Pierre Shum picks up his first WSOP bracelet

17 July 2023

Event #88: $1,500 The Closer has come to an end at the 2023 World Series of Poker and America's Pierre Shum was the winner of one of the last bracelets of the summer and a refreshing $606,810. The event drew 3,531 entries in just two days and generated a prize pool of $4,713,885.

Shum outlasted 258 returning players on the tournament's final day to defeat Peter Nigh in heads-up play to win $606,810 and his first WSOP gold bracelet. More surprising is the unlikely result, as this is Shum's first ever poker tournament. With a blaze of glory like that PokerNews can only imagine what more could follow such a young talent with a taste of victory.

When asked where did he and this run come from Shum replied:

"I was born in Jamaica, and my parents moved there for work. I've played poker for a pretty long time, but mostly with friends. I started playing cash games more recently this year. I came in here today to try and win the tournament. The money wasn't even in my mind.”

Talking about his inspiration and start in poker, Shum said:

"I started off mostly because my friends played it. I've definitely made lots of friends from the poker table. Where I play, it is very social, so it's fun."

When asked about plans aside from poker, Shum responded:

"I haven't even thought about it. I was mostly just focused on the day and taking the tournament down."

PokerNews mentioned that Shum is a software engineer, but perhaps those aspirations would be put aside to chase more bracelets. To this, Shum replied:

"We'll see!"

Lastly, Shum was asked if there was anything else he'd like to say to those reading at home. Shum considered before mentioning:

"I don't think so... well, if you like poker, try a tournament. You never know."

Shum defeated Nigh in heads-up play after the two players survived the treacherous final table of the event. Nigh was followed in third place by Roongsak Griffeth, and in fourth by Jack Duong, As Griffeth eliminated Duong then fell to Nigh shortly after.


The day kicked off with 258 players, and the tournament saw players being eliminated left and right. Chris Moorman made an impressive run to 15th until he was eliminated by Mateus Carrion De Moraes. It was one of several cashes for Moorman at this year's WSOP.

Sanjeev Kapoor and Peter Hengsakul were the first from the final table to go in ninth and eight, respectively. Kapoor found himself losing a flip against Amirpasha Emami. Hengsakul was less fortunate, finding himself in a cooler of tens against jacks.

In seventh was Jixue Yin, who became the first player to cash over $100,000. Unfortunately, Yin couldn't avoid making the second-best hand despite flopping two pair.

Mihai Niste was joined by a fan club donning tiger print shirts. Even with this help, Niste's Kings couldn't hold on an ace-high board.

Fifth, fourth, and third all fell in rapid succession. First, Emami was drawing dead on the turn against Shum's turned nut flush. Just after, Jack Duong called an all-in that had all ends of the rail questioning his decision. He could not find a four or five to survive and was out in fourth. Lastly, was Griffeth who lost with the dominating hand against the larger stacked Nigh.

The two heads-up players traded pots until Shum found quads with his tournament life on the line. Finally, Shum's queen-deuce flopped a monster after being all in against Nigh to take down the tournament.

Final table results:
Place Player Country Prize
1 Pierre Shum United States $606,810
2 Peter Nigh United States $376,420
3 Roongsak Griffeth United States $284,030
4 Jack Duong United States $215,650
5 Amirpasha Emami Canada $164,750
6 Mihai Niste Romania $126,660
7 Jixue Yin United States $100,120
8 Peter Hengsakul United States $76,300
9 Sanjeev Kapoor United States $59,790

(Article courtesy of World Series of Poker)