WSOP Controversy: Male Pro Wins Ladies Event Satellite

Albert Ng Ng, a.k.a. “albiexchewy”, entered the $33 buy-in online satellite on June 6th and, after firing two bullets, defeated 49 others to bag the $1000 seat to this year’s Event #70: $1,000 Ladies Championship.

As soon as news broke, X/Twitter erupted in expected fashion…

I’m hoping Albert misclicked reg, but people who do this on purpose are people who can’t do the right thing unless a law or rule prevents them. These people are awful and the reason we can’t have high trust societies and leads to things like the Tragedy of the Commons.… https://t.co/LbpPR5gLm8

— Derek Kwan (@kwansfull) June 20, 2025 Male players entering what are essentially female-focused events is not a new thing and organisers usually take some steps to put men off spoiling things for the women.

Apparently unable to legally ban males from the Ladies Championship, the WSOP balances things somewhat by charging a 10x premium on the $1000 buy-in.

That means that Ng, should he choose to play, will have to add $9k to his buy-in if he wants to take up the seat he won.

Any male participant attempting to enter the ladies event through WSOP+ or at the cage will be required to pay an additional $9,000 or will be removed from the tournament. https://t.co/6UQpihuLu5

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) June 20, 2025 This rule was enacted in 2013 after several years of men abusing the generally weaker fields to disrupt what should be a showcase and/or promotional event for women in poker.

In 2010, Shaun Deeb wore a dress and was one of nine men to play the Ladies Championship. At the time, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky revealed a potential ban was on the cards: “People aren’t respecting our tournaments. We have the ability to handle things any way we see fit as tournament operators.”

Back in 2016, Miami pro Tony Roberto ponied up the $10k to play alongside the ladies, claiming his participation was “a mixture of prop bets, losing a bet and my stake horse having a sick and twisted sense of humor.”

He explained at the time: “The table I was at was nice. Every new player gave me a face, so I said politely, ‘Get all the jokes and dirty looks out now so we don’t have to do it all day, and it worked wonders.”

More recently, at the 2023 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown in Florida, Dave Hughes not only entered the Ladies Event but scooped the $5,555 top prize.

Back to the here and now, and Ng would only tell reporters that he “fires at everything”, and wouldn’t confirm or deny he knew that he was playing for a seat in the Ladies Championship.

Event #70: $1,000 Ladies Championship runs from Thursday, June 26th and VIP Grinders will bring you all the best of the action.