Main Event

The live poker scene in South Korea has crowned a new winner for a brand new series in the first-ever Super Cup Seoul 2024 Main Event. Only nine players out of a field of 248 entries returned to battle for the title and a home victory was the final outcome at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center.

Yu Young Jin entered the live-streamed final table inside of Studio 159 as the dominant chip leader ahead of Su Min Im and Jae Seok Sim. It came as little surprise that the top three in chips heading into the showdown also ended up on the podium spots when all was said and done.

Ultimately, it came down to the duel between Jin and Im, the only two players to hold the chip lead for the entire duration of the final table. With a rather large average, it still only took 15 minutes to determine a winner. Jin topped off a very dominating performance at the tables for KRW 60 Million while Im had to settle for the runner-up spot.

The Isabelle Group was hosting the event in the heart of Gangnam, one of the richest districts in the entire country and the No-Limit Hold'em competition was held as part of a mind games festival that also included the board games Baduk, Janggi and Chess. Several main stream sponsors supported the new sports paradigm such as Samsung Medicos.

For the final two days, the thrilling conclusion of the Super Cup Seoul Main Event was live-streamed inside of Studio 159 and it will also be shown as TV broadcast later on as well with the Mind Sports Show as partner. Several international stops are planned for next year with further details to be announced soon.

The first level of the Main Event final table brought no casualty but Kwang Jin Park dropped to the bottom of the leaderboard. He doubled once only to see his pocket kings cracked by Geun Seop Ban, who then knocked out Park soon after.

Young Kyu Kim experienced a quite similar time line. He first doubled, then suffered a setback by doubling Su Min Im and bowed out shortly thereafter to reduce the field to the final seven contenders. That barely lasted five minutes, as the next short stack hit the rail in Man Woo Park.

Yu Young Jin was the runaway chip leader for an extended period but then suffered two set backs as the stack sizes started to get closer atop the leaderboard. Longhao Shen doubled through Su Min Im with kings versus tens and then doubled through Jin as well, only to send all of chips chips right back to Im soon after. That massive pot vaulted Im into the lead and he pulled further ahead.

Joo Hee Oh lost most of her chips in a battle of short stacks against Geun Seop Ban and the last three and a half big blinds vanished when her pocket queens were cracked by the ace-deuce of chip leader Im. The Isabelle Group ambassador bowed out in fourth place as the last woman in the field.

During four-handed play, the smooth sailing of Im hit a major setback when he paid off the flopped nut flush of Jin, who jumped back into the top spot. With two chip leaders and two distinct short stacks, it was Ban who three-bet jammed ace-six into the ace-queen of Jin and bowed out just shy of the podium.

Jin was also responsible for the next elimination as he claimed the short stack of Sim to enter the heads-up stage with an advantage of more than two and a half times to one over Im. The opening stages of the duel saw Im gain some momentum, only for it all come to a crashing end within 15 minutes. Jin pulled further ahead, then jammed two pair and was called by worse to go wire-to-wire in five hours on the final day.

Final Table Result

1st Place: Yu Young Jin (South Korea) – KRW 60 Million (~$42,891)

2nd Place: Su Min Im (South Korea) – KRW 40 Million (~$28,594)

3rd Place: Jae Seok Sim (South Korea) – KRW 25 Million (~$17,871)

4th Place: Geun Seop Ban (South Korea) – KRW 18 Million (~$12,867)

5th Place: Joo Hee Oh (South Korea) – KRW 13 Million (~$9,293)

6th Place: Longhao Shen (China) – KRW 9 Million (~$6,434)

7th Place: Man Woo Park (South Korea) – KRW 7 Million (~$5,004)

8th Place: Young Kyu Kim (South Korea) – KRW 5.4 Million (~$3,860)

9th Place: Kwang Jin Park (South Korea) – KRW 4.2 Million (~$3,002)

Joo Hee Oh raised to 80,000 first to act with the K♠ J♠ and Jae Seok Sim called in the hijack with the T♥ T♣ while Geun Seop Ban reluctantly called from the big blind with the 5♠ 5♦ . The 8♥ 7♦ 7♣ flop was checked to Sim and he bet 100,000 with his overpair.

Ban folded and Oh did so as well for Sim to reach seven figures.

Eight Koreans versus one Chinese. Will the stunning trophy stay on home soil for the inaugural Super Cup Seoul 2024 Main Event at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center? Only nine players remain out of a field of 248 entries and they will be battling for the largest slice of the KRW 248 Million prize pool in Studio 159 as of noon local time today.

The man to beat is Yu Young Jin with a staggering 2,100,000 to his name. Su Min Im (955,000) and third-placed Jae Seok Sim (920,000) have fewer chips combine than the chip leader, but they are only one double-up away from taking over the top spot.

Longhao Shen from China is the only one to put a dagger into the home victory and the player from China sits in fourth place with a stack of 845,000. He also eliminated fellow countryman Junsheng Qiao in 11th place last night en route to making the final table.

Furthermore, Isabelle Group ambassador Joo Hee Oh is the last woman standing in this tournament and returns in the middle of the pack with 770,000 to her name.

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Longhao Shen (China) - 845,000 (42 BB)

Seat 2: Su Min Im (South Korea) - 955,000 (48 BB)

Seat 3: Man Woo Park (South Korea) - 470,000 (24 BB)

Seat 4: Jae Seok Sim (South Korea) - 920,000 (46 bb)

Seat 5: Young Kyu Kim (South Korea) - 340,000 (17 BB)

Seat 6: Kwang Jin Park (South Korea) - 455,000 (23 bb)

Seat 7: Yu Young Jin (South Korea) - 2,100,000 (105 BB)

Seat 8: Geun Seop Ban (South Korea) - 590,000 (30 bb)

Seat 9: Joo Hee Oh (South Korea) - 770,000 (39 bb)

All nine finalists have locked up KRW 4.2 Million ($3,002) for their efforts, whereas the winner can look forward to a top prize of KRW 60 Million ($42,891).

There are 35 minutes left in level 21 at blinds of 10,000-20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante and all levels thereafter will be 60 minutes long. If a deal will be cut or during the heads-up stage, the level duration is cut in half to 30 minutes.

The conclusion of the Main Event gets underway at noon local time inside of Studio 159 and the live stream action on the Super Cup YouTube channel with cards-up coverage and commentary in Korean will run on a 30-minute delay. All SoMuchPoker live updates will be published accordingly to not spoil any of the action.

The final table has been set for the inaugural Super Cup Seoul 2024 Main Event at the COEX Convention & Exhibition Center. When the penultimate tournament day kicked off, 38 Day 1 survivors returned to their seats inside of "The Platz" to battle their way as deep as possible for a piece of the KRW 248 Million prize pool.

Only nine of them succeeded in this quest for the time being when the final river card was dealt inside of Studio 159. Eight players from South Korea and one contender from China remain in contention and leading the way by a large margin is Yu Young Jin with 2,100,000 to his name. He has more chips than second-placed Su Min Im (955,000) and third-placed Jae Seok Sim (920,000) just to put things into perspective.

Longhao Shen is the only foreigner trying to claim the stunning trophy and sits in fourth place on the leaderboard with 845,000. He was responsible for the elimination of fellow countryman Junsheng Qiao in 11th place before Day 1c chip leader Sung Won Seo became the final casualty of the night.

Representing the main sponsor Isabelle is none other than Joo Hee Oh, the last woman standing in this tournament. She had somewhat of a roller coaster ride on the live stream table and bagged up 770,000 to her name. All nine finalists have locked up KRW 4.2 Million ($3,002) for their efforts, whereas the winner will receive the handsome top prize of KRW 60 Million ($42,891).

Final Table Seat Draw

Seat 1: Longhao Shen (China) - 845,000 (42 BB)

Seat 2: Su Min Im (South Korea) - 955,000 (48 BB)

Seat 3: Man Woo Park (South Korea) - 470,000 (24 BB)

Seat 4: Jae Seok Sim (South Korea) - 920,000 (46 bb)

Seat 5: Young Kyu Kim (South Korea) - 340,000 (17 BB)

Seat 6: Kwang Jin Park (South Korea) - 455,000 (23 bb)

Seat 7: Yu Young Jin (South Korea) - 2,100,000 (105 BB)

Seat 8: Geun Seop Ban (South Korea) - 590,000 (30 bb)

Seat 9: Joo Hee Oh (South Korea) - 770,000 (39 bb)

The conclusion of the marquee event on the schedule in the heart of Gangnam will recommence with 35 minutes left in level 21 at blinds of 10,000-20,000 with a 20,000 big blind ante.

On the final day of the series, the Main Event kicks off at noon local time inside of Studio 159 and the live stream action on the Super Cup YouTube channel with cards-up coverage and commentary in Korean will run on a 30-minute delay. That also applies for the SoMuchPoker live updates until a winner has been crowned.

Shizi Xiao three-bet and earned a call from Joo Hee Oh to see a flop of A♦ K♦ 2♥ on which Xiao continued for 20,000. Oh called and faced a second bet of 32,000 on the T♠ turn. She raised to 70,000 only for Xiao to quickly move all-in.

Oh sighed but called all-in for 127,000 with K♥ K♠ . Xiao tabled A♥ K♣ and could not spike another ace, as the 5♦ river confirmed Oh's large double in the opening minutes.

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.

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.

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.

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.