Ryan Leng Captures 3rd Career WSOPC Gold Ring
PokerNews is in town to live report both the $1,700 Main Event and $2,200 High Roller here at the World Series of Poker Circuit Rio Las Vegas, but those are just three of the gold ring events that will have played out by the end of the series.
In Event #7: $400 NLH/PLO Mix 8-Handed, 103 entrants created a $33,990 prize pool that was paid out to the top 16 players including Ming Zhu (3rd - $4,085), Ian Steinman (7th - $1,210), James Hoeppner (11th - $703), JJ Liu (12th - $703), and Andrew Donabedian (16th - $597).
In the end, bracelet winner Ryan Leng bested Mark Liedtke in heads-up play to win the title for $9,722 and his third career gold ring.
“It feels great, especially in a format like this. No-limit hold’em is my main game and in PLO I’m still learning the tournament strategy, so it feels good to get a win in a mixed game like this where I’ve put in some time to study and trying to learn the game,” Leng said after the victory.
He added: “Winning a tournament is always so much fun. The money is obviously not one of the bigger ones, but I just really love the game and winning a tournament is always so much fun regardless of tournament, field size or buy-in. I love this game, I thoroughly love it. I’m constantly trying to improve, and I’m always trying new things. I also work on being creative, and learn new games. I’m always motivated to play, I want to win every tournament I enter so it is easy for me to stay motivated.”
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Hometown | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ryan Leng | Wheeling, Illinois | $9,722 |
| 2 | Mark Liedtke | Manassas, Virginia | $6,002 |
| 3 | Ming Zhu | Portland, Oregon | $4,085 |
| 4 | Steven Girouard | Las Vegas, Nevada | $2,869 |
| 5 | Darren Stillwell | Morganton, North Carolina | $2,080 |
| 6 | Christopher Carey | Efland, North Carolina | $1,559 |
| 7 | Ian Steinman | Mountain View, California | $1,210 |
| 8 | Spencer Simpson | Draper, Utah | $973 |