China comes out in force at WPT Korea with 31 advancing to Day 2 of the opener; Zhao Wei and Haobo Zhu top last two flights
Chinese players arrived in droves to Jeju Island with more expected for the special ten-day festival hosted by the prestigious World Poker Tour (WPT). The games kicked off on July 15, 2023 at Jeju Shinhwa World resort and will run until July 24, 2023. Over the past two days, turnout was tremendous as players filled the tables for the WPT Korea Opener.
After three flights, an impressive 353 lit up the felt with 44 reaching the money round. Of that survivor list, 31 were from China led by online grinder Zhao Wei who topped Day 1B. This put Zhao second in the overall chip counts, just behind the Day 1A leader, Kataoka Toshio from Japan. Helping Zhao zoom to the top was 
spiking the two-outer to crush Luo Shuang’s 
.
Other notable players present were 2022 WPT Prime Vietnam Main Event champion David Erquiaga, 2019 WPTDS Vietnam Main Event champion Vincent Chauve, and 2012 WPT Denmark Main Event champion Steve O’Dwyer. Of that tight crew, only Erquiaga found chips to bag.
In addition, New ZealanderTae Hoon Han and Vietnamese pro Cao Ngoc Anh made the cut to Day 2. Similar to Zhao’s takedown, Cao cracked Wai Lun William’s 
when his 
rivered a set for a huge double up.
Action resumes on July 17 at 1pm. Everyone is guaranteed a minimum KR₩ 1,510,000 (~USD 1,190). For the champion, a sizable KR₩ 54,223,650 (~USD 42,700) awaits. Scroll down for the payouts.
Date: July 15 to 17, 2023
Buy in: KR₩ 850,000 (~USD 670)
Entries: 353
Prize pool: KR₩ 260,433,650 (~USD 205,170)
ITM: 45 players
Day 1 results
Day 1A: 103 entries / 13 survivors
Day 1B: 195 entries / 25 survivors
Day 1C: 55 entries / 7 survivors
Day 2 qualifiers
| # | Player | Flag | Stack |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kataoka Toshio | Japan | 576,000 |
| 2 | Zhao Wei | China | 448,000 |
| 3 | Zhang Yang | China | 396,000 |
| 4 | Haobo Zhu | China | 387,000 |
| 5 | Liu Yin | China | 361,000 |
| 6 | Hong Paul | New Zealand | 358,000 |
| 7 | Fugang Cui | China | 353,000 |
| 8 | Cao Ngoc Anh | Vietnam | 340,000 |
| 9 | Wang Yujia | China | 337,000 |
| 10 | Zhihao Wang | China | 270,000 |
| 11 | Cangsheng Ni | China | 260,000 |
| 12 | Pak Valeriy | Uzbekistan | 253,000 |
| 13 | Chen Ronghui | Australia | 250,000 |
| 14 | Wang Zhong | China | 236,000 |
| 15 | Xin Yuan | China | 218,000 |
| 16 | Han Tae Hoon | New Zealand | 210,000 |
| 17 | Xiang Yufeng | China | 203,000 |
| 18 | Guo Meng | China | 200,000 |
| 19 | Dianlei Zhang | China | 192,000 |
| 20 | Stewart Alexander Eliott | USA | 189,000 |
| 21 | Lei Sun | China | 176,000 |
| 22 | Suzuki Yuto | Japan | 174,000 |
| 23 | Hu Jin Long | China | 170,000 |
| 24 | Chen Xiangzhi | China | 160,000 |
| 25 | Alick Justin Hameed | Italy | 153,000 |
| 26 | Liu Yuan | China | 145,000 |
| 27 | Nan Zhao | China | 141,000 |
| 28 | Chen Yufei | China | 130,000 |
| 29 | Yang Renjun | China | 130,000 |
| 30 | He Xin Yan | China | 128,000 |
| 31 | Ho Shen-Syu | China | 128,000 |
| 32 | Yang Lei | China | 123,000 |
| 33 | Yang Lifeng | China | 120,000 |
| 34 | Waki Yasuhiro | Japan | 120,000 |
| 35 | Yue Shan | China | 113,000 |
| 36 | Yu Yi Xing | China | 108,000 |
| 37 | Moran Graham John | Ireland | 96,000 |
| 38 | David Erquiaga | Philippines | 91,000 |
| 39 | Huang Xing Long | China | 77,000 |
| 40 | Tan Win Meng | Malaysia | 69,000 |
| 41 | Son Duncan | Canada | 67,000 |
| 42 | Wai Lun William | China | 59,000 |
| 43 | Zhehong Ye | China | 49,000 |
| 44 | Liu Xiang | China | 35,000 |
| 45 | Zhang Fangxiao | China | 30,000 |
Payouts
| 1 | 54,223,650 |
| 2 | 36,070,000 |
| 3 | 26,510,000 |
| 4 | 19,680,000 |
| 5 | 14,760,000 |
| 6 | 11,180,000 |
| 7 | 8,550,000 |
| 8 | 6,600,000 |
| 9-10 | 5,150,000 |
| 11-12 | 4,150,000 |
| 13-14 | 3,400,000 |
| 15-16 | 2,830,000 |
| 17-20 | 2,400,000 |
| 21-24 | 2,080,000 |
| 25-32 | 1,830,000 |
| 33-40 | 1,650,000 |
| 41-45 | 1,510,000 |
Key Events of WPT Korea
Three key events are coming up. First up is theWPT Korea Main Event,highlighted by its jaw-droppingKR₩ 2,000,000,000 (~USD 1,575,600) guarantee. This is the largest guarantee ever offered by the WPT in Asia. It runs from July 17 to 21. As added bonus, the final table will be livestreamed.
Everything on the Main Event KR₩ 2 BN guaranteed
| Event | Guarantee in KR₩ | Date |
Buy in KR₩
|
|---|---|---|---|
| WPT Korea Main Event | 2,000,000,000 | July 17 to 21 | 3,400,000 |
|
WPT Alpha 8 One Drop Korea
|
July 21 to 22 | 170,000,000 | |
|
WPT Korea High Roller
|
July 23 to 24 | 17,000,000 |
The stakes climb higher with theWPT Alpha8 One Drop Koreacharity event which features a buy-in of $133,930. A portion of the buy-in goes to theOne Dropfoundation to help bring access to water to communities in need of clean water.
To complete the key three is theWPT Korea High Rollerwith a buy in of KRW 17,000,000 (~USD 13,400). Expect elite players from the region to populate the tables. A large contingent of players from Japan and China are expected to attend.
Getting to Jeju Shinhwa Landing Resort
For arriving players, getting to the venue couldn’t be any easier. Just look for the WPT Korea banner with the bus schedule and hop in once it arrives. It takes approximately one hour to get to the venue. The bus runs daily on a two hour schedule starting at 6am. The last bus to the venue is at 10pm.
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