APPT Main Event ($1,750)

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cambodia 2025 Main Event (Event #40) Day 1A saw 152 entries take their shot at qualifying for the next phase and a share of the US$1,000,000 prize pool at the NagaWorld Integrated Resort here in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Among the notable names that saw action were former titlists in Canada’s Alexander Puchalski and 2023’s Chao Ting Cheng of Taiwan. Last November’s Main Event runner-up Kim Donghyup utilized three bullets but still could not navigate the tough field to advance, at least for Day 1A.

It was Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoa Thinh who did emerge as the chip leader, but not without trials and challenges.

Cruising with the chip lead for multiple levels, the Vietnamese national ran into hidden trips from India’s Sameer Agarwal and somehow only managed to lose the minimum before later on busting Kim Seongje with aces up to reclaim his seat atop the leaderboard and no longer relinquished it until the day’s end.

Nguyen has already cashed once here by finishing 18th in the APPT National (Event #19) but has his sights set on building on his momentum heading into Day 2 with 375,000.

Hamid Siddiqui of the United States is not that far behind with 304,000 while Malaysia’s Yan Wee Yee is in third with 301,000.

Day 1B happens on Friday (May 9) at 11:30AM (UCT+7).

The last hand of the day sees Sameer Agarwal of India open from the cutoff for 8,000 and a severely short-stacked Sergey Kharitonov of the United States puts in his remaining 3,500 in the middle. Russia’s Anton Rubtsov (in the SB) and chip leader Nguyen Hoa Thinh of Vietnam (in the BB) are also in.

The flop is 6♣ 9♦ 3♣ as am opportunity to grow the side pot could be developed. Rubtsov bets 10,000 and gets called by Nguyen. However, Agarwal has other ideas and raises it to 39,000. The move makes Rubtsov and Nguyen fold. Agarwal claims the side pot.

Kharitonov turns over K♠ K♣ while Agarwal shows A♥ 9♣ for a pair of nines, still dwarfed by the Cowboys of the American.

The turn brings out the 8♣ while the river is the 5♣ to give Kharitonov the quadruple up with a higher one card flush than that of the Indian.

Kharitonov joins 23 others advancing to Day 2. Day 1B commences on Friday (May 9) at 11:30am (UTG+7).

Nguyen Hoa Thinh of Vietnam opens the action from UTG for 8,000 and gets re-raised on the +1 position by Korea’s Kim Seongje to 24,000. Nguyen calls.

The flop is A 7 3 as the Vietnamese player checks. Kim continues for 12,000 but gets check-raised to 37,000 and still calls. The turn is a J as Nguyen takes over the betting lead for 76,000. The Korean shoves his remaining 101,000 and gets a quick call from Nguyen.

Kim shows A 9 for top pair while Nguyen turns over A 3 for two-pair on the flop. Needing the board to pair or draw a nine, a 5 came on the river to knockout Kim and bring the chip lead back to Nguyen after losing it briefly a few hands back.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoa Thinh opens from the hijack and gets 3-bet from the BB by Sameer Agarwal of India for 24,000. Nguyen makes the call.

The flop comes Q♠ Q♣ 5♦ as both players opt to check. The turn is the J♠ and Agarwal checks a second time. Nguyen fires 17,000 and gets called by the Indian. The river is the 3♦ and this time, it’s Agarwal leading out for 13,000. Nguyen opts to call.

Agarwal shows K♣ Q♦ for trips on the flop. Nguyen mucks but not after a losing almost 50,000 in that hand.

Sweden’s Johnni Nielsen finally lands a hand to shove with when he picks up Q♠ Q♦ but unfortunately Adrien Berger of France woke up with A♥ A♣ and no needs help from the poker gods to stay in contention.

The runout goes: J♦ 5♠ 3♦ 2♦ 4♠ that even gives Berger a backdoor straight he didn’t need in railing the Swede.

Berger’s stack nears 200,000.

Another all-in preflop situation is on as two Chinese players go into another flip with Mao Renjie’s shove called by Zhang Hongru, looking to double through again. Mao has 6♥ 6♠ while it’s Zhang with the overcards this time: A♠ Q♠ .

The flop favors Zhang: K♥ 8♣ A♣ while the last two community cards were of no help to Mao as it came J♦ 5♣ .

Zhang’s second double up also dents Mao who was looking to be in serious contention for the chip lead.

In a heavily contested hand that shows a board of 2♣ 4♥ 8♣ J♥ 5♣ and with 30,000 already in the middle, China’s Zhang Lei checks and Kim Seongje of Korea unloads a 13,000 river bet that still gets called.

Kim shows K♥ J♠ for top pair on the turn. Zhang opts to muck and win gives the Korean some much needed artillery as the final level stretches on.

Opening from UTG for 6,000 is Charlie Chiu from Taiwan and when the action gets folded around to the SB of China’s Zheng Xiaosheng, he goes over the top all-in for his remaining stack of 57,500. Chiu makes the call.

Zheng flips over A♣ J♣ while Chiu shows 6♣ 6♠ . Zheng is once again holding overcards against a made pair, the same situation that got him crippled a few hands back.

The flop instantly dashed the Chinese player’s hopes: 2♦ 6♥ T♦ . Needing running cards for a straight, a sweat card arrived when the turn produced the Q♣ . However, the river was the 5♣ and Zheng bids farewell to his fellow players as he is officially bounced from Day 1A action.

Chiu’s stack now approaches the 200,000 mark.

Taiwan’s Charlie Chiu raises from the cutoff to 6,000 and is re-raised from the button by Sameer Agarwal of India to 19,000.

Chiu’s response is a 4-bet shove for 69,500. Agarwal lets it go.

China’s Zhang Hongru ends up going all-in preflop against compatriot Zheng Xiaosheng with Zhang tabling J♣ J♠ and Zheng showing A♥ K♥ .

With Zhang’s tournament life on the line, the runout goes: Q♦ 4♠ Q♥ 8♣ 3♦ as Zheng could not find the overcard required to knockout Zhang.

Zhang climbs to six figures anew while Zheng plummets to less than the starting stack.

Yao Liu of China—who has made it deep on only one bullet—raises from UTG for 6,000 and gets a call from the hjack from American Hamid Siddiqui. However, another Chinese player in Dong Lyu Lyu 3-bet shoves from the cutoff for 38,000 and gets a call from Yao. Siddiqui gets out of the way.

Dong turns over K♠ Q♣ while Yao already has a made hand with 9♣ 9♥ .

The runout goes: 8♣ 2♥ 6♠ T♣ 7♣ to give unnecessarily give Yao a backdoor straight and eliminate his countryman from futher contention in Day 1A.

Yao’s stack nears the 200,000 chip mark.

The action is folded to the cutoff of France’s Leo Soma who raises to 6,000 and gets greeted by a 3-bet to 20,000 from the SB of Chinese player Dong Lyu Lyu. Soma calls.

The flop goes 4♠ K♥ T♣ as Dong continues for 13,000 and gets called by the Frenchman. The turn is the 8♣ as both slow down and check. The river is the 7♥ and once again no further action ensues.

Dong shows A♠ Q♦ which missed its gutshot Broadway draw while Soma somehow made it to showdown with A♦ 4♦ for bottom pair but enough to take down the pot.

India’s Neeraj Gajria opens from the hijack for 6,000 and gets callers in the blinds with Mao Renjie of China joining from the SB and South African Edgar Antezana in from the BB.

The flop comes K♣ J♣ 2♦ as all check. The turn is the Q♣ and that’s where Mao movies in with a bet of 6,000 to which no one calls.

Mao’s stack nears the 400,000 mark.

It has been announced that Main Event Day 1A will be playing down to the end of 15 leves or to 23 players, which ever comes first. If it does get played down to 23 players, the remaining individuals will still not be ITM.

At the moment, 30 players are still in the running here in Level 14.

China’s Dong Lyu Lyu opens the action from the cutoff for 6,000 and gets a BB defense from Jakkapong Sreprasom of Thailand.

The flop comes 3♠ 3♦ 6♦ as Sreprasom checks and a CBet of 6,500 comes in from the Chinese payer. Sreprasom calls. The turn is the 2♦ and this time, both players check. The river is the K♥ and this time, Sreprasom leads out for 6,000 and gets raised by the Chinese player to 16,000. Sreprasom calls.

Dong shows A♥ 4♥ for a missed straight while Sreprasom tables 9♦ 3♠ for trips on the flop but could not fire big on the river due to the presence of many potentially made draws.

Santiago Soriano Ramos of Spain opens from the button for 5,500 only to get 3-bet shoved by China’s Zhang Lei who covers him from the BB. Ramos makes the call for his tournament life.

Zhang tables A♥ K♦ while Ramos shows he is coinflipping with Q♦ Q♣ .

The flop comes safe for the Spaniard: 8♦ 2♦ 2♣ but when the 4♦ arrives on the turn, concern creeps in and the nightmare is realized on the river when the 9♦ comes to give Zhang a higher backdoor flush and send Ramos to the sidelines for good in Day 1A.

Zhang keeps his six figure holdings secure for the moment.

After opening from UTG for 5,000, Leo Soma of France finds himself all-in preflop against two players in Vietnam’s Mai Bien and Japanese player Takashi Hirukawa.

Mai is first to show, shoving first and tables A♠ K♦ while Hirukawa has Q♣ Q♥ . Soma is ahead preflop, however, with K♣ K♠ .

The flop immediately turns the tide: 2♥ A♣ 6♥ and if that isn’t enough, the turn card is the A♦ . With the two player on the ropes (Hirukawa being at risk) needing to hit one of their two outs, the 9♣ officially busts Hirukawa and dents Soma as Mai’s stack now becomes healthy again with over 30 BBs.

Soma’s stack is still above the century mark.

This was a heated duel from the get go with Adrei Kalgin of Russia eventually going all-in on the river and getting called by Hamid Siddiqui of the United States on a board of 3♦ 2♦ 2♥ 5♠ 4♥ as well as a pot of well over 50,000.

Kalgin tables Q♠ J♣ using aggression on every street to try and outmuscle Siddiqui to no avail as the American called him all the way with A♦ 7♦ with the nut flush draw that eventually became a backdoor straight.

The Russian is bounced as a result and Siddiqui has almost a quarter of a million in chips.

Charlie Chiu of Taiwan opens from the +1 position for 5,000 and the action folds to the SB of Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoa Thinh who 3-bets it to 16,500. Chiu makes the call.

The flop is Q♠ Q♦ 4♣ as Nguyen CBets to 9,000. Chiu calls. The turn is the 2♣ and the Vietnamese player unloads 15,000. Chiu still calls. The river is the 3♦ and this time, Nguyen pulls the breaks and checks. The Taiwanese player checks behind.

Nguyen tables A♠ K♠ while Chiu shows 7♥ 7♠ , calling every street with his middling pair. The victory catapults Chiu’s stack past the century mark.

Just a few hands after being outdrawn by South Africa’s Edgar Antezana, John Matsuda of Japan open shoves his remaining 45,500 from UTG. It gets folded until the SB of Macanese player Gu Huidong who isolates all-in.

Matsuda shows A♦ 5♠ while Gu has A♠ T♣ .

The runout goes: Q♦ 3♦ T♥ while the 5♠ on the turn gives some hope, it is immediately dashed at the river when the 3♣ arrives.

Matsuda will have to come back for Day 1B and try to replicate that sizzling run that just came up short.

In a hand that went all-in preflop, Japan’s John Matsuda’s Pocket Kings lost out to the Ace Queen of Edgar Antezana of South Africa.

The action gets folded around to the button of Korea’s Lee Won Jong who raises it up to 4,000 as the SB in Qiu Quan of China and the BB in Vietnamese player Nguyen Pham Duy decide to join in.

The flop is 5♥ 4♥ 2♣ as all three players check. The turn is the T♦ as Qiu checks but this time, Nguyen leads out for 6,500. Lee drops out, but Qiu stays sticky. It is Heads UP to the river that shows the 2♦ . Qiu checks anew and Nguyen fires 17,000. The Chinese player relents.

England’s Alberto Flores opens it from UTG for 4,000 and gets a BB defense from Zheng Xiao Sheng of China.

The flop is 7♦ 4♠ 4♥ . Zheng checks and Flores continues for 5,000 and it is enough to take it down.

In a hand that has already hit the river with a pot of 30,000 and a board of T♠ Q♦ 5♥ K♠ 2♠ China’s Chen Yubo bets 20,000 after it is checked to him and his opponents in Kim Seongje of Korea in the SB folds while Japan’s Takashi Hirukawa makes the call.

Chen shows K♦ J♦ for top pair on the turn while Hirukawa mucks and ends up losing a huge chunk of his chips as the Japanese player is now down to less than 40,000 in chips.

Kazakhstan’s Ilya Firstov opens from the cutoff for 4,500 and gets the SB in American Hamid Siddiqui and the BB in Adrei Kalgin of Russia to come along.

The flop shows 2♣ 7♥ 8♥ as Kalgin checks and Firstov CBets to 5,000. Siddiqui folds but the Russian sticks around. It is Heads Up to the turn that produces the J♠ as Kalgin checks again and the Kazakh unloads again, this time for 20,000. Kalgin still calls. The river is the A♦ as Kalgin checks a third time. Now, Firstov opts to check behind.

Kalgin flips over 9♣ 9♠ while a relieved Firstov shows Q♦ Q♠ for a substantial pick up in chips.

In a battle of the blinds, China’s Dong Lyu Lyu raises it to 4,000 from the SB but gets the door slammed in his face by Neeraj Gajria of India who 3-bets it to 42,000 and wins the pot.

Macau’s Gu Huidong raises from the hijack for 4,000 as Mauricio Salazar Sanches of Colombia this time gives him some action in position on the button.

The flop is J♥ J♦ 9♣ as Gu continues firing, this time for 5,000. The Colombian yields.

Gu is on a rampage.

Sameer Agarwal of India opens from the lowjack for 3,000 and gets calls from Vietnam’s Mai Bien in the hijack and Chinese player Zhang Lei in the BB.

The flop comes A♠ 3♥ 5♠ as all players check. The turn is the Q♠ and this time, Zhang leads out for 5,500 and gets a call from Agarwal. Mai folds. It is Heads Up to the river where the K♥ arrives. Zhang bets 7,000 and the Indian player surrenders.

Zhang remains in six figures.

China’s Yao Liu opens from the hijack for 3,000 only to get a 3-bet shove from last year’s APPT Main Event runner-up Kim Donghyup of Korea for 21,500.

Yao folds.

Lee Won Jong of Korea opens from the button for 3,000 and gets greeted by a re-raise from the BB of Macau’s Gu Huidong.

Lee folds as Gu celebrates a successful heist.

China’s Ye Zhifan opens from the lowjack for 3,000 and gets calls from Leo Soma of France in the cutoff and Korean Kim Seongje on the button before anther Chinese player in Mao Renji makes a bid to pilfer all the dead money from the SB by 3-betting to 20,000.

It works as everyone folds.

Gu Huidong of Macao, China raises from the +1 position for 2,500 and gets calls from Wang Yanfeng of China and in the cutoff and Thailand’s Jakkapong Sreprasom in the BB.

The flop comes 4♥ 5♠ Q♥ as Sreprasom checks. Gu CBets to 3,500 and both Wang and Sreprasom make the call. The turn is the 7♥ and this time, the Thai player leads out for 10,000. Gu then raises it to 40,000 prompting Wang to shove his remaining 20,000. Sreprasom calls. The river is the T♣ as both Gu and Sreprasom opt to take it to show down.

Gu shows K♦ Q♣ for top pair on the flop while Sreprasom tables J♥ 2♥ for a flush on the turn. Wang mucks his hand and gets railed.

With the win, Sreprasom now approaches the 200,000 chip mark while Gu still stays slightly above six figures.

With the action folded to him on the cutoff, Japan’s John Matsuda raises to 3,500 and gets a BB defense from Lee Won Jong of Korea.

The flop comes 8♠ 3♦ 4♠ as both players skip the flop. The turn is the 4♦ as Lee takes the betting lead by firing 4,000. Matsuda calls. The river is the 3♥ . The Korean takes one final stab with a bet of 11,000. Matsuda still calls.

The Japanese player shows A♦ K♣ for ace high while Lee shows the K♠ before mucking his hand.

The hero call by Matsuda brings him to six figures in chips.

They meet again in a battle of the blinds as Chinese nationals Luan Haitao (completed the SB) and Yao Liu raises from the BB to 7,500. Luan makes the call.

The flop is 2♣ 4♣ 4♠ as Luan checks. Yao fires 10,000 and gets an almost immediate fold from Luan.

Yao earns some chips after being hit earlier by his opponent.

Yan Wen Yee opens from UTG for 2,400 and sets up a Battle of Malaysia when Lee Wee Liew makes the call in the BB.

The flop comes 9♥ 8♣ J as both check. The turn is the 8♥ and suddenly Lee shoves. Yan instafolds.

After an initial raise from the cutoff by China’s Qiu Quan, Nguyen Hoa Thinh of Vietnam 3-bets it to 11,200 from the BB. Qiu calls.

The flop comes: 6♥ 9♥ K♦ as Nguyen continues firing for 9,900. Qiu still calls. The turn is the 4♠ as the Vietnamese player now makes it 24,000 to go. Qiu still calls. The river is the J♦ and this time Nguyen shoves his remaining 75,000.

Qiu goes into the tank and decides to make a fourth call.

Nguyen turns over A♦ A♣ while Qiu tables 3♠ 3♥ . Qiu busts. Nguyen nears the 200,000 chip mark.

Macao’s Gu Huidong is at it again, this time raising from UTG to 2,500. Li Shao Shuai makes the call from the +1 position but then another Chinese player in Luan Haitao 3-bets from the cutoff for 9,200. When it gets folded back to Gu, he 4-bets to 25,400. Li steps aside and Luan stacks off on the call.

Gu shows 9♥ 9♣ while Luan is in a flip with K♦ Q♦ .

The flop immediately switches the favors: K♣ 3♦ 8♠ while the next two community cards didn’t make a difference as the 4♠ and the 4♣ arrived.

The double-up brings Luan closer to the 50,000 chip mark while Gu goes back to five figures.

Gu Huidong of Macau, China opens from the hijack for 2,400 and gets Chinese player Yao Liu to defend his BB.

The flop is J♦ 7♠ K♦ as Yao checks. Gu CBets to 2,800 and gets check-raised to 7,000. Gu makes the call. The turn is the 4♣ and this time, both players chose to check. The river is the 3♥ and Yao checks a second time after the initial check-raise. Gu fires a value bet of 3,900. Yao elects to fold.

The Macanese player shows the K♥ .

UTG, Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoa Thinh raises it 2,000 and the action folds to the button where Qiu Quan of China 3-bets to 5,500. After the blinds get out of the way, Nguyen lays down a serious 4-bet of 16,500.

It’s enough to make Qiu tank and fold.

In a battle of Chinese players, youngster Chen Yubo raises from the cutoff and gets a BB defense from veteran Mao Renji.

The flop comes 5♠ A♥ 4♠ as Mao checks. Chen CBets to 1,500 and gets called. The turn is the 9♥ and this time, both check. The river is the 7♠ and no more fireworks are lit.

Mao tables K♣ 5♣ for middle pair on the flop while Chen shows 9♣ 7♣ for second pair on the turn.

Sun Yunsheng of China has the action folded to him on the lowjack as he raises it up to 2,000. Japan’s Kyosuke Nagami defends his BB.

The flop goes 4♠ J♦ K♣ as Nagami donks for 4,500. Sun raises all-in and gets called.

The Chinese player shows K♦ Q♥ while Nagami has K♠ 6♥ and is seriously outkicked.

The turn and river don’t help the Japanese player as it comes T♠ and A♠ to even give a backdoor straight to Sun. Nagami is felted on his third bullet

Amit Kaushik of India opens the action from the hijack and gets a call from fellow Indian Neeraj Gajria but then last year’s APPT Main Event runner-up Kim Donghyup of Korea 3-bets all-in and gets called by Kaushik, the initial raiser. Suddenly, Gajria also shoves and Kaushik calls as well. Gajria covers his opponents.

Kim turns over A♠ Q♠ while Kaushik is dominated with his A♥ J♥. Gajria is ahead with J♣ J♠ .

The runout goes: 2♠ 4♥ K♣ 5♣ 2♠ as the Jacks hold for Gajria and in the process eliminates two players as his stack now rises to 108,000.

Kim is now on his third bullet over at Table 15.

India’s Sameer Agarwal opens from the +1 position for 2,000 and gets Alexander Puchalski of Canada to defend his BB.

The flop is K♦ A♣ 7♣ as Puchalski checks. Agarwal CBets for 2,000 anew and gets called by the Canadian. The turn is the 6♣ as both opt to check and the river is the J♦ . No further action ensues.

Agarwal shows A♥ 2♦ for top pair. Puchalski mucks.

Korea’s Kim Seongje opens from the +1 position for 1,800 and gets a call from Takeshi Hirukawa of Japan in the hijack.

The flop is 6♦ 9♦ Q♦ as Kim checks. Hirukawa takes over the betting lead for 2,500 and gets no response from the Korean.

From the +1 position, Vietnam’s Tran Minh Thang raises to 1,600 and gets called in the lowjack by Zhang Lei of China and a BB defense from former APPT Cambodia Main Event titlist Alexander Puchalski of Canada.

The flop goes 5♣ 6♦ 3♠ as all three players opt to check. The turn is the 9♦ as the Canadian takes the betting lead for 1,000. Tran folds but Zhang elects to call. It is Heads Up to the river where the 5♥ arrives. Puchalski bets 6,000 and gets no more resistance from his Chinese opponent.

Puchalski chose to join in the later stages of Day 1A and is already making his presence felt.

China’s Wang Yanfeng starts this off from UTG for 1,600 and right beside him on at the +1 position gets re-raised by Le Jong Won of Korea for 3,600. The action gets folded back to Wang who makes the call.

The flop is 4♠ 4♦ 9 as Wang checks. Lee keeps the pressure on by continuing for 4,500. The Chinese player still calls. The turn is the Q♣ and after Wang checks, the Korean unleashes 10,000. Wang relents and sees Lee outchip him after the hand.

Raising from the lowjack is Qiu Quan from China to 1,200 and gets a call from Japan’s John Matsuda on the button.

The flop comes J♥ 7♠ 5♥ as Qiu continues firing, this time for 4,500. Matsuda makes the call. The turn is the 9♦. The Chinese player slows down and checks. Matsuda takes over the betting lead and unloads 7,500. Qiu calls. The river is the A♣ as once again Qiu checks. The Japanese player then declares he is all-in and gets called by Qiu.

Matsuda shows A♦ J♣ for aces up on the river while Qiu tables A♥ 8♥ for top pair on the river and a missed nut flush draw.

Qiu exits but still has time to re-enter while Matsuda now clears the 80,000 chip mark.

China’s Yao Liu raises from the cutoff to 1,600 and gets 3-bet to 5,000 by Dutchman Tony Khoang on the button. Then Kaifan Wang of the United States declares a 4-bet to 12,000 to which Yao 5-bet shoves. Khoang calls. Wang is suddenly in a dilemma that results in him tanking and eventually folding.

Yao turns over A♦ A♥ , much to the chagrin of Khoang who shows K♣ K♠ .

The runout goes: 9♦ 5♦ 4♦ 4♣ 9♠ .

Khoang drops to 5,000 in chips in one crippling blow.

Indian poker legend Abhinav Iyer opens the action from the +1 position for 1,300 and gets called by famous Spanish grinder Santiago Ramos on the button and Irish icon Frank Lillis in the SB before Zhang Hongru of China 3-bets it to 6,000 from the BB. Iyer makes the call, Ramos exits and Lillis sticks around.

The flop is 6♣ K♦ K♠ as Lillis checks. Zhang continues his bombardment for 6,300 as Iyer folds. Lillis makes the call. It is Heads Up to the turn where the 2♠ appears. Lillis checks again and this time, Zhang unloads 16,200. Lillis goes into the tank but yields.

The win has Zhang overtaking Lillis in stacks.

A pot that went 4-bet preflop between Kim Su Jung in the hijack and Neeraj Gajria of India in the bb sees the flop: 8♥ K♣ 5♠ .

Gajria picks up all his remaining 8,600 in chips and puts them in the middle of the table and gets called by the Korean.

The Indian flips over A♠ A♣ while Kim shakes his head again in revealing he has Q♥ Q♠ .

The turn is the A♥ to have Kim drawing dead while the river makes it official as the 6♥ arrives.

This time, though, Kim does not bust out but has his stack reduced to just 9,000 as Gajria now approaches the 90,000 chip mark.

France’s Adrien Berger opens for 1,400 from utg and gets 3-bet on the cutoff by Edgar Antezana of South Africa to 4,000. Berger calls.

The flop is 2♥ 2♠ Q♦ as Berger checks. Antezana continues for 8,000 and the Frenchman bids his cards adieu.

Frank Lillis of Ireland has the action folded to his cutoff and makes a raise to 1,100. He gets one caller in Thailand’s Jakkapong Sreprasom in the sb. The player in the bb comes along for the ride.

The flop goes 5♣ T♣ 3♦ as the blinds check. Lillis continues for the same amount of 1,100. Sreprasom calls and the payer in the bb folds. It is Heads Up to the turn which produces the 9♦ and this time, both players slow down. The river is the 7♣ as Sreprasom fires a small bet of 1,600. It’s enough to snare the pot as Lillis opts to fold.

China’s Li Shankui opens from utg for 1,500 and the action gets folded to the hijack of Filipino David Erquiaga who makes the call.

The flop comes Q♠ 3♠ A♥ as Li continues for 2,000. Erquiaga proceeds to raise it to 6,000 and Li’s next move is to shove his remaining 10,200. Erquiaga makes the quick call.

Li shows A♠ 8♠ for top pair and the nut flush draw while the Filipino tables A♣ K♣ for top pair-top kicker.

The turn is the 7♦ but the river is the K♠ giving Li the nut flush, defeating Erquiaga’s aces up and in the process sending his opponent’s stack down to about 10,000.

Vietnam’s Mai Bien opens from the hijack for 1,100 and gets 3-bet by Lei Zhang of China in the sb for 3,700. Mai calls.

The flop comes 4♠ 5♦ 4♥ as Ye CBets 2,500 and gets called by his Vietnamese opponent. The turn is the 9♥ and this time, the Chinese player more than triples the next barrel for 7,800. Mai still calls. The river is the Q♥ and now Ye unloads 15,000. Mai gives it a think through but eventually folds.

China’s Li Shao Shuai had the action folded to him on the lowjack and raises to 1,100 while fellow Chinese player Yao Liu makes a 3-bet from the hijack to 3,200. Tony Khoang from the Netherlands proceeds to 4-bet to 10,300.

The two Li and Yao decide to fight another day.

Both already on their second bullets, Korea’s Kim Jung Su and Kyosuke Nagami of Japan lock horns by going all-in preflop.

Kim shows T♠ T♥ while Nagami brandishes A♦ A♥ .

After just acquiring a fresh set of artillery, Kim shakes his head as hopes for a miracle on the runout, which goes: 8♣ 3♣ 7♦ K♣ 2♥ .

Kim’s stack dives down to just over 15,000 while Nagami climbs back to just over the starting stack.

Now on his second bullet after getting railed earlier while holding Aces, Erik Rozhynskyi of the Ukraine is all-in preflop this time against China’s Ye Zhifan. Rozhynskyi covers Ye.

The cards a turned over the reveal that Rozhynskyi has Q♠ Q♥ and is in great shape against Ye’s J♦ J♣ .

The subsequent runout goes: 7♥ 5♣ T♦ 4♥ 8♥ as Ye gets sidelined. Rozhynskyi still has a long grind ahead.

Japan’s Kyosuke Nagami raises it to 800 from the +1 position and it gets folded around to fellow Japanese player Akihiro Konishi who chooses to defend his bb.

The flop comes 2♥ 9♠ 8♥ as Konishi checks. Nagami continues for 2,800 and is called. The turn is the 6♦ and once again Konishi checks. Nagami fires again, this time for 6,500 and is put all-in on the check-raise by Konishi. Nagami decides to make the call.

Konishi tables T♠ 7♠ for a straight on the turn while Nagami turns over K♥ 7♥ for a flush draw that improved to an open-ended straight draw on the turn. Needing any heart to overturn the impending outcome, the K♣ is what shows up on the river.

Nagami is shown the door momentarily while Konishi nears the 70,000 chip mark with the conquest of his countryman.

Hoping to get a much needed double up, Korea’s Kim Jung Su goes all-in preflop from utg and the action gets folded to the blinds where sb Hammid Siddiqui of the United States makes the call and drags in bb Nguyen Hoa Thinh of Vietnam along.

The flop is 5♠ Q♠ 8♠ as the blinds check. The turn is the 3♥ and no one makes a move and the river is the T♥ with the blinds opting to take their hands to showdown.

Kim flips over K♦ 5♦ for a pair of fives on the flop. Siddiqui has J♣ T♦ for a pair of tens on the river while Nguyen shows 4♣ 4♦ .

By virtue of the river card, Siddiqui rails Kim but with registration still open Kim is expected back in the fray soon.

A preflop raising frenzy resulted in France’s Philippe Clerc calling the 3-bet of Erik Rozhynskyi of the Ukraine. And when the Jack-high flop arrived, Rozhynskyi got check-called on every betting street by the Frenchman eventually leading to a shove for Rozhynskyi and a call from Clerc.

Rozhynskyi shows Aces while Clerc has Jacks for a set on the flop.

The Ukrainian was last seen heading to the registration area.

A struggling Kim Jung Su of Korea opens from utg for 700 only to get 2-bet from the hijack by England’s Craig Jones for 1,600. However, Hoa Nguyen 4-bets it from the button to 4,500 prompting Kim to fold but Jones opts to stay sticky.

It is Head Up to the flop of 5♦ J♠ K♥ as both choose to check. The turn is the Q♦ and still no action ensues. The river is the 3♥ as both take it to showdown.

Nguyen quickly turns over T♠ T♦ while Jones mentioned he had a six as he mucks his hand.

England’s Craig Jones begins the action by raising to 500 from utg and has customers in the blinds with Hamid Siddiqui in the sb and Kim Jung Su of Korea in the bb making the calls.

The flop comes A♠ 3♦ 2♦ as the blinds check. Jones continues firing for 500 anew and gets called by Siddiqui. However, Kim check-raises to 2,200 and gets re-raised by Craig to 3,700. Suddenly, Siddiqui declares he is all-in for 21,000 and gets the call from Kim. Craig ponders for a moment before electing to fold.

Siddiqui shows 3♣ 3♠ for a set on the flop while Kim has A♦ 6♦ for top pair on the flop. The turn brings out the 7♣ while the river is the 6♣ as Siddiqui seriously trims the Korean’s stack and nears the 50,000 chip mark in the process.

A battle of the blinds in an unraised pot finds David Keith Rees in the sb against Spain’s Santiago Ramos who checks his option in the bb.

The flop is 8♠ 2♠ 5das both check. The turn is the 5cand still no action ensues. The river is the Q♣ as now Rees fires for 1,100 and gets quickly called by the Spaniard.

The American tables 6♣ 5♥ for trips on the turn and Ramos mucks his hand.

Joining a hand already in progess with 4,000 in the middle and the board showing 5♥ K♣ 6♥ T♠ , Japan’s Akihiro Konishi (in the utg position) bets 1,600 and gets raised to 4,500 by Ha Hoseung of Korea from the cutoff. Konishi makes the call. The river is the 9♣. Konishi leads out anew for 2,000 and gets raised anew by Ha, this time for his remaining 12,000. Konishi calls.

Ha shows K♦ J♥ for top pair while Konishi reveals Q♥ J♣ for a straight on the river, busting his Korean opponent—for the moment.

David Keith Rees of the United States limps in from the cutoff and leads to Sweden’s Johnni Nielsen completing his sb and Ian Litster of Australia checking his option in the bb.

The flop is 2♠ A♣ 8♥ as the blinds check and Rees CBets for 800 and has both his opponents folding.

Rees flips over A♠ 8♠ for aces up.