Red Dragon Championship (2,500,000 KRW)

The third of four entry flights for the Red Dragon Championship ended with 78 out of 310 total entries bagging their chips for Day 2 at the end of level 14 and the KRW 2 Billion prize pool already eclipsed.

Fang Zhou Zhu finished the day on top, bagging 520,000 (104 BB) after flying under the radar the whole day until a few minutes before the end when he knocked out Haobo Zhu and picked up an additional 12 BB during the last hand of the day.

WSOP 2020 Online Bracelet Winner and 2nd in chips Huahuan Feng has been on the leaderboard since level 7 and had a pivotal hand during level 10 where he had 5♣ 5♥ and Jinbao Liu opened 2BB from +1, Feng called in +2 and lojack Pengfei Zhu went all-in for 19BB. Liu tried to isolate with a 20BB four-bet, but Feng remained sticky to see the flop T♠ Q♠ 5♦ , hitting bottom set. He got another 15BB out of Liu before he surrendered to Feng's all-in on the turn Q♥. Zhu was already drawing dead with A♦ 6♦ which let Feng scoop up a 116BB pot that catapulted him into the lead at the time. He ended the day with 445,000 (89 BB).

The rest of the 77 qualifiers consisted of players from four continents with international pros like Christian Harder from the United States - 148,000 (30 BB), William Jia from Australia - 138,000 (28 BB), Tom Verbruggen from the Netherlands - 93,000 (19 BB) and some of the best players from the Asian circuit. Poker legend John Juanda was on the leaderboard for a while as well, but unfortunately didnt make the cut.

All of them will continue their battle for the trophy an the champion's purse tomorrow at 12:00 local with the SMP team covering the action from start to finish.

Yong Zhao lays out 12,000 in +2 and takes hijack Fang Zhou Zhu to the flop 3♦ 8♣ K♥ where his 27,000 c-bet gets called by Zhu. The turn 9♣ gets rejected to complete the board 7♥ with Zhao slowing down to a check and ultimately surrendering the pot after Zhu forked out an almost pot-sized bet of 75,000.

With a scripted showdown the dealer hits the felt 6♥ 7♠ 4♦ 9♠ K♥ to send Iliadi to the rail on the buzzer.

Ahn's kings stay ahead on J♥ and 6♦ for a double up close to the end of Day 1C.

No help for yesterday's Lady Dragon runner-up Ying Song on 2♣ 7♣ 9♦ 3♦ T♠ giving her just a few minutes to jump into the Day 1D Turbo for a last chance to qualify for Day 2.

No one outer for Ning on the river T♠ grants Yue a full double up.

Under the gun Xianchao Shen opens 8,000 and fills up after lojack Zehao Li upped it to 24,000. Li double barrels the flop 5♣ 7♦ J♠ for 22,000 and the turn 8♣ for 50,000 before Shen jams the river 6♥ . Being in the tank for quite a while, Li wagers his last 130,000 holding 7♠ 8♠, but has to surrender the pot to Shen's straight 4♣ 4♦ .

Hijack Guanyu Chen opens 6,000 and fills up after cutoff Yi Yang made it 17,000 to se the flop A♦ 4♥ 5♥ where Yang's 12,000 c-bet gets called before his 25,000 second barrel wins the hand on the turn K♥ .

The river 5♠ keeps Qiu ahead and Chan starts packing up.

Lights out for Zhang on the flop K♣ A♠ K♠ and Zhao jumps out of his seat starting to yell "yeahhh, chip leader" when the board completes 2♦ and T♥ . Its nice to see some emotion after a day of poker faces staring at each other ;)

Yan's sixes are looking good when the dealer flips over K♣ 8♣ Q♠ 5♥ before the river A♠ hands Wu the pot.

No miracle for Zeng on 4♦ T♦ 9♣ 9♦ T♥ lets Haobo close in on the leaders.

The player in +2 opens 6,000 and takes two customers to the flop 7♣ T♣ 6♦ that gets checked to button William Jia who makes it 10,000. Only big blind Yuzhu Wang - Triton Jeju $15,000 Event #1 runner-up for $975,000 two months ago - fills up before folding to another 20,000 bet from Jia on the turn J♠ .

With a 5,000 raise from +1 and two calls in front, Jiawei Huang squeezes to 20,000 and finds no takers to scoop consecutive pots.

Both blimd defend Under the gun Jiapeng Yu's 5,000 raise and check on the flop 8♠ 9♠ 8♣ . Yu continues for 5,000 and only small blind Yangyi Ding sticks around to the turn 4♠ where he takes the lead with a 10,000 bet that gets called by Yu. The river 3♣ has Ding try to steal for 25,000 with queen-high Q♦ J♥ , but Yu snaps with A♦ 8♦ to scoop the pot.

Chenxu Zhang raises 4,500 from the lojack and big blind Hon Leung Ip defends to see the flop J♣ T♦ T♣ where Zhang's 4,000 c-bet gets check-raised to 13,000. Zhang calls and pays another 26,500 on the turn 9♥ to watch the board complete K♣ . Ip puts her all-in and wins the pot without a showdown.

Zhu is drawing dead already with the T♥ river making his elimination official.

Pussacha Nonsing - fresh from her APT Taipei Women's High Roller runner-up for $12,002 less than a week ago - opens 4,000 from +1 and Hon Leung Ip defends big blind to see the flop 7♥ J♠ 8♥ . Nonsing continues for 3,000 and fills up after Ip check-raised to 8,000. Ip's 16,000 bet gets called on the turn J♣ and he fires another 26,000 on the river K♥ with 9♥ T♥ straight. Nonsing thinks for quite a while before making the call, showing the J♥ before throwing it in the muck.

After winning yesterday's KRW 2,000,000 buy-in Short Deck tournament for KRW 21,840,000 (~$15,205) we had a chance to catch up with Xixiang Luo earlier today. Here is the full interview :

SMP : Congrats to another win! Is that your first short deck trophy?

Luo : This is my second Short Deck championship.

SMP : Was it smooth sailing or did you have some unforeseen challenges?

Luo : The tournament wasn't smooth sailing - I faced significant volatility early on with multiple all-ins and had to re-buy two or three times.

SMP : Let's talk about your incredible run at the WSOP last year, taking home the $2K H.O.R.S.E and the $1,500 Double Board bracelets, along with two close calls (3rd in Mixed Big Bet and 6th in another H.O.R.S.E) all within a month. How were you able to achieve that?

Luo : Pure luck, honestly! In 2024, also here in Jeju, I won a Main Event title. Back then, I made a wish to win a WSOP bracelet, and somehow ended up winning two. Wishing works - the edge of science is metaphysics!

SMP : Being such a versatile player, how did you come to learn all the different poker variants?

Luo : It’s about personality. I enjoy exploring new things and approach them with a ‘participate-first’ mindset. I’m naturally laid-back, but novelty excites me - when I encounter a new format, I dive in wholeheartedly.

SMP : Outside the USA, you’ve had incredible success in Jeju—3rd in the 2018 Red Dragon High Roller, APT Main Event Champion last year, and a Poker Dream 16 High Roller runner-up recently. What about Jeju brings out your A-game?

Luo : It boils down to solid poker fundamentals. I maintain my competitive edge through physical training and consistent tournament play. Recently, I’ve been studying Game Theory Optimal (GTO) strategies to address my weaknesses. as an old-school player, I used to rely on instinct, but modern poker demands technical mastery.

SMP : With over a decade in poker, what keeps you hungry?

Luo : Simple - passion. I genuinely love competitive poker. Early in my career, I focused on cash games, but tournaments became my priority as they evolved. The thrill never fades.

SMP : What advice would you give to young players aspiring to reach high-stakes games?

Luo : Follow your passion, but stay grounded. Play events suited to your bankroll and skill level. Treat poker as entertainment first - don’t overextend yourself. Master one format before chasing the next.

With a 3,500 raise from the cutoff and a 9,500 three-bet in front, Jia Chi Li four-bets to 22,500 and only button Tsz Chun Chan fills up to see the flop 7♣ 6♠ 8♣ where he calls Li's 17,000 and watches the turn fall A♣ . Li checks and goes into the tank, when she is faced with Chan's all-in, but eventually lets it go.

Under the gun opens 3,000 and finds two callers to join the flop A♦ 5♣ 4♠ with. His 5,000 continuation gets rid of one opponent to see the turn T♣ where Huahuan Feng takes the lead with a 14,000 bet that only button Yong Li ponies up. The river K♣ gets checked down with Feng flipping over the winner A♥ 5♥ .

No help arrives for Zhou on the river J♥ granting Li a double up.

Behind, but with a ton of outs, Jia immediately hits his nut flush on the turn K♦ which makes the river T♦ just a formality.

Having just entered a few minutes ago, Anton Lu kicks of the action with a 2,500 raise from +1 and fills up after Daqiao Jiang pumped it to 6,300 from +2. Jiang's 4,000 follow up gets called on the flop 8♣ K♦ 8♦ before the turn K♣ gets checked to complete the board T♥ . Lu takes over the reins with a 5,000 bet and jams his last 28,200 after Jiang raised to 17,000. Spending some time in the tank, Jiang calls with ace-high A♠ Q♥ but has to surrender the pot to Lu's boat K♥ J♠ .

Zhiao He's 2,500 raise from under the gun finds two customers to share the flop 8♣ T♦ A♠ with where his 1,500 c-bet gets called by both before the turn T♥ hits the felt. Checked to John Juanda in +1, 2,800 go over the line and only He fills up. The action river 5♠ starts with He leading 5,000, Juanda raises to 18,000 which sends He in the tank before all-in for 45,100 is declared. Now Juanda is in the tank, but cant find a call.

Hijack Yuhan Liu - fresh from his biggest live cash of $153,573 for shipping the USOP Billionaire Club Challenge in December - opens 2,500, the cutoff flats, but it is Chenxu Zhang who picks up her 3rd consecutive pot after three-betting 10,000 from the button.