Hanh Tran Eyes Unprecedented Double in 2-7 Triple Draw Championship
Coming back from a 16-1 deficit, Vietnam-born Austrian player Hanh Tran won his first bracelet two weeks ago in the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw. With one bit of gold hardware under his belt, Tran is now aiming to double down on his victories and pair the title. He sits in the middle of the pack among final 13 players in the Event #44: $10,000 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Championship.
While there's still a lot of draws to be made and many sevens to pat, Tran is now getting closer to becoming the first player ever to win two bracelets in this game during the same series. And while 2-7 Triple Draw seems to be getting more popular around the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino facility, the potential accomplishment of nabbing a summer double is emphasized by the fact that there are exactly two events in this limit draw variant featured on the WSOP schedule.
Tran might not be the biggest favorite in terms of his initial position coming to the final day, but his wave of success certainly can't be ignored. He's already pulled off one of the most remarkable heads-up upsets in the $1,500 event, snubbing massive chip leader Oscar Johansson.
So the largest stacks should be highly alerted, especially when a deep structure is taken into account. Michael Noori will try to go wire-to-wire after leading the tournament for two consecutive days, having 870,000 in his bag ahead of the final day. Midway through the 2018 series, Noori has notched seven cashes so far and he'll be hungry to convert his eighth into a debut victory. Noori is yet to make a podium at WSOP and he'll surely aim to capitalize on the opportunity that now lies ahead of him.
Highly-accomplished no-limit player [Removed:412] is second in chips with 658,000, followed by Shek Queng, Randy Ohel and Jason Gray. Sixth-placed Tran is the lowest-ranked player on the standings with a chip-stack higher than the virtual average line, but there's only one truly short-stacked player in the field as Tyler Meservy brings just three big bets to the tables. The others will have a solid room to pick their spots cautiously, guarding eight-plus big bets apiece.
That means we're likely in for a long day full of tremendous battles and the chips could be swinging fairly easily. Each of the 13 remaining players has a legit shot at the title and $287,987 first-place prize so make sure to come back at PokerNews at 2 p.m. to follow our live coverage of the final draw poker tournament of the 2018 World Series of Poker.
Final day seating chart and chip counts:
| Table | Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Tan 430 | 1 | Tyler Meservy | United States | 65,000 |
| Amazon Tan 431 | 2 | Steven Tabb | United States | 170,000 |
| Amazon Tan 432 | 3 | Christopher Kruk | Canada | 658,000 |
| Amazon Tan 433 | 4 | -- empty -- | -- | -- |
| Amazon Tan 434 | 5 | Nicholas Seiken | United States | 384,000 |
| Amazon Tan 435 | 6 | Hanh Tran | Austria | 423,000 |
| Amazon Tan 432 | 1 | -- empty -- | -- | -- |
| Amazon Tan 433 | 2 | Michael Noori | United States | 870,000 |
| Amazon Tan 434 | 3 | -- empty -- | -- | -- |
| Amazon Tan 435 | 4 | Matt Glantz | United States | 198,000 |
| Amazon Tan 436 | 5 | Quek Sechariah Sheng | Singapore | 645,000 |
| Amazon Tan 437 | 6 | Farzad Bonyadi | United States | 392,000 |
| Amazon Tan 439 | 1 | Kristijonas Andrulis | Lithuania | 304,000 |
| Amazon Tan 440 | 2 | Calvin Anderson | United States | 168,000 |
| Amazon Tan 441 | 3 | Jason Gray | United Kingdom | 569,000 |
| Amazon Tan 442 | 4 | -- empty -- | -- | -- |
| Amazon Tan 443 | 5 | -- empty -- | -- | -- |
| Amazon Tan 444 | 6 | Randy Ohel | United States | 602,000 |