WPT Prime Korea (1,500,000 KRW)

Hijack Abhijith Cheruku open-shoved for 275,000, and small blind Chuan Shu Chen joined the action for his remaining 200,000. Two players were all in before the flop.

Chuan Shu Chen: A♦ J♣

Abhijith Cheruku: A♥ 7♥

Although dominated preflop, the flop K♥ 8♦ 7♣ favored Cheruku, and by the turn 2♦ and river T♦ , Chen was left stunned as Cheruku scooped the pot eliminating him.

Players are now on their first scheduled 15-minute break. During the break, the tournament staff will conduct a 1,000 chip race as play prepares to move to higher blinds.

Players crossing the 1 million mark this early are sitting comfortably with nearly three times the average stack, setting the pace for the rest of the field.

Folded action to Akihide Shimizu on the cutoff who shoved for 191,000. Small blind Thi My Phuong, recently moved to Table 6 after her failed bluff, made the call.

Akihide Shimizu: A♣ J♦

Thi My Phuong: 4♣ 4♦

Shimizu survived the flip after hitting a runner-runner flush on the 9♣ 5♣ 3♥ 6♣ Q♣ board.

A three-way all in unfolded before the flop with the dealer ready to spread the board. The shortest stack, Mao Chen, was all in for 50,000, Yuming Poon was also all in for 384,000, while Day 1B chip leader George Tomescu had them both covered.

Mao Chen: A♦ 5♠

Yuming Poon: A♠ J♣

George Tomescu: 8♦ 8♣

The flop K♣ 5♣ 4♦ favored Tomescu as no ace appeared, but the turn 3♣ brought tension when Poon picked up a flush draw and Chen added a gutshot. The river 5♦ saved Chen as he improved to trips for a triple up, but Tomescu still scooped the larger side pot, eliminating Poon in the process. Tomescu now seats at the top.

Early position Xinze Li opened and was close to taking down the blinds uncontested when big blind Yipeng Ye announced all in for 152,000. Li snap-called.

Yipeng Ye: A♣ J♣

Xinze Li: J♠ J♥

Ye needed an ace but the flop T♥ 8♦ 4♥ brought no help. The turn K♠ didn’t improve his hand but added a gutshot draw, and the miracle ace landed on the river A♥ to keep Ye alive with a full double-up.

One of the biggest pots this early saw nearly 720,000 in the middle as Daniel Lei caught the bluff of Thi My Phuong Nguyen.

Lei 3-bet to 55,000 after Nguyen’s open. On the flop 8♥ 7♦ 5♠ , Lei fired a 75,000 continuation bet, and Nguyen check-shoved. After a brief tank and chip count, Lei made the call for his remaining 293,000.

Daniel Lei: A♦ 8♠

Thi My Phuong Nguyen: A♣ J♥

Though dominated preflop, Lei paired his eight on the flop while Nguyen pushed through with her bluff. Nguyen needed a jack to recover but failed to connect on the runout K♦ 3♣ , and Lei scooped the massive pot.

Australia's Andrew Han opened to 20,000 from the hijack, and on his left Mengqi Chen 3-bet to 45,000. Action went back to Han who answered with a shove, and Chen quickly put all of his chips in the middle for 235,000.

Mengqi Chen: Q♠ Q♥

Andrew Han: A♦ K♠

Chen survived the flip after the board 6♠ 4♣ 4♥ 7♦ 5♥ drew numbers.

Both players had their cards tabled as Dylan Wayne Foster was all in for 85,000 and Iurii Lednev for 96,000.

Dylan Wayne Foster: T♠ T♥

Iurii Lednev: A♠ Q♠

It was a flip for their tournament lives. Foster held through the flop 7♦ 5♥ 3♦ , but the tides turned on the turn Q♣ when Lednev paired his ace, leaving Foster with just two outs. The river K♣ bricked, sending Foster to the rail.

Action folded to the cutoff where Alexandru Cinca moved all in for 74,000. From the small blind, Yue Sun made the call, putting two players all in before the flop.

Alexandru Cinca: K♠ 4♠

Yue Sun: A♥ T♣

Cinca still had live cards but couldn’t connect on the board Q♠ Q♥ 5♥ 8♥ A♣ , and was sent to the cashier as Sun scooped the pot.

In just the first hand, four players have already been eliminated from Day 2 of the WPT Prime Korea Main Event. The action doesn’t stop there as the KPC Main Event Day 1A kicks off today at 1 PM local time with a KRW 1,300,000 (~US$930) buy-in and a massive KRW 880,000,000 (~US$630,000) guarantee.

Day 2 of the WPT Prime Korea Main Event starts now! Somuchpoker is on the floor bringing you the latest action, updates, and all the key moments as the field battles for the KRW 129M top prize!

The WPT Prime Korea Main Event Day 2 kicks off today at 12:00 PM local time with 66 players returning, all already in the money and guaranteed KRW 2,540,000 (~US$ 1,780). From a total of 515 entries, the field has been trimmed down, and every remaining contender now has their eyes set on the ultimate glory and the top prize of KRW 129,030,000 (~US$ 90,365).

With an initial guarantee of KRW 350,000,000 (~US$ 250,000), the event has far exceeded expectations, building a total prize pool of KRW 667,440,000 (~US$ 470,000). Leading the way into Day 2 is Zengxiang Chen with 775,000 (97 BB), followed by a strong lineup of contenders including Thi My Phuong Nguyen, Wei Guoliang, Tony Ren Lin, Kwan Chun Kit, Joshua McCully, and reigning KPC Main Event Champion Joris Michl.

Play resumes at Level 17 with blinds at 4,000/8,000, featuring 60-minute levels. The action continues for 10 levels or until the final table, whichever comes first. The chase for the WPT Prime Korea title begins now.

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