Another bustling day at the inaugural U Series of Poker Vietnam as the festival completed Day 3 at Crown Poker Club. The evening witnessed the locals dominate the competition with all four new champions from the host country. The last event to wrap up was the Superstar Challenge, which trimmed to the final 9 players. We’ve got all those results for you. Just scroll down.
USOP Vietnam: Festival Results
Event 7: Superstar Challenge (in progress)
The Superstar Challenge did not disappoint with 64 runners coughing up the VN₫ 107,000,000 (~US$ 4,525) buy in for a meaty prize pool of VN₫ 6,208,000,000 (~US$ 264,760). Among the players that tried but missed the money were Triton champions Devan Tang, Dao Minh Phu, 2023 PSPC runner up Max Menzel, Taiwan’s Nevan Chang, USOP founder Tse Ian Lee, Vietnam’s Minh Quang Nguyen, Huy Quang Nguyen, and Sang Nguyen.
By the 13th hour of play, Australia’s Anton Lu 
set eliminated a player with 
to bring about the bubble round. It was a lengthy grind, taking nearly an hour and a half for it to burst. Vietnam’s Huu Dung Nguyen 
shoved from the small blind, short stacked big blind player risked it with 
and failed to improve. (pictured above)
Shortly after, Natural8′s Victor Chong 
cleaned out William Jia 
on a board running 
to form the final table. Jia picked up the first cash of VN₫ 207,000,000 for 10th place.
| Seat | Player | Flag | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Tan Keng Yong | Singapore | 610,000 | 8 |
| 2 | Victor Chong | Malaysia | 2,185,000 | 27 |
| 3 | Yeh Hung Wei | Taiwan | 3,020,000 | 38 |
| 4 | Anton Lu | Australia | 740,000 | 9 |
| 5 | Ang Yang Sang | Malaysia | 2,240,000 | 28 |
| 6 | Sebastian Mueller | Germany | 3,470,000 | 43 |
| 7 | Duc Tu Bui | Vietnam | 3,230,000 | 40 |
| 8 | Huu Dung Nguyen | Vietnam | 2,750,000 | 34 |
| 9 | Chu Thai Thinh | Vietnam | 925,000 | 12 |
Chips in play: 19,200,000
Average stack: 2,133,333
Final Day opening blinds: 40K-80K, 80K ante (29:53 remaining in this round)
The Final 9 return on Monday, April 17 at 1pm to chase down the handsome top prize money of VN₫ 1,900,000,000 (~US$ 81,000). Spectators can watch the action live or via the link below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5seEgzFXWrc
Buy in: VN₫ 107,000,000 (~US$ 4,525)
Guarantee: VN₫ 1,500,000,000 (~US$ 63,970)
Entries: 64 (41 unique, 23 re-entry)
Prize pool: VN₫ 6,208,000,000 (~US$ 264,760)
ITM: 10 places
Remaining payouts
| Place | Payout in VN₫ |
| 1 | 1,900,000,000 |
| 2 | 1,200,000,000 |
| 3 | 800,000,000 |
| 4 | 539,000,000 |
| 5 | 420,000,000 |
| 6 | 350,000,000 |
| 7 | 300,000,000 |
| 8 | 260,000,000 |
| 9 | 232,000,000 |
To Bao Tuan perseveres at Mystery Bounty; Benjamin Sai draws largest bounty
52 players returned to action, each one guaranteed a piece of the Mystery Bounty VN₫ 2,609,900,000 (~US$ 111,320) prize pool and a shot at claiming any of the 52 mystery bounty rewards. Just past the 11th hour of play, the final hand was tabled. To Bao Tuan aka Tuan Tien Hai won three all in heads up showdowns to capture his first live title and the VN₫ 540,000,00 top prize. In addition, Tuan collected VN₫ 271,500,000 in bounties to earn a combined VN₫ 811,500,000 (~US$ 34,600), by far the largest payout of this event and the largest of his career.
You can relive the action via the recorded livestream in the Crown Poker Club facebook page. For updates prior to the final table, head to the SMP live updates.
In addition to the champion, the most envied player was Singapore’s Benjamin Sai who drew the single largest mystery bounty reward of VN₫ 270,000,000. Sai also collected another VN₫ 45,500,000 for a combined VN₫ 315,500,000 in bounties making him the biggest bounty earner.
Another player posting an impressive result was Estonia’s Roland Kivi who scored his third final table cash. Kivi placed 6th at Hyper Turbo 1, championed Hyper Turbo 2, and finished 4th here.
Thang Chien Hoang deserves acknowledgement as well. Hoang entered the final day as the shortest of the pack with just 7 bb and went on to finish in 7th place.
Recapping the heads up action, Tuan played catch up to big stacked Thuy Trung Duong. He picked up two double ups to steal the lead. The first clash was Duong 
, Tuan 
, the board 
to spike the Ace on the river. Next showdown, Tuan spiked the Ace again, this time on the turn for his 
to outflip Duong’s . Now ahead, Tuan closed it out with dominating Duong’s on an empty board 
.
Dates: April 14 to 16
Buy in: VN₫ 11,000,000 (~US$ 470)
Guarantee: VN₫ 2,500,000,000 (~US$ 106,600)
Entries: 414
Prize pool: VN₫ 2,609,900,000 (~US$ 111,320)
Bounty Pool: VN₫ 1,405,500,000 (~US$ 59,950)
ITM: 52 players
Final table payouts
| Place | Player | Bounty in VN₫ | Total Payout in VN₫ |
| 1 | Tuan Tien Hai | 271,500,000 | 811,500,000 |
| 2 | Thuy Trung Duong | 85,500,000 | 461,500,000 |
| 3 | Hieu Quang Nguyen | 45,000,000 | 285,000,000 |
| 4 | Roland Kivi | 120,500,000 | 281,700,000 |
| 5 | Benjamin Sai | 315,500,000 | 439,500,000 |
| 6 | Dao Minh Phu | 96,500,000 | 200,500,000 |
| 7 | Thang Chien Hoang | 0 | 85,500,000 |
| 8 | Quang Ngoc Phan | 245,500,000 | 313,500,000 |
| 9 | Dien Van Le (Kenny) | 106,000,000 | 159,500,000 |
The complete payouts can be found in the Mystery Bounty updates.
Ha Ngoc Nguyen takes down the Superstack Madness
The Superstack Madness was a popular one attracting 190 runners to crush another guarantee. 24 players earned a cut of the VN₫ 1,105,800,00 prize pool. Ha Ngoc Nguyen claimed the largest of VN₫ 275,000,000 (~US$ 11,730) for her victory.
The bubble burst on a three way with Dinh Van Tien and Vu Huy Ha splitting the pot, both players holding Ace-Queen offsuit on a queen high board. The unfortunate bust was a player with Ace-King. Tien went on to 12th place and Ha reached the final table, eliminated in 5th place.
The final table was dominated by Nguyen that by three handed, she was sitting on a massive stack. Eric Wasylenko seesawed. He managed to double up through Nguyen then gave it all back and more to finish in 3rd place. Heads up saw Van Quang Pham on a heater however it didn’t last. Nguyen closed it out with 
full house over 
two pair on a final board 
.
Buy in: VN₫ 6,600,000 (~US$ 280)
Guarantee: VN₫ 600,000,000 (~US$ 25,590)
Entries: 190 (126 unique, 66 re-entry)
Prize pool: VN₫ 1,105,800,000 (~US$ 47,160)
ITM: 24 places
| Place | Player | Payout in VN₫ |
| 1 | Ha Ngoc Nguyen | 275,000,000 |
| 2 | Van Quang Pham | 178,000,000 |
| 3 | Eric Wasylenko | 112,000,000 |
| 4 | Eric Ceret | 77,000,000 |
| 5 | Vu Huy Ha | 63,000,000 |
| 6 | Michael Kim Falcon | 52,000,000 |
| 7 | Joe Sam Yap | 43,000,000 |
| 8 | Dung Anh Tran | 35,000,000 |
| 9 | Tuan Minh Ha | 29,000,000 |
| 10 | Tyler James Warken | 24,000,000 |
| 11 | Linh Hai Hoang | 24,000,000 |
| 12 | Tien Van Dinh | 24,000,000 |
| 13 | David Erquiaga | 19,300,000 |
| 14 | Duc Quang Nguyen | 19,300,000 |
| 15 | Dung Dac Ly | 19,300,000 |
| 16 | Ng Shun Hong | 15,800,000 |
| 17 | Thanh Tien Nguyen | 15,800,000 |
| 18 | Cuong Manh Nguyen | 15,800,000 |
| 19 | Tuan Manh Nguyen | 12,400,000 |
| 20 | Linh Duc Giao Nguyen | 12,400,000 |
| 21 | Phu Van Nguyen | 12,400,000 |
| 22 | Aleksei Varashev | 9,100,000 |
| 23 | Long Huu Le | 9,100,000 |
| 24 | Tai Anh Do | 9,100,000 |
Vu Quang Dinh wins the Deepstack
Buy in: VN₫ 3,400,000 (~US$ 145)
Entries: 75 (50 unique, 25 re-entry)
Prize pool: VN₫ 218,200,000 (~US$ 9,300)
ITM: 9 places
| Place | Player | Payout in VN₫ |
| 1 | Vu Quang Dinh | 72,000,000 |
| 2 | Nam Hai Chu | 45,000,000 |
| 3 | Hai Minh Vu | 29,000,000 |
| 4 | Trinh Xuan Nguyen | 21,000,000 |
| 5 | Ryan Ong | 15,800,000 |
| 6 | Doan Van Nguyen | 12,000,000 |
| 7 | Hoang Minh Nguyen | 9,300,000 |
| 8 | Jason Tan | 7,600,000 |
| 9 | Sergei Kopyl | 6,500,000 |
Da Huu Dinh wins the Turbo Event
Buy in: VN₫ 4,500,000 (~US$ 190)
Entries: 37 (29 unique, 8 re-entry)
Prize pool: VN₫ 143,560,000 (~US$ 6,120)
ITM: 5 places
| Place | Player | Payout in VN₫ |
| 1 | Da Huu Dinh | 46,280,000* |
| 2 | Patrick Liang | 46,280,000* |
| 3 | Chih Feng Li | 22,000,000 |
| 4 | Nam Giang Le | 16,000,000 |
| 5 | Jun Xu Lee | 13,000,000 |
*Heads up even chop, played for the trophy
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
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