Tony “Ren” Lin, one of the top high-stakes poker pros in the world, was disqualified on Day 2 from the World Series of Poker Super Circuit Cyprus Main Event for online poker violations.
The live poker event held at Merit Royal Diamond is a $5,300 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament with a $5 million guaranteed prize pool. GGPoker’s parent company, NSUS, bought the WSOP for $500 million in 2024. As such, the online poker giant is stepping in to disqualify online violators from competing in certain live WSOP-branded tournaments.
Why High-Stakes Poker Pro was Booted from WSOP Event
Ren Lin
Ren, a charismatic poker player from China, was given some surprising news before he entered Day 2 of the Main Event in Cyprus on Saturday. World Series of Poker Tournament Director Andy Tillman informed the high roller that he wouldn’t be permitted to continue competing in the tournament despite having bagged chips on Day 1, Merit Poker Live’s X account disclosed.
A GGPoker player with the screen name “Buzzcut” finished third in the $10,000 buy-in GGMillion$ event, an online tournament, on Oct. 14 for $213,273. The winner was “RealOA,” a player from China who collected $346,903. But it appears there may have been some nefarious activity taking place that may have helped the champion at the final table.
Buzzcut (@yl333i on X) shared some information about what transpired at the final table, and it involved Lin, who wasn’t even in the game.
“RealOA,” according to the third-place finisher, shared his screen with other poker players during the final table, allegedly including Lin. The winner “got real-time advice from other players to gain unfair advantage” over their opponents.
GGPoker’s Online Poker Security Ecology Policy states: “Every decision at the poker table should be made free of any external assistance.” Lin, a GGPoker ambassador, allegedly gave real-time advice to “RealOA,” which potentially played a key role in the victory.
Buzzcut wrote that he became part of a text group chat that included Lin and “RealOA.” Following the GGMillion$ event, the winner thanked Lin in the chat “for the coaching.”
Buzzcut received additional messages from others who shared screenshots showing that “RealOA” had been getting real-time assistance from Lin. He was then sent messages from Lin apologizing to him for providing real-time advice during the final table.
Both poker players, per Buzzcut, had a phone conversation in which Lin claimed that “it’s quite common and normal” for players to get advice from others at an online final table.
Lin, who has over $16 million in live tournament cashes, told Buzzcut he will never again give real-time advice to others.
This isn’t the first time over the past year a high roller star has been disqualified from a tournament. Ali Imsirovic, who faced multiple cheating allegations a few years ago, was banned from tournaments in Florida and Texas earlier this year.
The disqualification of Lin from the Main Event at Merit comes just weeks after GGPoker announced the poker site is allowing previously banned players an opportunity to apply for reinstatement.
GGPoker is Giving Banned Poker Players a Second Chance
