47 players advance to APT Hanoi Billions Main Event, closing in on the ₫11.8 Billion (~$485K) top prize

The Asian Poker Tour’s biggest and richest festival in history, APT Hanoi Billions, concluded Day 3 of the record breaking Main Event. From a record field of 2,350 entries, only 47 players remain to contest the biggest chunk of the staggering VN₫ 73,855,800,000 (~$3,033,430) prize pool. Day 4 commences on December 9, 2023 at the National Convention Center in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Local legend Nguyen Van Sang paces the field and is seeking his biggest career payout should he go on to win it all. Nguyen’s best haul was just earlier this year when he outlasted fellow Vietnamese icon Hoang Hai Nam to capture the Main Event of the World Poker Championship also in Hanoi for VND 2.6 Billion (~$110,800). Nguyen, currently 10th in Vietnam’s all-time money list, has career earnings of just over $548,000.

A pair of Thai players are in pursuit with Nopparat Kongjai running second in chips and Nopparat Piyatassakorn is ranked third. Dong Van Tan of the host nation is presently in fourth while China’s Wu Bin holds fifth rank.

The top five players are closely hunted by highly decorated Thai pro Punnat Punsri who is looking to scoop up APT’s biggest payout once again. Last year, Punsri championed the Triton SHR Cyprus Main Event for a massive score of $2,600,000. Months later, he followed it up with a victory at APT Taipei Main Event for a payout of NT$ 11.2 Million (~$385K). Punsri is in prime position to make a run for his second APT Main Event title.

Punnat Punsri wins record breaking APT Taiwan Main Event for US$ 364,000

Other notables making the cut to Day 4 were high rollers Nguyen Trung Quan (Vietnam), Jae Wook Shin (South Korea), and APT Main Event champion John Tech who also seeks his second APT major.

Main Event by the numbers

Buy in: VN₫ 36,000,000 (~$1,480)
Guarantee: VN₫ 25,000,0000,000 (~$ 1,000,000)
Natural8 OnLive qualifiers: 213 entries
Flight A: 670 entries (521 unique) / 248 survivors
Flight B: 535 entries (442 unique) / 211 survivors
Flight C: 487 entries (409 unique) / 224 survivors
Flight D: 334 entries (277 unique) / 163 survivors
Day 2: 111 entries
Total: 2,350 entries
Prize pool: VN₫ 73,855,800,000 (~$3,042,900)
ITM: 351 places

The Asian Poker Tour season ender APT Hanoi Billions has been running since December 1 and will conclude on December 10. Since opening day, multiple records have been crushed daily, most notably, at the Main Event where a roaring 2,350 entered for a mighty VN₫ 73,855,800,000 (~$3,042,900) prize pool. The remaining 47 runners are assured VN₫ 192,030,000 (~$7,900) while the eventual titlist pockets VN₫ 11,831,710,000 (~$485,100).

Day 3 fallouts

Day 3 opened with 351 runners all guaranteed a piece of the mighty pot. The day concluded with 304 players falling by the wayside. Among them top 150 finishers were Sin Ren Chen (52nd), Day 3 entering chip leader Quang Hieu Nguyen (59th), Bien Mai (61st), Kannapong Thanarattrakul (63rd), Edwin Dela Cruz (68th), Sparrow Cheung (96th), and APT Main Event champion Dicky Tsang (114th). Four-time WSOP bracelet champion Bradley Ruben finished in 190th place for VN₫ 720,380,000 (~$3,000)

*Article by Noel Zarate