GG Poker ambassador Tony Ren Lin's ghosting at the final table of the latest GG Millions became the main story of the weekend.
We briefly outlined the essence of what happened in our latest social media review.
A player named Buzzcut, who finished third, was in the same Discord group as RealOA and Tony Ren Lin. After the tournament, he discovered that Ren had been actively assisting the eventual winner at the final table.
Arseniy Karmatsky, in the comments on Vladimir Minko's Telegram channel, explained that Lin did all this while playing live: "By the way, he was visiting while also playing a live tournament in Cyprus. A friend was sitting nearby and saw it with his own eyes 🤷‍♂️."
Social media users began joking that Lin's tips could do more harm than good.
But Buzzcut, in its in-depth investigation, noted that the winner may have had more "helpers."
"The RealOA champion shared his screen with other players (including, but not limited to, Tony Lin) during the final table and received real-time advice from other players."
However, no one paid attention to this and Lin was appointed as the only one responsible.
The story became public overnight between Friday and Saturday. That morning, Lin was supposed to continue play in Day 2 of the WSOP Circuit Main Event, but he wasn't allowed to play for long. At one point, he was escorted out from behind the TV table (where he had apparently been placed intentionally) by security.
"Today, before the start of Day 2 of the Main Event, poker player Ren “Lady Gaga” Lin was disqualified by the decision of the WSOP Tournament Director Andy Tillman due to a violation of the Poker Integrity Policy on GGPoker," Merit Poker tweeted .
"What do you guys think about this?" Patrick Leonard asked his readers. "To me disqualification during tournament should generally not happen, especially in case like this where that offence can’t impact this tournament and time for a sufficient investigation has been less than 24 hours.
I feel online/live should cross over to some point, but mid tournament DQ like this I’m against.
Maybe I’m biased because Ren is so likeable, but I’d like to think I’d have the same stance if it was somebody else."
"Cheaters are usually likable," Nipun Java noted. "Fair point on too quick turnaround time, but I do Think it’s good precedence that you’re going to take quick decisive action when it comes to cheating. If the investigation leads to news otherwise, can reinstate."
"Andy Tillman is elite & I trust him to make decisions with the utmost integrity," Kevin McPhee said in support of the strict punishment.
"Why wouldn't you disqualify anyone for cheating once the info is learned?" Chris George asked, confused. "Side note: Ren and his friends have been given passes all the time. I've seen them soft collude in front of Dnegs on his Vlog. It's on the vlog when Dnegs plays with Ren, and Ren and his friend check down in a spot in a high roller. Ren says it's okay, it's his friend."
"I agree that a disqualification in the middle of a tournament doesn't make much sense," Christian Harder agreed with Padsa. "It would be a different matter if it had happened online or the ban had been announced before or after the tournament started."
The next day, Ren Lin posted a multi-page apology on Twitter and gave his version of events:
A Public Apology Regarding the GG10300 Final Table Incident
I am Tony Lin. I hereby extend my sincerest apologies to all players affected by the coaching incident during the GG10300 Final Table, as well as to the platform and the friends who have always supported me.
I must state unequivocally that I gained no form of profit from this incident. I held no stake in any player's entry, received no payment, and derived no benefit whatsoever. My actions were purely an instinctive reaction in an inappropriate setting—one that contradicted the principles of fair competition I have always strived to uphold.
On the day of the incident, I was competing in a WSOP event in Cyprus. During a ten-minute break, I clicked a Tencent Meeting link shared by RealOA. Upon joining, I saw he was playing the GG10300 Final Table. When he asked for my opinion on a hand, I responded instinctively, offering my personal advice simply out of a desire to help a friend. The entire interaction lasted only a few minutes, after which I left the call and returned to my live tournament. As it was my first time entering such a live session, I failed to recognize it as a rule violation at that moment, mistakenly equating it with post-tournament hand discussions common in our chat groups.
Later, I learned in our poker group that RealOA had won the event. He sent a $100 red packet in our 500-member group, tagged me, and thanked me for the advice. I did not accept the red packet. It was only when another player, Yl3i, posted about his third-place finish that I realized Buzzcut was his in-game ID, and I congratulated him accordingly.
After my own tournament ended, I reflected deeply: if I were playing online and discovered my opponent had a friend offering advice, wouldn’t that be cheating? The moment I grasped the severity of the situation, I immediately contacted Buzzcut to apologize and explain the circumstances. I am grateful to have since received Yl3i’s understanding.
The founding principle of my poker community has always been clear: “We do not tolerate poor conduct, soft play, or any form of cheating. Any player found engaging in such behavior will be removed immediately.” To me, soft play or cheating is no different from theft—it is a form of wrongdoing. Buzzcut has been a member of this group and knows my character well. He shared that, had this incident not occurred, his perception of me would have remained one of respect and goodwill.
Although poker—particularly in Asia and specifically in China—is not yet widely accepted by the public, I believe that as a player of this generation and the admin of this community, I have both the responsibility and the confidence to set a positive example. It has been my mission over the past decade to help people beyond the poker world understand that Texas Hold'em is not a game where gamblers rely solely on luck to profit. Rather, it is a true test of skill and integrity—a competitive sport worthy of honorable participants.
Having experienced many difficult periods in my own life, I understand deeply what it means to struggle. That is why, when I see friends in need, I often feel an unconscious urge to assist. It was this very mindset—"having been rained on, I always want to hold an umbrella for others"—that led me to commit this serious error and cross a clear competitive boundary.
Although my intentions were not self-serving, a mistake was made, and I take full responsibility.
Following communication with the relevant parties, RealOA has returned the majority of the prize money last night, and I will cover the remaining portion. The total amount has been submitted to the platform for fair distribution.
As a public figure, I am deeply ashamed and remorseful for failing to live up to the standards I advocate. I am prepared to accept all penalties and will make every effort to compensate the players affected in this event.
I sincerely hope this incident serves as a cautionary example, and I urge everyone to join me in upholding a safe and fair competitive environment for poker—both online and offline.
In the comments, many supported Ren.
“Free Lin 🥰,” wrote Nacho Barbero, who has found himself in similar situations more than once.
"What's a '$100 red packet'?" one reader asked. "Also, if you don't want it, can I have it? Thanks in advance!"
There was no answer to this question.
Daniel Negreanu also sent rays of support to his fellow ambassador :
"This all rings very true to me knowing Ren for several years and his character in regards to poker and his passion for it.
He made a mistake trying to help a friend he was excited for and I think this apology owns it appropriately.
He accepts his consequences responsibly IMO."
"Would u make this statement if he wasn’t a part of the company you represent?" Nick Palma asked.
"Ask around the high stakes community that knows and plays with Ren and I’ll bet 90% feel this was a genuine mistake and apology," Daniel replied. "But you don’t want to hear that, I know."
"He gets paid a minimum of 500k a year as ambassador and was caught red handed what else could he do? AActually, now that I'm thinking about it this statement by you is f***ing bullshit. what the f*** happened to this game. If you're in the same company, it's ok to cheat... f*** that"
"Where did I say it’s ok to cheat?" Daniel questioned. "He apologized and is taking accountability accepting all consequences. Like a man. He made a mistake and isn’t asking for charity. No one is saying what he did was ok. What more do you need from him at this point?"
Social media users have also noticed that Daniel is not always consistent in his statements.
This meme compares Lin to Jesse Yaginuma, who convinced an opponent to chip dump heads-up in order to win an extra million in a WPT promotion this summer.
And here we are looking at Jonathan Tamayo, who was assisted by Dominik Nitsche during the final table of the 2024 WSOP Main Event.
Almost everyone has already weighed in on the use of a solver between hands at the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. Here's a selection of the latest assessments and comments.
After reading Lin's apology and Negreanu's reaction, Patrick Leonard wrote another post and shared his takeaways from the story:
– 90% is buzz # at the moment in the industry, remember Ren in the last days said that 90% of people also cheat on these final tabless and it’s normal.
– A lot of people who cheat in poker are likeable. Usually it’s crushing news because it’s often “oh my god, not you.”
– I think a big thing here is that there is a lot of sketchy stuff with Asian account on gg, many players have multiple accounts and Ren as the ambassador for that market is crucial to set a good example. I think a big thing from this should be that there is a new overlook of the Chinese accounts on gg and if there is some kind of ring or agent helping set up/facilitate these accounts.
– It’s important to be consistent with view on these things, if Ren gets good will here, then the guys banned who didn’t harm/hurt any other players financially in the WPT giveaway should be given leniency too.
– This should be a catalyst to improving view on ghosting on fts in general, if ambassador of the site genuinely believes 90% of players does this then that is a very bad advert for the site and should be top top priority otherwise it’s going to be a huge deterrent for people playing on the site.
Most people, including myself, will agree with Dnegs on almost all of his points, I agree with his view/position on everything regarding Ren and the situation, hopefully this can be a springboard to ironically making online poker safer.
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