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Yanting Jiang Receives WSOP Title as Birthday Gift
The unassuming and quiet Yanting Jiang was not to be underestimated, as she reigned supreme and proved to be a menace to the rest of the field. She mixed it up and kept her opponents guessing until it was only Jiang left standing out of the 3,668 entries to take home her first-ever World Series of Poker bracelet and by far the biggest score of her career for $1,159,182 at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas.
Jiang was in disbelief after putting together a career-best run, as she was humbled by the experience and the newfound glory.
“I still can’t believe it. I feel lucky,” said Jiang to PokerNews during an interview after her victory. “I’m a single mom, and I have two kids, and I just pray for whatever God will give me.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yanting Jiang | United States | $1,159,182 |
| 2 | Chahn Jung | United States | $772,580 |
| 3 | Yoon Choi | United States | $576,099 |
| 4 | Maurice Hawkins | United States | $432,875 |
| 5 | Dylan Lew | United States | $327,767 |
| 6 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | $250,110 |
| 7 | Michael Rocco | United States | $192,347 |
| 8 | Roberto Romanello | United Kingdom | $149,093 |
| 9 | Vasileios Panagiotidis | Greece | $116,485 |
The last 24 hours have been a whirlwind for the newly minted champion. Yesterday was her birthday, and she celebrated it by putting out three-bets and making big calls to close Day 3 as the chip leader with 16 left, but after the dust has settled on her bracelet-winning run, she could only think of her family, her two kids, and celebrating with those she loves.
When asked what she was going to do to celebrate, Jiang brought it back to what is important to her more than money or gold hardware.
“First thing, I just want to take my kids on vacation,” said a relieved Jiang.
Jiang’s journey to a title picked up where she left off on Day 3 as the chip leader got to work scoring an elimination against Petre Ionescu to hold court during the early phases of the final day.
Jiang began her battle with second-place finisher Chahn Jung during this period, as their clashes would become a theme throughout the day. Jiang was knocked off her perch at the top of the chip standings when Jung surpassed her during the first two levels of the unofficial final table, but Jiang would not be denied as she fearlessly entered pots against Jung to engage in skirmish after skirmish.
Jiang eventually recaptured the chip lead, and this proved to be a crossroads between the two competitors. Jiang would ride that momentum the rest of the way as she turned into a tornado that tore through the rest of the final table, scoring the final four knockouts herself to secure an impressive run for her first-ever title.
Final Day Action
The action to start the day was frenetic. Within the first hour, three players fell by the wayside as Peter Yang, Darius Samual, and Mark Newhouse were eliminated to trim the field down to 13 players.
The quick pace was kept up during the second level of play as Petre Ionescu, Barry Shulman, and Jose Aguilera were the next to fall as the tournament went to an unofficial final table.
If the first two hours were characterized by fast play and quick eliminations, the next nearly six hours would display the opposite. A total of 13 double-ups during the six hours ensured that no player was able to score a knockout, as the remaining ten players were at an impasse.
The traffic jam finally unclogged when Luis Yepez lost to Michael Rocco when his big slick failed to improve to become the first elimination in nearly six hours of play.
It was as if the dam burst open, and the eliminations began to flow again as Vasileios Panagiotidis was the next to go in ninth place, a little over 15-minutes later. Roberto Romanello went out mere minutes later in eighth place, before Michael Rocco was the next to go in seventh place.
Thailand's Punnat Punsri’s quest for his first bracelet would have to wait as he lost to the ace high of Jung to go out in sixth place.
Dylan Lew was the next to go when his top pair was no good against Jiang’s set of fives sending him out in fifth.
Maurice Hawkins came roaring back from as low as one small blind, but his dream run to his first WSOP bracelet was not meant to be, as the 25-time WSOP ring winner went out in fourth place.
Yoon Choi was the next to bid farewell as he fell to the rivered flush of Jiang to finish in third.
Jung was the final obstacle between Jiang and a title. Despite scoring a double early on during the match, it was not enough as Jiang dealt the final blow on her way to a title when she hit a flush on the river to dispatch Jung. Jung would have to settle for a runner-up prize of $772,580 for his performance.
This concludes the coverage of Event $89: $3,000 Mid-Stakes Championship. Check back here at PokerNews for continued coverage of the 2026 World Series of Poker and all your poker updates and news.