This tournament drew a field of 815 entries and took three days to complete. Young Ji, 52, of Anchorage, Alaska pocketed $231,102 and a first gold bracelet following his victory. Ji was born in Inchon, South Korea and started playing poker 30 years ago with friends. This victory marked his 7th WSOP cash, his total WSOP earnings is $307,494.
"[There are] no words. I'm really happy - too excited," Ji told WSOP reporters. "[My confidence comes from] putting in a lot of hours [of mixed games] over a 25-year period. As far as Alaska, I've lived there for 25 years. We have long winters and everybody finds indoor entertainment. One of them is poker. I did put in a lot of hours the last 25 years [...] When I face a stronger player, it gives me the extra motivation to play better. If I'm playing with a worse player than me, I tend to slack off. Every single time I went outside on break or even used the restroom, I was brainwashing myself subconsciously. Telling myself, focus. I was constantly in battle within myself to go through all these pros."
Final table results:
1st: Young Ji - $231,102 + WSOP gold bracelet
2nd: Mark Dube - $142,449
3rd: Alex Dovzhenko - $92,310
4th: Connor Drinan - $67,555
5th: Bryce Yockey - $50,171
6th: Nick Polydoros - $37,760
7th: Prince of Docness - $28,771
8th: George Danzer - $22,181
9th: Joseph Haddad - $17,284
EVENT FUN FACTS:
The 815-player field was made up of 779 males and 36 females
The average age of participants was 41 years, nine months old
The field was made up of players from 28 different countries (659 from the U.S. and 156 international players
Winner info:
Name: Young Ji
Age: 52
Residence: Anchorage, Alaska
Birthplace: Inchon, South Korea
Occupation: Business owner
Number of WSOP Cashes: 7
Number of WSOP Final Table Appearances: 1
Number of WSOP Gold Bracelet Victories: 1
Best Previous WSOP Finish: 16th ($1,500 pot-limit Omaha, $10,264)
Total WSOP Earnings: $307,494
