An overview of the massive Suncity Cup 2017 event by the numbers

Poker King Club’s biggest event of the year has arrived and for the past eight days, players from all over the region, and scattered parts of the world, have converged at the Venetian Macau for this much-awaited year-ending event – the Suncity Cup 2017 with its jaw-dropping HKD 8 Million Guaranteed Main Event (US$1,000,000). With a prize pool this large, it was no surprise to see a massive turnout especially with a very affordable buy-in of HKD 6,600.

During the opening ceremony, Winfred Yu, President of Poker King Club, expressed:

“The Suncity Cup has been another milestone for our organization. With the support of the Suncity Group and our loyal players, we’ve been able to bring the game of poker to an even wider audience. With players from China, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia and other countries, we welcome you all to experience the all-new Poker King Club here at The Venetian Macao and look forward to an exciting week of poker for all involved”.

Now that all the starting days have completed and the last minute chances to get in on that highly lucrative pot have closed, we can now give you an overview of the impressive numbers that this tournament has generated.

Day 1 offsite legs

The Suncity Cup 2017 began its journey outside of its final destination. Qualifying legs were held in various places in Asia starting in Jeju, then Manila, Taipei, and Incheon. This produced 172 entries with 24 players securing their seat into Day 2.

On-site starting day numbers

From November 23 – November 28, it was game time at the Venetian Macau with players gradually making their way to the tables in hopes of earning their seat. The earlier starting days didn’t attract too many players but it did surge towards crunch time.

Day 1a – 25 entries
Day 1b – 13 entries
Day 1c – 44 entries
Day 1d – 72 entries
Day 1e – 123 entries
Day 1f – 243 entries
Day 1 turbo – 140 ( held on Day 2a)

Day 2 last chance entries and final tally

In addition to the usual starting days, players were also allowed to buy-in at any of the Day 2 heats however it was at a more costly figure of HKD 38,000. There were a total of 96 that opted to go this route. Combine all those entries together and the event generated a roaring grand total of 928 entries. This was enough to not only meet the guarantee, but it also surpassed it to a final prize pool of HKD 8,008,300.

Payouts and ITM

One interesting perk of the Suncity Cup 2017 event was the payout structure. All players that qualified into Day 2 – meaning not bought in to Day 2 – were instantly paid HKD 6,000. In essence, they each got their money back. There were 124 players that earned that dividend.

After the bustling Day 2 heats, only 68 players advanced into Day 3. For these survivors, the next stage is to reach the money round of 35 places. In comparing the top and bottom payouts, the first to the cage earns a tiny cut of HKD 50,900 while the eventual champion will ship in a towering HKD 1,925,000 (~US$245,000).

Notable players

With a field this large, there certainly wasn’t a shortage of well-known pros in the action. One of the biggest names to attend was multiple WSOP bracelet winner Johnny Chan. Another top pro in the mix was Mexico’s #1 ranked player, JC Alvarado. Between the two, Chan was unable to move past Day 2 while Alvarado advanced into Day 3 and with healthy artillery.

Among the notable players that also made it into Day 3 were Kosei Ichinose, Vivian Im, Linh Tran, Bobby Zhang, Park Yu Sparrow Cheung, Victor Chong, Canlin Chen, Michael Soyza, Danny Tang, Justin Chan, Sahashi Hideki, Xixiang Luo, Yuri Ishida, and one Filipino contender, Eugene Co.

Despite running well in the starting days, notables the missed the mark were Pete Yen Han Chen, Sam Cheung, Wei Guoliang, and Gab Yong Kim to mention a few.

We will continue to follow the ongoing action of the Suncity Cup 2017. Day 3 kicks off today. Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for the next updates.

Article by Triccia David