A New Precedent? Ren Lin Disqualified from Live WSOP Tournament Due to Online Scandal

Tony "Ren" Lin, one of China's most renowned high-stakes poker professionals with over $16 million in tournament winnings, faced an unexpected twist yesterday at the prestigious World Series of Poker Super Circuit Cyprus. After successfully advancing to Day 2 of this $5,300 event (with a $5 million guarantee), a harsh surprise awaited him as Tournament Director Andy Tillman disqualified him and ordered his chips removed from the tournament.

The reason wasn't any misconduct during the game itself — Ren Lin was excluded for breaching poker integrity rules on GG Poker, conducted in an online environment. This is an extremely rare case that could set a precedent and mark a significant shift in punishing offenders in live poker as well.

Revelation of Real-time Coaching in Online Tournament

The entire scandal erupted on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, when the esteemed $10,000 GGMillion$ online tournament took place on GG, where a Chinese player with the alias “RealOA” triumphed, taking home $346,903. Another online player known as “Buzzcut” finished third, pocketing $213,273. Shortly after the final table, however, Buzzcut publicly exposed disturbing facts: the winner “RealOA” had allegedly shared his computer screen with others, including Ren Lin, and received real-time advice during the finals. In other words, Lin was providing “RealOA” an unfair advantage over other finalists.

Buzzcut (appearing on social media platform X under the account @yl333i) revealed evidence in the form of screenshots and chat messages supporting his claims. In the group chat post-tournament, RealOA himself thanked Ren Lin for the coaching during the final table, and Lin later privately messaged Buzzcut, apologizing and admitting the mistake, promising never to advise other players during a game again. In a phone interview, Lin even remarked that such assistance is “quite common” in online poker and often viewed as normal practice, although he acknowledged it was unfair and not right.

Connecting the Online Scandal with the Live Tournament

Such behavior represents a serious violation of GG's site rules. Their official security and game integrity policy clearly states that “every decision at the poker table must be made without any external assistance.” Real-time coaching, or receiving advice from others during a game, is therefore explicitly banned, and violations can lead to a permanent ban from the online platform.

In Ren Lin's case, the online infraction wasn't confined to virtual penalties. Since GG Poker's parent company (NSUS) acquired the WSOP brand in 2024, the online poker giant has had the authority to enforce its rules at live events under this brand. Lin's breach of the Poker Integrity Policy on GG led to his disqualification from the live WSOP Circuit event—marking the most high-profile instance of an operator removing a player from a live event for an online infraction.

Reactions and Implications for the Poker World

For Ren Lin, this scandal inevitably has severe repercussions concerning his reputation. What makes it especially delicate is that Lin currently serves as an ambassador for GG Poker — acting as a representative for the brand that he has tarnished with his actions. GG and WSOP management have yet to comment on whether they will impose further penalties besides the tournament disqualification, such as ending Lin's role as an ambassador.

This incident immediately triggered reactions within the poker community, drawing comparisons to other scandals. It's not the first time a prominent player has faced sanctions for cheating — recently, well-known high-roller Ali Imsirovic was expelled from tournaments in Texas and Florida due to previous cheating allegations.

Interestingly, just weeks before this controversy, GGPoker announced an initiative offering some previously banned players the opportunity to apply for a second chance and return to the platform. Whether such leniency could eventually apply to Lin is uncertain— but for now, he faces immediate exclusion, and his poker future is shrouded in uncertainty. What is certain, however, is that this story has sent a clear message to the entire poker world: cheating online can have severe repercussions even in the live scene.

Sources – X, PokerNews, GG, Poker.org, Flickr/PSlive