On Thursday night, Bin Weng took the stage for the final table of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown with the chip lead and he left with the title.
It’s the first WPT title for Weng, a career-long dream come true for the easy-going, mild-mannered pro from Philadelphia. And as happy as Weng is, knowing that his name will now be inscribed on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, his work is not done yet.
Weng’s shot at WPT history is still intact. Not only did Weng hold the final table chip lead of the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, but he’ll return in less than 24 hours to play out the final table of WPT Choctaw for his second shot in two days to claim yet another title – once again with the chip lead.
“This is my first ever experience playing back-to-back big final tables. Today, I definitely had a lot of emotions going on – excitement, disappointment – all the emotions going on in my head. But after this, I have to go home, I have to settle down myself, try to be cool, and hope that things will go well again.”
Weng’s performance was as dominant as it gets. He eliminated the first four of his final five opponents in roughly two hours. Then he tangled with a tough opponent in New Jersey’s Sri Sangannagari in a heads-up match for the title. It was a gripping back-and-forth battle that saw Weng start with a nearly five-to-one chip lead, only to see that evaporate in under an hour. Weng quickly found himself at a major chip disadvantage himself, but after a break, he came back resolved, found a double, and reset the narrative of heads-up play.
“I came to the heads-up match with a huge chip lead, almost like 85% of the chips in play…or a little more I think. And then things weren’t going so well. I didn’t make hands or my bluffs got called and failed,” Weng said, recalling that he dropped to just 20% of the chips in play. “My emotions affected me a little bit, but I kept telling myself to just try to play the best you can. Luckily, we had a break coming right after and I walked backstage, I took a deep breath and told myself ‘You are still there, don’t give up, don’t do anything crazy, and just play your best.’”
Weng kept the chip counts close until he spiked a vital gutshot, and then almost all the chips in play went in the middle. Sangannagari was left on fumes. It was all over just a few hands later.
After the photos and on-camera interview, Weng prepared himself to head home and prepare to try and do it all over again tomorrow at the final table of WPT Choctaw. If he does repeat, it will be one for record books. Two titles in two days. But win, lose, or draw tomorrow, Weng was clearly overcome with what he’s already accomplished.
“This is the biggest dream to put my name on the Mike Sexton Cup. For me, it’s already a win. I’m very happy. I just called my wife and she was very proud of me…she was speechless. I don’t know how to describe all my feelings right now.”