Ivan Zhang Aggresses His Way to Victory in TLPT $25k 8-Handed ($162,000)
After an exhilarating week of both low and high-stakes action at the Landing Casino inside Shinhwa World Hotel Jeju, The Lord Poker Tournament series has officially come to a close.
Capping off the series in style was TLPT co-founder Ivan Zhang, who emerged victorious in Event #12: US$25,000 8-Handed after besting a 15-entry field to claim the title, the trophy, and a cool $162,000. The win marks Zhang’s largest live tournament score to date and serves as a fitting redemption after firing — and missing — multiple bullets in the $20K event just days prior.
The atmosphere throughout the event carried a laid-back, “home game” feel, with smiles all around and few players taking the result too seriously. Zhang, in particular, thrived in this setting, regularly dishing out playful table talk and never hesitating to speak his mind.
Zhang entered the final day with a commanding chip lead and looked back. He put on a masterclass in well-timed aggression — mixing in light three-bets, floating with air, and pulling off overbets to apply maximum pressure. While he didn’t always hold the best hand, Zhang dominated the table en route to a well-earned victory.
TLPT $25,000 8-Handed Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ivan Zhang | China | $162,000 |
| 2 | Lei Yu | China | $108,000 |
| 3 | Quan Zhou | China | $70,000 |
| 4 | Renji Mao | China | $35,000 |
Final Day Action
Renji Mao joined the fray at the last moment, which meant seven players would compete for the title in what turned to be a a fairly long finale.
Two of the shorter stacks at the table, Gary Thompson and Lei Yu, were forced to make stands early that resulted in Yu winning a race to double up, while Thompson was eliminated after shoving with a flush draw against Mao's top pair and bricking out.
A relatively tame period saw Zhang extend his chip lead, including a hand where he got Dominik Nitsche off of a chop. Following the first break, Ami Barer and Nitsche were eliminated back-to-back after shoving preflop, getting called, and ending up second best.
The remaining four players immediatley agreed to a deal that guaranteed $30,000 to fourth place — opting to skip the money bubble altogether.
Following the deal, another lengthy period of modest action saw little chip movement. Zhang slowly chipped down to under a million at one point before a preflop cooler saw Mao jam ace-queen into Zhang's ace-king to be eliminated in fourth place and vault Zhang back into a solid chip lead.
Perhaps sensing a bit of passive play from his opponents, Zhang notably shifted gears and increased his aggression to great success — including three-betting with rags, floating with air, and overbetting the river.
Unable to gain any momentum against Zhang, Zhou finally made a stand by shoving preflop with ace-ten against an open from Zhang, but Zhang held a dominating ace-jack and held to set up heads-up play.
Armed with an overwhelming chip lead, Zhang continued to apply pressure to Yu and was aided by making the best hand in the first few hands of play to leave Yu short.
Yu was gifted a small glimmer of hope after backdooring a flush for a substantial pot, but just a couple of hands later, Yu was dealt pocket sixes against Zhang's pocket kings. Yu shoved preflop with his pair and Zhang snap-called with a big smile on his face. The board ran out clean — sealing Zhang's victory and wrapping up the TLPT in style.
That's a wrap for PokerNews coverage of the inaugural Lord Poker Tournament series. Be sure to check out our live-reporting hub for additional coverage from events across the globe.