After coming into heads-up play with a 3-1 chip lead over opponent Hu Ling Fei, Qian Zhi Qiang (pictured) grabbed the WPT Sanya Main Event title and CNY 1,600,000 ($242,555) top prize in less than an hour.
Qiang had extended his chip lead ahead of the final hand, that began with Qiang raising out of the small blind. Fei reraised from the big blind, and Qiang made the call to see the 
flop come out. Fei put out a continuation bet, and Qiang raised all in. His shove was met with a call from Fei, who tabled the 
for the best hand at the time. Qiang had the 
for bottom pair and was behind the pair of fours of Fei.
The 
on the turn changed everything, though, and Qiang vaulted into the lead with two pair. The river was the 
, giving Qiang a full house in the end and securing him the title.
As the shortest stack entering the final table, Fei is not to be disappointed with a second-place result, earning him CNY 1,100,000 ($166,700).
WPT Sanya Main Event Final Table Results
1st: Qian Zhi Qiang – CNY 1,600,000 ($242,555)
2nd: Hu Ling Fei – CNY 1,100,000 ($166,700)
3rd: Li Cheng Bei – CNY 700,000 ($106,000)
4th: Huang Deng Dong – CNY 520,000 ($78,800)
5h: Tang Ying – CNY 400,000 ($60,600)
6th: Chen Ke – CNY 309,300 ($46,900)
7th: Li Yu Guang – CNY 260,000 ($39,400)
8th: Chen Sui Yu – CNY 205,000 ($30,100)
9th: Fu Peng CNY 150,000 ($22,700)
Qiang’s performance at the final table was a truly dominant one. He entered as the chip leader and never gave up the top spot on the leaderboard, eliminating five players en route to getting heads up with Fei. Qiang earned his sixth elimination at the final table when he busted Fei in second place to win the event, and his final table dominance was part of a bigger picture. Not only did Qiang run through the final table with six eliminations and remain as the leader from start to finish, but he was the event’s chip leader starting at the end of Day 3.
With the victory being worth CNY 1,600,000 ($242,555), Qiang scored the largest live tournament result of his career and pushed his total earnings to nearly $500,000.
Thank you to our friends from Somuchpoker.com for providing coverage from WPT Sanya.
Japan Is Next for the World Poker Tour
Next up for the World Poker Tour in Asia is WPT Japan. The festival began on November 18, with the JPY 25,000 Main Event running November 23-26. The event is being run in conjunction with Japan Poker Union Corporation. For more information on this upcoming event, please refer to the event’s hub on WPT.com.