| Aaron Zang | |
| Residence: | Macau |
| Birth Name: | Shu Nu Zang |
| Birth Date: | 21 June 1982 |
| Birth Place: | China |
Aaron Zang (; born 21 June 1982) is a Chinese poker player currently residing in Macau. He won the £1,050,000 No Limit Hold'em Triton Million for Charity event in 2019 which has the largest single payout in poker tournament history.[1]
Zang got into poker through a friend after he went to university. He regularly deposited money into the partypoker online poker room which he repeatedly gambled away. In 2006, his uncle gave him ¥1,000 which he used to build a bankroll of ¥400,000. In 2007, Zang began playing professionally in Macau.[2]
In 2019, Zang won the £1,050,000 No Limit Hold'em Triton Million defeating Bryn Kenney heads up. The tournament had the largest scheduled single payout in poker tournament history with first place receiving £19,000,000 ($23,100,000). However, due to a prize splitting deal agreed with Kenney, Zang ended up receiving £13,779,491 ($16,775,820) for first place while Kenney received the larger prize of £16,890,509 ($20,563,324) for finishing runner-up. The deal was made when the tournament entered heads up with Kenney holding an over 5:1 chip lead against Zang. Zang made a comeback and eventually won the tournament.[3] [4] For his victory in the 2019 Triton Million event, Zang received the third largest single payout in poker tournament history behind Kenney's runner-up place prize in the same tournament and Antonio Esfandiari's victory prize at 2012 Big One for One Drop for $18,346,673.[5]
As of August 2020, Zang has won over US$17,600,000 in live poker tournaments, overtaking Elton Tsang as the most successful Chinese poker player in live tournaments. His latest victory coming from Triton Poker Vietnam where he won $1,00,000 in the Short Deck Main Event. [6]
Zang played during high school and won a Chinese championship in the card game. He graduated from university in 2005. In 2013, he founded a company specializing in Bitcoin in Shenzhen.[2]
With total tournament earnings of nearly $22 million, Aaron Zang is the most successful Chinese poker player on the All-Time Money List[7] as of March 15, 2023.
Total tournament earnings by Aaron Zang since 2007:
| Year | Prize Money (in $) | Tournament Wins | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 1,783 | 0 | |
| 2008–2012 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013 | 0 | 1 | |
| 2014 | 116,938 | 0 | |
| 2015 | 251,771 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 330,073 | 0 | |
| 2017 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 156,848 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 19,487,836 | 1 | |
| 2020–2022 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 1,544,000 | 1 | |
| Total | 21,889,249 | 3 |