Mini Main Event

Two players busted at the bubble for a double bubble.

In the first bubble - action fell to the last 3 with big blind Ryan Johnson all-in on his blinds for 12,000. Button Lee Koangho and small blind Haver Kamper just matched the blinds and checked down the board of A♠ 6♠ 4♥ 5♥ K♠.

Johnson showed Q♠ 2♥ - missing the board completely.

Kamper's J♥ 7♠ also missed the board.

However, Koangho showed K♣ 5♦ for a two pair, which was more than enough to bust Johnson at the bubble and win the pot.

In the second bubble, action folded to the blinds and Lee Jonggu shoved all-in for 67,000 in the small blind. Ivan Karatayeu had the stack to defend the big blind and made the call.

Jonggu showed Q♥ 8♦ while Karatayeu held K♣ T♥.

The board ran 5♣ 3♣ 2♥ J♣ 7♦. Both missed the board, but the king-high of Karatayeu was still the better hand and good enough to bust Jonggu as the second bubble.

Lee Jonggu and Ryan Johnson will each earn half of the minimum payout from the prize pool for their double bubble bust. That's still better than nothing.

This will be the last break of the evening. When play resumes the remaining 59 players will be competing for the 51 qualifying slots to advance to Day 2 and earn a minimum share from the prize pool.

Mini Main Event Day 1C

Date: December 3, 2024

Buy-in:VND 20,000,000 (~USD 780)

Guarantee: VND 15,000,000,000 (~USD 600,000)

Entries: 419 (298 unique)

ITM: 51 places to advance to Day 2

Starting Stack: 30,000

Total Chips in Play: 12,570,000

Average Stack: 213,000

Players Remaining: 59

Dang Hung Duong raised to 17,000 from UTG+1. Chu Manh Huong three-bet to 45,000 from the hijack. Ha Manh Tuong re-raised all-in for 128,000 in the big blind. Everyone folded and Tuong made an easy scoop to pad the stack.

Nguyen Ngoc Dai raised to 16,000 from the hi-jack and Hoang Khiem defended the big blind. Both were given a flop of J♠ 9♥ 4♦. Khiem checked-raised the 15,000 bet of Dai all-in for 63,000. Dai made the call.

Khiem showed T♣ 9♠ and was ahead with a pair of nines. Dai showed A♠ Q♠ and had nothing, but a draw to over cards. However, the 3♠ turn offered outs to a flush, and right on cue, the poker gods delivered the flush with a 7♠ on the river. Dai scoops the big pot and Khiem cursed the poker gods for the bad beat while he stood up from the table.

Ivan Karatayeu and Pham Van Xuan were both in the hand.

There was some raise-reraising pre-flop. Then, there was some more bet-raise-calling after the flop 4♦ 3♥ 8♠. Then, there was all-in and calling when the turn came A♠.

Karatayeu flipped over K♠ K♦ and Pham Van Xuan showed K♥ K♣. The J♥ was of no use since both split the pot already.

Ke Nhu Hai raised to 12,000 from under the gun and was called by Kim Doyeon two seats over. Both players saw a flop of A♥ 4♥ 2♠. Hai check-called th 15,000 bet of Doyeon to open a J♥ on the turn. Hai check-raised all-in after Doyeon bet out 40,000.

Doyeon had to pause for a moment, take a peek at his cards, wondered if AI will rule the world, threw in a time-bank token and also threw his cards to the muck.

Three players were in the hand - Lojack Le Thanh Hung, Hi-jack Li Jun and big blind Nguyen Tuan Anh.

The flop was out and showed T♦ 3♦ 4♦. There was 38,000 in the pot. All three pushed their chips in the middle. Hung had his 98,000 all-in. Jun had 105,000. Anh had them both covered.

Hung showed Q♥ T♣ for a top pair. Jun showed Q♦ J♦ for a flush. The best hand though belong to Anh with a K♦ 9♦ for a king-high flush.

Anh scooped the huge pot and showed the exit to Hung and Jun.

Action fell to the blinds. Lu Wang completed the small blind and Nguyen Duc Cuong checked to see a friendly flop of A♥ Q♦ 2♦.

Wang bet 6,000 and called the 16,000 raise of Cuong.

The turn came 7♠. Wang checked and didn't continue when Cuong fired 35,000.

Cuong showed K♣ J♣.

Action folded to the blinds. Small blind Pham Van Xuan raised to 8,000 and Natalia Rozova defended the big blind. Both players were given a flop of 8♦ 4♦ 4♥. Xuan c-bet for 11,000 and Rozova called again.

The turn came K♦. Both checked to open A♣ on the river. Xuan bet 35,000. Rozova raised to 70,000. Xuan called and Rozova quickly threw her cards away.

Ivan Karatayeu raised to 8,000 from under the gun and Jia Yuequan defended the big blind. Both players were dealt a flop of A♣ T♥ 8♠. Yuequan check-raised the 11,000 bet of Karatayeu to 28,000.

Karatayeu called to see a 6♥. Yuequan shoved all-in for 83,000 and Karatayeu snap called and threw down the A♦ T♦ for two pair. Yuequan showed a J♣ 9♠, hoping for the open-ended to make a straight.

The river 6♠ didn't help and Yuequan was shown the exit. Karatayeu scooped the pot to extend his chip lead

Do Quang Trinh raised to 6,500 from under the gun then called the 19,000 three-bet re-raise of Victor Chong in the small blind. The flop showed A♣ T♦ 6♣

Chong led out for 11,000 then called Trinh's raise of 25,000. The turn showed K♥. Chong checked. Trinh bet all-in for his last 41,500. Chong took a moment to analyze the situation, threw in two time-bank tokens, counted his chips and eventually pushed them beyond the betting line for a call.

Trinh showed a two pair with his A♠ T♣. Chong showed Q♥ Q♣ and needed some help. The 9♣ river wasn't the help Chong needed and he was left with crumbs while Trinh boosted to a healthy double up.

Su Shanhe raised to 6,000 from under the gun. Jiang Xiangzhu three-bet raised to 17,000. Nguyen Dieu Phuong Linh called on the button as did Shanhe. All three entered a flop of K♠ K♥ 6♠.

Shanhe tapped the option over to Xiangzhu, who fired 15,000. Linh called and Shanhe gave up. The turn came 8♣. Xiangzhu checked. Linh fired 20,000. Xiangzhu tanked and wondered if Bruce Lee would've been a UFC champion, then folded to award the pot to Linh.

Su Shanhe raised to 5,000 from the lo-jack and Nguyen Dieu Phuong Linh called from the small blind. Both players were treated to a flop of 4♣ 5♠ A♠. Linh check-called the 7,500 bet to see a T♣ on the turn. Linh check-called the 17,500 bet to see a 7♠ on the river.

Linh check-called all-in the 70,000 bet of Shanhe, putting the last 31,000 chips at risk along with his tournament life.

Shanhe showed 7♣ 8♠ for a rivered pair of sevens while Linh showed A♦ J♥ for a pair of aces to book the win and earn a double-up.

Nguyen Thanh Tuan raised to 6,000 from UTG+2 and found 2 callers. The flop came Q♠ J♥ 4♥. Big blind checked to Tuan, who bet 7,500. Nguyen Thi Minh Hong made the call from the lo-jack and the big blind stepped away.

The turn came 4♠. Tuan fired second barrel of 17,000 and Hong called again. The river came A♦ and Tuan bet all-in. Hong thought about it, took a peek at her cards and at the board, then released her cards back to the dealer.

UTG +1 raised to 4,000 when Lin Wencheng three-bet re-raised to 8,000. Big blind Nguyen Trung Ha re-popped to 33,000 with Wencheng the only one to stay on.

The flop landed Q♦ 6♦ 5♥. Ha led out for 12,000 and Wencheng called to see a K♣ turn. Ha fired another 40,000 to put Wencheng at risk. However, he decided to save the call for another time.

Tom Verbruggen raised to 3,000 from UTG+2 and William Jia defended his big blind. Both players were given a flop of 4♠ K♠ 3♠. Jia check-raised all-in the 5,000 bet of Verbruggen. Verbruggen called.

Verbruggen showed K♥ 7♥ while Jia peeled K♦ T♥. Jia was ahead and remained ahead after the board completed with Q♦ 6♦. Jia got a crucial double-up and Verbruggen got damaged.

Do Quang Thang raised to 3,000 from under the gun then called the 8,000 three-bet raise by Vu Duc Toi from two seats over. Both players were shown a fop of K♥ 2♥ 2♣.

Thang check-raised the 5,000 bet of Toi to all in, putting Toi's stack at risk. Toi thought about it real hard, used a time-bank token, tried to remember the lyrics to that Nirvana song about mosquitos and then pushed his last 23,500 past the betting line for a call.

Toi showed A♥ Q♠ and was ahead against Thang's Q♥ J♥ despite not hitting anything on the board. However, Thang was on a huge flush draw and there were cards to avoid.

The 6♠ turn and T♦ river were bricks for Thang and a reward to Toi for making such a bold call.

UTG+1 Nguyen Duc Cuong and button Nguyen Canh Tan were looking at 16,500 chips in the pot alongside a flop of 3♦ 5♥ 4♦. Cuong check-called the 9,000 bet of Tan to see a 6♣ turn. Cuong checked and allowed Tan to fire another 25,000.

Cuong went into deep thought and studied the possibilities. Cuong peeked back into his hole cards, played with his chips, used two-time banks, wondered what to eat for dinner and folded. Tan scooped the pot to improve his stack.

SMP reporters - Derick and I - were walking around Hai Phong looking for a place to eat when someone was waving to us from inside a restaurant. We accepted the invitation to go inside and she quickly snapped, "You guys should eat here! I was looking for places to eat and found this. It's so good!"

We were surprised that she spoke fluent English.

Derick asked, "You're Vietnamese, right?"

She said "Yes"

When I asked how you speak English so fluently? She said, "because I live in London."

And when asked what are you doing here, "I'm here for the USOP poker event."

And that's when it dawned upon me - "Oh you're Thi Minh Hong Pham. You came in fourth."

"Fifth," she snap corrected. "Good memory," she added.

Then, I had to explain that we do the reporting for So Much Poker.

We introduced ourselves, and she introduced herself as Sarah.

I'm thinking to myself, "Sarah would've been easier to write down than her longer name."

We went on to ask her about her life in London, and she explained that she's really a poker pro in Europe. Both her and her husband.

Who's the better player?

"I've been a pro for 3 years and he's been playing for 8 years, but we're even in terms of winnings, so maybe I'm more profitable," she jokes. "But of course every player has their own approach and strategy, so no one's really better. It's not a competition," she explained.

She found out online about the event in Hai Phong, and she took the opportunity to come home to visit her parents and do some "work."

Work has paid off well so far, considering her 5th place finish at the Madness Kickoff.

What other events are you playing?

"I was looking forward to the Mystery Hunter, but that got change to Mini Main Event. I'll still play though," explained Sarah.

She explained that it's good to be playing 'back home' because she can stay with her parents and not be too worried about expenses and all. "Back in Europe, there's a lot to spend on hotels, food and getting around. Back home in Hai Phong, there's less tilt and less to worry about."

It was surprising to know that Sarah was very chatty with SMP. "I'm very quiet at the poker table. Talking too much gives away a lot of information, so I just keep quiet. Everyone gets surprised when I start chatting them up away from the felt," she says. "Oh - you speak! --- that's they're usual reaction."

After the quick exchange of pleasantries and quick questions - Sarah went off to finish her lunch as did Derickand myself.

What was lunch? Crab Noodles. WOW!

We were so thankful Sarah waved us in for this culinary find. We're even more thankful that when we asked for the bill, the lady explained that it had already been taken care of. Double WOW!

Derick explained later, "That's the first time a girl has ever treated me for anything."

On behalf of Derick and myself... Thank you, Sarah!

Good luck at the tables!

Nguyen Hoang Anh raised to 3,500 from UTG+1 and was three-bet raised to 8,500 by Nguyen Sy Dong on the next seat. Anh answered back by re-popping to 20,000. Dong made the call to see a flop of 3♥ 7♦ 8♦. Both checked to see a 7♣ turn.

Anh shoved all-in for 25,300 and Dong snap called. Anh showed 9♦ 9♥ while Dong showed J♣ 8♥.

The river Q♠ sealed the deal for Anh's win and double-up.

Su Shanhe raised to 1,600 from UTG+1 and called the 5,500 three-bet re-raise by Wang Haozhao from the cut-off. Flop arrived Q♠ J♠ 2♣.

Shanhe check-raised the 4,000 bet of Haozhao to 14,000. Haozhao took a moment to think, counted his stack, peeked into his cards, wondered if dragons really existed, threw in a time-bank token and threw in a chip to make the call. The turn came 5♣.

Shanhe led out for 22,800 and Haozhao didn't waste any time sending his cards to the muck.

Gutta Nikhil min-raised to 1,200 from UTG+1 and found two callers. Three players were shown a flop of 7♥ 2♣ 8♠ . Nikhil opened with 3,000 and lo-jack Nong Quoc Tap and button Le Nguyen Khanh Linh completed to see a 9♠ turn.

Nikhil bet 9,000 and both Tap and Linh called to see a 2♣ river. Nikhil and Tap checked to Linh who fired 15,000. Nikhil snap called and Tap stood out of the way when that happened.

Linh showed her K♠ T♠ that missed the flush and straight while Nikhil showed the top pair nine which was enough to take down the pot.

Nguyen Trung Chien raised to 1,200 from under the gun. Nguyen Thi Hien Hoa three-bet to 2,600 and the dealer button player made the call. Action came back to Chien who four-bet to 8,200.

Everyone folded to give Chien the pot.

Tran Hai Ha raised to 1,200 from the lo-jack with three callers. The flop came 8♣ 4♦ 6♦. Action checked to Wang Hengning on the button, who fired 2,100. The blinds folded, but Ha raised to 10,800. Hengning called to see a 4♥ turn. Ha went all-in for 18,000 and Hengning made the call.

Ha showed T♦ 9♦ for.a flush draw and Hengming also showed Q♦ 5♦ also for a flush draw. Hengming was ahead and stayed ahead when both hit the flush on the river when the 3♦ came on the board.

Ha busted and might have been headed to the registration booth for a re-entry.

Tran Quang Trung raised to 1,000 from UTG+1 and found the blinds calling to see a flop of J♠ T♦ T♥. The blinds checked to Trung, who fired 1,200. The small blind folded, but big blind Bui The Nguyen raised to 3,700. Trung made the call to see a Q♠ on the turn.

Both checked to see a 2♠ on the river. Nguyen led out for 3,500. Trung thought about it pretty hard, spending two-time bank tokens and wondering if there are still elvish people with pointy ears. Trung finally folded, showing K♣ K♥ to the table before giving it back to the dealer.

The hi-jack raised to 800. Cutoff Nguyen Hoang Anh three-bet raised to 2,500. Ghosh Asish Kumar called from the big blind as did the hi-jack. The flop came 2♥ 2♦ 8♠. Action checked its way to Anh, who fired 3,600. Ghosh anwered with a re-raise to 10,200. Hi-jack folded and Anh spent a time-bank token before counting some chips to make the call.

The turn came K♥. Ghosh pushed his last 5,000 all-in and Anh snap called. Anh showed A♠ K♣ for a top pair of kings while Ghosh showed K♦ 8♦ for two pair. A 7♥ hit the river to book the win and the double-up for Ghosh.

Nguyen Doc Hieu raised to 900 from the cut-off and the button player called. However, small blind Laurinaitis Vytautas three-bet to 3,100 with only Hieu continuing to see a flop of T♠ 8♠ 4♥. Vystautas led for 4,000 and Hieu called to see a 9♥ on the turn.

Vytautas then shoved his last 9,400 chips all-in and as snap called by Hieu.

Huc showed A♣ 8♣ for a pair of eights, which was ahead over the K♥ J♣ of Vytautas that hit nothing, but had several outs. 14 to be exact.

The river came J♦ and switched the win arrow to Vytautas with Hieu disappointed at the unlucky river bad beat.

Four players limped to see a friendly flop of Q♣ 2♠ 4♦ . Action was checked around to Juwon Kim on the button who fired 2,000. David Erquiaga called from the big blind and the 2 players in the hijack and cutoff got out of the way.

Kim and Erquiaga were shown a J♣ on the turn. Both checked and saw an A♥ on the river. Erquiaga led with 3,000 and Kim folded.

Bui Quang Tung raised to 700 from the hi-jack. Lei Tran Hai Dang three-bet to 2,100 on the button with small blind Dai Duong Nguyen and Tung calling.

Three players set a flop of 9♦ 5♦ 4♦ . Action was checked to Dang who fired 1,600. Nguyen called and Tung re-popped to 6,000. Dang got away while Nguyen threw a time-bank chip and went into some thought before making the call. A J♦ appeared on the turn. Nguyen checked and Tung fired 6,300. Nguyen surrendered.

Bui Quang Tung raised to 700 from the hi-jack. Lei Tran Hai Dang three-bet to 2,100 on the button with small blind Dai Duong Nguyen and Tung calling.

Three players set a flop of 9♦ 5♦ 4♦ . Action was checked to Dang who fired 1,600. Nguyen called and Tung re-popped to 6,000. Dang got away while Nguyen threw a time-bank chip and went into some thought before making the call. A J♦ appeared on the turn. Nguyen checked and Tung fired 6,300. Nguyen surrendered.

Bui Nfoc Long raised to 700 from under the gun an found two callers to see a flop of Q♠ J♠ 6♣. Long c-bet again for 1,200 and cut-off Nguyen Trong Quyet re-raised to 3,500. The dealer button folded while Long stayed on to see a 3♣ on the turn.

Both checked to see a A♣ river. Long led with 3,500 and Quyet pumped it up to 12,000. Long let it go.

There was 5,100 in the pot with UTG Mac Van Khoa, lo-jack Jiang Ziangzhu and big blind Dinh Xuan Khang in the hand. The flop showed 6♥ 8♦ 9♦.

Khang and Khoa checked to Xiangzhu who bet out 3,000. Both called behind for all to see a T♦ on the turn. Khang checked and Khoa fired out 6,5000. Xiangzhu spent one time-bank chip to think about it then folded. Khang, meanwhile, raised all-in. Khoa called immediately for his last 22,200.

Khoa showed 7♦ 7♠ for a straight while Khang showed A♥ T♥ for top pair. The 4♦ river didn't affect the outcome of the chips being shipped Khoa's way.

UTG Tom Eady and cut-off Liu Yuhan were looking into a pot of 5,100 with a board that showed 8♠ 3♠ J♥ 4♣.

Eady checked his option and Yuhan fired 5,000. Eady called to see a J♠ river. Eady checked again and Yuhan dropped 20,500.

Eady folded and flashed A♥ A♦ before giving the cards back to the dealer.

UTG+1 Nong Quoc Tap raised to 300 with the cut-off calling. Big blind Gutta Nikhil three-bet to 1,500 with Tap pumping up to 3,700. Cut-off went away but Nikhil completed to see a flop of T♠ 4♦ 5♥.

Nikhil check-called Tap's 2,800 bet. to see a T♥ turn. Both checked to see a T♣ river. Nikhil bet 6,500. Tap thought about it long enough to spend a time-bank card, but eventually folded.

UTG +1 raised to 200 and was called by the lo-jack. Hijack Adrian Scagnetti three-bet to 700. Big bling Vu Hoai Lam four-bet to 2,100. All else folded, except for Scagnetti.

Both players were shown a flop of 3♥ 6♥ T♦. Lam bet 1,200 and Scagnetti called. Turn came J♦. Lam led for 4,200 and Scagnetti gave the pot up.

Nguyen Phuong Tung raised to 300 from the hi-jack with the cut-off calling. Small blind Dang Duc Dong three-bet to 1,100. Big blind Jeon Segye called along with Tung and the cut-off.

Four players entered a flop of K♦ K♠ T♥ . Both blinds checked to Tung, who fired 1,900. Cut-off and Dong folded, but Segye stayed on.

Turn came 6♦. Both checked to see a J♦ on the river. Segye fired 4,000 and Tung called.

Segye showed Q♥ Q♠ and Tung didn't show to ship the pot to Segye.

Some of the notable poker pros already spotted at the tables in the Grand Ballroom of the Grand Pullman Hotel in Haiphong, Vietnam, include:

Vietnam's very own Trung Phong Nguyen, who has already cashed in 2 events of this series, including a final table appearance in the Madness Kickoff, where he placed 7th.

Italian Adriano Scagnetti made his first recorded ITM on Asian soil in this series. Scagnetti has been making ITM, but will need more to climb higher in the payout ladder.

Michael Falcon of Denmark is also in the field. Falcon just recently made a runner-up finish at the APPT Cambodia National Cup event last month and will look to continue his streak in this series.

Flight C of the Mini Main Event is underway with 10 early birds taking to the felt. It's a sluggish Tuesday morning here at the Grand Pullman Hotel in Hai Phong with the weather at a cool and comforting 26C. However, don't expect the pros to sleep in, especially when there's a VND 15 Billion (~USD 600,000) guaranteed prize pool to compete for.

Stay tuned here for the latest updates and reports.