Main Event (1,600,000 KRW)

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)

One more bust to go before Day 3 wraps up with the final eight players set to advance to the Final Day. Taiwan's Cheng Yen Lo has since taken the lead with a chip count of 4,100,000, followed by day chip leader Wei Chen Lin, 27 big blinds behind.

Chip Counts

Up against a hijack open, Changyang Liu shoved for 208,000 and found a call from Zhang Zhi behind. In for a flip, the board 2♥ 5♦ 2♣ A♦ A♣ ran in favor of Liu's overcards, earning him the full double up.

Zihao Wang defended his cutoff open and called a 40,000 three bet from Changyang Liu on the small blind. Wang called another 23,000 on flop A♦ J♥ 5♠ , peeling turn 4♥ . Both checked it through to river J♠ , where Liu checked once more. Wang bet all-in for 127,000, and left Liu unable to continue even after using up all of his three time banks.

Zhang Zhi sent out a 55,000 three bet against Changyang Liu's early open, and saw the latter continue to flop K♥ Q♠ 5♦ . Both checked it through to turn A♣ , where Liu led 40,000. Zhang called, and demanded a final 80,000 on river 3♥ , to which Liu surrendered.

Changyang Liu opened on the cutoff, and called 21,500 more following an all-in from Chan Tat Yiu behind. Chan came in late for the day, risking his tournament life right on his first hand of the day.

A favorite to win, Chan's ace high was good for the take down as dry board 9♣ 8♦ 4♥ 2♦ 9♥ hit the felt.

Four more eliminations are left on the table before the money trickles in. 87 players are due to cut a payday off of the KRW 1 million prize pool, with mincash set at KRW 3,200,000 (~USD 2,295).

Top Chip Counts

Ming Jiang shoved for 29,000, called behind by Changyang Liu. Zhang Zhi on the button, bumped it up to 70,000, and Liu put in the call, building a side pot.

On flop Q♣ 6♥ 3♥ , Zhang bet 50,000, and followed with an all-in on turn 4♥ . Liu check called both streets with 9♥ 9♠ , and found himself ahead of Zhang's A♣ K♣ . River 8♣ completed the board, with Liu scooping it all, along with the main pot against Jiang's 7♦ 7♣ .

With a pot of 58,000 centered around flop T♣ 9♠ 8♥ , Changyang Liu bet 12,000, and faced a check raise to 62,000 from Zhang Zhi on the small blind. Liu answered with an all-in, called by Zhang.

Liu J♣ 9♣

Zhang J♥ J♦

Drawing slim, Liu was in luck to find a 7♥ on the turn, giving both a jack-high straight for a split pot.

Three players vied for 8,000 in the middle on flop K♣ 9♦ 7♠ . Changyang Liu on the small blind, led 4,000, followed with an all-in for 9,000 total from Weiran Pu. Ziyue Zheng behind, called, along with Liu to turn 7♦ . Both checked it through to river 8♠ where Liu bet all-in. Zheng opted out, revealing Liu's straight J♣ T♥ for the win. Pu exited after his two pair K♥ 9♥ failed to hold up.

Changyang Liu opened to 3,000 utg+1 and saw both players on the blinds come along on flop J♠ 4♠ Q♥ . Liu continued for 4,000, and called 5,000 more following a check raise from Xian Xiao. On turn 9♠ , Xiao bet all-in, called by Liu for his remaining 22,000.

Xiao K♣ Q♦

Liu A♣ K♠

River 7♦ bricked for Liu, leaving him with ace high for his elimination.

Changyang Liu opened to 1,000 on the button and called off for his 17,300 stack following an all-in from Yipeng Yang. Up for a flip, Yang instantly landed a set on flop T♦ Q♠ 8♥ , with the runout A♠ Q♦ missing to fill up Liu's straight draw for his elimination.

With 9,900 in the middle on flop K♠ T♠ 8♣ , Changyang Liu sent out a bet of 1,500, and folded after initial raiser Yi Qin check raised all-in.