Eva Huang is the winner of the first-ever womens event at the WSOP Circuit stop at Graton Casino and Resort in Northern California after she beat a field of 70 entries to win the top prize of $6,800 on Thursday.
Huang defeated Alison Gray to win after popular poker coach and author Lexy Gavin-Mather bowed out in third place. Heads-up play stretched into a mini-marathon with both players relatively even for four 30-minute levels. Huang finally broke the stalemate at around 2 am local time.
“This is the third tournament I’ve ever played in my whole life," Huang told PokerOrg after the win. "I cashed the other two and won this one.” She also revealed that she almost skipped the event. “I feel like this is super exciting. I almost didn’t come today. My friend came and then I got here.”
What's next for the champ?
“I think I’m going on vacation. I have been wanting to go to Hawaii so this is a good excuse.”
Friendly heads-up in mixed event
Elsewhere at Graton, Manju Gera captured her second WSOP Circuit ring with a win in Event #7: $400 Omaha8 after a heads-up battle with Kathy Chang.
Gera bested a field of 90 entries to score the top prize of $8,237 from a total prize pool of $29,700.
“This is my second ring, and I’m so jazzed," Gera told PokerOrg. “I play a lot of Omaha8. I play mostly mixed games.”
The heads-up battle was a clash between two friends, with both players in search of their second ring. “Kathy [Chang] and I play together a lot," Gera says. "She’s a very tough opponent."
PokerOrg caught up with Chang later to talk about the match.
"We play a lot together in the LA area," Chang said. "This is the first time I've been heads up with her."
They battled for over 90 minutes with Chang mounting a comeback that brought the stacks near even. "She gained the momentum and won the final hands. I'm very happy for her."
The friendly battle is a highlight for Chang, who has been an ambassador for the game.
"My goal is to get more women into mixed games. That's a way to grow the game and I did see a lot of women here for the mixed games. If we could do more of that, it would be fantastic."
Why mixed games?
"More cards, more fun," Chang says.
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