Johnny Chan is universally regarded as one of the best poker players in history so beating him in a tournament isn’t exactly something anybody can do at a drop of a hat.
That’s what makes Lifeng Shen’s APT Korea 2013 Main Event title that much sweeter. He not only took down a strong field of some of the best poker pros around, but he also successfully climbed Mt. Chan on his way to becoming the first ever APT Korea champion.
No small feat, if we do say so ourselves.
Making Shen’s accomplishment that much more impressive is the fact that APT Korea 2013 was only his second major tournament ever played and to beat one of the legends of the game to win his first title is the stuff that makes grown men and women stand up and applause.
Shen entered the Final Table with the chip lead but had to withstand intense competition from the other members of the Fantastic Six, Chan included. But the young man from China proved his poker mettle and when it was down to him and the poker legend, Shen took the title when he pushed all his chips on the table with an AcKc to which Chan quickly called with pocket queens. An ace on the flop pushed Shen over the top and when the rest of the board held, he immediately bragging rights of saying that he not only won the first ever APT Korea title, but he beat Johnny Chan to earn it.
To his credit, Shen was nothing if not humble in victory. “To go heads up with Mr. Johnny Chan was a dream come true,” he said.
“He has been an idol of mine since taking up the game of poker. It was an honor to play with him and I learned so much.”
