The 23rd edition of the much loved Red Dragon event is well under way, and the numbers for this year's event are exciting. The Red Dragon event takes place in both summer, and winter, with usually higher entry numbers for the winter event. 108 players paid the HK$12,000 entry fee on day 1a of this summer Red Dragon, followed by 135 on day 1b and 272 on day 1c . With day 1d attracting a massive 430 players, the total field for the event set a new summer record at 945. This is a huge jump from the previous Red Dragon summer event at MPC21, which drew 808 runners. This creates a prize pool of $HK9,899,820, which converts to $1,275,000 in US dollars. The all time record for a Red Dragon event came in the winter edition of MPC20, when 995 turned out to play. The resulting prize pool from this great turnout means that the top 12 players at this year's event will get over $HK100,000 with $HK2,108,000 being set aside for the winner. With big names in the field and big prizes on offer, it should be an exciting conclusion.
More than 50% of the players from China
The breakdown of country entries for this event is also interesting, in that a huge 50.58% of the field at Red Dragon 23 were of Chinese origin. With China clamping down on poker and attempting to paint it in a negative light, it is refreshing to see that there are many Chinese people who still love the game and are willing to travel over to Macau to participate. It is clearly a positive for Macau as a poker paradise that they are attracting Chinese poker players, as their gaming revenue has been struggling in recent times. Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea and Singapore were next on the list of country entries, with USA following up in 7th.
Red Dragon (Photo Kenneth Lim courtesy of PokerStars LIVE Macau)
Day 2 end of the day Chip Counts
48 players remain. Day 3 will start at 3:00pm tomorrow. Players will be playing down to a final table.
| Last Name | First Name | Table | Seat | Country | Chips |
| Chan | Xianqi | 5 | 7 | China | 225,000 |
| Chen | Jian | 6 | 8 | China | 217,000 |
| Chen | Neo Li Han | 5 | 3 | Chinese Taipei | 138,000 |
| Chong | Victor | 2 | 8 | Malaysia | 301,000 |
| Gao | Kang | 6 | 7 | China | 169,000 |
| Gu | Huafeng | 3 | 8 | China | 567,000 |
| Gu | Pan | 1 | 8 | China | 249,000 |
| Hu | Wei Yao | 3 | 4 | Chinese Taipei | 110,000 |
| Ichinose | Kosei | 2 | 9 | Japan | 228,000 |
| Ji | Jingrong | 4 | 8 | China | 507,000 |
| Jin | Wenlong | 4 | 5 | China | 287,000 |
| Kat | Jeffrey Lok Seng | 5 | 2 | Macau | 232,000 |
| Lee | Saehoon | 6 | 9 | Korea | 431,000 |
| Lin | Bote | 4 | 9 | China | 98,000 |
| Liu | Shao Po | 6 | 6 | China | 491,000 |
| Liu | Zongxin | 1 | 2 | China | 386,000 |
| Liu | Zoe Hui | 1 | 4 | China | 320,000 |
| Liu | Jian Cong | 2 | 1 | China | 274,000 |
| Lu | Xun | 1 | 1 | China | 166,000 |
| Luo | Qi | 2 | 3 | China | 360,000 |
| Luo | Xi | 5 | 6 | China | 231,000 |
| Ma | Runfeng | 6 | 3 | China | 158,000 |
| Maheswari | Nikhil | 1 | 9 | India | 615,000 |
| Mu | Kejian | 4 | 4 | China | 1,006,000 |
| Pan | Yuefeng | 6 | 2 | China | 461,000 |
| Park | Jiwan | 4 | 7 | Korea | 722,000 |
| Park | Jongmin | 2 | 4 | Korea | 438,000 |
| Ren | Bin Wen | 6 | 4 | China | 192,000 |
| Shah | Devang | 5 | 8 | India | 185,000 |
| Shang | Ke Shen | 2 | 5 | China | 154,000 |
| Sim | Simba Jae Kyung | 3 | 6 | Korea | 75,000 |
| Sin | Kin Lay | 2 | 6 | Singapore | 298,000 |
| Tan | Zhixiong | 3 | 7 | China | 308,000 |
| Tan | Jingsheng | 3 | 1 | China | 108,000 |
| Tsai | Tse Jui | 5 | 1 | Chinese Taipei | 164,000 |
| Tsuji | Yasuyuki | 2 | 7 | Japan | 159,000 |
| Wu | Mingmin | 4 | 6 | China | 352,000 |
| Xian | Dinghai | 4 | 3 | China | 119,000 |
| Yamamoto | Zenya | 1 | 6 | Japan | 268,000 |
| Yang | Yidong | 3 | 9 | China | 352,000 |
| Yoshinaga | Tokuho | 5 | 9 | Japan | 334,000 |
| Yum | Marin Hyun Joo | 6 | 5 | Korea | 75,000 |
| Zhang | Chen | 1 | 5 | China | 428,000 |
| Zhang | Nan | 1 | 3 | China | 348,000 |
| Zhang | Ning | 4 | 2 | China | 99,000 |
| Zhao | Yiwei | 3 | 2 | China | 142,000 |
| Zheng | Liang | 3 | 3 | China | 219,000 |
| Zhu | Longwen | 5 | 5 | China | 378,000 |
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
Follow Me:
