Back in August, two time World Series of Poker Circuit ring winner, Sean Yu added an even more prestigious piece of WSOP jewellery to his collection – his first WSOP bracelet. The South Korean player secured the top spot at the 2017 Global Casino Championship by defeating 124 opponents, including Alexander Lakhov, to win $294,941, and the coveted piece of jewellery.
Yu automatically qualified for the Championship and was awarded a free seat having won the Main Event at the WSOP Circuit at Planet Hollywood. He also qualified two seasons prior, when he won the WSOP Circuit Main event at Harrah’s Southern California. You could say that having already won the event, Yu was a shoo in for victory. Yu seemed to agree:
“I told the ESPN reporter before this that I think this was destiny. I felt it yesterday on Day 2. I just felt it. I even brought this shirt. You know, I don’t really wear collared shirts when I’m playing poker, but I had intention of making the final table and it just came to reality.”
The Global Championship is known internationally for drawing a smaller yet more elite field than other poker events. Players secure their seats via victories in any casino championship or Main Event during the Circuit or by securing a place in the top 50 of the Circuit Leaderboard by notching up points at Circuit stops throughout the year. You could say every seat is filled with a champion. The last couple of years the Circuithas expanded even further to include more international stops – Lakhov, for example, secured his seat by winning the Casino Championship at King’s Casino in the Czech Republic, the site of the first ever World Series of Poker Europe, which kicks off on October 19th.
About his win, Yu stated: “It feels amazing. It’s like 100 times better (than a regular circuit win). I mean, to be back at the Global Casino Championship for the second time. The first time was a big disappointment. The second time obviously worked out for me so I’m like super happy.”
