Big turnout at the first ever Vietnam Series of Poker Championship in Ha Noi

International live events may still be a long time coming but that doesn’t mean homegrown live events suffer the same fate. In some countries, restrictions have already eased up allowing for live tournaments to resume.

In Vietnam, players craving for live poker got exactly that this past week with the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP) hosting its first championship event at the Loyal Poker Club in Ha Noi. The seven day festival ran from June 29 to July 5. Ten events filled the schedule along with LP 4,000,000,000 (~US$ 172,000) in guaranteed prizes. In the aftermath, all the guaranteed events were smashed and its successful turnout may be an inspiration for more local live events to come. We’ve got all the highlights below.

Main Event: Nguyen Van Chung – LP 645,000,000 (~US$ 27,800)

For its first ever solo series, the VSOP Championship pulled in a solid 390 runners to its star attraction, the Main Event – LP 2 billion guaranteed. With each entry at LP 8,800,000 (~US$ 380), it more than breached the guarantee for a final pot amounting to LP 3,120,000,000 (~US$ 135,000). Outlasting the competition was Nguyen Van Chung who defeated Nguyen Dinh Anh Cuong at heads up to claim the first ever VSOP Championship Main Event title and the LP 645,000,000 (~US$ 27,800) first prize. Additionally, this was Chung’s first ever live win and largest live tournament career payout.

Buy in: LP 8,800,000 (~US$ 380)

Dates: July 2 to July 5

Guarantee: LP 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 86,300)

Entries: 390

Prize pool: LP 3,120,000,000 (~US$ 135,000)

ITM: 50 places

Final table payouts

1st Nguyen Van Chung – LP 645,000,000 (~US$ 27,800)

2nd Nguyen Dinh Anh Cuong – LP 425,500,000

3rd Nguyen Tien Cong – LP 279,000,000

4th Nguyen Duy Khanh – LP 206,000,000

5th Pham Duc Hanh – LP 160,000,000

6th Tran Hung Manh – LP 126,500,000

7th Robert – LP 98,000,000

8th Dang Duy Thanh – LP 78,000,000

9th Nguyen Van Thuan – LP 62,000,000

Kick Off Event: Doan Hoang Vu – LP 323,650,000 (~US$ 14,000)

The Kick Off event also blew past its advertised LP 1,000,000,000 (~US$ 43,000) guarantee. The event attracted a large crowd of 595 entries across four starting days for a pot worth LP 1,731,450,000 (~US$ 75,000). Of the 90 players taking a cut, it was Doan Hoang Vu who claimed the kingly portion turning his LP 3,500,000 (~US$ 150) buy in into a heftier LP 323,650,000 (~US$ 14,000).

Buy in: LP 3,500,000 (~US$ 150)

Dates: June 29 to July 2

Guarantee: LP 1,000,000,000 (~US$ 43,000)

Entries: 595

Prize pool: LP 1,731,450,000 (~US$ 75,000)

ITM: 90 places

Final table payouts

1st Doan Hoang Vu – LP 323,650,000 (~US$ 14,000)

2nd Bagatin Sebastiano – LP 200,800,000

3rd Nguyen Manh Tuan – LP 147,100,000

4th Phan Manh Thang – LP 110,100,000

5th Nguyen Duy Khanh – LP 84,400,000

6th Nguyen Tho Que – LP 64,500,000

7th Nguyen Huu Manh – LP 49,000,000

8th Tao Tien Manh – LP 37,500,000

9th Do Kwan Nam – LP 28,000,000

High Roller Event: Terry Nguyen – LP 340,600,000 (~US$ 14,700)

The High Roller Event was another guarantee smasher. 54 entered at LP 22,000,000 (~US$ 1,000) each to boost the pot to LP 1,080,000,000 (~US$ 46,500). The battle for the title came down between two well known Vietnamese players, Terry Nguyen and Alex Nguyen. Terry Nguyen prevailed to ship the LP 340,600,000 (~US$ 14,700) first prize. This was Terry’s third live tournament career victory, having won the APL Vietnam Main Event in October 2019 and APT Vietnam High Roller in July 2019.

Buy in: LP 22,000,000 (~US$ 1,000)

Date: July 2, 2020

Guarantee: LP 600,000,000 (~US$ 26,000)

Entries: 54

Prize pool: LP 1,080,000,000 (~US$ 46,500)

ITM: 8 places

Payouts

1st Terry Nguyen – LP 340,600,000 (~US$ 14,700)

2nd Alex Nguyen – LP 223,000,000

3rd Nguyen Quy Bang – LP 150,000,000

4th Tran Huy Tien – LP 110,000,000

5th Murabito Giussepe – LP 80,000,000

6th Tran Hung Manh – LP 60,000,000

7th Nguyen Hoang Nam – LP 46,000,000

8th Le Huong Ly – LP 38,000,000

KO Bounty Special: Dang Thi Hue – LP 107,610,000 (~US$ 4,600)

The last of the four guaranteed events was the KO Bounty Special with LP 400M in tow. 118 signed up to edge the guarantee by a sliver. Keeping her head above water was Dang Thi Hue for a first ever live tournament career win. She shipped LP 107,610,000 (~US$ 4,600) for her largest live score.

Buy in: LP 5,500,000 (~US$ 240)

Date: July 5, 2020

Guarantee: LP 400,000,000 (~US$ 17,000)

Entries: 118

Prize pool: LP 413,000,000 (~US$ 17,800)

ITM: 18 places

Final table payouts

1st Dang Thi Hue – LP 107,610,000 (~US$ 4,600)

2nd Hoang Dinh Minh – LP 64,500,000

3rd Tran Van Thinh – LP 44,500,000

4th Kimoto Masayoshi – LP 34,500,000

5th Tran Huy Hoang – LP 27,500,000

6th Nguyen The Nguong – LP 21,500,000

7th Nguyen Tho Que – LP 16,500,000

8th Lanwei – LP 12,500,000

9th Vu Quang Hai – LP 9,500,000

Other results

Hyper Turbo 1 Event – Nguyen Huy Lam – LP 16,975,000 (~US$ 750)

No Limit Hold’em Event – Nguyen Duc Hieu – LP 27,090,000 (~US$ 1,170)

Deepstack Turbo 1 Event – Ha Manh Tuong – LP 27,020,000 (~US$ 1,170)

KO Bounty Turbo – Khu NGoc Thanh – LP 24,275,000 (~US$ 1,050)

Hyper Turbo 2 Event – Le Hai Nam – LP 15,565,000 (~US$ 670)

Deepstack Turbo 2 Event – Kimoto Masayoshi – LP 26,140,000 (~US$ 1,130)