After three days, 36 levels and outlasting a field of 1228, Chun Lung Wong emerged as the new winner of the Korean Poker Cup Series 2025 Main Event, taking home the biggest share of the KRW 1,304,160,000 (~$914,360) prize pool.
"I feel very excited. I feel nervous and happy! It’s like I’m feeling everything at once. I’m just really happy today."
He started the day only 2 BBs behind the chip leader Chen Yu Sung who was seated to his left resulting in a lot of clashes between the two. Playing very aggressive and taking advantage of the ICM pressures from the smaller stacks he was able to build a substantial lead - aided by the knockouts of Daqiao Jiang in 6th, Yuan Qin in 5th and Yao Zhao in 4th - that saw him enter the heads up against Weiwi Tang as a 2 to 1 favorite.
Before playing any hands, the two agreed to an ICM deal that guaranteed Wong KRW 181,355,000 (~$127,149) and Tang KRW 160,000,000 (~$112,177) with an additional KRW 19,385,000 (~$13,591) left to play for.
The first hand of the heads-up reversed their roles after a preflop showdown with Wong having K♠ J♣ against Tang's A♣ 5♣ got decided by the board 6♦ 2♠ 9♥ 3♦ A♠ . His stack further took a dip when he tried to bluff Tang with K♥ 8♦ on T♠ 5♦ J♠ 2♦ Q♦ for half his stack, but Tang was sitting on K♦ 7♦ and shoved.
"There was a straight on the board, and I had the King and one diamond. I thought I had to go for it. Unfortunately, he shoved all-in and I didn’t win."
A few hands later he doubled up with 7♥ 7♣ against Tang's J♠ 9♦ that saw the two on equal footing again. A few more hands after that - on hand #171 of the final table - he took the victory with A♥ 8♠ against Tang's K♦ Q♦ preflop all-in with all blanks on the board.
Congrats to all the winners and we hope to report about you again soon!
Full Interview with Chun Lung Wong:
SMP: Congratulations on winning the KPC Main Event. How do you feel right now?
Wong: I feel very excited. I feel nervous… and happy! It’s like I’m feeling everything at once. I’m just really happy today.
SMP: Nice! So, is this your first win?
Wong: Uh, no. This is my third win in a live event. But this is my first time winning the main event, so it's definitely the biggest one so far.
SMP: Biggest cash too?
Wong: Yes, biggest cash!
SMP: So, what are you going to do with your prize?
Wong: I’ll probably buy some Bitcoin, and save the rest… maybe for more poker!
SMP: Haha, nice! Is this your first time in Jeju?
Wong: Yeah, it’s my first time in Korea.
SMP: What can you say about the venue, the tournament, the place?
Wong: Everything is very nice. The people are nice, the field is great, and the beach is beautiful. Everything’s really nice here.
SMP: Let’s talk about some hands. Do you remember the one where you had King-Eight, and there was a possible flush on the board?
Wong: Yeah, I remember.
SMP: What was going through your mind in that hand?
Wong: There was a straight on the board, and I had the King and one diamond. I thought I had to go for it. Unfortunately, he shoved all-in and didn’t win.
SMP: You had a good stack before the final table, right? You were very aggressive. I watched you on the stream-your range was very wide. Was that part of your strategy?
Wong: Yes, that was the strategy for the final table.
SMP: Alright, so this was your first Main Event win. When did you start playing poker?
Wong: I started about five or six years ago. I used to play cash games all night and small tournaments. At first, I didn’t even really know how to play. I thought I was good, but obviously, I lost a lot in the beginning. Then, around two years ago, I started to take it seriously, studying MTTs and focusing more. This year, I went full-time.
SMP: How do you study and practice?
Wong: I play a lot online, and I save a lot of hand histories. Then I review them, think about my decisions, and work on adjusting my ranges depending on the spot. I try to improve how I approach different situations.
SMP: So what’s next for your poker career? Where are you heading after this?
Wong: I don’t have a set plan yet, but probably APT Taiwan next.