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Home / Uncategorized / MPC22: Introducing the final table

What started as 987 players six days ago is now just nine as the final table of the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event has been set!

The penultimate day of action saw 116 players return to the felt, all looking to fill a spot at the final table. In the end, 107 of those players were eliminated, including Yi Min who was the official final table bubble boy.

You can check out the links below to find out who fiinished in the money in places 116th through 10th, along with detailed information on how Day 3 of the Red Dragon played out.

Click here for prize pool and payout information so far

Click here to find out how Day 3 of the MPC22 Red Dragon played out

Leading the final table is Yunye Lu with 3,780,000 in chips, while Japan’s Takuya Yamashita is second in chips with 2,350,000. Amazingly, Takuya was at this very final table last August where he finished in third place. Prominent Hong Kong based Aussie David Steicke is also amongst the final nine.

The remaining players have locked up HK$174,000 for making the final table, but it is the HK$2,199,000 (~US$285,000) up top that everyone has their eyes on.

The players are also keen to get their hands on the beautiful Red Dragon trophy and a slice of Macau poker history.

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The epic looking Red Dragon trophy

The final table will kick off at 3:00pm local time on Friday anduUntil then, you can read on and learn about the players that make up the official MPC22 Red Dragon final table.

Seat 1: Takuya Yamashita (Japan) – 2,350,000 in chips

Only one of the nine players remaining has been here before and his name is Takuya Yamashita. It was just last August that Takuya finished 3rd of 808 entrants in the MPC21 Red Dragon. For that effort the 26-year old picked up HK$658,000 and now he will be looking for retribution and a much larger prize of HK$2,199,000 for winning the Red Dragon at the 22nd edition of the Macau Poker Cup.

Considering his experience and the fact he his second in chips, expect Yamashita to be a very dangerous competitor at the final table.

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Takuya Yamashita

Seat 2: Eileen Wang (China) – 675,000 in chips

Hailing from Beijing, 26-year old Eileen Wang is the ‘last lady standing’ in the MPC22 Red Dragon Main Event – an event which Wang says has been the highlight of her poker playing career.

Wang has been playing poker for three years and says that her husband has been the biggest influence on her game. Despite being the short stack, Wang is hoping to go all the way and win Asia’s most prestigious title.
Outside of poker, Wang enjoys swimming.

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Eileen Wang

Seat 3: David Steicke (Hong Kong / Australia) – 1,270,000 in chips

52-year old David Steicke is by far the most accomplished player on the final table with more than USD $3.3 million in career tournament winnings. The Hong Kong based Australian is commonly associated with high roller events with his biggest poker achievement winning the 2009 Aussie Millions 100k Challenge for AU$1.2 million. Steicke almost won the same event again in 2014 when he finished in 4th place.

When he’s not at the poker table Steicke enjoys playing snooker.

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David Steicke

Seat 4: Yi Won Lee (South Korea) – 990,000 in chips

Yi Won Lee is a 23-year old student from South Korea who has been playing poker for five years. Lee credits none other than fellow Korean Team PokerStars Pro Vivian Im as having taught him how to play poker.

Lee can usually be found playing $1/$2 Zoom on PokerStars, while Lee was once a professional gamer excelling in the popular computer game Warcraft 3.

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Yi Won Lee

Seat 5: Yifan Zhang (China) – 1,825,000 in chips

Yifan Zhang is a 32-year old invest banker who can often be found playing events at PokerStars LIVE Macau. Over the last few years Zhang has posted several small results in side events at series like the Macau Poker Cup, but by making this year’s Red Dragon
final table he has easily eclipsed his largest career tournament result.

Zhang says that his friends have been the biggest influence on his game and that when he’s not grinding at the tables he enjoys to play sports.

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Yifan Zhan

Seat 6: Xiaodong Lin (China) – 1,275,000 in chips

33-year old Xiaodong Lin works in advertising and has only been playing poker for 12 months. Lin usually plays HK$50/100 cash games and this will be the largest result of his tournament career regardless of where he finishes at the final table.

At one point in the tournament Lin had just 3,000 in chips and now he is at the final table and in with a shot at huge money and a major title.

Some of Lin’s interests outside of poker include car racing.

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Xiaodong Lin

Seat 7: Yunye Lu (China) – 3,780,000 in chips

Our chip leader entering the final table is 37-year old Yunye Lu. An Investment Analyst hailing from Shanghai in China, Lu has six years of experience in poker after learning the game while studying at UCLA.

Lu can usually be found on the HK$50/100 or HK$100/200 cash game tables, but he clearly also enjoys dabbling in tournaments. Regardless of the result on this final table, this will be Lu’s largest tournament result.

Away from the tables, Lu likes snowboarding and skiing, but his true passion is poker as he states that poker “completely changed my life and my world view”. That view will only be solidified further if he is to take home the Red Dragon title.

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Yunye Lu

Seat 8: Yuguang Li (China) – 1,665,000 in chips

Yuguang Li is another player from China enjoying great success at the Macau Poker Cup. This 36-year old Businessman has been playing poker for three years after learning the game with his friends.

In a short time, Li already has a couple of handy tournament scores to his credit. Li cashed in the MPC Red Dragon Main Event in April 2013 and final tabled a side event at the 2014 APPT Macau. However his biggest cash came with a fifth place in a 2014 ACOP side event for HK$96,300.

Li says that he likes to travel, so he’d love nothing more than to win the Red Dragon and see the world while enjoying the game that he loves.

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Yuguang Li

Seat 9: Fan Xu (China) – 810,000 in chips

Fan Xu is one of six Chinese poker players at the final table. The 28-year old has been playing poker over the last four years and during that time has appreciated the support from his girlfriend, even though she doesn’t know how to play. By making the final table, Xu has secured his largest tournament result. In fact, this will be the first tacked result on Xu’s resume.

Xu says that he loves to play poker, but also thoroughly enjoys travelling.

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Fan Xu

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