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

Yi Ma opened 200,000 utg, and called for his last 5,000 chip following an all-in from Wei Chen Lin on the big blind. A huge favorite, Ma secured the double up as board 7♥ J♥ 2♠ 6♣ 9♦ left him with a better king-high.

Joris Michl fired a 120,000 three bet against Yi Ma's cutoff open, and saw the latter continue to flop K♥ ts 5♦ . Michl gunned 60,000, enough to push Ma out of the pot.

Yi Ma defended his big blind vs Cheng Bo's 70,000 button open, revealing flop A♥ T♥ 7♠ . Action checked through to turn J♠ , where Cheng fired 85,000. Ma check called to river Q♦ , and arrived at showdown after Cheng checked it back. Ma revealed top pair A♠ 5♠ , no good against Cheng's set 7♦ 7♣ .

Facing an open and a call, Yi Ma on the big blind, fired a 150,000 three bet, and was called by Cheng Yen Lo on the button. Ma continued for 100,000 on flop K♠ 9♦ 6♣ , and followed with another 130,000 on turn 7♣ . Lo raised all-in by the second bet, and ushered a fold from his opponent shortly after, for the pot.

Jie Zheng open shoved 112,000 on the hijack and was called by Yi Ma right behind. Dominated, Zheng headed out shortly after missing board 9♣ 3♣ Q♣ 4♦ K♣ completely.

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

Vying for 200,000 in the middle on board T♣ A♣ 8♦ 3♣ , Yi Ma check called a pot sized bet from Bohao Huang behind, and headed to river 6♠ . Ma checked once more, urging Huang to bet for the rest of Ma's stack - 330,000. Ma, out of time banks, had only 2 seconds left on the clock before making the call with top pair A♥ J♣ , good against Huang's busted draw K♣ Q♥ .

A three way all-in saw Yi Ma put both Yi Qin (126,000) and Chris Shebat (156,500) at risk simultaneously, covering as well as dominating both opponents. Ma quickly landed a pair on flop Q♥ K♠ 2♣ 3♣ 2♥ and cruised to victory shortly after the runout completed.

Chenxu Zhang opened to 4,000 on the hijack and was called behind by Yi Ma along with the big blind. Action on flop T♥ 7♥ 6♥ was checked to Ma, who bet 5,000. Zhang check raised to 11,000, yet folded after Ma bumped it up further to 28,000.

Korea Poker Cup Main Event players are off to a 30-minute break, with registration deemed to close right before the start of Level 10. Quan Jin currently holds down the lead, with a chip count of nearly three times the average stack over the remaining 97-player field.

Day 1B is set to close following three more levels, with action wrapping up by the end of Level 12.