Main Event

Kim Tae Hyoeng wraps up Day 1B as chip leader, Won Chul Bae at his tail, 52 players advance

After twelve hours of play, Main Event Day 1B closed with Korea’s leading the 52 ITM qualifiers. Kim was a grinding force throughout the day claiming pot after pot with rarely a showdown. He dragged in one of the last pots at his table to just edge over fellow countryman Won Chul Bae for the day’s top spot.

Also advancing was 2024 USOP Taiwan Main Event champion Sam Chen Yu Hung with a decent 24 bb stack. He became the first USOP champion to qualify with Nguyen Ngoc Dai and The Naing both missing the mark today.

Main Event Day 1B was another record setter with 416 entries on record, marking it the largest Day 1B flight in USOP history. Combined with Day 1A, the cumulative entries is now 782 bringing the pot to around VN₫ 20 Billion.

Among the faces in the crowd today were WSOP bracelet holders Abhinav Iyer, Siyang Phua, Aayush Arya however they were unable to go the day’s distance. Also falling were notables Nam Hyung Kim, Pham Tien Dung, Dao Minh Phu, Gab Yong Kim, Edward Yam, Manish Lakhotia, and Ian Lee to mention a few. Luckily, there are still two more flights to run, both taking place on Saturday, March 30, 2024.

Date: March 29, 2024 Buy in: VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235) Guarantee: VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500) Day 1B: 416 entries (314 unique) ITM: 52 players Chips in play: 16,640,000

Lee Chang Hwan ships in a pot with pocket K♣ K♠ dusting Q♦ J♦ on a board Q♣ 3♣ 4♦ K♥ 8♠ {10s).

Mid position Buyu Sakurai min-raise, cutoff shove 46,000, small blind calls, Sakurai four-bets 170,000, small blind calls. At the flop 4♥ 5♦ 5♣ , Sakurai c-bets 214,000, sb check-folds. Sakurai opens T♠ T♣ , cutoff K♠ T♥ . The turn A♠ changes nothing but the river K♣ saves cutoff to ship a triple up.

Buyu Sakurai opens 13,000, cutoff Minku Kim and big blind call. Flop it is checked to Kim who bets 120,000, big blind raises 75,000, Sakurai folds. Kim shoves and is called. Kim has the nuts A♠ T♥ straight, bg has T♦ 9♦ lower straight. The turn K♥ and river 4♥ is a double up for Kim.

Utg+1 opens, hijack Buyu Sakurai three-bet, utg+1 four-bets, Sakurai calls. At the flop 3♠ 7♣ T♣ , utg+1 c-bets, Sakurai calls, pot now at 305,000. On the turn A♥ , utg+1 bets 120,000, Sakurai shoves, utg+1 tanks then folds.

Utg Gavin Flynn raises 11,000 and is called by utg+1 Toby Lewis. Both players check the flop J♦ 6♥ 6♦ . On the 9♣ turn, Lewis leads out 16,000, Flynn check-calls. The river 5♦ both go back to checking. Flynn has 8♣ 8♠ , Lewis wins it with K♠ J♠ higher pair. Lewis triple barrels to the river, and wins it.

Tetsuya Enoki is on his first USOP stint and is already causing a stir at the table. From mid-position he opens 13,000 and finds two callers to the flop 2♠ 3♠ 4♦ . Enoki c-bets 21,000 and only small blind continues. Both players check the turn Q♦ and river 8♣ . Enoki wins the pot with J♥ J♦ .

Utg Yankai Zhang opens, next to act Dai Sy calls, both check the flop 7♥ 3♠ 6♣ . On the turn 9♣ , Dai Sy bets 12,000, Zhang check-calls, then both check the river 9♦ . Zhang opens K♥ Q♣ , Dai Sy wins with 4♥ 4♦ .

106 players remaining. Here are the top 5 in chips:

From cutoff, Manish Lakhotia calls a min-raise then calls a 4,000 bet on the flop 6♦ 9♠ 3♣ . On the turn 3♠ , Lakhotia bets 9,500 and is check-called. On the river A♣ , Lakhotia bets 10,000, challenger check-raises all in for 75,000, Lakhotia calls and wins with A♦ J♣ top pair over 2♠ 2♥ .

Lojack A♥ J♣ open shoves 5 bb, hijack Zhu Xian Yu A♠ Q♥ calls, big blind Gavin Flynn K♣ K♦ three-bets all in for 31 bb, Yu with 23 bb joins to make it a three-way. The board runs T♣ J♥ 8♦ 6♥ 6♦ , Flynn’s cowboys stand to boot out two simultaneously.

Cutoff Yonghee Park three-bets 21,000, button and utg+2 initial raiser call. Park c-bets 15,000 at the flop 5♣ 7♠ 8♦ , only utg+2 calls. Park fires 50,000 on the turn 4♦ , and this time takes it down with no challenge.

127 players remaining on the hunt for a spot in the money round. The flight bags up once 52 players is reached.

Following a button raise, small blind Le Ngoc Minh three-bets 19,500, big blind four-bets all in for 85,000, button folds, Minh calls. It’s a flip with Minh J♥ J♦ and big blind A♥ K♠ . Both improve on the board A♦ J♣ 6♠ 8♦ K♣ , Minh ships it with a set.

Utg Nam Hyung Kim opens and finds two callers. All three check the flop J♠ 4♣ 5♥ to get a free turn 2♥ . Kim bets 30,000, cutoff raises 75,000, big blind Buyu Sakurai check-raises 200,000, no takers. Sakurai kindly shows his A♣ 3♥ straight.

Kim Tae Hyoeng was seen claiming a couple of sizable pots to join the leaders tier. First hand, Kim calls a raise from cutoff, button three-bets 20,000, initial raiser utg calls, Kim four-bets all in for 42 bigs, button calls, utg folds.

Kim Tae Hyoeng A♠ 9♠ Button J♠ J♥

Board runs 8♠ 5♠ 2♠ Q♠ J♠ , Kim lands the nut flush for a double up. Following that hand, Kim triple barrels a board Q♥ 6♠ T♥ 2♣ 8♣ , no caller on the river bet.

Battle of the blinds betting war leads to small blind all in 30 bb with A♥ Q♥ , big blind Yu Xiao Tong calls and covers with J♣ J♥ . It’s overkill on the board J♠ Q♠ J♦ 2♥ , Yu ships it and boots one in the process.

165 players remaining at the start of Level 12. Flight plays down to ITM of 52 players.

Reigning USOP Danang champion The Naing improved to a nut flush for his A♦ Q♣ to dust a player’s Q♠ Q♥ that was deemed counterfeit on a board 5♦ T♦ 4♦ Q♦ J♦ .

A new USOP Main Event Day 1B flight record with 416 entries! That’s back-to-back flight record breakers. This brings the cumulative entries to 782 entries. The pot is currently over VN₫ 20 Billion with two flights yet to play out tomorrow. For now, the next agenda for players is to reach bagging time which is at ITM of 52 players.

Main Event Day 1B has now entered the last level of late registration, and good news, the 400 entry mark has been reached and a new flight record has been set! Currently 401 entries on record with registration closing at the start of Level 11 at 7:10pm.

Random Stacks

Another immense turnout with Day 1B already exceeding the 366 Day 1A entries. There are two more levels of late reg to play out, closing at the start of Level 11.

More notable players scattered rubbing elbows, among them are WSOP bracelet holders Abhinav Iyer, Siyang Phua, Aayush Arya, along with numerous notables Tran Hung Thanh, Anatolii Gorbusin, Gavin Flynn, Nguyen Trung Ha, Amit Kaushik, Le Ngoc Minh, Huy Pham, Lester Edoc, Harry Duong, Do Anh Tai, and Gab Yong Kim.

USOP Vietnam champion Nguyen Ngoc Dai is among the new arrivals. Also in the field is Sam Chen Yu Hung. Reigning USOP Danang champion The Naing has already won a side event but has not yet made his Main Event appearance.

New round with the field now well over the 300 mark. The Day 1A 366 entries is looking like a goner soon. For those planning to sign up late, registration closes at the start of Level 11 at approximately 7:10pm.

With the room at capacity, among those riding elbow to elbow are Aayush Arya, Armon Van Wijk, Dong Van Tan, Pham Tien Dung, Khoi Nguyen, Vladimir Litasov, Dhaval Mudgal, Michael Kim Falcon, Guy Taylor, Pham Bao, Lee Suya, Hyeonho Shin, Matthew Bevin, and Joree Kim - newest Ladies Event champion.

Day 1B is halfway through registration. 282 entries on record which puts the prize pool well past the guarantee. At this pace, the possibility of surpassing Day 1A entries is high. Registration stays open until the start of Level 11 at approximately 7:10pm

174 entries and rising fast. Registration stays open until the start of Level 11 at approximately 7:10pm

136 entries and rising at the start of the new round. Registration stays open until the start of Level 11 at approximately 7:10pm

ane 200

And just like that, triple digits during the first level. Currently 102 entries with 2 already eliminated and back at the tables. It’s going to be a huge day! Registration stays open until the start of Level 11 at approximately 7:10pm

Cards are now flying for Main Event Day 1B with several tables running at the starting gun. More players are making their way. Registration stays open until the start of Level 11 at approximately 7:10pm

From utg, Younghee Park min-raises then tanks to button Sergei Iablokov’s shove of 143,000. Park finds the call and opens up A♣ 8♣ , Iablokov ahead with J♣ J♥ . The board runs 8♦ T♦ 9♠ A♥ 9♥ .

Kim Tae Hyoeng has been using his big stack to test the waters, successfully grinding to one of the big stacks. One of his most recent hands, from utg Kim opens 20,000, big blind tank-calls, both go see the flop K♥ 6♣ 3♥ , Kim c-bets 10,000, bb check-calls. On the turn 5♥ , Kim fires 22,000 and wins it then and there.

Getting close to the end of day with bagging time at 52 players.

All in preflop, Amit Kaushik A♣ 4♥ crushes Tetsuya Enoki’s Q♦ T♠ on a board 2♠ 6♦ 3♣ 5♠ 5♦ .