Event #93: $777 Lucky 7s No-Limit Hold'em

Action has concluded in Event #93: $777 Lucky 7's No-Limit Hold'em (7-Handed) here at the Horseshoe Las Vegas after three days of play. Michael Liang has emerged victorious, earning his first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet, along with a massive payout of $777,777.

After entering heads-up play with a 9:1 chip deficit, Liang completed the ultimate comeback story by defeating his opponent Duc Nguyen, in a back and forth battle. Liang navigated through an enormous field of 6,292 runners on his path to capture a majority of the $4,303,728 prize pool.

PokerNews caught up with Liang after the win to ask him how he was feeling after winning his first piece of gold. "It feels amazing. I've had a few close calls in the past. I've had a second place, a third place and a fifth place, so it feels good to finally break through."

When asked what the bracelet means to him, Liang explained "It means a lot. It's one of those things that you dream about when you first start playing poker. And then coming so close in the past and not achieving it, it kind of makes you wonder if it's ever going to happen."

Final Table Results

Day 3 Action

The final day saw only five players returning, all of whom were on the hunt for their first piece of WSOP hardware. The overwhelming chip leader entering the day was Nguyen with 119,200,000, sitting with more than double that of Liang in second with 52,500,000.

Mitch Garshofsky was Nguyen's first victim of the day. The three-time WSOP circuit ring winner was down to just five big blinds and got it all in with ace-four versus Nguyen's ace-jack. Garshofsky couldn't find a four and was sent to the rail in fifth place.

Nguyen continued his momentum early on when he got it all in against the short-stacked Manoj Batavia, who was in good shape to double up with his ace-ten against Nguyen's king-ten. That was until Nguyen spiked a king on the turn, eliminating Batavia in fourth place.

Nguyen didn't show any signs of slowing down when he knocked out Rajesh Mehta in third place shortly after. Mehta, who was short on chips, moved all in preflop with jack-six suited and was called by Nguyen, who had queen-ten. A queen came on the flop and Mehta couldn't catch up with his backdoor draws.

Heads-Up Play

After having eliminated all three opponents to start the day, it appeared that it was going to be the Nguyen show, who entered heads-up action with nearly a 9:1 chip lead over Liang.

Liang wasn't ready to exit without a fight, and found an early double up with (lucky) trip sevens, a fitting hand to begin his comeback story. From there, Nguyen and Liang traded small pots back and forth until Liang got his second double up of the match, when his top pair held against Nguyen's open-ended straight draw.

Shortly after, Liang won handful of small pots to propel himself back to even in the duel. He kept his foot on the pedal and eventually pulled ahead in the match in a three-bet pot where he put Nguyen to the test with an all-in bet on the turn.

Liang continued to extend his lead, stringing together a number of hands where Nguyen was put in a tough spot. Nguyen didn't go down without a fight however, and found a double up with ace-six, besting Liang's ace-queen to stay alive in the match. Nguyen then doubled up again later on, this time with pocket queens against Liang's ace-three.

Nguyen's rebound was short-lived, and he ultimately ran into the two-pair of Liang on the final hand of the tournament. All of the money went in on the turn and Nguyen saw the bad news that his pocket jacks had been cracked. Nguyen couldn't find the two-outer on the river and his impressive tournament run came to an end, finishing in second place.

Despite entering heads-up play with a huge chip deficit, Liang relayed to PokerNews that he never counted himself out. "I feel confident in my heads-up game, so I know that anything can happen. I've been heads-up in a few different scenarios and you never really know, there's so much variance."

When asked about his plans for after the WSOP now that it's wrapping up, Liang mentioned "I'm going to go to California, and just relax, take a few weeks off."

That wraps up coverage of Event #93: $777 Lucky 7's. Be sure to follow PokerNews as the final few events of the 2024 WSOP come to an end, including the Main Event.

Duc Nguyen raised to 11,000,000 from the big blind after Michael Liang had limped and Liang called.

The flop came    . Nguyen led for 11,000,000, Liang called.

The turn was the  . Nguyen fired out 20,000,0000. Liang waited a few moments before he jammed all in, Nguyen snap called.

Duc Nguyen:   
Michael Liang:   

Liang was one card away from the bracelet as the   came on the river to confirm victory and eliminate Nguyen in second place as he collects the massive cash for the runner-up finish.

Michael Liang	251,600,000	84,600,000
Duc Nguyen	0	-84,000,000

A limped pot saw the flop come    . Michael Liang fired 3,000,000, Duc Nguyen came with the call.

The turn card was the  . It went check-check to the river which was the  . Liang bet 5,000,0000. Nguyen called.

Liang tabled the   , Nguyen had that beat with the    wheel.

Michael Liang	195,000,000	-11,000,000
Duc Nguyen	56,000,000	11,000,000

Duc Nguyen limped on the button and Michael Liang checked, bringing the     flop.

Liang check-called a bet of 3,000,000 and turn landed the  , which went check-check.

On the   river, Liang led out for 3,200,000 and Nguyen folded.

The next hand, Liang raised to 6,500,000 on the button and Nguyen defended in the big blind.

The flop came     and Nguyen check-called a bet of 5,000,000. On the   turn, Nguyen check-folded to a bet of 15,000,000 and the pot was pushed Liang's way.

Michael Liang	184,000,000	15,000,000
Duc Nguyen	67,000,000	-15,000,000

Duc Nguyen made it 8,500,000 from the big blind, Michael Liang called.

The flop came    . Nguyen led for 11,000,000. Liang jammed all in and Nguyen quickly folded.

Michael Liang	215,000,000	12,400,000
Duc Nguyen	36,000,000	-13,000,000

Duc Nguyen raised to 5,300,000 from the button. Michael Liang three-bet to 17,500,000 from the big blind and Nguyen called.

The flop came     Liang led for 13,000,000. Nguyen raised to 30,000,000 and Liang called.

The turn was the  . Both players checked to see the   river. Liang shoved all in and Nguyen folded after a few seconds.

Michael Liang	184,000,000	34,400,000
Duc Nguyen	67,000,000	-35,000,000

Action went check-check on the flop of    . The turn was the  . Duc Nguyen bet 5,000,000 and Michael Liang called.

The river came the  . Nguyen fired 15,000 which Liang called.

Liang had nothing with the    and Liang tabled the winner with the    and just like that Liang had clawed himself to even in chips.

Duc Nguyen	126,000,000	-26,000,000
Michael Liang	125,000,000	26,000,000

Life Outside Poker is a new podcast for PokerNews hosted by Connor Richards that seeks to pull back the curtain on poker players and allow viewers and listeners to get to know them on a personal level.

In the 12th episode, Connor speaks with actress and conservationist Shannon Elizabeth on the 25th anniversary of American Pie, in which she played the iconic role of Nadia. Elizabeth talked about her roles in films like Scary Movie and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, playing poker with the cast of That '70s Show, finishing third in the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and taking part in Phil Hellmuth's 2024 WSOP Main Event entrance.

Elizabeth also spoke about her conservation efforts in South Africa through the Shannon Elizabeth Foundation, including caring for and providing a sanctuary for a blind black rhino named Munu.

The Life Outside Poker podcast is available on major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify and iHeartRadio. You can also watch the interview with Shannon Elizabeth by heading to the PokerNews YouTube channel.

Learn More About Life Outside Poker!

Duc Nguyen limped on the button and Michael Liang checked in the big blind.

The flop came     and Liang bet 2,000,000. Nguyen made the call.

The turn landed the   and Liang bet 4,400,000. Nguyen called again.

The river brought the   and Liang moved all in for 18,500,000, putting himself at risk. After taking some time to think through his decision, Nguyen made the call looking to end the tournament.

Liang tabled    for three of a kind, sevens. Nguyen mucked his hand and the pot was pushed Liang's way.

Duc Nguyen	195,000,000	-1,000,000
Michael Liang	55,800,000	29,800,000

Shortly after the elimination of Manoj Batavia, Rajesh Mehta moved all in preflop and Duc Nguyen called.

Rajesh Mehta:   
Duc Nguyen:   

The flop came    . The turn was the   to give Mehta outs to a straight but the river was the   to end Mehta's run in third place and bring it to heads-up play.

Duc Nguyen	196,000,000	7,000,000
Rajesh Mehta	0	-15,000,000