APT Hanoi Billions Main Event field crunches to 351 ITM players

On Thursday, December 6, 2023, the record breaking APT Hanoi Billions raged on with over 900 players filling up every nook of the National Convention Center for Day 2 of the Main Event. The agenda was to secure one of the 351 ITM spots, and be guaranteed a piece of the gargantuan VN₫ 73,855,800,000 (~$3,042,900) prize pool.

By the seventh hour of play, with nearly two-thirds of the field gone, Thailand’s Tanaway Burapapanuwong risked it on a low pocket pair only to fall as the stone cold bubble. However, it wasn’t a total loss as he walked away with a Mini Main Event ticket as consolation.

The Main Event resumes on Friday, December 7, 2023 for another heated race. Everyone is guaranteed VN₫ 56,150,000 (~$2,310). They now hunt down one of the final 16 spots.

Among the players still in contention are five APT champions: Punnat Punsri (APT Taipei 2023) who is in fine shape for a second takedown with a 78 bb stack, John Tech (APT Cebu 2015) with a very healthy 85 bb, Hernan Villa (APT Philippines 2022) with 50 bb, Takumi Samejima (APT Manila 2017) with 31 bb, Dicky Tsang (APT Incheon 2019) with 23 bb, and Joven Huerto (APT Manila Finale 2018) with 21 bb.

Day 3 will open with Vietnam’s Quang Hieu Nguyen bringing in the chip lead of 117 bb. Joining him are locals high in the tier: Van Sang Nguyen (106 bb),  Pham Van Tien (97 bb), and Bien Mai (89 bb) to mention a few.

Other notables also advancing are Jae Wook “Justin” Shin, who recently championed the USOP Danang Superstar Challenge, Vishal Ojha (USOP Hanoi 2023), India  online grinder Gaurav Sood. Hong Kong’s Sparrow Cheung, Filipino Edwin De la Cruz, Hong Kong’s Hon Cheong Lee, and recently minted USOP Danang champion Singapore’s The Naing.

One player sure to have plenty of eyes on his every move is four time bracelet winner Bradley Ruben. He hopes to turn his 15 bb stack into a career high payday.

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. If you haven’t yet heard, multiple records have been crushed nearly everyday, 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. Awaiting the champion is the VN₫ 11,831,710,000 (~$487,470) payout.

The lion roars! APT Hanoi Billions Main Event amasses ₫73.8 Billion (~$3M), largest prize pool in tour’s history; up top ₫11.8B (~$487K)

Halfway through the ten-day series, the Main Event prize pool had yet to be determined. The VN₫ 60 Billion festival guarantee was crushed by 12 key and side events combined. Among the top stories was Nozomu Shimizu who shipped the Super High Roller and the Superstar Challenge for a combined payout of $400K in winnings.

APT Hanoi Billions rages past Main Event $1M guarantee; Nozomu Shimizu with back-to-back takedowns

Read up on the SMP coverage of APT Hanoi Billions.