If you’ve watched more than a couple of High Roller streams this year, be it Triton, PokerGO or otherwise, there’s a strong chance you’ve come across the bright smiling face of Ren Lin.
Lin first rose to prominence with a pair of final tables at the 2021 World Series of Poker, but 2023 has been a breakout year with final table appearances all over the world. He won his first U.S. Poker Open trophy in March, and added a side event win in a $25,000 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller during the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown series in May.
But up to this point, despite a hair shy of $8 million in lifetime earnings and big runs in a variety of major tournaments, a couple of key elements have eluded him to this point – most notably a WPT Championship event final table, and a seven-figure cash.
Both of those opportunities are in play in the 2023 WPT World Championship, as Lin puts together a serious run deep into Day 5 of the tournament. And because of his experience in big money spots against some of the toughest players in the world, Lin should be more than capable of handling the pressure as the payouts hit increasingly lofty tiers.
“I think it will help a lot, because all of these high rollers have a lot of good players at every table,” said Lin.
Lin has held his own on every stage he’s played on this year, and thrived under the brightest of lights. With $5.4 million in tournament earnings in 2023 alone, Lin’s success over the last 12 months represents 68 percent of his career money won in tournaments.
The WPT World Championship is certainly a different beast than the typical high roller environment, with 3,835 entries compared to a few dozen players. And while most high roller events tend to land in the two to three day range, the nature of each series makes playing a string of them in a row a common approach.
Even as he plays into Day 5 of the tournament, Lin is feeling good about the grind he’s been through, and what might lie ahead.
“I like the schedule,” said Lin. “It’s perfect for me, because it’s only five levels a day, 90 minutes each, so it’s less than nine hours per day. I love that.”
As for the big targets waiting at the end of the road on Day 6 Wednesday night, with each of the final six players earning a seven-figure payout and over $5.6 million awaiting the champion, Lin is squarely focused on handling what he can in front of him and not getting to far ahead.
“It’s hard to make a final table,” said Lin. “So I don’t think much about it. I wish to make this final table but I don’t, because it’s still quite a long way away. I’m just taking it step by step.”