Main Event (1,300,000 KRW)

The first of five flights for the KPC Main Event with a KRW 800,000,000 (~$544,077) guaranteed prize pool attracted 213 players and saw 27 bag their chips for Day 2 during level 17, almost 14 hours after the first hand was dealt.

Yao Du emerged on top with 455,000 and has been among the leaders since level 9, gaining a significant boost in level 14 when he knocked out Taiwanese pro Meng Ling Lin with A♦ A♣ against her K♥ K♣ and burst the bubble in level 16 by eliminating Xiaolu Yang with Q♦ Q♠ versus J♥ J♣ .

Lili Tang also first appeared on the ladder during level 9, won a blind battle against Chen Yu with A♦ K♥ and kept chipping up, moving from 5th on the board during level 15 to second at the end, bagging 403,000. Yao Fang worked his magic away from our eyes, also being on the lower end of the Top 20 since the end of late registration and a late boost catapulting him into third with 373,000 to his name.

The remaining 27 players will have time to score some other trophies in the coming days until they can use their chips again on Saturday the 12th of April at 12:00 when Day 2 begins.

Zhang has to sweat till the end on Q♠ 2♥ 3♠ 6♠ A♦ , but secures another double up, just before the Day 1 bubble bursts on the other table.

The 4♠ keeps it interesting, but the river 6♦ seals the deal for Wang, catapulting up the ladder with a big blind special.

Big stack Chang Liang Sun gets the ball rolling with a 10,000 raise from the hijack, the button calls and Borui Zhang squeezes to 35,000 out of the big blind. Sun projects strength with a four-bet to 75,000, the button leaves and Zhang jams for 315,000. After tanking for a bit, Sun thinks there will be better opportunities in the future and lets it go.

Jun Li readies the minivan with a 10,000 open from +1, taking a family of five on a trip to the flop Q♦ 9♠ 5♠ where he gets rid of the kids with a 20,000 continuation, only taking Borui Zhang to the turn 2♦ . Li slows down to a check, Zhang senses weakness, lays out 35,000 and scoops the pot.