Main Event

Two of the four starting days for the inaugural Super Cup Seoul Main Event have been completed in the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center. After 77 entries on Day 1a, the second flight attracted another 66 entries to boost the overall field size to 143 entries. When all wrapped up in the late evening, only ten players bagged up and a new overall chip leader has been crowned.

Sungmin Ha turned his starting stack of 30,000 into 541,000, firmly ahead of his nearest two followers Hyukjin Kwon (305,000) and Shizi Xiao (258,000). Dongwook Lee was the only other player to advance with an above-average stack of 227,000 in this flight while Isabelle ambassador Joo Hee "Tina" Oh made it through with 179,000.

Oh was responsible for bursting the bubble when she claimed the remaining chips of Hyunjeong Kim with three active players checking it down. Alan "King Lun" Lau, arguably one of the most notable players in today's field, was among the callers and bagged up the second-shortest stack of 65,000 on Day 1b a few minutes later.

Team Isabelle saw the departures of Yuri Murikami and Jae Young Jeon, Ji Eun Park also bowed out alongside Dabin King for the ladies in the field.

For GGPoker ambassador Nana Nakamura, it was a remarkable day at the tables filled with a roller coaster of emotions. She sneaked into the money as the short stack in Event #8 High Roller and bowed out in third place for KRW 8 Million.

The largest piece of the KRW 36.8 Million prize money was split between two contenders from South Korea in Ji Hwan Kim and Dongmin Kim. They agreed to a deal in heads-up play before battling for nearly an hour for the extra cash prize set aside. Ultimately, only one Kim could pose for the winner shot.

Final Result High Roller

1st Place: Dongmin Kim (South Korea) - KRW 16,400,000

2nd Place: Ji Hwan Kim (South Korea) KRW 12,400,000

3rd Place: Nana Nakamura (Japan) KRW 8,000,000

Nakamura then took a break before jumping into Day 1b of the Main Event where she could not run up a stack and bowed out soon after the dinner break. However, there was another Side Event to shine with Event #11 Freeze Out.

The tournament attracted 33 entries and a prize pool of KRW 21 Million. Nakamura entered the ten-handed final table near the top of the leaderboard and closed out the title right as the bubble for Day 1b of the Main Event burst. For her second victory during the Super Cup Seoul 2024, she collected the same KRW 8 Million as earlier in the day for the High Roller min-cash.

Nakamura will certainly be back in action tomorrow when the final two starting days of the Main Event take place. Day 1c kicks off at 11 a.m. local time before the turbo heat 1d with 20-minute levels unfolds as of 5 p.m. local time. The Isabelle Ladies Event is also scheduled and has been pushed to a 4 p.m. start.

Hyukjin Kwon raised the button and found a caller in Youngkyu Kim out of the small blind. Kim checked the 9♥ 2♠ 2♣ flop and then folded when Kwon made it 15,000 to go.

Over on the other table, Joo Hee Oh raised to 11,000 and Hyunjeong Kim defended her big blind off a severe short stack. She checked the K♦ J♦ 9♦ flop and then folded to a continuation bet in the penultimate hand of this level.

Hyukjin Kwon has become the undisputed largest stack on his table and took on Dongwoon Lee, the latter of which put up resistance from the small blind. With the turn showing K♦ 7♥ 5♦ 7♦ , Lee bet 35,000 and Kwon's shot clock ran down to zero before he opted to fold.

Youngjong Lee defended his big blind against a button raise by Jingon Kim and checked the J♦ T♦ 9♣ flop. Kim eyeballed the stack on the other side of the table and bet 26,000, Lee folded.

One hand later, Hyunjeong Kim limped in and folded when Sungmin Ha jammed with his big stack.

With an average of more than 30 big blinds and no severe short stacks, the action has slowed down a lot. Hwaejae Jeong won a pot off Dongwook Lee when the latter bet a Q♣ 9♦ 8♣ flop for 13,000. Lee gave it some thought, shook the head and folded.

Youngjong Lee flipped for the last 25,000 with 5♠ 5♥ from the cutoff against the K♦ Q♠ of Sungmin Ha on the button. The Q♣ J♠ 4♦ flop provided the overcard and two blanks followed.

At the same time one seat over, Jae Young Jeon got her micro stack in with T♥ 8♠ against the J♥ 5♥ of Hyukjin Kwon. The A♦ 6♥ 4♣ 4♦ 2♠ board missed both players and the jack was enough for the elimination.

Jingon Kim was all-in for 28,000 with A♦ J♣ against the J♥ J♠ of Sungmin Ha. The board ran out A♠ K♦ 9♣ K♣ K♠ and Kim doubled.

One hand later, Hyunjeong Kim jammed for 29,000 from under the gun and Youngjeong Kim did so for 40,000. All others folded and Kim won the flip with A♦ Q♠ versus A♥ K♠ on the 6♥ 2♦ 2♣ 3♣ 6♠ board.

The latter Kim then jammed 11,000 next. Harim Jeong called on the button, as did Kim in the big blind. Both active players checked down the J♣ J♥ 5♦ 6♠ 2♦ board and the micro stack tripled with 5♠ 3♣ - which Kim was it? ;)

On the river of a A♦ 3♣ 3♦ 4♥ K♦ board, Sungmin Ha bet 10,000 out of the blinds. Youngkyu Kim called but mucked when he was shown the A♥ 7♣ for aces and treys.

Minho Yoo first got it in preflop with A♠ 7♠ versus Q♣ J♠ and held thanks to a board of A♣ T♦ 5♦ 9♥ 6♣ despite a sweat on the turn.

He was then all-in against Hwaejae Jeong in the next hand and his K♦ J♦ rivered the best hand on the Q♠ T♦ 3♦ 3♠ K♠ runout for another double.

On the river of a K♥ Q♣ 7♣ 6♥ T♦ board, chip leader Sungmin Ha bet 16,000 and Hyunki Lee called. Ha showed the A♠ 3♣ for a bluff and Lee won the pot with the A♦ T♣ for a pair of tens.

Over on the other table, Heeseok Kim three-bet jammed into Hyukjin Kwon and got the shove through got 53,000 as Kwon folded the A♠ face-up.

Youngjong Lee defended out of the blinds against Joo Hee Oh and check-called for 8,000 on the T♣ 8♣ 7♣ flop. He then checked the 8♥ on the turn and quickly folded when Oh bet another 20,000.

After the hand, the last 17 players went on a scheduled 15-minute break.

Over on table six, the flop showed Q♥ 7♠ 3♠ and the action checked to Junsheng Qiao. He bet 6,500 and earned three callers to the 7♣ turn. Hyukjin Kwon now bet 16,500 and Heeseok Kim then pushed all-in. Qiao folded, as did Shizi Xiao while Kwon called.

Both Kwon's 8♥ 7♦ and the 8♠ 7♥ of Kim had turned trips and the split pot was guaranteed ahead of the K♥ river.

Jingon Kim got his short stack in with the A♣ 4♣ and was up against chip leader Sungmin Ha, who flipped over the K♠ K♣ . Thanks to a board of 7♥ 6♥ 5♠ 3♦ K♥ , Kim spiked a straight and survived despite the set of kings for Ha.

Harim Jeong raised and called a three-bet as they headed to the A♣ 8♠ 2♦ flop. Jeong checked, Hyunjeong Kim bet 14,000 and Lee called. They checked down the 3♥ turn and 6♣ river for Jeong to win the pot with the A♠ 9♠ .

One table over, Dongwook Lee jammed the river of an A♥ 9♦ 7♦ 6♠ 5♦ board to win a nice pot without showdown, joining the bigger stacks in the later stages of Day 1b.

The field has been reduced to the final two tables as Yoonsang Cho departed in 19th place. Shot clocks are now in play with all players receiving two time bank extensions as well.

Soon after that, Youngjong Lee got it in for 59,500 preflop with the A♦ K♠ and Sungmin Ha looked him up with the inferior A♠ Q♠ . The kicker played on a board of 8♦ 6♠ 3♥ K♥ 2♥ for Lee to double.

Following an open raise to 4,000, both players in the blinds call including Shizi Xiao and Hyukjin Kwon. The J♥ 8♥ 3♦ flop is checked all the way to the Q♣ turn on which the initial raiser bet 6,000. Only Xiao called and then led the K♠ river for 18,000.

The reluctant call followed and Xiao tabled A♣ T♦ for broadway to earn a nice pot.

On the J♠ T♠ 2♦ Q♦ turn, Jae Young Jeon got her chips in against Yoonsang Cho and had the best of it with K♠ 9♠ for the king-high straight and flush draw. Cho was in rough shape with the 9♦ 8♠ for the bottom end of the straight, unable to capture a miracle chop on the 8♣ river.

Within two hands, the chips of Yoonwoo Jang are reduced to zero. He first doubled Jingon Kim with T♣ 6♥ versus K♣ 9♥ when both players turned a flush on the A♣ 5♣ 2♣ 7♣ A♦ runout.

The rest then disappeared against Alan Lau, who flopped top pair with K♠ Q♦ on a board of Q♣ 8♠ 2♠ 5♣ 6♦ to deal the final blow.

On a three-way flop of K♣ 3♠ 2♥ , Youngjong Lee checked and so did Dongwoon Lee. Yoonwoo Jang bet 2,500 and the first Lee was the only caller. The Q♣ turn was checked and Lee bet the T♦ river for 6,500. Jang called but mucked after being shown Q♠ 5♦ for a turned pair of queens.

The field has been whittled down to just 21 hopefuls, essentially meaning that half of them will advance with one exception. Yuri Murikami and Jun Young Lee have been eliminated while Alan Lau increased his stack in a heads-up pot versus Dongwoon Lee when his pocket jacks prevailed versus Q♠ T♣ on an ace-king high board.

Following an under the gun raise and big blind defend, a shorter stack got it in after the 9♦ 8♣ 2♠ flop and showed the 8♠ 5♥ for second pair. Yoonsang Cho had that crushed holding the K♠ K♦ and the T♦ turn as well as 2♣ river were no threat.

Picking up the action in a three-bet preflop pot on the Q♦ T♥ 5♠ 4♠ turn, Hyunjeong Kim bet 15,000 when checked to. Yoonwoo Jang then check-raised to 30,000 from under the gun and Kim called all-in for 26,500.

Kim's A♣ Q♣ were up against T♣ 9♣ and held thanks to the 3♦ on the river.

Minho Yoo raised to 3,500 and then called a three-bet to 9,500 by Heeseok Kim. On the J♣ 9♠ 7♥ flop, he check-called for 7,000 before they checked down the Q♠ turn and 6♣ river. Yoo revealed the A♠ K♠ for a missed broadway and flush draw, as Kim raked in the pot with the T♣ T♥ for a pair of tens.

It appears that no further player decided to jump in at the last minute with twenty big blinds and thus it settles a field of 66 entries. With only 25 hopefuls still in contention, the fourth table will break momentarily.

The top ten finishers are set to advance from today and it will probably take another five to six levels to get close to the bubble.

Level nine concluded with some fireworks and the field was culled down to 26 hopefuls out of a field of 66 entries. They are now on a 60-minute dinner break until approximately 7.30 p.m. local time and the T-100 chips are raced off.

The hero not long ago with a big double against Hyukjin Kwon, Sang Hyuk Lee has been eliminated soon after! On a board of 8♥ 5♠ 4♥ 7♦ Q♥ , his 8♣ 8♦ had flopped top set but the A♥ K♥ of Sungmin Ha rivered the nut flush.

It remains unclear when exactly the chips went in, but Lee's more than 70,000 by then were easily covered by Ha. In somewhat remarkable fashion, he is not the chip leader as Hyukjin Kwon on the same table has even more!

Joo Hee Oh and Yuri Murakami had re-entered, the same also applied for Gwangsub Lee. The latter got a short stack in with A♥ 5♥ against the A♣ T♥ of Tetsuya Fujiwara and was drawing dead on the turn of a J♠ T♠ T♦ 8♥ 8♣ runout.

On a completed board of A♦ Q♦ 2♣ 6♠ 9♣ , Sang Hyuk Lee got his stack of 40,100 into the middle against chip leader Hyukjin Kwon. Both players had hit top pair and then made two pair on different streets, as Lee's A♥ 9♠ scored the double versus A♠ 6♦ .

Long-time chip leader Kwon still has a very healthy stack at his disposal despite this setback.

By the time the live reporting team arrived, Jangseok Moon was already all-in for 20,000 with the K♠ 9♠ for a flopped top pair on K♥ Q♠ 3♥ . However, he was in dire shape as Dongwoon Lee had that crushed holding the A♣ A♦ . There was no upset on the 6♦ turn and 6♥ river, sending Moon to the rail before the dinner break.

On the tail end of a heads-up pot, a recently arrived player checked the small blind with around 16,000 behind on the K♣ 4♣ 4♥ 5♠ 3♣ river. Sungmin Ha bet 20,000 and his opponent reluctantly called. Ha showed A♦ 4♠ for flopped trips and that was ahead versus K♦ 9♦ for kings up.

The High Roller Event has come to an end with a double victory for South Korea. Dongmin Kim emerged victorious in a field of 23 entries against Ji Hwan Kim as they earned the biggest slice of the KRW 36.8 Million in prizes. Nana Nakamura, who can already be found in Day 1b of the Main Event, finished in third place.

Both Kim's made a deal and left 10% to play for, after which it took more than half an hour to determine a champion.

Final Result

1st Place: Dongmin Kim (South Korea) - KRW 16,400,000

2nd Place: Ji Hwan Kim (South Korea) KRW 12,400,000

3rd Place: Nana Nakamura (Japan) KRW 8,000,000

In rapid fashion, the field was whittled down to just 30 hopefuls and three of the female contestants have vanished. Ji Eun Park was the first to disappear before Yerim Park missed a chop or possible upset against Alan "King Lun" Lau with J♣ 5♠ versus 5♣ 5♦ when both had a straight draw with the five.

Yuri Murakami then bowed out in a three-way all-in as well.

Furthermore, Konosuke Yoshimura got his chips in with 8♦ 8♠ against the K♦ Q♥ of Xiao Shizi and couldn't hold up on a board of K♠ T♠ 6♦ A♥ 6♠ .

On the tail end of a J♣ 4♣ 7♥ 7♣ 2♠ board with around 17,000 in the middle, Youngjong Lee opted for a bet of 7,000 while in the blinds. His opponent was one of the recent late entrants, who eventually settled on a fold and exposed the A♣ for presumably a missed nut flush draw.

Sungmin Ha had re-entered and doubled his stack with a hero call against Jaejoon Yang when his Q♥ 6♣ had the superior kicker on the 9♥ 6♠ 4♠ 5♦ turn. The river was the J♣ and Ha doubled.

Right after that on new blinds, chip leader Hyukjin Kwon raised to 3,700 and Hyun Ho Cho called all-in for 3,200 with the 9♦ 8♦ . Kwon only had 9♣ 7♠ and Cho prevailed on the 4♥ 4♣ 2♣ 5♠ 8♥ board.

New on the table is Nana Nakamura, who took a short break after her third place in the High Roller.

Joining the action in a three-bet pot on the 7♦ 6♥ 5♦ flop, Qingjun Wu checked and then called a bet worth 3,800 by Konosuke Yoshimura in the next seat. That led them to the A♦ on the turn on which Wu checked again. Yoshimura announced a bet of 5,500 and that did the trick to win the pot.

Yerim Park limped in and so did another player. Gwangsub Lee then raised to 2,200 and earned two callers. On the Q♦ 9♥ 3♣ flop, it checked to Lee and his bet of 2,500 was called two ways. The K♥ turn was checked and the K♣ river saw Park bet 3,000. The third player in the hand called, Lee folded.

Park's T♠ 9♦ chopped the pot versus J♦ 9♠ as she upped her stack in showdown.

Out of a field of 57 entries, some 40 entries remain. Both Konosuke Yoshimura and Tetsuya Fujiwara are back in action over on table six and the latter chipped up in a heads-up pot just now.

With the turn showing Q♣ 8♥ 2♠ 2♣ , it checked to Fujiwara and he bet 5,700 into 8,100. His opponent reluctantly folded and exposed A♦ K♠ to get shown the J♠ by Fujiwara.

After six levels of play, the field has reached 54 entries and some 38 players currently have chips at their disposal. They have been sent on a scheduled 15-minute break. The late registration is open for the next three levels and following 60-minute dinner break.

Yuri Murakami came in hot after entering around an hour or so and nearly tripled her stack. She recently took some minor losses, one of which came against Yerim Park. On a K♣ Q♣ 3♥ flop, Park check-called for 3,000 and they checked down the 6♦ T♥ runout.

Park showed her K♦ 9♥ and won the pot.

Joo Hee Oh defended her big blind against an open raise to 1,200 and checked the A♥ Q♣ 2♣ flop, then called a bet of 1,100. She did so again for 2,800 on the 4♥ turn and the K♦ river was checked by both.

Oh revealed 9♣ 4♣ for a missed flush draw and pair of fours, but it was no good against a recent entrant's A♦ 6♦ for top pair. She still has more than the average stack at her disposal near the end of level six.

Nana Nakamura reached the final three in the High Roller as the shortest stack and eventually got it in with the A♠ 3♣ . Dongmin Kim looked her up with the K♦ Q♥ and flopped a full house on the K♠ Q♠ Q♦ 6♠ 4♥ board, denying Nakamura a second title in the series. It will be a South Korean heads-up duel for the title while Day 1b of the Main Event is nearing the end of level six.

Tae Yeon Kim had been eliminated earlier on and re-entered to get back onto the same table. He got it in good with A♦ J♣ against the A♥ 9♥ of Jaejoon Yang but the A♣ 9♣ 3♠ Q♥ A♠ runout gave Yang a full house.

Whenever there appears to be a larger pot brewing over on table five, it is Hyukjin Kwon applying pressure. The latest hand was no different as he jammed the A♣ K♦ 9♦ 6♦ 5♦ river into Hyun Ho Cho. Almost 40,000 were in the middle and Cho as well as Kwon had similar stack sizes. The former eventually slid his cards into the muck and Kwon collected the pot once more, again without needing to show the cards.

A very short-stacked Sungmin Ha was all-in with the A♠ 3♦ and had a mountain to climb, as Hwaejae Jeong looked him up with the K♠ K♦ . The board ran out J♣ J♠ 2♣ 3♠ A♦ and Ha survived.

He got another shove through after that, but busted shortly after the blinds went up.

Out of a field of 46 entries thus far, only 35 players remain and the man leading the way is none other than Alan "King Lun" Lau. He has nearly quadrupled the stack already while Yitaek Choi, Tetsuya Fujiwara and Konosuke Yoshimura have all departed.

The money stages have been reached in the High Roller Event. After it had been seven-handed for what seemed an eternity, there are now only three players left and the average is a staggering 76 big blinds.

Nana Nakamura is chasing a second title and appears to be up against two of the start chip leaders in Jeong Jin Woo as well as Dongmin Kim.

The duel of Hyukjin Kwon and Dabin Kang had taken place several times throughout the early stages of Day 1b thus far and they created a pot of around 23,000 once more to the J♠ 7♦ 5♠ 3♦ turn.

Kang checked out of the small blind and Kwon bet 5,500 on the button, which earned him a reluctant fold.

In the first four levels, five players had been eliminated and that figure increased to seven when Tae Yeon Kim eventually lost the remainder of his severe short stack. The field has reached 42 entries of which 35 players currently remain.

Sungmin Kim was already all-in and at risk preflop, getting called by Yitaek Choi and Xiu Jan. The Q♥ T♥ 8♥ flop saw Choi bet 4,000 into around 14,000 and Jan raised to 10,000. Choi reluctantly called.

They checked the 4♣ turn and Choi check-folded the 6♥ river to a shove. Jan exposed J♦ T♦ for a pair of tens and it was enough to bust Kim, who only held T♣ 9♣ .

Gwangho Cho had been almost out of the door earlier on but since then chipped up, to now even send Shiji Jin to the rail. They only got it in after the K♦ T♣ 4♦ J♣ 3♦ river when Jin was all-in for around 12,000 with the J♦ 7♦ for the jack-high flush.

Cho had the nuts with A♦ T♦ to jump above the average.

Soon after table 11 opened, a larger pot emerged between Jinhwae Kim and Minho Yoo. On an ace-high board, Kim had flopped a full house with A♠ 5♥ and received three streets of value to basically cut the stack of Yoo in half.

Joining the action on the Q♦ T♣ 7♠ 2♣ turn, big stack Hyukjin Kwon bet 1,600 and then called a raise to 4,000 by Dabin Kang. He checked the J♦ on the river and Kang bet 9,000 to take down the pot without resistance.

According to the tournament screens, there are now 36 players registered for Day 1b and only one of them has been eliminated. Sungmin Kim and Yitaek Choi can be found on table 11, the latter of which busted not far away from the Day 1a bubble last night.

Konosuke Yoshimura checked the 9♦ 8♥ 7♥ flop with a pot of 5,200 having emerged. Jun Young Lee bet 2,300 and received a check-call. Yoshimura led the T♥ turn for 5,600 and Lee sigh-folded the K♦ K♣ face-up.

On a flop of Q♥ 8♣ 5♦ the fireworks kicked off as Gwangho Cho pushed into Alan Lau with the latter happily calling it off holding the A♠ A♣ . Cho only had 7♠ 7♣ and already left the table on a runout of 5♥ 6♠ but he actually had some chips left over to be called back by floor staff.

The first three levels have come to an end with a field of 30 entrants and just one of them has been eliminated so far. It's time for the first 15-minute break of the day as two hours of poker have concluded.

A short-stacked Xu Joan was all-in with Q♠ T♠ but had turned a straight on the K♣ 9♣ 3♥ J♠ 3♣ board to crack the A♠ A♥ of Jaejoon Yang. However, the chips didn't last long as he then got it in with A♣ 8♥ against the T♠ T♣ of Jae Young Jeon. The board ran out 9♣ 4♠ 2♣ J♠ 6♦ and that spelled the end for Joan.

Three players limped in for 300 each including Young Seok Kim and Alan Lau in the cutoff. Out of the small blind, Yongwoo Nam raised to 1,500 and picked up no fewer than four callers as they headed to a flop of K♥ 9♠ 3♣ . First to act, Nam continued for 3,000 and earned the pot without any resistance.

Over on table seven, a single-raised pot between Young Seok Kim and Alan Lau led to a flop of J♥ 10s 7♠ on which Kim checked. Lau made it 1,000 to go only for a rather quick "raise" announcement to follow. Kim tossed in 4,000 and Lau folded after short consideration.

The field has reached 23 entrants in the early stages of level three and among them is also Hong Kong's Alan "King Lun" Lau. He was shortest stack on the final table of the High Roller and didn't get there, but he has now entered the Main Event Day 1b on the third table.

In multi-way action to the 7♦ 5♠ 5♣ flop, Sungmin Ha in the small blind and Tetsuya Fujiwara in the big blind came along when Ji Eun Park bet 1,900. The trio checked the 9♦ turn and Fujiwara was the one to bet the 6♥ river for 5,400.

Park went long in the tank before she eventually called, but mucked after being shown 8♣ 7♣ for a straight.

With four ways and 1,200 invested on a A♣ T♠ 2♠ flop, the 9♥ turn was checked to Ji Eun Park. She bet 2,200 this time, picking up calls from Seungmin Lee and Sungmin Ha while Tetsuya Fujiwara folded.

Ha then fired a bet of 14,000 on the 5♦ river and Park tank-folded, as did Lee.