Michael Lin Wins the WPTDeepStacks Central California Main Event

Michael Lin (pictured) topped a field of 181 players to win the WPTDeepStacks Central California Main Event on Sunday at the Turlock Poker Room in Turlock, California. Lin was awarded $40,664 in prize money and a $3,000 WPTDS Championship package after winning the tournament on a final day that clocked in at just under 10 hours of play. “It  just seemed that at the final table everything was going my way. I was getting cards, I was making bluffs, and I was just getting in my groove. I was playing great, but I also got very good cards. I can’t complain, it was just the run of a lifetime,” said Lin in his winner interview.

Cards got into the air at Noon between the final 42 players, and the field busted the money bubble when 21 players remained at 3:30 pm this afternoon. Notables that cashed on the way down to the final table included Darrel Dier (21st), Randy Gil (20th), Tuan Mai (12th), and Jasthi Kumar (11th).

The start of the final table saw a period of slow play before Mario Lopez busted in ninth place, Loren Cloninger fell in eighth place, and WPTDeepStacks Global Ambassador Tristan Wade was eliminated in seventh place.

Action really picked up when the field reached the final six players. Travis Fujisaka went out in sixth place, Paul Saso busted in fifth place, Victor Paredes hit the rail in fourth place, and Kyle Kitagawa exited the tournament in third place.

The final match was quick as well. On the first hand of heads-up play, Kathy Stahl moved all in with  in the hole, and Michael Lin called holding pocket eights. The board ran out , and Lin’s full house topped the flopped flush of Stahl, who took home $30,602 as the runner-up.

Lin won the tournament and took home $40,664 along with the WPTDS trophy, and a $3,000 WPTDS Championship package for the WPTDS Championship event that will take place at Thunder Valley Casino Resort in December.

Congratulations to the newest WPTDS champion, Michael Lin!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZEgabsg0zI

Final Table Results

1st: Michael Lin – $40,664 + $3,000 Championship Package
2nd: Kathy Stahl – $30,602
3rd: Kyle Kitagawa – $19,681
4th: Victor Paredes – $14,752
5th: Paul Saso – $10,938
6th: Travis Fujisaka – $8,743
7th: Tristan Wade – $7,269
8th: Loren Cloninger – $5,829
9th: Mario Lopez – $4,354

That concludes our coverage from WPTDeepStacks Central California. Thanks to the Turlock Poker Room for hosting another great stop on the tour. The next stop takes us to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Tampa for the WPTDeepStacks Tampa Main Event that will run from June 15-19. The Main Event features an $1,100 buy-in and a $300,000 guarantee. The WPTDeepStacks live reporting team will have live updates, chip counts, photos, and videos for you from Florida next month.