"I've been playing for 15 years. This is my first time winning in Poker Dream. I like the tournament. I like Jeju, Korea. I like the mystery bounty. No luck getting the red bounties (highest).", commented Zhou following his victory.
The fifth highlight on the Poker Dream Jeju 12 lineup, Mystery Big Bounty - Sponsored by Korea Poker Cup, drew in a total of 642 entries across four flights, easily exceeding the expected turnout. Day 2 welcomed 91 runners back on the felt, each one vying the lion's share of the KRW 430,039,800 (~USD 328,200) prize pool. Aside from the top prize, the largest listed bounty at KRW 33,000,000 (~USD 25,185) remained the center of everyone's attention, which was eventually claimed by Gao Qingbo.
"When the final table started, it's very hard. This player on my right (Chen Wenwen) and the seat 9 (Lin Wei) are bigstack and behind me. They play so well, so first is very hard. It's very hard for me. But I keep going, keep going, and keep going until six people. Small blind jam and I'm big blind with AK and I win. After that, it's a little bit easy. "
Zhou entered the final rounds amongst the shortest stacks and maneuvered his way to six handed play where he finally gained some momentum. Having doubled through Chen Wenwen in a blind vs blind clash, Zhou went on to secure another crucial boost, with his rockets leaving Lin Wei entirely crippled. On to heads up play, Zhou stood just nine big blinds behind and saw the lead shift back and forth. Zhou went on to finish off his opponent in under half an hour, securing him the final victory and his first Poker Dream title.
An incredible performance, Zhou earns the KRW 44,700,000 (~USD 34,110) top prize in addition to his six bounty tickets valued at KRW 8,000,000 (~USD 6,105), while runner up Chen Wenwen on the other hand, bagged a bigger payday with her seven bounty draws adding another KRW 26,340,000 (~USD 20,100) in prizes, to bring her total winnings to KRW 54,073,400 (~USD 41,260).
Date: September 28-29, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 900,000 (~USD 660)/ KRW 600,000 (~USD 440)
Guarantee: KRW 200,000,000 (~USD 150,000)
Entries: 642
Prize Pool: KRW 430,039,800 (~USD 328,200)
ITM: 91
Mystery Big Bounty Final Table Payouts
1st Zhou Quan - KRW 44,700,000
2nd Chen Wenwen - KRW 27,733,400
3rd Lin Wei - KRW 19,770,000
4th Qian Feng - KRW 15,230,000
5th Anton Lu - KRW 11,930,000
6th Wu Yansong - KRW 9,270,000
7th Zhang Hongru - KRW 6,770,000
8th Thoo Ming Ken - KRW 4,560,000
9th Yu Jianqiang - KRW 3,680,000
*Excluding bounty prizes