Madness Kick Off

It took nineteen (19) 30-minute levels before the bubble burst and for the remaining 27 players to bag their chips to advance to Day 2 of the Madness Kickoff to be played on Sunday, December 1.

Hung Xuan Ha leads the flight with the biggest stack of 567,000 chips. Duc Minh Nguyen follows with a second-ranked 450,000 chips and Khanh Ngoc Nguyen rounds up the top three with 369,000.

Madness Kickoff Day 1A

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in:VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430)

Guarantee: VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000)

Entries: 212 (161 unique)

ITM: 27 places to advance

Here are the top chip counts

Small blind Duc Minh Nguyen and lo-jack Dung Tien Pham stared into a pot of 171,000 with a board of 7♠ 2♣ 8♦ 8♣. Nguyen fired all-in for 223,000. Pham went into deep thought, peeked into his cards, saw that his chips were covered, wondered if unicorns exist, threw in 5 time bank tokens and also threw in the towel to award the huge pot to Nguyen.

Yingrui Ge made a 10,000 min-raise from under the gun and Tran Hai Dang Le defended the big blind. Both players were thrown a 3♦ 6♠ 6♥ flop and checked to see a 3♣ on the turn. Le check-called the 6,000 bet of Ge to see a 5♦ river.

Both checked. Le showed A♣ 9♣ and Ge mucked.

The tournament director has declared a break for the remaining 41 players.

Madness Kickoff Day 1A

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in:VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430)

Guarantee: VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000)

Entries: 212 (161 unique)

ITM: 27 places to advance

Starting Stack: 25,000

Total Chips In Play: 5,300,000

Average Stack: 129,200

Players Remaining: 41

Next blinds: 2,000/4,000 with ante of 4,000

Top Chip Counts:

Duc Quang Dau made a 7,000 raise from under the gun with the hi-jack making the call. Anh Quang Phan three-bet to 26,000 from the big blind. Dau shoved all-in and Phan folded.

Tiep Van Vu raised to 5,000 from UTG+1 then called the 13,000 three-bet of Huy Quoc Pham from the hi-jack. Both players were given a flop of 5♣ J♠ 8♣, which they checked to see a free A♦ on the turn.

Vu check-called the 10,000 bet from Pham to see a 6♥ on the river. This time, Vu led out for 13,000 which Pham called.

Pham showed the A♠ Q♣ and Vu returned the cards to the dealer face down.

Dung Tien Pham and Tung Tien Le were starting at 33,000 chips in the pot and a board that showed A♣ 9♣ 8♥ K♣ 3♦.

Pham was the first to act from the hi-jack and bet 16,500. Le made the call.

Pham showed K♥ 8♠ for two pairs, but Le showed A♦ 3♥ for the better two-pair to win the pot.

Amit Kaushik made a 2,000 min-raise from under the gun with Huy Quoc Pham being the only caller on the button.

Both players were peeled a flop of 9♠ T♥ 4♠. Kaushik check-called the 5,000 flop bet and check-called the 6,000 bet after the 6♦ turn showed, but then folded when Pham fired a third barrel for 10,000 after the 3♣ came out on the river.

Yu Fu raised to 3,500 from under the gun and was matched by Tam Van Vu in the small blind and Kyle Quoc Bao Diep in the big blind.

The three were peeled a flop of K♣ 3♣ 7♣. Action was checked to Fu, who fired 3,000. Only Vu stayed in the hand to see a 9♠ on the turn. Both checked to see a 4♥ on the river. Vu check-called the 12,000 bet of Fu.

Fu showed A♣ A♠ and Vu didn't bother to show.

There was 10,000 in the pot beside a flop of J♠ 7♥ 2♠. Three players were still in contention. The big blind checked his option to Jia Li on the lo-jack, who bet 3,300. Dong Trong Nguyen called from the cut-off and the big blind stood down.

The 6♥ came on the turn and Jia Li counted 10,600 to push beyond the betting line. Nguyen spent one time bank token before firing back with 25,000 of his own to put Li at risk for all his remaining chips. Li threw back the cards to the dealer and surrendered the pot.

Vladimir Litasov raised to 2,500 for under the gun and Tung Le Thanh re-popped to 8,500. Litasov pushed back with an all-in for 42,800 and Thanh used a time bank token before deciding to fold, showing A♦ Q♠ before throwing to the muck. Litasov gestured back by showing the A♣ K♥, acknowledging Thanh's good fold.

Registration has officially closed for Day 1A of the Madness Kickoff. 103 players remain and wil be playing down to 32 players who will advance to the Day 2 final on Sunday December 1.

Madness Kickoff Day 1A

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in:VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430)

Guarantee: VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000)

Entries: 212 (161 unique)

ITM: 27 places to advance

Starting Stack: 25,000

Total Chips In Play: 5,300,000

Average Stack: 51,400

Players Remaining: 103

Blinds: 600/1,200 with ante of 1,200

Players on a 15-minute break!

Meanwhile, here are some chip counts.

Khanh Ngoc Nguyen raised to 2,000 from early position and Chung Quang Vu defended his big blind to see a flop of 6♥ 7♠ 3♣. Vu check-called the 2,500 bet of Nguyen and opened a 2♦ on the turn. Vu checked again but folded when Nguyen fired a 4,000 second barrel.

Hi-jack and cut-off players limped and Thien Ha Van on the button raised to 5,500. Cong Van Trinh re-popped to 11,700 and had all players folding to scoop a decent pot without a flop.

7,200 was in the pot with a board that showed 6♦ 3♦ 6♠ K♣. Oliver Schulze checked his option from the big blind as did Georgios Skarparis from UTG+1, allowing Daon Kang to fire 3,500. Shulze called and Skarpars then raised all-in. Kang thought hard, threw in a time bank card, but decided to give up. Shulze peeked at his cards and also decided to surrender.

Tung Phuong Nguyen raised to 1,600 from under the gun with the players on the dealer and the small blind making the call. Tung Le Thanh three-bet to 7,000 from the big blind with only Nguyen completing to see a flop of K♦ T♠ 5♣.

Both players checked to see a Q♣ on the turn. Thanh fired 4,000 and Nguyen made the call to open a 6♥ on the river. Thanh fired a 10,000 barrel and Nguyen threw his cards back to the dealer in an instant.

Van Tai Vo raised to 1,200 from under the gun and called the 3,000 three-bet of Khanh Ngoc Nguyen from the next seat.

The flop came 2♠ 2♥ 7♣ and Vo check-called the 6,000 bet of Nguyen to open a 5♣ on the turn. Vo doubled-tapped his option to Nguyen who pushed in his last 9,800. Vo made the call even before the chips were in the middle and flashed his K♦ 2♦ to show a set. Nguyen flashed his 5♦ 5♥ and showed a full house. Vo needed a 2 or a 7 in the river, but the poker gods threw a brick 8♠ to leave him with crumbs.

Chun Chieh Liu and Kun Ern John Ong were faced with a board of 3♠ 6♣ 8♥ T♣ and a pot of 21,000 in the middle.

Ong fired all-in from the big blind for 13,500 and Liu called with his last 9,700 to put his tournament life at risk.

Liu showed A♥ 9♠ which was dominated by Ong's A♦ J♦. However, the poker gods threw a 9♦ on the river to ship the chips to Liu and put Ong on life support.

A few hands later, Ong was shown the exit.

Both Arya Aayush and Harsh Bubna were staring into a flop of 6♣ 5♦ 3♠ with 12,800 chips beside it. Bubna acted first from the small blind and fired 6,000 which Aayush called to open a 5♣ turn. Both checked to open an 8♥ river. Bubna led for 12,000 and Aayush called.

Aayush showed A♣ Q♦ for an ace-high that was good enough to beat Bubna's K♦ Q♥.

Player from UTG +1 pushed all-in for his last 10,500 and was called by Feiqiang Li from the hi-jack. Hai Duong Tran also shoved his last 24,000 from the big blind with Li calling.

UTG +1 player showed 9♦ 9♠ with Li flashing A♠ J♦ and Tran showing 8♦ 8♠

Flop came 8♣ Q♦ A♦ to give Tran the set despite. The 7♥ turn saw Li drawing dead and the 2♠ on the river sealed the fate of all players, eliminating the UTG+1 players and awarding Tran the big pot.

15-minute break to stretch some legs and crack some backs.

108 players still on the field from 128 entries.

Khanh Vu Tuan Truong raised to 1,000 from the hi-jack and found three callers from the cut-off, small blind and big blind.

Four players entered a flop of 6♣ 9♠ 8♦. The option was checked to Truong who bet 2,100. Cuong Hong Doan made the call from the cut-off. The small blind got out of the way and the big blind Adriano Scagnetti also matched to see a K♣ on the turn.

Scagnetti double-tapped the option to Truong who pushed all-in for 17,600 and forced everyone to fold.

Dung Le Anh raised to 1,000 from the button with Tingja Cao defending the big blind.

The flop came A♠ Q♦ T♦. Cao checked and enticed Anh to fire 1,000. Cao then raised to 3,800 and pushed Anh off the pot.

Duc Kien Tran raised to 700 from the hi-jack and called the 3,000 three-bet of Linh Do Hoang from the cutoff.

Both saw a flop of J♠ 7♣ 4♦ when Tran check-called the 3,000 bet of Hoang to see a 3♠ turn. Both checked to see the Q♣ river. Tran tapped his option to Hoang who pushed in 29,000 to put Tran all-in for his tournament life.

Tran gave it little thought and threw his cards to the muck and awarded the pot to Hoang.

Players take their first break after three levels of play.

There was around 9,000 in the pot with a board that showed 2♣ 9♥ 4♦ 7♣. Three players were still competing. The small blind check-folded when Kyungseok Chai fired 3,300 from UTG. Only Vu Do Tien on the button matched after using a time bank token.

The river came 5♣ and Chai fired another 6,600. Tien threw in two time bank cards before deciding to fold.

Van Quan Pham raised to 500 from the cutoff and Eliahu Cohen defended the big blind. Flop came A♠ Q♠ 5♣. Cohen checked called the 500 bet to see a Q♣ turn, then check-called 1,100 again to see a 3♣ turn, then check-folded with Pham bet 5,500.

Dung Le Anh raised to 300 from the cut-off with Van Hung Nguyen calling from the hi-jack and the big blind player defending.

The flop arrived Q♣ 4♣ 5♥. Anh made a c-bet to 600 and Nguyen stayed to see a 8♥ turn. Both checked their betting options and also checked down the 9♠ river.

Anh showed A♣ 6♥ and Nguyen showed A♠ J♣ with the jack kicker making a play for the win.

Kyoungseok Chai raised to 500 with Van Duc Tran making the only call on the table from the low-jack. Both players ere able to see a flop of 4♠ 2♦ 3♣. Both checked for a freebie 3♠ on the turn. Chai led for 900 and called the 2,100 raised of Tran to see a 5♦ river. Chai led with 2,000 and Tran gave it up.

Some of the notable players already at the tables of the Madness Kick Off at the USOP Hai Phong Grand Finale include:

Vietnamese pro Dinh Phuc Nguyen, who made has made three final table appearances this year in WPC Hanoi, APT Hanoi and at USOP Da Nang, where he made his best finish at 4th place. Hopefully, Nguyen will make a bigger score in this event.

Chinese pro Tingjia Cao is also at the felt. Cao comes fresh with multiple cashes from Poker Dream 12 held at Jeju, Korea, and will be looking to boost his total live earnings of over USD 130,000.

Frenchman Jules Rohr is also on the felt. Rohr has made multiple final table appearances this year in Paris-based poker events and will look to make his mark here in Vietnam.

It's official!

The USOP Hai Phong Grand Finale is on its way! Over VND 100 Billion Guaranteed over 69 events will be awarded starting today until December 11 and it kicks off with the Madness Kickoff.

Day 1A of the Madness Kickoff has shuffled up and dealt and action has already begun with 20 early bird players taking to the felt so far. This event will be guaranteeing VND 10 Billion (~USD 400,000).