Michelle Chin Wins Lowball Classic for First Female Mixed Game Win Since 2015

Back in 2015, Carol Fuchs won the $1,500 Dealer’s Choice WSOP event in Las Vegas for a top prize of $127,735. Since then, no female player has won a mixed game bracelet event. Today, Michelle Chin ended that barren run as she claimed victory in the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Event #58 for a top score of $161,313.

Chin Follows Up Pioneering Poker Win

When she won a WSOP Circuit Main Event 11 years ago, Michelle Chin became the first female player in poker history to do so. Just over a decade on, the American’s victory in the $1,500 Limit 2-7 Lowball Triple Draw Event #58 means she now owns a WSOP bracelet to go with her Circuit ring, along with another piece of poker history.

The latest WSOP event to conclude saw 657 total entries populate an event which built a prize pool of $872,167. That meant 99 players got paid, with players such as Matt Vengrin (90^th for $3,013), Jason Daly (58^th for $3,164), Jon Kyte (41^st for $4,042), Nick Guagenti (31^st for $4,639), Pedro Neves (18^th for $6,616), Michael Rodrigues (11^th for $10,445) and Evan Sandberg (9^th for $13,613) all cashing but missing out on the final table.

When the final seven assembled to play down to a winner, it was Pupillo who led the field, and he sat miles clear of Michelle Chin, whose five big bets paled into insignificance against the 27 in the possession of Pupillo. Daniel Strelitz started the ascent to the summit in style, however, winning with an eight-seven to send Slovakian player Oliver Tot home in seventh place for $18,165.

Pupillo Pushed Out Before the Podium

Down to six players, it was the turn of possibly the most experienced player remaining to depart. Sean Troha was aiming to win his fourth WSOP bracelet but fell five places short to bust for a score of $24,804 instead. Standing pat with a ten-eight, he lost to Chin’s eight-seven, and was left rueing what might have been.

In fifth place, Ian Pelz cashed for $34,641 after a three-way pot ended in disaster for the American. Drawing two to king-high, he was well beaten by Daniel Strelitz, who stood pat to eight-seven which also took chips off Pupillo. That was crucial, because the experienced pro was the next to leave, cashing for $49,458 in fourth place. Drawing to one with 8-6-4-2 against Horacio Chaves’ ten-high, Pupillo was live but found a six to pair up and departed outside the podium places.

Of the remaining three players, only one had previously won a WSOP event in the shape of Strelitz, but Horacio Chaves was to fall two places short of achieving his dream. All three of Chaves, Strelitz and the eventual winner Chin held the chip lead but the Paraguayan missed out on the gold when Chin dominated both players to take the lead and Chaves drew a jack on fifth street to lose to Strelitz’ nine-seven for a score of $72,152.

Chin Wins as Strelitz Comes Second

“There are so few women in the poker world!”

An all-American heads-up began with Strelitz in charge, but the tables soon turned. Dropping to a 5:1 underdog in chip terms, Michelle Chin belied the stacks and their influence to come back with two full double-ups to level. Moving into the lead, Chin stood pat on an eight-seven, leaving Strelitz to draw to two cards with an eight-six. A three on the turn kept him alive but another on fifth street saw him make a pair and that handed the title and $161,313 top prize and her first WSOP bracelet, with Strelitz collecting $107,504 as runner-up.

Reflecting on her WSOP-C win back in 2015, Chin acknowledged that she had changed a lot since then.

“Back then, I was really new to poker,” she told PokerNews. “I didn’t realise how hard it is to win a tournament. It then took me 10 or 11 years to win another!”

With her success in this event coming on the back of Kristen Foxen’s sixth WSOP win earlier this month, Chin was hopeful of more women winning mixed game events in the forthcoming months rather than years.

“There are so few women in the poker world,” she said. “[We should be] showing the other half of the world that we can do it, too.”

The $1,000 Ladies Event is still to come at this year’s World Series of Poker. Expect Michelle Chin to play her part.