Main Event

The Main Event of the Korea Poker Cup began with 530 players going through three Day One Flights to see 135 qualifiers return to Day 2. From there, 87 players made it into the payout circle, but only the remaining 20 of Day 2 advanced to Day 3.

On Day 3, the top 20 played until a final table of 8 was made, and today the final table came back to go for over 6 hours of play until a champion was crowned.

Finally, it can be announced that the Korean Poker Cup Main Event Champion is none other than Joris Michl of the Netherlands, who weaved his way through the ups and downs of the final table to earn a heads-up spot against Wei Chen Lin for the title.

Both players fought for nearly 3 hours in heads-up battle with Michl at the brink of getting beaten down. However, Michl made a remarkable come back when he rivered a straight to stay alive and take the chip lead, and then brought the hammer down with a two-pair to land the Main Event trophy and a champion's payout of KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410).

"It feels really good. I finally win a big one in live poker, so it's been a long grind to finally win a big one, so I'm very happy, " Michl explained when asked about his reaction after the win.

This main event win is the first live championship for Michl, who had won a main event championship online prior to this huge milestone victory.

When asked about his heads-up come back from a three-to-one disadvantage, Michl explained that he used the 15-minute break to get advice from Yita Choong and they reviewed some of the hands from the delayed livestream.

"I then adapted my play and I think that gave me the advantage after the break," Michl added.

Michl also shared that he plans to stay in Jeju for the entire week then proceed to the USOP in Hai Phong before ending the year playing WPT events in Vegas.

When asked what the first thing he'll spend on, he explained that he'll buy himself a new bicycle and pad up his bankroll. Of course, he admits that there will be some celebrations tonight and maybe a double celebration if his friend Tom Henricus, who sits at the final table of the Jeju Poker Cup Final, also bags the title.

Korea Poker Cup Main Event

Dates: November 22-26, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,600,000 (~USD 1,145)

Guarantee: KRW 1,000,000,000 (~USD 718,110)

Entries: 530 (247 unique)

Prize pool: KRW 1,000,000,000 (~USD 718,110)

ITM: 87 places

Final Table Results

A total of 150 entries made the KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,000) buy-in for a seat at the Red Dragon Poker Tour Baby Dragon Day1B flight in the hopes of earning a share from the KRW 352,256,000 (~USD 252,315) prize pool.

Only 23 players would qualify for a seat on Day 2 and be guaranteed a payout of at least KRW 3,140,000 (~USD 2,250). The bubble burst after 15 forty-minute levels of action, marking the end of the day and for the remaining 23 to bag up their chips for the night.

Bagging the biggest stack among them was China's Zuyou Wang, who made the top of the chip count leaderboard with 484,000 chips. Jianting Cai of China had the second largest stack with 366,000 while Di Lu ended with the third-ranked stack of 329,000 chips, giving the top three to an all Chinese contingent.

Baby Dragon Day 1B

Dates: November 26-27, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,000)

Day 1 A Entries: 119

Prize pool: KRW 352,256,000 (~USD 252,315)

ITM: 23 Players Advance To Day 2

Starting Stack: 25,000

Chips In Play: 3,750,000

Average Stack: 163,000

Blinds: 3,000/6,000 with ante of 6,000

76 players punched their ticket for KRW 600,000 (~USD 430) to enter the RDPT Hyper Turbo Bounty NLH event for a chance to win a share from the KRW 24,609,000 (~USD 17,630) prize pool and get a KRW 200,000 (~USD 145) bounty for every player they bust out.

The only one who didn't lose their bounty was Xiao Liu of China, who was the last player to hold all the chips and claim the title as Hyper Turbo Bounty NLH champion.

Xiao Liu defeated Wei Jiang, also from China, in the final heads-up battle, taking the last bounty and bagging the championship top prize of KRW 6,969,000 (~USD 5,000) along with a classy RDPT trophy.

Wei Jiang earned KRW 4,300,000 (~USD 3,080) for the runner-up finish.

Red Dragon Poker Tour Hyper Turbo Bounty NLH

Date: November 26, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 600,000 (~USD 430)

Entries: 76

Prize pool: KRW 24,609,000 (~USD 17,630)

ITM: 12 places

Final Payouts in KRW

1st - Xiao Liu - China - 6,969,000

2nd - Wei Jiang - China - 4,300,000

3rd - Xiaobo Zhou - China - 3,010,000

4th - Masayuki Murata - Japan - 2,190,000

5th - Yipeng Yang - China - 1,650,000

6th - Zhaoqui Sun - China - 1,300,000

7th - Haonan Tian - China - 1,070,000

8th - Kui Liu - China - 920,000

9th - Shi Xiao Qin - China - 830,000

10th - Yi-Ping Feng - Taiwan - 790,000

11th - Jianfeng Sun - China - 790,000

12th - Haoran Hu - China - 790,000

The bubble has burst at the RDPT Baby Dragon Day1B flight, guaranteeing 23 players a seat when they return to Day 2 to earn a minimum payout from the yet-to-be-determined prize pool.

The bubble hand began when Zuyou Wang min-raised to 12,000 from the lo-jack and Chao Wang put his last 6,000 chips at risk from the hi-jack. Jiale Li defended the big blind and the three players were peeled a flop of 9♥ 6♦ J♥.

Practical poker sense would have the other two players not at risk just check it down, but it seemed Zuyou Wang wanted to play and fired 16,000 when Li checked his option on the big blind. Li completed the bet and an 8♦ came on the turn.

Li led out this time for another 16,000 and was called by Zuyou Wang to see a 6♠ river. Li fired 18,000 and Zuyou Wang made the call for a three-way showdown.

Zuyou Wang flashed A♠ J♠ for a top pair of jacks, edging out the J♣ T♠ of Li with a better kicker. Chao Wang was a last place finisher with his 5♦ 5♠ and was eliminated as the bubble boy.

The Day 1 of the Red Dragon Poker Tour Super High Roller event saw 32 deep pockets cough up KRW 12,000,000 (~USD 8,500) for a seat and contribute to a current prize pool of KRW 353,856,000 (~USD 253,400).

23 players bagged their chips after 11 levels of play to return again for a final run at the title on Day 2 tomorrow. Another set of high rollers are expected to beat the late registration deadline before the start of Level 14 and build the prize pool even more.

Meanwhile, of the 23 players who made it through 11 levels of poker action, Yi Yang of China holds the largest stack with 2,245,000. Joseph Cheong of the USA follows at a distance with a second-ranked stack of 1,760,000. Jieming Xu of China rounds up the podium with a third-ranked chip count of 1,385,000.

Red Dragon Poker Tour Super High Roller

Date: November 26-27, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 12,000,000 (~USD 8,500)

Entries: 32

Prize pool: KRW 353,856,000 (~USD 253,400)

ITM: TBD

Starting Stack: 600,000

Total Chips In Play: 19,200,000

Average Stack: 834,000

Players Remaining: 23/32

Blinds: 6,000/12,000 with ante of 12,000

Only 10 players paid the KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 715) buy-in for a seat at the Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 side event at the Red Dragon Poker Tour series here at the Jeju Poker Festival 2024. The ten players amassed a total prize pool of KRW 8,730,000 (~USD 6,250) that would only be shared by the top 2 players.

The biggest share went to RDPT Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 champion Xi Xiang Luo, who took home an RDPT trophy and a top prize of KRW 5,240,000 (~USD 3,750) after besting Jie Xu in heads-up battle. Jie Xu took the runner-up prize of KRW 3,490,000 (~USD 2,500).

RDPT Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8

Date: November 26, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 715)

Entries: 10

Prize pool: KRW 8,730,000 (~USD 6250)

ITM: 2

Final Payouts

1st - Xi Xiang Luo - China - 5,240,000 (~USD 3,750)

2nd - Jie Xu - China - KRW 3,490,000 (~USD 2,500)

119 hopefuls punched their ticket for KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,000) to gain a seat at the Red Dragon Poker Tour Baby Dragon event. The prize pool has grown to KRW 326,065,500 (~USD 233,000) and is expected to grow even bigger with three more day one flights left to bring in more players.

From the 119 entrants, only 18 qualified for a bag to bring to Day 2, where they will be guaranteed a minimum share of the total prize pool and an opportunity to continue their journey to claim the Baby Dragon championship title, a Red Dragon Poker Tour trophy, an exclusive RDPT Champion's jacket and the top cash prize which is yet to be determined.

It was a strong force of Chinese poker pros that topped the Day 1A Flight. The largest chip stack belonged to Erdun Xu of China who built his starting stack of 25,000 to 421,000. Xianglai Li claimed the second rank with a stack of 359,000 while Mingwei Li bagged up 327,000.

Baby Dragon Day 1A

Dates: November 26-27, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,000)

Day 1 A Entries: 119

Prize pool: KRW 326,065,500 (~USD 233,000)

ITM: 18 Players Advance To Day 2

Starting Stack: 25,000

Chips In Play: 2,975,000

Average Stack: 165,000

Blinds: 4,000/8,000 with ante of 8,000

Action folded to Bohao Huang on the dealer button, who made a min-raise for 12,000. Erdun Xu also made the call from the small blind and the pressured Yong Li decided it was time to risk his last 9,000 chips to defend his big blind.

Both Huang and Xu played practical tournament poker and checked the action all the way until the board completed T♣ T♥ 4♠ 2♣ Q♥ .

Huang showed an A♠ 6♠ which was head of Xu's K♥ 8♥ and Li's K♣ 8♠.

Huang won the pot, but more importantly, took out bubble boy Yong Li to allow the remaining 18 players a guaranteed minimum ITM when they advance to Day 2.

Chen Yu Hung had a dominating stack of 6,525,000 and pressured Tom Henricus Verbruggen's short stack of 700,000 in the final hand of the Jeju Poker Cup.

With 90% of the chips in play stacked up by Hung's side and the blinds at 100,000/200,000 with an ante of 200,000, Verbruggen had no choice but to risk his tournament life with T♣ 4♣ against the dominating K♥ J♦ of Hung.

The flop of K♦ 4♦ J♣ two-paired Hung. The A♥ on the turn gave Verbruggen a gut-shot straight if a queen appeared on the river. However, the poker gods threw an 8♥ instead to send Verbruggen out on 2nd place and crown Chen Yu Hung as the Jeju Poker Cup champion.

Tom Henricus Verbruggen took home a runner-up payout of KRW 43,840,000 (~USD 31,300) while Chen Yu Hung brought home the Jeju Poker Cup trophy and a champion's top prize of KRW 65,900,000 (~USD 47,100).

Jeju Poker Cup Final

Dates: November 24-26, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,200,000 (~USD 850)

Entries: 297

Prize pool: KRW 311,137,200 (~USD 222,680)

ITM: 38 places

Final Table Payouts in KRW

1st - Hung Chen Yu -Taiwan - 65,900,000

2nd - Verbruggen Tom Henricus - Netherlands - 43,840,000

3rd - Li Dong - China - 31,970,000

4th - Gao Lei - China - 23,620,000

5th - Zhang Lante - China -17,690,000

6th - Zhang Jinze - China - 13,420,000

7th - Zhang Nan - China - 10,310,000

8th - Lee Shun Hei - Hong Kong - 8,030,000

9th - Cheng Bo - China - 6,340,000

Joris Michl raised to 300,000 with K♥ Q♠ and Wei Chen Lin made the call to defend his big blind with J♦ T♠.

Both players were thrown a flop of 4♠ Q♥ 6♠. Lin tapped his option to Michl, who fired 350,000. Lin completed to see a K♠ on the turn.

Lin checked over to Michl who bet 900,000 for his top two-pair. Lin then went all-in for his last 5,100,000 and was snap called by Michl.

Lin was hoping for a miracle straight on the river just as Michl had done to him a few hands back, but the poker gods threw a 8♦ instead to end his Main Event journey as a runner-up and award the championship to Michl.

Wei Chen Lin brought home a juicy runner-up prize of KRW 117,500,000 (~USD 84,360) for a valiant effort.

Joris Michl limped in with 9♠ 8♣ and then called the 410,000 raise of Wei Chen Lin with T♦ 8♠ to see a flop of 6♥ 7♦ 8♦.

Bother players paired their eights with Lin ahead with the better kicker.

Lin led out for 425,000 and Michl raised to 1,300,000. Lin then three-bet raised to 2,500,000 and Michl then shoved for his last 5,300,000.

Lin went into the tank and asked Michl if he had a set. Michl said I have a pair, and Lin decided to make the call, adding 2,800,000 to the pot.

The turn came K♦ and dimmed the hopes of Michl. However, the poker gods were kind enough to throw a T♥ on the river, giving Michl a straight to double up and, more importantly, stay alive.

Joris Michl completed the blinds with a hand of 5♦ 2♠ and Wei Chen Lin checked his 7♣ 4♦ to see a friendly flop of A♠ 8♠ 3♦. Lin led with 100,000 and Michl raised it to 350,000. Lin peeked at his cards and made the call to see a 5♣ on the turn.

Lin check-called the 700,000 bet of Michl to see an 8♥ on the river.

Lin fired out 1,100,000 and Michl tanked before folding the winning hand.

Wei Chen Lin made a 250,000 raise holding on to K♦ Q♦. Joris Michl defended his big blind with J♦ 9♥.

The flop came A♣ J♠ 6♦. Michl check-called the 200,000 bet of Lin to see a T♠ on the turn, which gave Lin a Broadway straight.

Michl check-called the 250,000 bet to see a 9♦ turn, which gave Michl false hopes with a two-pair. Michl check-called the 600,000 bet of Lin and was once again broken to see his two-pair dominated by Lin's straight.

Joris Michl raised to 250,000 with J♥ 8♥ in the hole. Wei Chen Lin peeked into T♦ 8♦ and decided to make the call to defend his big blind.

Both players were shown a flop of T♠ 9♠ 4♦. Lin hit his top-pair while Michl had an open-ended straight draw among his other outs. Both checked to see a 6♠ turn.

Lin check-called again when Michl fired 270,000 to see a K♠ on the river. Lin check-called again when Michl fired 925,000.

Lin showed the pair of tens during the show-cards moment and Michl mucked his hand.

Joris Michl raised to 250,000 on the strength of Q♣ 7♣ and Wei Chen Lin defended the big blind with J♣ 3♣ in the hole.

The dealer peeled a flop of J♠ 6♠ 7♠ allowing both players to hit. Lin had the lead with top-pair and Michl had the mid-pair.

Lin check-called Michl's 200,000 bet to see a 9♥ turn and then check-called again when Michl fired 450,000 to see a ks on the river.

Both players slowed down with four spades on the board. Lin flipped his better pair to take down the pot and improve his stack, slowly pulling away from Michl.

Cards are in the air for the final table of The Jeju Poker Cup Final. 297 entries from two Day 1 flights have whittled down to the last 9 players that comprise the final table.

Each player will be making a guaranteed payout of KRW 6,340,000 (~USD 4,500) for their final table appearance, but only the last one standing will walk away with the big championship prize of KRW 65,900,000 (~USD 47,100), along with a Korea Poker Cup trophy.

Li Dong enters the final table atop the chip count leaderboard with 1,455,000 chips. Cheng Bo is just within striking distance at the second spot with 1,045,000 while Lee Shun Hei rounds up the top three millionaire stacks with 1,015,000.

Jeju Poker Cup Final

Dates: November 24-26, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,200,000 (~USD 850)

Entries: 297

Prize pool: KRW 311,137,200 (~USD 222,680)

ITM: 38 places

Payouts

1st - KRW 65,900,000 (~USD 47,100)

2nd - KRW 43,840,000 (~USD 31,300)

3rd - KRW 31,970,000 (~USD 22,800)

4th - KRW 23,620,000 (~USD 16,900)

5th - KRW 17,690,000 (~USD 12,600)

6th - KRW 13,420,000 (~USD 9,600)

7th - KRW 10,310,000 (~USD 7,300)

8th - KRW 8,030,000 (~USD 5,700)

9th &10th - KRW 6,340,000 (~USD 4,500)

Starting Stack: 25,000

Chips In Play: 7,425,000

Average Stack: 825,000

Blinds: 20,000/40,000 with ante of 40,000

Final Table Chip Counts

Li Dong - 1,455,000

Cheng Bo - 1,045,000

Lee Shun Hei - 1,015,000

Tom Henricus - 965,000

Gao Lei - 865,000

Hung Chen Yu - 535,000

Zhang Nan - 525,000

Zhang Lante - 460,000

Zhang Jinze - 445,000

Wei Chen Lin made the raise to 225,000 on the strength of A♠ 7♦ and Joris Michl completed to defend his big blind with 2♥ 2♦.

The flop arrived K♠ 7♠ 4♣ to give Lin the lead. Michl check-called the the 175,000 bet of Lin to see a 7♣ flop.

Michl check-called once again the 425,000 bet to see a 9♥ river. Once again Michl check-called the bet of 975,000.

When the cards were flipped over, Michl was broken to see the set of Lin.

Joris Michl peeked into J♠ 2♦ and completed the blinds while Wei Chen Lin checked his option with J♣ 4♣.

Both players hit the flop of J♦ 2♣ 6♠ with Michl's two-pair looking better than Lin's top pair.

Lin check-called the 80,000 minimum bet of Michl to see a T♠ turn. Lin check-called again, but this time for 230,000.

The river 5♥ sealed the win for Michl, who fired 725,000 when Lin tapped his option. Lin just made the conservative call and was disappointed to see that his to pair wasn't good enough.

Wei Chen Lin raised to 185,000 with Q♥ 7♣ and Joris Michl called, holding K♦ 9♠, to see a flop of 5♥ 6♥ 8♦ .

Lin led out with 200,000 and Michl made the call to see a 4♦ on the turn. Lin led again for 275,000 with Michl raising to 850,000.

Lin three-bet to 2,200,000 holding a straight. Michl finally let go to make the stacks of both almost even.

Two players remain!

It will be Joris Michl of the Netherlands versus Wei Chen Lin of Taiwan battling it out for the Korea Poker Cup Main Event title.

The winner will be taking home a beautiful Korea Cup trophy with a champion's top prize of KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410) while the runner-up will have a payout of KRW 117,500,000 (~USD 84,360).

Here are the final table chip counts:

Action between the blinds saw Joris Michl raising to 225,000 from the small blind and Wei Chen Lin making the call to defend his big blind.

Both players checked on the flop of 7♠ 7♥ T♣ to open a free 2♦ on the turn. Michl fired 200,000 and was called by Lin.

The river showed a 2♣ and Michl tapped his option to Lin who fired 425,000.

Michl surrendered the pot to give Lin the chip lead.

Chen Wei Lin made a 100,000 min-raise from under the gun and was three-bet by Joris Michl to 375,000 on the small blind. When action went back to Lin, he made a four-bet to 800,000.

Michl thought about it before finally throwing his A♦ Q♣ back to the dealer.

It was a good fold since Lin held pocket nines and was ahead.

Wei Chen Lin raised to 85,000 from the cut-off and called the 300,000 three-bet of Jianfeng Sun from the big blind.

Both players were peeled a flop of T♦ 8♦ 4♠ .

Sun check-raised all-in for his last 1,400,000 after Lin bet out 270,000. Lin went into deep thought, wondered if unicorns existed, counted out some chips and made the call.

Sun flipped over A♠ A♣ which dominated Lin's A♥ T♠.

The board completed with Q♠ 3♥, keeping the pair of aces of Sun ahead of Lin's pair of tens and also awarding Sun with a crucial double-up.

The final table kicked off with exciting action from the very first hand with the two huge stacks going at it.

Joris Michl raised to 185,000 from early position and chip leader Cheng Lo defended his big blind.

Both players saw a flop of A♣ Q♣ 6♠ which both checked to see a freebie 4♠ on the turn.

Lo check called Michl's bet of 225,000 to see a 5♠ on the river. Both players then slowed down to show their cards. Michl flashed J♣ T♣ which wasn't enough against the K♣ 5♣ of Lo, who took down the pot.

Michl was a bit relieved a club didn't come in the river, or it could've spelled a big disaster for his Main Event hopes.

Cheng Lo, meanwhile, extended his chip lead.

The Main Event of the Korean Poker Cup is down to its final table. 530 started this adventure three days ago with the top 87 players earning their spot in the payout circle. Now, only 8 remain. While each are guaranteed a loot bag of KRW 20,700,000 (~USD 14,860), all eyes are on the top prize of with the KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410) plus a gorgeous trophy to go along with the title Main Event Champion.

Leading the final table is Taiwan's Cheng Lo with 4,130,000 chips. Lo has made nearly USD 60,000 in tournament winnings and this final table appearance will be his biggest career cash. He's made three final table appearances last October 2024 at various events, but still needs to finally book that win. Maybe today is the day he stays on course for the championship.

Joris Michl of the Netherlands sits with the second largest stack of 3,110,000 chips. This final table payout will surely boost Michl's career winnings to over USD 200,000, but a championship win will catapult his earnings to pass the USD 300,000 milestone. Michl's last win was back in September 2024 when he took down the NLH Mini High Roller event at USOP Hai Phong.

Wei Chen Lin of Taiwan rounds up the top three with a stack of 2,900,000. Lin's biggest live cash was for over USD 47,000 way back in 2023, finishing third in a main event tournament at the 2023 CSPG in Cangshan, China. At least a third place finish will break Lin's personal best.

Jianfeng Sun of China has the fourth spot in the chip counts with 1,760,000. Sun has nearly USD 700,000 in total live earnings. A championship here will bring him closer to the USD 1 million milestone.

China's Jianwei Lin is ranked fifth with 1,200,000 chips. Lin recently topped the NLH - Six Handed event in the European Poker Tour (EPT) at Cyprus last month. In September 2024, he made his largest earning for over $200,000 with an 8th place finish at the Main Event of the EPT Barcelona.

Yi Ma of China holds the sixth rank with 745,000 chips. Ma has over USD 400,000 in total live earnings and a championship win will push him past the half-million milestone.

Changyang Liu of China is second to the bottom rank with just 505,000 chips. Liu will need to win a few flips to get away from the bottom and improve his payout in order to boost his earnings over the USD 250,000 mark.

At the bottom of the leaderboard is China's Xiao Liu. Liu made his biggest cash earlier this July with a 6th place finish in the Red Dragon Poker Tour here at Jeju. Liu bagged over USD 52,000 and will need a third place finish to beat that mark.

Korea Poker Cup Main Event

Dates: November 22-26, 2024

Buy-in: KRW 1,600,000 (~USD 1,145)

Guarantee: KRW 1,000,000,000 (~USD 718,110)

Entries: 530 (247 unique)

Prize pool: KRW 1,000,000,000 (~USD 718,110)

ITM: 87 places

Final Table Payouts

1st - KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410)

2nd - KRW 117,500,000 (~USD 84,360)

3rd - KRW 83,900,000 (~USD 60,240)

4th - KRW 65,000,000 (~USD 46,670)

5th - KRW 51,000,000 (~USD 36,615)

6th - KRW 40,000,000 (~USD 28,720)

7th - KRW 30,000,000 (~USD 21,540)

8th - KRW 20,700,000 (~USD 14,860)