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)

Xiaohui Wang on the small blind, opened to 110,000, and called Jianwei Lin's 595,000 all-in right behind. Ahead, Lin secured the double as board J♥ 8♦ T♦ 4♦ T♥ missed to pair up either player, leaving his ace-high good for the pot.

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

On the feature table, Jianwei Lin fired a 220,000 three bet from the small blind against a late position and a call, and found initial raiser Chen An Lin shoving all-in for 975,000 total. Jianwei Lin snap called with a monster pair, dominating Chen An Lin all the way through board Q♦ 9♠ J♥ Q♥ A♠ . Chen An Lin exits just shy of the final table in 10th place.

On the feature table, Jianwei Lin opened utg and called off Jiang Pu's 350,000 jam, putting the latter at risk. Pu dominated, managed to outflop Lin on A♥ Q♣ 9♣ , yet fell shortly as the runout 3♣ Q♦ shipped Lin the win with a better two pair.

KPC Main Event players have been sent off for a 60-minute dinner break, with action set to resume at 6:48 pm local time. Only 32 runners remain in contention for the title and KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410) top prize, with Taiwan's Cheng Yen Lo remaining in the lead. All contenders are now guaranteed KRW 4,600,000 (~USD 3,300) in cashes.

Day 2 action will wrap up by the end of Level 20.

Top Chip Counts

Chenxu Zhang opened 20,000 on the hijack, called by both the button along with Jianwei Lin on the big blind. On flop 9♠ 9♣ 5♠ , Lin check raised to 90,000, and saw only Zhang continue to turn K♥ . Lin barreled all-in, and Zhang tank folded, opting to save her 14 BB behind.

Ho Chung Yi opened utg, and went on to four bet jam 181,000 against Jianwei Lin's raise behind. Lin snap called with the best hand, and cruised to victory across board J♦ 9♣ T♦ T♣ 4♣ .

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

Jianwei Lin opened utg+1 and called off a 44,500 jam from Shizi Xiao behind. Xiao at risk, headed out shortly as his pair of tens on board Q♠ T♣ 3♦ A♣ 6♥ failed to get past Lin's pair of aces.

Yuchun Chen defended his big blind against Jianwei Lin's utg open, and went on to check raise 12,000 on flop 7♥ 5♦ 4♥ . Lin answered with an all-in, called by Chen for his remaining 26,000.

Lin A♣ 7♣

Chen 6♥ 5♥

With a ton of outs, Chen locked in the win as turn J♥ completed his flush, sealing Lin's elimination.

Jianwei Lin opened utg, and put in a 4,000 fourbet shortly after being met with a raise from Bohao Huang. Huang continued to flop A♣ 3♠ 9♥ , and called a 2,500 cbet from his opponent. On turn 8♠ , Huang called another 4,500, and arrived at river 8♣ . Lin checked to Huang, and folded after his opponent demanded a final 17,300.

Vying for a pot of 2,200 on board 5♣ J♥ 9♥ J♦ , action was caught on Yi Qin on the small blind with a bet of 1,100. Jianwei Lin bumped it up to 4,400, yet folded after Qin pulled another raise to 14,100. Qin showed pure air 4♣ 3♦ as he raked in the pot.

Jianwei Lin opened on the cutoff and was met with a 1,300 three bet from Zhang Lei on the small blind. Lin clapped back with a raise to 3,000, and Lei stuck around. On flop K♠ J♠ 8♣ , Lei check folded after Lin sent out a 2,000 cbet.