Min Qiu of St. John’s, Newfoundland, capped an incredible 24 hours of poker early on Tuesday morning by winning Event #4: $400 Mystery Bounty at the WSOP Circuit series at Playground, here in Montreal.
The victory came not only after he had finished sixth out of a field of 2,992 in the series-opening Colossus event for $15,000 the night before, but also after pulling the top $10,000 bounty just a couple of hours before winning Monday’s tournament.
In total, Qiu cashed for $23,850 between his $10,000 first prize for the win and nearly $14,000 in bounties. It also came with his first WSOP Circuit ring and entry into the 2025 WSOP Tournament of Champions.
Patience pays off
As we spoke with him both after he pulled the bounty and then again after winning the tournament, Qiu thoughtfully credited some of the staples of winning poker, including patience, mindset, and study, to his impressive back-to-back results.
Oh, and some luck, too, and not just in pulling that bounty.
“I’ve gotta be honest, I got lucky a few hands actually, including three-handed when I shipped all in (with ace-eight) and got called by ace-jack. And I somehow binked my three-outer. But other than that, I was just playing solid, being patient — patience is key. Obviously, I didn’t want to see a jack, but tough luck for (runner-up Sergio De Dominicis), he played really well during the entire tournament.”
Qiu continued, “It’s all about mindset. I feel that poker is a mindset game, and you’ve just got to pick your spot and just go with it. Close your eyes, say the magic words, and hope for the best.”
Preparing to get lucky
Entering this series, the 34-year-old Qiu, who says he’s mostly an online player, had just over $2,000 in recorded live tournament cashes according to The Hendon Mob, but that number has changed dramatically with his results over the past 24 hours.
“I’ve been playing poker for more than ten years, but the last one (Colossus) and this one are probably my biggest scores ever. I’ve been studying for the past three months, playing mostly online poker, and when I lose a pot, I go back to find out where I can improve, especially in certain spots where you should either three-bet or four-bet, and just go back and look at it and learn from my mistakes and keep getting better.”
Main Event heat check
Qiu says he’ll now train his focus on the WSOPC Playground Main Event, which starts on Thursday. If he can keep the heater going for a few more days, the rest of the field will have to look out.
Earlier in the evening, after Qiu had pulled the $10,000 bounty, we asked him what was more fun, finishing sixth in Colossus for $15,000 or pulling that bounty, to which he emphatically replied that the bounty pull was, hands down.
But after winning this tournament, we had to rephrase that question: what was more fun, pulling the $10,000 bounty or winning the tournament?
“Winning the tournament, obviously. Actually, winning this ring. This baby right here means a lot. It means a lot.”
Event #4: $400 Mystery Bounty final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (CAD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Min Qiu | $10,000 |
| 2 | Sergio De Domincis | $6,800 |
| 3 | Anas Slaoui | $4,505 |
| 4 | Linda Tremblay | $3,000 |
| 5 | Troy Walsh | $2,000 |
| 6 | Robert MacKenzie | $1,500 |
| 7 | Daniel Piperni | $1,300 |
| 8 | Joy Benn | $1,100 |
| 9 | Michael Arcaro | $900 |
| 10 | Arya Ghai | $725 |
