The WSOP Paradise Super Main Event drew 1,978 entries to The Bahamas, all hoping for a shot at the $50 million prize pool. In the end, it was Yinan Zhou who took the grand prize of $6 million, beating Marcelo Aziz in heads-up play to close out a world class final table.
The surviving nine entered the finale after 36 players worked their way down to a final table on Day 4. Michael Addamo stood tall with the big stack and a healthy lead over second-running Christopher Nguyen, while Mustapha Kanit and Liv Boeree rounded out the top four chip stacks. Aziz, Zhou, Vadzim Lipauka, Justin Bonomo, and Georg Lehmann were ready to play chase to the top stacks with their eyes on the $6 million top prize.
Bonomo, who entered the final table with $64 million in lifetime earnings, dodged a disqualification near the end of the penultimate day after WSOP officials required him to remove a traditional keffiyeh worn in support of Palestine. The three-time WSOP champ complied and made the final table with a chance to move above $70 million and closer to Bryn Kenney at the top of the all-time money leaders list.
'I bluffed him.'
"I feel very calm. Very calm," Zhou said after he finished up taking pictures with his new WSOP bracelet and his loyal army of friends from the rail.
Zhou came into the day in the middle of the leaderboard and fought his way to the top — frequently celebrating with a rail that could be considered anything but calm. The turning point, Zhou says, came when he bluffed Day 4 chip leader Addamo out of a big pot — a gutsy move on someone he calls "the most loose-aggressive player in the world."
"And he's such a legend in poker history. I succeeded, I bluffed him and took the pot. Then everything runs good too. And during the heads-up, I still got some good cards. My strategy is to play for money, but I play to win too. Play for money and win. I came here for the win."
New house for the runner-up?
Zhou beat Marcelo Aziz, who walks away with plenty to smile about. He won his way into the tournament for free on GGPoker, making pure profit out of the entire $4.6 million payout for second place.
"I still live with my parents, so maybe I'll move on to another house next year and get a new car," Aziz told PokerOrg in the shadow of Zhou's photoshoot. "I'll travel a lot probably because I love traveling...and play higher stakes."
The second-place finish means even more to Aziz as a proud Brazilian, and he now holds the biggest cash in the country's history. "I know it means a lot for my country because I know it is the biggest score from Brazil and Brazil is growing a lot in poker. I know many players get inspired by me now as I was inspired by other players when I was younger."
Early trouble for Addamo
Georg Lehmann and Vadzim Lipauka were the first two players out in the opening volley of the final day. Lehmann won $750K for the ninth-place finish and Lipauka was the first member of the million-dollar-winner club in the Super Main Event.
Addamo took a hit in seven-handed play in a showdown against Zhou that would be the first of a few grave setbacks. Soon after, Bonomo clashed with Zhou and he was out in sixth place for $1.3 million.
The Aussie briefly fought back to the top of the leaderboard in six-handed play before handing a big pot to Aziz that relinquished the chip lead to Kanit. Addamo went on to lose another big pot to Zhou in a sequence that left Addamo on the short stack along with Boeree, who sat on just one more big blind than the Day 4 chip leader. A few moments later, Boeree eliminated the Aussie crusher in sixth for just over $1.6 million.
Next to go was Nguyen, who had trouble finding a spot with the ICM implications weighing on his medium-sized stack. He lost most of his bounty to Boeree in a blind vs. blind battle before he moved all in with jack-ten. The timing was unfortunate, however, as Kanit looked down at pocket queens. Nguyen missed a gutshot straight draw and the tournament was left with four players.
The final four were set and Zhou was on top with over 300 million in chips while Kanit followed with Aziz in third as the two players in the 200 million range. Boeree, who previously chipped up through Nguyen, claimed the short stack and looked for a spot to get it in.
Boeree bows out with record-setting score
Boeree's time came in four-handed play when she went all in with pocket fours against the suited ace-eight of Aziz. The board turned an ace and Boeree was out in fourth place for $2.8 million after patiently laddering up with very few hands worth playing throughout the day. The $2.8 million win locked in the biggest-ever score for a woman in poker.
Boeree, who told PokerOrg she was "in it for the glory" after bagging Day 4 said "It's a shit ton of money" after busting out in fourth place. "I don't know what people think and I don't want to talk about money, but, like, no that's an insane amount of money for me."
The final three players traded chips and Kanit found a double, but it wasn't enough to keep him in the tournament and he was bounced in third place. Kanit, who has yet to win a WSOP bracelet, will have to try again in the summer.
Zhou closes the deal
Aziz and Zhou sat down after a short break to battle it out for the bracelet with Zhou holding a considerable chip advantage over his Brazilian opponent. Zhou continued to climb in the first set of hands but Aziz scored an unlikely double to bring the final two nearly even right before they took a dinner break.
When the players returned, Zhou worked his lead back up before Aziz got the last of it in with king-six. Zhou called with ace-six and the board brought trips for both, but the ace kicker carried the day.
Zhou's win puts a bow on WSOP Paradise and 15 bracelets across two weeks at Atlantis Resort in The Bahamas. The circus will return to Las Vegas this summer from May 27–July 16, once again at Horseshoe and Paris on the Las Vegas Strip.
2024 WSOP Paradise Super Main Event final table results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yinan Zhou | China | $6,000,000 |
| 2 | Marcelo Aziz | Brazil | $4,600,000 |
| 3 | Mustapha Kanit | Italy | $3,600,000 |
| 4 | Liv Boeree | United Kingdom | $2,800,000 |
| 5 | Christopher Nguyen | Germany | $2,100,000 |
| 6 | Michael Addamo | Australia | $1,650,000 |
| 7 | Justin Bonomo | United States | $1,300,000 |
| 8 | Vadzim Lipauka | Belarus | $1,000,000 |
| 9 | Georg Lehmann | Germany | $750,000 |
Photos courtesy of WSOP/Tim Ash
