Who saw that coming? After a year in which Bin Weng picked up the five biggest tournament wins of his career, the Chinese-American pro based out of Philadelphia has been crowned the World Poker Tour Player of the Year.
During the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, back in April, Weng cashed in five tournaments before taking down the Championship Event for over $1.1m. It was his first WPT title and saw his name etched onto the prestigious Mike Sexton Champions Cup. Just a week later he made the final table at WPT Choctaw, ultimately finishing fourth for another $143k.
Those performances back in the spring took Weng to the top of the WPT POY leaderboard, a position he would not concede for the remainder of the year. He added to his points tally with a deep run at the WPT bestbet Scramble in Jacksonville in November, as well as a cash in the WPT Prime Championship in December.
Weng also added to his bankroll, if not his official WPT POY points tally, with further wins in two big WPT events in 2023: the WPT EveryOne for One Drop in July ($2.2m) and the WPT World Championship High Roller in December ($958k).
WPT CEO Adam Pliska, announcing Weng’s win, said, “Bin may have put on the best string of achievements that I have seen in a long time”.
WPT results just part of Weng’s big year
Weng also enjoyed some outstanding results away from the World Poker Tour during 2023, having registered over 50 tournament cashes across the year.
It began with a $1 million win at the Borgata in January, but also included:
- $227k and a WSOP Circuit ring for 1st at WSOPC Las Vegas, February
- $145k for 2nd in The Lodge Championship Series High Roller, May
- Seven cashes at the WSOP, June/July
- $116k for 3rd at the PGT Poker Masters, Las Vegas, September
- 1st in the Wynn Fall Classic Mystery Bounty for $147k, October
- $134k as runner-up in the Borgata Fall Mini-Series Championship Event, November
Prior to 2023 Weng had achieved six-figure payouts on five occasions, with his best result ($202k) coming from a final table appearance at the WSOP $50k High Roller in 2021. He’s eclipsed that result five times over the past year, all with first-place finishes.
“Winning a WPT title was one of my dreams in poker,” Weng told reporters, “adding the WPT Player of the Year title is a bonus I couldn’t have ever imagined”.
Images courtesy of the WPT
