Celina Lin Wins Macau Poker Cup Main Event

Celina Lin has won the Macau Poker Cup after defeating a field of 391 players over five days on her way to collecting the HKD854k (US$110k) first place prize.
Incredibly, this is actually the second time the 29 year old Team PokerStars Pro has won the Red Dragon Main Event, the first coming in 2009 when she topped a 168 player field to scoop the HK$394,800 ($50,932) top prize. Commenting on her achievement, Celina Lin said:
“I think it’s the most prestigious trophy in China. Everybody knows about the Red Dragon. I always wanted to be the first female champion, but I thought it was impossible to win it twice.”
As the HK$10k (US$1,300) Main Event’s nine-seated final table got underway, Celina Lin was lying in mid-position, but two hours later she had entered the heads-up phase of the competition, albeit with a 4 to 1 chip disadvantage against Ming Fan. However, the final phase was anything but swift and lasted several hours with both players gaining and losing the lead numerous times.
Nevertheless, Celina Lin showed great resilience and composure to defeat her tough opponent, although she also had the added benefit of having strong support from the animated gathered crowd. As Lin explains:
“The support from my friends really pushed me that much more to refocus each of those times the cards fell the wrong way. It was tough having the advantage for the win so many times and starting from scratch over and over again. They were really huge for me.”
The final hand of the competition then saw both Lin (6d-4s) and Fan (Qd-5d) all-in on a Kh-6c-3d-4d board, with the Qs on the river failing to complete either Fan’s flush or straight. Consequently, Fan had to settle for a runner-up finish worth HK$589,100 (US$75,930), while Celina Lin made Macau Poker Cup history, while boosting her live career earnings to US$310,710.