APPT National ($1,000)

The 4th Annual APPT Cambodia taking place at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, concluded its second of three flights to its featured APPT National with 179 runners added to the 61 Flight A entries to crack the $150K guarantee with another flight yet to complete.

When the bubble burst, Vietnam’s Manh Tuong Ha emerged as chip leader among the final 27 players, bagging a commanding 516,000. Ha climbed steadily throughout the day, capitalizing on short stacks at his table to claim the top spot in the Day 2 cumulative counts.

Hot on his heels was Mystery Bounty crusher Hao Lin, who kept the momentum going with a 497,000 stack. Also advancing with healthy stacks were notables Donghyup Kim — last year’s APPT Cambodia Main Event runner-up — and 2023 APPT Manila Main Event champion Yuanning Wu.

Players return to action on Wednesday, May 7 at 11:30am for the next stage in the chase for the title. Each one is now guaranteed a payout, easing the pressure as they continue their climb.

However it is not the case. When the flop comes 3♠ Q♦ 3♣ , Quang jumps ahead. And with the turn 9♠ , Marquez is drawing dead to go down as the stone cold bubble.

Big pot of 120,000 in the middle by the time the board completes 9♦ 7♠ A♣ 9♠ J♣ . Manh Tuong Ha bets 77,000 that sends Pang Seng tanking then folds.

Another showdown opens with Andrey Kalgin raising 10,000 that's called by Donghyup Kim. On the big blind, Van Tien Dinh goes over the top for a jam of 63,500 which doesn't scare off Kalgin who calls while Kim steps aside.

Kalgin shows pocket Jacks, Dinh has K♦ Q♥, the board runs 3♣ 2♦ 2♣ 9♣ A♥ to finish off Dinh three spots before the money.

He Zhou has A♥ K♥ in the hole and jams from early position. Small blind Pang Seng has K♦ K♣ and calls to place Zhou at risk. When the board runs 5♦ 8♥ 4♣ T♠ 7♦ , Zhou misses to be ousted four spots to the money.

By the time the flop comes K♦ Q♥ 8♦ , the pot had grown to 30,000 with Adam Lydford and Ngo Khoa Anh looking to snatch it up. Ngo overbet 36,000 and was still denied the pot with Lydford calling but on the turn 4♦ , Ngo's 40,000 bet is enough to induce a fold.

On a board showing Q♥ 8♣ K♦ A♠ 5♣ and 51,000 in the pot, Huu Dung Nguyen jams 31,500 sending Aleksandr Diudiaev tanking. He eventually calls then mucks to Nguyen's J♣ T♣ straight.

From under the gun, Quang Trinh Do opens to 6,000 and gets one caller in Ping Soon on his immediate left. When the flop comes 6♦ J♥ 4♠ both players check for a free 9♦ turn. Quang takes the lead with a 6,000 bet, which Soon calls. On the river A♣ , Quang follows through with a larger 12,000 bet, and it's enough to force a fold and take down the pot.

Quan Qiu defends his big blind against a 6,000 open by Xiaohua Fu then check-calls both the 5,000 flop and 14,000 turn barrels. When the board completes 2♦ 2♥ 7♣ 6♠ 5♣ , Qiu takes the reins for 10,000. The sudden aggression forces Fu into the tank before he opts to lay it down.

Daniel Neilson lost his stack to Patrik Selin with A-10 dominating A-7 throughout the board. Selin chips up again.

Short stacked Wattana Sophontanakup managed to dodge elimination through a few shoves, even getting the better of John Matsuda. But his luck ran dry when he went mano a mano against Cheng Zhang. Holding pocket Nines, Sophontanakup ran straight into Zhang’s pocket Aces and couldn’t catch up, ending his run.

The leader at the moment is Pang Seng with around 460,000 behind.

With the board running 5♥ 2♣ 4♦ K♦ Q♣ , it's the end for Zheng. He can still sign up to Flight C now underway with registration closing at 10:40pm. For Selin, he claims a big one to zoom up the counts.

Ivan Karatayeu is dealt pocket Aces and gets maximum pay from Yuanning Wu who had pocket Tens.

Having just lost a pot, Salih Kaya raises 5500 and big blind Xiaohua Fu defends. When the flop comes A♠ 4♥ Q♠ , Fu check-raises from 3500 to 8500 and Kaya calls. On the turn 8♦ , Fu jumps out for 25,000 big ones and it's enough to win the pot uncontested.

Jinhui Xiao and Salih Kaya built a pot of 60,000 by the river T♥ 9♦ A♦ 5♠ 3♦ and with neither holding a diamond, they check the river. Xiao opens A♠ J♣ .

With around 20,000 already brewed and a flop showing K♣ 3♦ 7♦ , Jean Testa rips it all in from the big blind, putting Adam Lydford to the test. A♠ Lydford ponders the call, he tries to extract information, engaging Testa in table talk.

With a grin, Testa replies, “I don’t understand English,” drawing laughter from everyone. “I think you have a set,” Lydford guesses aloud. But Testa remains unreadable. In the end, Lydford opts to fold, and Testa kindly shows AK top pair. Lydford returns the gesture showing KQ.

Sitting on the button, Yuanning Wu faces a raise of 4500 from Abhijith Cheruku and decides to three-bet to 11,000. Cheruku tanks then calls to go post flop Q♥ 2♠ 2♣ . Cheruku checks to the aggressor Wu who wastes no time betting out 8000. Cheruku folds.

Next hand, Quan Qiu raises from hijack and cutoff Wu makes it 11,000. Qiu calls. The flop A♣ A♠ 3♣ sees a 7000 bet from Wu that Qiu flats again. On the turn K♦ , Wu makes it 17,000 and still Qiu sticks around until the river J♦ where Wu barrels again this time for a larger 48,000. Qiu can afford it but opts to out losing his stake in the pot.

No more late reg available for Flight B as Level 11 has now kicked off. A total of 179 entered this flight with 67 remaining. Play continues until it reaches ITM of 27 remaining.

The pot is currently over $220,000, well over the guarantee. Railbirds have one last chance to enter with Flight C now underway.

Yan Wen Yee calls Amir Abbas's 21,100 jam and shows 7♦ 7♥ . Abbas has A♥ Q♠ for fifty-fifty. When the board runs J♥ K♣ K♦ 3♥ J♠ , Yee's pocket pair is invalidated and Abbas doubles up with the higher kicker.

With the board running T♠ 6♥ 8♥ A♠ J♠ , down go two players as Erquiaga's cowboys are cracked and Chawla behind the whole way.

Catching the action on a board T♣ 5♣ J♣ J♥ 3♣ and 35,000 already in the pot, Max Deveson bets near pot amounting to 31,000 to send Amit Kaushik deep in the tank. After long assessment, Kaushik calls. Neither player has clubs, instead Deveson has 8♦ 7♦ for a stone cold bluff. Kaushik bold call claims the pot with K♦ T♦ two pair.

The inaugural APPT Cambodia launched in 2022 and has made NagaWorld in Phnom Penh its home ever since. It was Canadian grinder Alexander Puchalski who etched his name in history as the tour’s first Main Event champion in the country, topping a 378-entry field for a $96,028 payday. Fast forward to early 2025, Puchalski returned to the same venue and ran it back even bigger, this time seizing the WPT Prime Championship title for a career-best score of $233,680. Puchalski is currently grinding it out at Flight B.

Taiwan’s Chao Ting Cheng captured the spotlight at APPT Cambodia 2023, conquering a field of 476 entries to win the tour's second Main Event in the country. Cheng outlasted the 476 entry field which at that time was a career-best payout of $94,448.

Here at APPT National, Cheng missed the mark at Flight A but is back for another attempt at reaching the next stage of the race.

China’s Yuanning Wu triumphed at the APPT Manila 2023 Main Event, overcoming a massive field of 1,354 entries at Okada Manila. Wu banked a career-high payout of ₱11,414,300 (~US$ 204,730), his biggest victory on the live circuit. Wu is currently grinding it out at Flight B of the APPT National here in Cambodia.

More of a cash game player, South Korea’s Donghyup Kim put on an impressive performance at the APPT Cambodia 2024 Main Event, battling through a field of 518 entries and only falling short of the title by one spot. Kim earned a career-best payout of US$ 113,000.

Kim was seen at Flight A but missed. He is currently at the Flight B mix sitting on a big stack of around 70 bb as of Level 10.

Yao Liu dominated throughout with pocket Jacks against Valeriy Fokin's pocket Sixes. This sent him catapulting while Fokin plunged into the danger zone.

Alexander Puchalski is no longer the big boss at his table having gotten caught bluffing by Ngo Khoa. On a board Q♣ 3♦ 8♣ 2♠ 6♦ , Puchalski shoved with J9 and Ngo Khoa called for his tournament life with Q♦ T♠ .

Getting to the table with 40,000 in the pot and a board showing K♦ Q♣ 8♥ 3♥ 7♠ . Avneesh Munjal had checked and was now pressured by Quan Qiu's shove. After long consideration, with Munjal trying to get a read on Qiu, he decides to hold on to his chips.

Manuel Javier finds himself in a tight spot holding 9♠ 7♠ after facing a raise, a three-bet, and a four-bet shove ahead of him that's called. Undeterred, he commits his last 17,600 chips.

Akihiro Konishi shows A♦ A♣ , Xin Yuan reveals T♠ T♥ , and Javier is the clear underdog. But poker is never short on drama as the board runs out 2♠ T♦ 6♥ 8♣ 9♣ giving Javier a stunning straight to triple up. Yuan’s set of tens earns him the side pot, while Konishi’s aces are crushed from both ends.

With over 100 entries today and 61 from Flight A, the $150,000 guarantee has now been cracked! How high it will go will be determined sometime later this evening at the end of Flight C.

Sid Lukie had 4♦ 4♥ and was all in on the flop against a players with 8♠ 9♠ . Lukie was far ahead with a set over pair of eights and held through the runout.

Defending on the big blind, Alfie Adam with K♥ T♦ calls Ihor Yerofieiev's 1200 utg raise then check-calls a c-bet on the flop A♦ T♥ 3♦ . On the turn K♠ , Adam lands two pair and switches up, leading out 2500. Yerofieiev checks his hand and has Q♣ J♣ nuts straight, and calls.

The river T♣ pairs the board. Adam shoves with his full house, Yerofieiev calls with less chips behind, they flip open and Yerofieiev sees the bad news.

Nattapon Chaimungkhun eliminated a player and is now sitting on a big stack of 86,600.

Ronald Lane raises from the big blind after a limp from Jee Kin Lim in the hijack who calls. Both players check the flop 4♦ 3♥ 9♦ . On the turn 8♥ , Lane takes the lead with a 2,200 bet and gets called. The river 7♣ sees Lane fire again for 2,300. Lim pays to see and Lane reveals 9♣ 8♥ for the win.