Player of the Week: Ben Yu the All-Rounder

June 13, 2019

Global Poker presents the Player of the Week. Every week during the 2019 WSOP, we’ll be choosing a player who has performed brilliantly at the tables at the 50th annual World Series of Poker. This week, that player is Ben Yu.

After 14 days of tournament play, Ben Yu has already become one of the stars of the WSOP, cashing in seven events for over $165,000, as well as coming 2nd in an Aria High Roller event between that for a further $125,000.

Heads-Up opponent Swingruber: "I would definitely not want to play 50,000 hands with Ben. I think he would crush me."

Yu began his stellar fortnight at the felt by finishing 14th in the first open event of the WSOP, Event #2: $10,00 Super Turbo Bounty. Going close in that event wasn’t enough for Yu, however, and the next day, he would come 7th in Event #4, the $1,500-entry Omaha Hi/Lo 8 or Better for $27,530. Just four days later, he would cash again, this time in the Dealer’s Choice 6-Max event. But Yu was just getting started.

Of Yu’s appearances at the World Series to date, the American is probably proudest of his runner-up finish in Event #15, the legendary Heads-Up Championship, where he was only denied the bracelet in the final showdown with Sean Swingruber. Having bested players such as the in-form Kristen Bicknell and former event winner Keith Lehr in the semifinal, Yu had a 4:1 chip lead in the final showdown at one point, only to be denied when stacks became more shallow.

Even Swingruber said after the event, "I would definitely not want to play 50,000 hands with Ben. I think he would crush me."

With Yu taken for just $86 in the $25k Fantasy League that is popular with many of the WSOP regulars at this time of year, he had a reminder for those who doubted his dedication to playing in WSOP tournaments after being one of the standout players in the opening events.

At the time of writing, Ben Yu, bought by Team Noori in the fantasy draft, is the top value player in the entire game, scoring an unmatched 135 points. But Yu wasn’t happy with making others dreams come true. He has cashed three more times since his Heads-Up near-miss, and in massive field events at that.

First, Yu finished 658th in the Millionaire Maker, before racking up another deep run the WSOP online event in Pot Limit Omaha, coming 64th for $1,904. Finally, last night saw Yu cash again, this time in the ultra-fast Event #28: $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event, which he would finish 320th in.

2019 WSOP Player of the Year Race

With Dan Zack setting a fast pace at the top of the WSOP Player of the Year standings, Ben Yu is situated in ninth place as he chases down the leader. Having proved himself in Championship events, lower buy-in, huge field events, and in specialist games such as Pot Limit Omaha and Heads-Up, Yu will come into every event he plays in the next five weeks with a combination of recently-honed skills and a gritty determination to win his fourth WSOP bracelet.

Yu's three WSOP bracelets to date have demonstrated his versatility at the poker table. He's a danger in every format, as he proved by winning WSOP gold in 2015 in Limit Hold’em, 2017 in Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw, and last year when he took down a High Roller NLHE event for $1.65 million, the most significant result in his poker career. Few would back against the poker pro repeating the trick in 2019.

Ben Yu’s mantra, as pinner to his Twitter page, declares: ‘Be yourself. Unless you suck. Then, become awesome instead.’ Yu has become an awesome player at the 2019 World Series of Poker already and will be a force to be reckoned with all summer as he battles for bracelets and the Player of the Year title.

Ben Yu Stats ^{(June 13, 2019)}

^{WSOP stats via WSOP.com. All-time and GPI stats via TheHendonmob.com.}

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