Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
After three days of poker at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, Dong Meng became the first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner of the summer as he took down the Tournament of Champions for $200,000 and his second bracelet.
The $1 million freeroll event was open to bracelet and Circuit ring winners from the 2023-24 season. There were 559 bracelet winners around the country who made the trek to Commerce and eight survived for the streamed final table on Day 3.
Meng, who won last year's $1,000 Flip & Go for $160,490 after defeating heads-up opponent Wesley Fei, had another successful heads-up battle as he bested WSOPC Grand Victoria Seniors Event winner Kevin Will.
"It means a lot," he said in a winner's interview. "Having two bracelets, especially no-limit bracelets in a consecutive year I think is amazing. I'm not a professional player, I'm an amateur."
Others at the final table included two-time ring winner Rick Gebhart (4th - $63,000), online bracelet winner Cody Bell (5th - $46,000) and Houston firefighter and bracelet winner Scott Dulaney (7th - $26,000).
Read About Day 2 of the Tournament of Champions
WSOP Tournament of Champions Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | COUNTRY | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dong Meng | United States | $200,000 | |
| 2 | Kevin Will | United States | $120,000 | |
| 3 | Nathan Wasson | United States | $87,000 | |
| 4 | Rick Gebhart | United States | $63,000 | |
| 5 | Cody Bell | United States | $46,000 | |
| 6 | Ramon Kropmanns | Brazil | $35,000 | |
| 7 | Scott Dulaney | United States | $26,000 | |
| 8 | Alan Merdita | United States | $20,000 | |
| 9 | John West | United States | $16,000 |
After the post-stream eliminations of Albert Gorelik and John West at the end of Day 2, eight players returned for Day 3 with all eight players looking for a career-best cash of $200,000.
Alan Merdita was the first to go at the final table as he ran pocket kings into the slow-played pocket aces of Bell. Dulaney was next out in seventh place for $26,000 as his top pair was out-kicked by Meng.
Following the eliminations of Bell and Brazil's Ramon Kropmanns and, Gebhart fell in fourth place for $63,000 before Nathan Wasson ran pocket deuces into the queens of Meng to go out in third place for $87,000.
The elimination gave Meng a dominant chip lead over Will, who managed to double before a fatal blow where he jammed king-five and ran into Meng's ace-queen.
While many players were upset about the Tournament of Champions being held away from the World Series, Meng said he enjoyed the experience.
"I'd just say I really enjoy playing at Commerce, I think you guys have first-class staff and dealers and the whole experience has been amazing."
There are just a few days until the 2024 WSOP kicks off in Las Vegas, and PokerNews is ready to provide news and live reporting updates every step of the way.
*Lead photo courtesy Alicia Skillman & 8131 Media
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In this Series
- 1 Dong Meng Wins Second Bracelet & $200,000 in WSOP Tournament of Champions
- 2 Jose Garcia Wins Event #2: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $79,134
- 3 Asher Conniff Wins First Bracelet in Event 1: $5,000 Champions Reunion for $408,468
- 4 Daniel Willis Wins First WSOP Bracelet in Event #3: $500 Kickoff NLHE
- 5 James Chen Wins WSOP Event #4: $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo ($209,350)
- 6 Darius Samual's 50% Bankroll Risk Pays Off in WSOP $25K Heads-Up Championship
- 7 Mixed Game Legend John Hennigan Wins Seventh Bracelet at 2024 WSOP
- 8 Bryce Yockey BLASTS 25K Fantasy Draft Price After $5K PLO Bracelet Win
- 9 "I'm Only Here to Win Bracelets," says Nick Guagenti as He Captures His Second
- 10 Malcolm Trayner Made a Millionaire in WSOP Mystery Millions
- 11 Great Scott! Seiver Adds to Legacy with Fifth WSOP Bracelet
- 12 David Prociak Conquers The $1,500 Badugi for His Second Bracelet and $129,676
- 13 Simeon Spasov Wins $1,500 6-Max to Claim Second Bracelet for $439,815!
- 14 Robert Mizrachi Joins Brother on Five WSOP Bracelets After $10,000 Dealer's Choice Victory
- 15 20 Years in the Making: TJ Murphy Becomes a WSOP Champion
- 16 Caleb Furth Captures Maiden Bracelet in Event #15: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8 or Better for $265,361
- 17 Dylan Weisman Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Event #18: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha
- 18 Brent Hart Rises From Pack to Win Event #16: $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em
- 19 John Racener Spins Shortest Stack Up to WSOP Gold in LHE Championship
- 20 Aaron Cummings Wins His First Bracelet In Lowball Triple Draw Event
- 21 "Feeling Vindicated": Brek Schutten Wins WSOP $25,000 High Roller for $1,405,641
- 22 Sean Troha Completes Hat Trick in $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship
- 23 Huge Comeback Inspires Daniel Sepiol to First Bracelet in $1,500 Shootout
- 24 Daniel Vampan Claims First Bracelet and $148,635 in $3,000 Limit Hold'em 6-Max
- 25 Stephen Winters Defeats 20,647 Players to Win $300 Gladiators of Poker ($401,210)
- 26 Nick Schulman Wins Fifth WSOP Bracelet in $25K High Roller ($1,667,842)
- 27 Gruneberg & Bonnacci Capture First WSOP Pennsylvania Online Bracelets of the Summer
- 28 Evan Benton Goes From Poker Beginner to WSOP Bracelet Winner
- 29 Michael Christ "Gets Lucky" On His Way to Winning Event #27: $1,500 Big O
- 30 Alen Bakovic Laughs His Way to the WSOP Event #30 $600 PLO/NLH Mix Title
- 31 Nicholas Seward Wins His First WSOP Bracelet in $3,000 6-Handed for $516,135
- 32 Phil Ivey Wins His 11th WSOP Bracelet in $10K 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
- 33 Richard Ashby Wins Second WSOP Bracelet in Same Stud Event
- 34 Alex Manzano Ascends to Win Event #33: $600 Pot-Limit Omaha DeepStack
- 35 Antonio Galiana’s Big Bluff Propels Him To First Bracelet in Event #34
- 36 Another Comeback, Another Bracelet For Phillip Hui In $1.5k H.O.R.S.E.
- 37 Timur Margolin Wins Third Bracelet in Event #36: $800 NLHE Deepstack for $342,551
- 38 John Fauver Wins The First Ever $10k Big O Championship For $681,998
