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Seat 1: Xiaosheng Zheng, 40, Foshan, China – 11,200,000
He may be a new face on the European Poker Tour, but Xiaosheng Zheng is an experienced live tournament grinder with more than $2.5 million in earnings on his resume. The 40-year-old from Foshan described himself as a semi-professional player.
He said he works in trading, but called the job very flexible, leaving him plenty of time to travel and play cards. “My job is very easy,” he said.
This is only Zheng’s second EPT Main Event and the first on mainland Europe. His debut came two years ago in Cyprus, where Zheng finished outside the paid places.
Zheng loves Barcelona and the EPT and has already hinted that we may see him in Prague and possibly at more stops next year. “The EPT is very professional and always has big prizes,” he said, describing what entices him to explore the tour further.
Zheng says he has tried to take this tournament one day at a time, trying not to get ahead of himself, but added that he’s really been enjoying the food in Barcelona and that he “will celebrate in a nice restaurant…win or lose.”
Already guaranteed to pick up the fifth six-figure score of his live career, he will definitely leave the main stage with a winning feeling. But he may also become the first Chinese EPT Main Event champion, an accomplishment that adds extra motivation to the finale
Player bios courtesy of Jan Kores/Florence Mazet/PokerStars
Career statistics
The Hendon Mob Earnings: $2,567,624
EPT Main Event cashes: 0
Best result: n/a
Tournament progression
Day 1: 86,000 (103/193, 1A)
Day 2: 382,000 (54/205)
Day 3: 1,465,000 (8/67)
Day 4: 1,855,000 (12/28)
Day 5: 4,225,000 (5/13)
Day 6: 11,200,000 (3/6)
Key hands
On Day 5, Zheng was all in and at risk with aces against Michael Dwyer's ace-king. Zheng's rockets held, doubling him up to a big stack of 80 big blinds.
One day later, Zheng was on the verge of becoming a victim of a preflop cooler himself. After four-betting queens at the final table, Manuel Ferrari five-bet jammed with aces. Luckily for Zheng, after a long tank, he found a fold with his premium hand to avoid a likely elimination.