APPT National ($1,000)

Flight A of the APPT National concluded at ITM of nine players led by Korea's Sungheon Hong with a stack of 387,000 (77 bb), setting the bar for the next flights. Hong was a dominant presence throughout, climbing to the top early and never once facing elimination. One of his key knockouts came after registration closed, when his AK out-kicked 2023 APPT Cambodia Main Event champion Chao Ting Cheng’s KJ.

The nine survivors now enjoy a day’s break before returning on Wednesday, May 7 for the next stage of the tournament. All are guaranteed a piece of the prize pool, which is on pace to smash its $150,000 guarantee.

Still to come are Flight B and Flight C (Turbo), offering the last opportunities to join the race for the first PokerStars shard trophy of the 2025 APPT season.

When the flop lands Q♠ A♥ 8♠ , both players improved with Sorokin now ahead with two pair. Kaushik still had outs however they don't show up on the turn 5♠ and river Q♣ to fall just one spot to the money.

With 5♥ 5♦ in the hole, Anton Rubtsov opens 10,000 and finds one customer in big blind Sungheon Hong. The flop runs 6♠ A♣ 5♠ , giving Rubtsov a set. He c-bets 10,000, only to face a check-raise to 22,000 from Hong. Rubtsov just calls.

The 8♣ lands on the turn, and this time Hong leads out for 45,000. Rubtsov stays the course with another call to complete the board with the A♠ river. Hong tanks while playing with his chips then opts to check. Rubtsov tanks back before jamming. Hong tanks again then releases his hand, for Rubtsov to scoop the pot. A♠ a friendly gesture, Rubtsov shows his set.

After a series of aggressive raises throughout the orbit, Maxim Sorokin finds himself in the big blind and facing a 10,000 open from Hoa Thinh Nguyen. Sorokin makes the call, then both players check down a dry board of 4♣ Q♦ J♥ 2♥ 7♦ where Sorokin leads out 10,000. Nguyen tosses in the call then mucks to Sorokin's J♦ T♦ second pair.

Amit Kaushik looked to steal one on the button holding Q♥ 5♥ but Hoa Thinh Nguyen defended his big blind by calling the raise. The flop came all clubs 4♣ T♣ 8♣ and Kaushik fired 5,000, with Nguyen check-calling.

Action heated up on the A♣ turn with Kaushik staying aggressive with a 16,000 bet, and Nguyen again check-called. The A♥ river saw Nguyen check once more while Kaushik sized down to 5,400, trying to buy the pot. Nguyen wasn’t fooled and made the call tabling J♦ 7♣ for a flush to expose Kaushik's bluff.

It was a battle of the blinds as action folded around to Adrien Berger, who bumped it up to 12,000 from the small blind. Anton Rubtsov defended from the big blind, and the two saw a flop of A♣ K♦ 9♠ . Berger continued with 6,000, and Rubtsov called. The action slowed on the turn A♦ and river T♣ with both players checking it down. Berger revealed J♦ 9♥ for two pair, which was good to scoop the pot.

Sitting on the big blind, Igor Vakhnenko defends by calling Maxim Sorokin's 8000 raise. When the board lands 5♠ 3♠ 9♠ , Vakhnenko tosses in his last 7000 with K♦ 2♥ . Sorokin calls the cheap all in and is ahead with K♥ T♦ . The turn J♦ and river K♠ spells the end for Vakhnenko who is out-kicked.

The field is down to 11 players.

Max Deveson couldn't catch at the previous round to drop significantly in chips. With around 8 bb left, he risked it with Queen-Jack and got the boot from Bien Mai who dominated with Ace-Six. An ace also showed up on the board.

12 players remaining.

From the button, Bien Mai smooth-calls Anton Rubtsov's 17,000 raise out of the cutoff. Holding Q♣ 9♣ , Mai connects with top pair on the 9♦ 8♠ 5♣ flop. Rubtsov keeps up the pressure with a 14,000 continuation bet, and Mai flat-calls.

The turn is checked through, but on the Q♠ river, Rubtsov fires 30,000, Mai jams for 73,000, Rubtsov quickly calls, turning over A♦ Q♠ top pair. It wasn’t enough as Mai's top two pair locks up the pot and earns him a full double.

Max Deveson just lost a pot to Adrien Berger and lost a little more to Armon Van Wijk. Both players built a pot of around 30,000 before the cards landed K♦ T♦ J♥ . Wijk quickly pushed with a stack well covering Deveson who opted to fold.

Akihiro Konishi met his end with Ace-King missing the board against Anton Rubtsov's pocket Tens. Field is down to 13 players. Only four more busts to ITM.

Following a raise from Max Deveson of 8000, Adrien Berger three-bets 18,000. Deveson defends his bet and calls to head to the flop K♠ 8♣ K♥ . Berger continues for 11,000, Deveson check-calls. Another 34,000 from Berger on the turn 6♦ , and this time Deveson surrenders his hand instead.

Adrien Berger raises 6000 from cutoff and big blind Bien Mai calls. No bets come on the flop 7♠ 9♣ 5♠ for a free turn 6♣ . Mai test-bets 5500 and Berger calls to complete the board with the 4♥ . Mai returns to checking, Berger shoves for 65,5000, Mai calls and shows A♣ 8♦ straight, Berger takes it down with T♣ 8♣ higher straight.

When the flop comes J♠ A♦ 4♠ , Sorokin jumps ahead and with the turn 2♦ and river 9♣ , he doubles up to a much healthier stack.

Armon Van Wijk opens for 6500 and big blind Bien Mai defends his big blind. Both players check the flop 6♥ 4♥ 2♠ then Mai fires 21,000 on the turn 9♣ . Wijk lets him have it.

Bien Mai opens from early position and finds a defender in the big blind, Anton Rubtsov. The flop lands A♣ A♠ Q♠ , and Rubtsov immediately takes the lead with a 10,000 bet, which Mai calls.

On the K♦ turn, Rubtsov backs down and checks for Mai to take over the betting with 18,000. Rubtsov flat-calls, and the river is Q♥ double-pairing the board. Rubtsov moves all in for 47,000, after considering his options, Mai decides to lay it down, conceding the pot to the aggression.

Everyone folds to the small blind Renji Mao and he limps in. Big blind Maxim Sorokin defends with a raise of 9000, Mao still wants to play and makes the call. Both players proceed to check down the board 4♣ 5♣ K♦ A♦ 7♥ . Mao shows Q♣ 7♣ for the winner.

Adrien Berger makes it 9000 to play, and from hijack, Anton Rubtsov gives him some action. At the flop 9♣ K♥ 3♦ , Berger checks, Rubtsov test-bets 3000 and Berger calls. Another check from Berger on the turn 9♥ sees an 8000 bet from Rubtsov. This time Berger raises 24,000, Rubtsov doesn't budge and calls to take the fight to the river T♦ . Berger changes up and leads out with a big jam of 125,500, Rubtsov is well covered and let's go of his hand.

Both players show a flush draw and both land it on the turn for Karatayeu to go bust without having to see the river.

Dorian Debals is all in for his last 3 bb and needs to get past Amit Kaushik and Sungheon Hong to stay in the game. At the flop 2♥ 4♥ 9♣ , Kaushik bets 2500 for a side pot and Hong makes it happen. The turn Q♥ is checked down then Kaushik fuels the side pot 7000 more on the river 5♥ . This time Hong passes.

Kaushik wins the side pot and shows K♦ T♠ , Debals has T♦ 9♦ for a triple up with his pair.

Action heavy preflop opens with a 3000 cutoff raise from Bien Mai that's met with a three-bet of 12,000 from small blind Armon Van Wijk. Action moves to big blind Adrien Berger who defends with a four-bet of 28,000, Mai and Wijk let go of their hands.

Small pot for Minh Thang Tran starts with a raise of 3500 from Renji Mao. Middle position Tran calls and big blind John Matsuda defends. The flop is checked for a turn board Q♥ 6♠ 4♠ 8♦ . Matsuda and Mao check again but Tran chooses otherwise and sends out 8000. No one calls and Tran claims the pot easy.

Ivan Karatayeu raises to 3000, Sungheon Hong three-bets 8000, Karatayeu answers with a four-bet jam totaling 35,500 and wins the pot without further challenge.

The 2023 APPT Cambodia Main Event, Taiwan's Chao Ting Cheng, was eliminated holding King-Jack that couldn't get by Sungheon Hong who not only had a larger stack but also the bigger kicker with Ace-King.

Karatayeu is behind though live. The board helps out, running 6♣ 6♥ 8♣ K♠ 6♦ to ship a double up.

After ten levels, registration for Day 1A of the APPT National closed at 61 entries. Players that missed the time limit still have two flights to choose from, both running tomorrow, May 6.

The field is now down to 25 players. Action resumes until ITM of 15% is reached which is 9 players.

Karan Sitlani and Hoa Thinh Nguyen head to the flop 5♠ J♥ 4♥ with a pot of 20,000 in the middle. From the big blind, Nguyen checks to Sitlani who fires a bet that's quickly called. The 9♠ finds the turn where Nguyen changes gears, leading out 13,000. Sitlani calls to take them to the river 3♦ . No brakes for Nguyen as he jams it all for 31,000, the pressure works as Sitlani folds to give up his stake in the pot.

With action folded to small blind Karan Sitlani, he looks down at 9♦ 3♦ and raises to 3,500. Minh Thang Tran defends from the big blind to see a flop of 2♦ 3♣ K♦ . With his bottom pair and flush draw, Sitlani fires a bet and Tran stays in.

The turn brings the 6♣ , Sitlani stays aggressive, barreling again and Tran not letting go. With the pot swelling to around 31,000, the 8♦ lands on the river to complete Sitlani’s flush. He bets a large 25,400. Tran goes deep in the tank before calling, only to see Sitlani turn over the winner.

This is the last level for players to enter Day 1A of the APPT National. Among the latecomers of the previous round were Charlie Chiu and 2023 APPT Cambodia Main Event champion Chao Ting Cheng.

Dedinas is ahead with top pair that sees no change on the turn 5♣ , but when the 7♦ falls on the river, Munjal is saved with trips to triple up.

c gets dealt Q♦ J♦ and opens 2500, several spots over hijack Hoa Thinh Nguyen three-bets 7000, Konishi defends to go heads up to the flop 3♥ J♣ 7♦ . Konishi checks then calls Nguyen's 5000 c-bet. The turn 9♠ is checked through to complete the board with the K♦ river. Konishi leads out 2800, Nguyen pays to see, and soon mucks.

Bien Mai picks up K♦ T♦ under the gun and raises 2000. Both blinds - Sebastien Lapp and Sungheon Hong - call for a three-way to the flop T♠ 2♥ 7♦ . Mai is given the go-ahead and bets 3500, only Lapp continues to the turn 9♦ where both check. On the river 2♦ , Mai's top pair improves to a flush. He jumps out with a 15,000 bet, Lapp calls then mucks after seeing Mai’s hand.

Bien Mai continues the aggression, raising 1700 from under the gun. Action folds around to the small blind Sebastien Lapp, he jams his last 10,000 and Mai snap-calls.

Upon revealing, Lapp shows A♣ Q♣ and is in trouble with Mai ahead A♠ K♠ , however, lady luck is on his side and drops a queen on the flop. When the board completes A♥ Q♥ 9♦ T♦ 5♦ , neither have a diamond for the pair to grant Lapp a double.

Preflop action opens with Dorian Debals raising from under the gun only to be faced with a three-bet from small blind Bien Mai. Debals calls to bring the pot to around 16,000. Once the flop lands A♦ 3♣ 8♥ , Mai kept the pressure on with a c-bet of 3600, Debals calls to take them to the turn K♠ .

Mai pumps the brakes prompting Debals to fire 12,000. Mai calls then both players check the river Q♣ . Mai flips over A♠ J♦ top pair and Debals mucks his hand, conceding the pot.

The hunt for the largest mystery bounty top prize has been drawn and the lucky catcher was China's Hao Lin to become $11,000 richer! Not only is Lin lucky but he has also been crushing the competition with another two bounty tokens won that he hasn't cashed in.

The Mystery Bounty is down to the final 7 players.

Minh Thang Tran raises 1300 from under the gun and picks up a caller in Jung Su Kim however when it reaches the button, Dongwk Yeom, he reraises 6000. This doesn't shake Tran and Kim as both come along to build a big pot of nearly 20,000.

All three proceed to check the flop 7♣ 9♦ 9♠ and continue to stay cautious on the turn Q♥ . When the river comes 3♣ , Tran breaks the silence with an overbet of 25,000. Kim thinks it over and calls, while Yeom opts out.

Tran rolls over T♣ 9♣ trips and claims a sizable pot.

Avneessh Munjal jumped to the top of the Table 10 counts after railing Won Jong Lee.

Won Jong Lee defends his big blind with a three-bet that's called by Olivier Serrie to bring the pot to 5100 preflop. The dealer spreads 5♥ 9♦ J♦ , and without hesitation, Lee jams 9400 and Serrie calls putting Lee at risk.

Lee tables top pair with J♠ T♣ while Serrie is drawing heavy with multiple outs however none find the turn A♠ and river 5♣ securing Lee the double up.

A cheer erupted as Antonius Krijin spun the bounty wheel and hit the second-largest hidden prize of $6,830, adding a major boost to his 11th place finish. Originally set to take home $1,825, his lucky find increased his total payout to a much sweeter $9,175.

The chase is still on for the top hidden bounty worth $11,000 with ten players remaining.

Sungheon Hong and David Yojiro Baba stare down a flop T♣ Q♣ 8♠ with 6000 already in the pot. Acting first, Hong leads out 3000 and Baba calls. The turn 9♦ sees Hong fire another 3000 bet and once again Baba calls to take them to the river 3♥ . Hong slows down with a check, Baba switches up and bets 2500, and after a brief pause, Hong calls only to muck when Baba reveals A♦ J♦ ace-high.

Sebastien Lapp opened the action with a raise to 11,000 from early position and picked up calls from both blinds, Bien Mai and Aladin Reskallah, to go three-way to a flop of 5♦ K♣ 8♥ . Lapp kept up the pressure with a 3,000 c-bet, and again, both blinds called.

The turn brought the 8♦ , pairing the board. The blinds checked once more, and Lapp repeated his 3,000 bet, getting two more calls. On the river, facing a pot of around 38,000, Lapp took the lead again, this time for 10,000. The pressure finally paid off, as both blinds folded to give Lapp the pot.

Hoa Thinh Nguyen and Dongwk Yeom face off on the river T♥ 5♥ 4♥ J♠ 5♦ with around 15,000 already in the pot. Nguyen checks to Yeom who value-bets 9000, Nguyen calls then mucks to T♠ T♣ full house.

Sitting on a big stack, Jung Su Kim three-bet to 3,700 from hijack, and Minh Thang Tran, who opened from under the gun, made the call to see a flop of K♣ 8♣ A♣ .

Action is checked to Kim, who fired a 4,500 continuation bet. Tran called. Both players tapped the table on the 9♠ turn but when the river landed 7♣ , Kim tossed out a modest 2,000 bet, Tran answered with a check-raise of 15,000, Kim gave it up for Tran to take down the pot without a showdown.

Catching the action on a board showing 8♠ 7♥ 4♣ Q♠ 7♣ with a pot of 35,000 already built up among three players, action checked to Nuno Da Silva Alves, who moved all in for his last 5,300. Quang Trinh Do made the call, but before the hand settled, Jung Su Kim shoved over the top for 27,400.

Unfazed, Quang called again to for a massive three-way showdown. Kim tabled 6♦ 7♦ for trip sevens, both opponents mucked, and Kim scooped the pot.

Sungheon Hong and Nuno Da Silva Alves called a raise to 800 from Jung Su Kim to see a flop of A♣ 7♦ 4♥ . Kim fired a 1100 c-bet, prompting Alves to fold while Hong made the call.

On the 7♣ turn, Kim tapped the brakes with a check, and Hong took the option to bet 2,500. Kim called, leading to the 5♥ river. Kim then led out for 3,500, but Hong came over the top with a raise to 11,200. The pressure was enough for Kim to release his hand, and Hong dragged in the pot.

Three players saw the flop for 700 apiece, with Erik Rozhynskyi kicking off the action. The flop came T♠ 3♣ 5♣, and it quickly narrowed to heads-up as Igor Vakhnenko called a 1,400 c-bet, while Craig Jones stepped aside.

On the 6♠ turn, Rozhynskyi ramped up the pressure with a 6,500 bet, and Vakhnenko stayed in to see the river. The final card 3♦ arrived, and Rozhynskyi went for the jugular, unloading 23,000 into the pot. The aggression paid off as Vakhnenko gave it up, awarding Rozhynskyi a well-earned pot.

Tom Eady picks up a couple of pots to slowly make his way to starting stack. On the first hand, players fold around to him on the button, Eady has A♣ 5♣ and boost the bet to 700. Big blind Maxim Sorokin defends then both players check the flop A♥ 9♦ 2♣ . When the turn comes 2♠ , Eady tosses in a light 600 that's called, and another 1000 bet on the river K♣ that's called once more. Eady flips open his cards and proceeds to claim the pot.

A few hands after, Eady three-bets from middle position and Igor Vakhnenko defends his raise. At the flop 9♥ J♣ K♠ , Eady continues for 5000 and it's enough to drag in the pot.

Both players have the same two pair with Jones holding the better kicker. The river 3♦ keeps Jones ahead to score a double.

Craig Jones has been getting involved in many pots to help drive his stack north but still below starting. He defends his big blind with a three-bet of 2500, initial raiser Tran calls from the button and they see a flop 7♦ 4♠ 6♣ . Jones jumps out for 2000 and it met with a raise of 5000, Jones tosses his cards to the muck.

Quang Trinh Do is back in and quickly puts his chips to work. Catching him in a hand, he raises 600 from under the gun, then two spots over, Jung Su Kim, who has been driving the action at the table, three-bets to 2000. Quang calls and the flop then comes 4♦ 6♦ K♣ . Quang checks to the aggressor Kim who continues the barrage for 2500 but no action from Quang to claim the pot right there.

Ronald Lane has A♣ K♣ and as first-to-act, he makes it 500 that finds a call from Igor Vahknenko down the orbit. Action now moves to the small blind Craig Jones and with just 3000 left he goes all in with 7♦ 7♠ . This gets a quick call from Lane while Vahknenko gets out of the firing line.

After the cards are shown, it's a fifty-fifty that goes Jones's way on a running board 4♦ Q♦ Q♠ 9♣ T♠ .

Jung Su Kim has been grinding successfully and Olivier Serrie decided to put a stop to it. From the button, Serrie calls Kim's 700 raise then jams his last 5300 on the flop 5♠ T♦ 7♣ . That does it as Kim surrenders his hand.

Igor Vakhnenko limped in with Q♣ T♣ then called a raise of 1500 from button Craig Jones. At the flop 7♦ K♣ A♣ , Vahknenko lands a straight flush draw and can't resist check-calling a c-bet of 1700. When the turn comes T♠ , Jones barrels again for 3500 and Vahknenko wants to see if his draw will connect on the river to check-call. The board completes 4♦ . Both players check. Vahknenko misses but has third pair which is surprisingly good for the pot.

Sebastien Lapp opens from early position then calls big blind Quang Trinh Do's three-bet. When the flop comes 5♣ 9♠ 8♣ , Quang continues to fire and Lapp calls again. On the turn T♠ , and nearly half of his stack in the pot, Quang goes all in for his last 10,000 and still doesn't shake off Lapp.

The cards are then flipped. Quang's K♦ K♥ is in trouble against Lapp's T♦ T♣ set. The river 5♠ seals the win for Lapp as Quang speeds off and will likely be re-entering.

Intending to raise only 400, Quang Trinh Do accidentally says 4000 and is forced to toss it in. Cutoff Jung Su Kim calls the big bet and they see a flop land A♦ K♠ 7♦ . Following a check from Quang, Kim overbets 10,000 and wins the pot.