Red Dragon Championship (2,500,000 KRW)

UTG Daniel Lei opens to 4,000, and on his left, defending champion Jianting Cai 3bets to 11,000. Action returns to Lei, who 4bets to 24,000. Cai wastes no time and announces all in for 66,000, getting a snap call from Lei.

Jianting Cai: A♥ 7♥

Daniel Lei: K♦ K♥

Cai needs an ace to stay alive but finds no help on the board J♥ 9♣ 8♣ 9♥ J♠ . The defending champion’s run ends here on Day 1A, though he still has four more flights to try and qualify for Day 2.

Registration is now officially closed for Day 1A of the Red Dragon Championship, drawing a strong field of 225 entries. Only 107 players remain in contention as the night continues.

With just three more levels left to play, the surviving contenders will be looking to bag their chips and secure a spot for Day 2 on November 10. The action is heating up as the final stretch of Day 1A begins.

A massive pot of around 90,000 builds as the board Q♣ J♣ 4♥ 8♥ K♥ is already complete. Haiwei Liang checks, and Zhongcai Peng fires a bet of 20,000. Liang goes deep into the tank for a full minute before finally making the call.

Peng turns over his hand K♠ K♦ , revealing a rivered set of kings, leaving Liang no choice but to muck. Peng scoops the big pot and adds a strong boost to his stack.

With the flop J♣ 7♦ 6♦ and turn 8♣ already up, the pot grows to 24,000 when Loong Choi Eng fires a bet of 10,500. Jin Jiangpu makes the call to see the river.

On the river 3♣ , Eng moves all in for 39,500, putting maximum pressure on Jiangpu. After a long tank and a time extension, Jiangpu decides to lay it down, and Eng drags the pot without needing to show his hand.

The flop J♠ 9♣ 7♦ and turn Q♣ are already out with 13,000 in the middle when small blind Jinguo Tao bets 5,000. On his left, Pu Zhang moves all in, and Tao snap calls for 45,000.

Jinguo Tao: Q♦ 7♥

Pu Zhang: K♣ 8♦

Zhang makes a bold semi-bluff shove with only a gutshot draw against Tao’s two pair. The river 9♥ brings no ten, and Tao locks up a big double up to stay firmly in contention.

Patrik Antonius opens from UTG to 2,500, and Zihao Zhang makes the call from his left. The two players see the flop A♠ A♣ 2♠ , where Antonius fires a 2,500 continuation bet and Zhang quickly calls.

Both players check the turn J♦ and go to the river 8♥ . Antonius checks again, and Zhang bets 5,500. Antonius snap calls, but Zhang tables his hand A♦ 9♣ showing trips from the flop, good enough to take down the pot.

Another big name has just arrived at Day 1A of the Red Dragon Championship — none other than Roman Hrabec. The Czech high roller boasts more than $12,000,000 in live career earnings and is one of the most feared players on the circuit.

Hrabec’s biggest career score came right here at Les A Casino Jeju last year, when he captured the Triton Main Event title for over $4,300,000. Now, he’s back on the same stage, looking to add another major trophy to his growing collection.

One of the most decorated players in the world has just arrived in Jeju and he is wasting no time making his presence felt. With over $30,000,000 in live career earnings, Patrik Antonius jumps straight into Day 1A of the Red Dragon Championship at the Jeju Poker Festival. The Finnish poker icon’s biggest career score came last year when he triumphed in the Triton Special Invitational for more than $5,000,000.

Now, Antonius is already in rhythm, scoring back-to-back eliminations to announce his arrival in style.

First Hand:

Antonius defends his big blind after Hu Ye opens from UTG+1 to 3,000. On the flop Q♥ T♥ 6♥ , Ye fires a continuation bet of 1,500, but Antonius check raises to 5,500. Ye calls, and the two see the turn 2♣ , where Antonius keeps up the aggression with another 5,500 bet. Ye calls again, but Antonius doesn’t slow down on the river 7♣ , pushing 25,000 into the middle and leaving just 1,000 behind. This time, Ye finally folds, conceding the pot.

Second Hand:

The very next hand, cutoff Lintong Dai open shoves for 8,000. Big blind Patrik Antonius moves all in over the top, and Wenjun He from the small blind calls for 11,500, creating a three way all in preflop.

Lintong Dai: A♣ 4♥

Wenjun He: K♠ T♥

Patrik Antonius: A♥ T♣

Antonius’ ace high with a stronger kicker holds on the runout 8♦ 7♥ 7♦ 5♠ Q♣ , eliminating both opponents in one sweep. Two hands, two knockouts, and the legend is heating up early at the Red Dragon Championship.

Players are now on their second scheduled 15-minute break. Play will resume shortly after a quick chip race of the 100 denomination chips.

From UTG+1, Jiangpu Jin opens to 1,600, and the hijack calls. Cutoff Yilu Yuan bumps it up to 10,000, and small blind Yipeng Ye moves all in for 9,800. Action returns to Jin, who isn’t slowing down as he re-raises to 23,000. Yuan wastes no time and shoves all in for around 52,000, and Jin snap calls.

Yipeng Ye: 9♣ 9♠

Yilu Yuan: A♣ K♥

Jiangpu Jin: K♦ K♠

Jin’s pocket kings are miles ahead and hold steady through a clean runout 7♦ 5♣ 3♦ J♣ 5♦. He scores a massive double knockout, sending both opponents to the rail and boosting his stack early in the day.

With 15,800 already in the middle and three players seeing the flop 7♠ 5♥ 4♣ , Pu Zhang leads out for 6,000. The hijack makes the call, but cutoff Xianling Chen raises it up to 17,000. Action returns to Zhang, who announces all in. The hijack quickly folds, and Chen takes a moment before calling for her remaining 37,400.

Xianling Chen: 7♣ 7♦

Pu Zhang: T♥ T♦

Chen flops top set, leaving Zhang with just two outs. The turn 8♣ and river A♣ fail to bring a ten, and Chen secures a big double up, stacking her chips with a smile.

Facing an early raise, Liangcai Chen re-raises from the small blind to 5,000. On his left, Zhongcai Peng fires back with a 4bet to 14,600. The initial raiser folds, and Chen shoves all in for 38,700. Peng makes the call to put him at risk.

Liangcai Chen: K♠ K♣

Zhongcai Peng: A♥ Q♥

The flop A♠ Q♠ 8♦ comes down brutal for Chen as Peng hits two pair, leaving the pocket kings in trouble. The turn 5♣ and river 2♣ bring no help, and Peng scores the knockout as Chen heads to the rail.

Cutoff Ying Li open shoves for 8,300, and Fanhao Meng calls from the small blind. On his left, Mikhail Katkov raises to 21,500, prompting Meng to quickly move all in. Katkov calls as well, and three players are all in before the flop.

Ying Li: A♥ 5♥

Mikhail Katkov: Q♥ Q♠

Fanhao Meng: K♠ J♠

The flop A♠ 6♣ 7♥ delivers an ace for Li, giving her the lead, and she holds through the turn 8♦ and river 8♥ to stay alive. Meanwhile, Katkov’s queens also hold strong against Meng’s king high, securing him the side pot and leaving Meng short after the dust settles.

The reigning Red Dragon Championship champion Jianting Cai has just taken his seat, looking to make another deep run and bag up early on Day 1A. Cai captured the title at the first Jeju Poker Festival in 2024, taking home a massive KRW 243,800,000 (~US$174,470). The champion is back on familiar ground, and all eyes are on whether he can repeat his remarkable feat.

After a quiet start to Day 1A of the Red Dragon Championship, the pace has quickly picked up. Following three levels of play, the tournament has already surpassed 100 entries and continues to grow, with 93 players currently seated and more trickling in.

Cheng Yu Chung opens from UTG+2 and calls the 3bet from Daniel Lei on the button to 2,500. The flop 8♥ 7♣ 6♣ is where the action begins as Chung check raises all in after Lei fires a continuation bet of 3,000. Lei makes the call for a total of 12,100.

Daniel Lei: K♣ K♦

Cheng Yu Chung: A♣ 2♣

Chung has the nut flush draw but fails to connect on the runout 3♠ 5♥ . The kings of Lei hold strong, earning him a solid double up early in the day.

Players are now on their first scheduled 15-minute break.

After an early raise, Haiwei Liang on the button makes it 3,000 to go. Big blind Jing Zhou wastes no time and moves all in for 18,600. The initial raiser quickly folds, and Liang goes deep into the tank before eventually laying his hand down, giving Zhou the pot without a showdown.

A star-studded lineup unfolds here on Day 1A of the Red Dragon Championship, with three WSOP bracelets sharing one table. Xixiang Luo brings his two gold bracelets to the felt, while Jinlong Hu proudly sports his own, earned from the WSOP Online in 2023.

Another battle brews between Yuanhao Shan and Jiabao Cai. After facing a big raise, Shan 3bets to 5,000 and calls off his remaining 20,800 total when Cai fires back with a 4bet to 37,000.

Yuanhao Shan: 7♦ 7♣

Jiabao Cai: A♦ K♣

It’s a classic race, and the flop A♥ 9♥ 5♦ favors Cai as an ace lands right in the window. Shan is left needing one of two remaining sevens, but the turn 3♣ and river 9♣ brick out. Cai scores the knockout and picks up an early boost to his stack.

Yuanhao Shan opens from UTG to 800 and finds one caller before Jiabao Cai raises from the small blind to 3,000. Only Shan makes the call to go heads-up.

On the flop 8♠ 7♠ 5♦ , Cai continues for 3,000 and Shan calls to see the turn A♥ . Cai slows down with a check, prompting Shan to fire 10,000. Cai tanks before coming back with a raise to 34,500, leaving himself with just a single 100 chip behind. After taking his time, Shan finally folds, and Cai drags the pot while hanging on to his last chip.

The Red Dragon Championship is starting to pick up steam as more players take their seats. The field now climbs to 25 entrants, and the room is buzzing with energy as the early levels unfold.

Action builds on Table 7 as Qian Wang opens from the hijack for 500, and Artem Utevskii calls on the button. Small blind Qun Dang pumps it up to 1,600, and both Wang and Utevskii call to see the flop K♦ 7♣ 2♥ .

Dang continues for 1,100, but Wang raises to 3,200. Utevskii calls while Dang quickly steps aside. On the turn 6♠ , Wang fires a fearless 7,000, putting Utevskii to the test. After a brief pause, Utevskii decides to fold, conceding the pot to the unrelenting Wang.

Action kicked off with Qian Wang opening from UTG to 500 and both blinds, Daniel Lei and Long Li, making the call to see the flop K♣ 9♦ 8♦ . Wang continued for 700, with Lei check calling from the small blind and Li also coming along from the big blind.

All three players checked the turn T♠ , taking it to the river 5♠ . Lei checked once more, but this time Li led out for 1,000. Wang tanked for a bit before folding, leaving Lei to call. Li revealed his hand K♠ 9♥ , showing he had hit two pair on the flop, while Lei mucked his cards.

The Red Dragon Championship has officially kicked off with the first ten players already seated and ready for action.

Meanwhile, over at the KPC Main Event, the final day is underway with just 18 players left battling it out for the coveted title.

The seats are open and the stage is set for the grand finale of the Jeju Poker Festival as the Red Dragon Championship officially gets underway today at Les A Casino (formerly Landing Casino) inside the luxurious Jeju Shinhwa World.

This marquee event features a KRW 2,500,000 (~US$1,780) buy in and carries a record breaking KRW 1,650,000,000 (~US$1.18 million) guarantee.

Day 1A begins at 12:00 p.m. local time, with players starting deep with 40,000 in chips (200 BB) and 40 minute levels throughout the day. Players will have a 15 minute break every two hours or every three levels, and a 60 minute dinner break before registration closes at the end of Level 9, around 7:45 p.m.

Play will continue through 12 levels, with no players reaching the money today, consistent with all four Day 1 flights. Survivors from each flight will return for Day 2 on November 10 to continue the battle for glory and the Red Dragon title.

Somuchpoker is live at the Jeju Poker Festival bringing you all the action and updates from the floor.