after getting paid by Glaser on the river with a pair of jacks, and then betting out Lonis on the river. Glaser retook the lead when he caught Chen making a move with just queen-high on the river, and Glaser showed down trips to win the pot.
Chen was left short, while Glaser built up his stack and began to separate from the rest of the field. Chen won a big pot off Lonis right before a scheduled break, showing down a set of sevens. He then check-raised on both the turn and river against Lonis, and Lonis called, only for Chen to reveal a rivered straight to win another pot.
Ausmus again hit quads to double off Lonis, and Lonis soon after got in his last chips with ace-king. He had Glaser’s king-eight dominated, but Glaser spiked an eight on the turn to win the pot and send Lonis to the rail in fourth place.
Chen and Ausmus tangled in a big pot where Chen capped it at five bets before the flop. He then bet on the flop and Ausmus called, then both players checked the turn. Ausmus led out on the river, and Chen called only for Ausmus to show him ace-king for top pair. Chen was again left as the short stack, while Glaser led and Ausmus sat in second.
Chen climbed back over Ausmus when he called him down with a pair of nines. Both Chen and Ausmus won pots off Glaser with two pair to narrow the gap. Chen took over the chip lead after winning a three-bet pot off Ausmus. Ausmus was left short after he raised on the river. Glaser then reraised, and Ausmus folded to save his tournament life.
On the last hand before dinner break, Ausmus moved all in on the turn in a three-way pot. Chen then reraised, and Glaser folded. Chen showed a turned flush, and Ausmus was already drawing dead with a pair of kings as he was eliminated in third place.
Chen led at the start of heads-up. He quickly expanded his lead by taking a pot with a pair of fives, then showed down with top pair of aces to win another pot off Glaser. Chen called a four-bet from Glaser with seven-five and check-called with fourth pair to win a big pot and leave Glaser short.
Chen rivered a full house against Glaser’s flush to leave Glaser even shorter. Glaser then raised the rest of his stack with ten-eight, and Chen called with ace-four. Glaser hit a pair of eights on the flop, then improved to two pair on the turn. The river, though, gave Chen a flush and the bracelet.
One of the first to come over to celebrate with the new bracelet winner was Daniel Negreanu. Chen was drafted for $1 by Ren Lin in 2024 and 2025. Negreanu, though, got him for $4 this year. Chen thinks his value has gone up with this win.
“$5. Between $5 and $7,” he said.
With sudden success in a game he had so little experience in, Chen is already looking forward to continuing his journey in Limit Hold’em. “As long as there are events. I really like Limit Hold’em,” he said.
That concludes PokerNews’ coverage of the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship. Stay tuned for more updates throughout the 2026 WSOP.
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