Dong Chen Wins World Series Of Poker Limit Hold’em Championship

In any context, battling a World Series of Poker final table that includes Benny Glaser, Jeremy Ausmus, Jesse Lonis, and Gus Hansen isn’t going to be easy. Especially when even the other players at the table also have major titles to their names.

But to do so in a $10,000 buy-in limit hold’em event, having only ever played one other dedicated tournament in that format, feels like setting yourself up for an impossible challenge.

And yet, that’s exactly where China’s Dong Chen landed. The emergent Chen battled through one of the toughest final tables imaginable on his way to victory in the WSOP $10,000 limit hold’em championship. He earned his second career WSOP bracelet and $285,200 as the last player standing, defeating Glaser heads-up to deny him a ninth career WSOP title.

“Poker-wise, this wasn’t my first rodeo,” Chen told PokerNews following his victory. “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 has tournament results dating back to 2017, but he’s leveled up over the last few years. He won a $10,000 six-handed no-limit hold’em event at WSOP Paradise in 2023, and now has two bracelet wins in five career WSOP final-table finishes.

One Bet At A Time

Outside of mixed-game formats, limit hold’em tournaments get exactly two opportunities for a brief spotlight each year, both at the WSOP. Following Dennis Weiss’ victory in the $1,500 buy-in edition of the tournament, the $10,000 limit hold’em championship event got its moment to shine. By the close of registration, 121 entrants took their shot at this bracelet, building a total prize pool of $1,125,300.

Nineteen players reached the money, and the playdown to a seven-handed final table saw a trail of poker legends fall by the wayside. Daniel Negreanu (13th), Phil Ivey (9th), and Josh Arieh (8th) each narrowly missed out on a chance to add to their respective bracelet totals.

At the start of the final table, Glaser held a narrow lead over Chen, and both players were well ahead of the rest of the pack.

While several of the shorter stacks doubled early, Dylan Smith was not as fortunate. The 2024 World Poker Tour Rock-n-Roll Poker Open winner and mixed game standout lost most of his chips to Glaser in a big pot without a showdown. He then left himself with less than one big blind after a clash with Hansen.

Those chips went in soon thereafter, and Lonis and Chen each played along to the river of a 7♣7♦4♥A♣J♦ board. Lonis bet Chen out, tabled A♦9♣, and Smith’s king-high had him headed to the rail in seventh place ($38,191).

Chip Lead Musical Chairs

Chen was briefly relegated to one of the shortest stacks, but Hansen was the next player on the chopping block. Hansen’s chips went in on a J♥7♥4♠ flop, and his A♥K♥ had a world of outs against Ausmus’ pocket tens. But blanks on the turn and river meant that Hansen was out in sixth place ($49,665). The bracelet winner and three-time WPT champion now has more than $10.1 million in career earnings after this score.

Jerry Wong was right behind Hansen on the way out the door. The 2023 WSOP $10,000 razz champion, who notably finished eighth in the 2016 WSOP main event, made his stand in a three-way pot against Glaser and Chen. Chen bet the river of an A♣10♥6♣5♦2♠ board, Glaser folded, and Chen tabled A♠K♣. Wong’s K♥Q♦ was not enough, and his tournament run ended in fifth place ($66,560).

At the start of four-handed play, Glaser held a small lead over Lonis, with Chen recovering to climb back into third, and Ausmus at the back of the pack. In short order, Ausmus ascended into the lead before Lonis took his time on top. Glaser charged back, becoming the first player to clear 3 million, and Chen slipped back into a dangerously short position.

Glaser appeared poised to lock down his ninth career bracelet, accumulating double Lonis’ second-place stack as Ausmus and Chen held just a few big bets each. Chen nailed an open-ended straight draw on the river of a king-high board to claim a massive pot from Lonis, sending the two players in opposite directions. Lonis recovered quickly, only to run into Ausmus’ second instance of quads at the final table. Lonis could not recover from that loss, and his last few chips went in with A♥K♥ against Glaser’s K♠8♥.

Glaser found an 8♠ on the turn, sending the defending Card Player Player of the Year to the rail in fourth place. The two-time bracelet winner now has nearly $31.8 million in recorded cashes.

Chen’s Charge

As the limits grew larger and play extended into the night, the chips circulated between the final three players for a lengthy stretch. Chen’s aggression eventually pulled him all the way back into the lead. Ausmus remained the short stack for long stretches, but kept pulling close before dropping back to a short stack.

Ausmus lost a big pot to Glaser without a showdown. He folded on the river to leave his stack on the brink. He soon got all in on a K♣J♦4♦9♦ with a king in hand, but Ausmus was drawing dead against Chen’s turned diamond flush with 8♦6♦. Ausmus’ third $10,000 final table in a week ended in his best finish of the summer thus far, in third place ($130,380). The vlogger and CoinPoker ambassador still sits at six career bracelets. This was already his third final table of the series, having finished fourth in the stud championship and sixth in the $10,000 dealer’s choice.

Chen started heads-up play with a solid lead, and pure aggression and strong runouts allowed him to blitz to victory. On the most crucial hand of their heads-up battle, Chen flopped two pair with Q♦4♦ and rivered a full house, claiming a massive pot from Glaser, who claimed he had rivered a club flush.

On the final hand of the tournament, Chen’s A♠4♠ took on Glaser’s 10♣8♠. Glaser took the lead on a J♠8♣6♠ flop, and cut down Chen’s outs on a 10♥ turn. But the 5♠ river made Chen’s flush and sealed his victory.

For his efforts, Chen earned 660 Card Player Player of the Year points, his first qualifying result of 2026. Ausmus’ 440 POY points pushed him up to 33rd in the yearlong race presented by CoinPoker. Lonis’ 330 POY points put him in 11th place as he looks to go back-to-back.

Chen also earned himself 285 PokerGO Tour points towards the high roller tour’s season-long leaderboard with this triumph.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: WSOP / Miguel Cortes