ULTIMATE GTD KICK OFF EVENT (8,000,000 VND)

Day 1c of the Warm Up event at the Grand Loyal Poker Championship (GLPC) drew 388 entries, bringing the total field to 771 across the first three starting flights. After a full day of play inside the Grand Vista Hotel, 49 players secured their seats for Day 2, led by Aleksei Varashev of Russia, who bagged a commanding 764,000 to top the counts.

The Russian player is no stranger to making deep runs across the Asian continent, as he has no less than eight final table appearances, including multiple in Vietnam and three right here in Hanoi.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Khoi (701,000) and China’s Liu Shu (622,000) rounded out the top three, while several local contenders including Le Van Binh (448,000) and Nguyen Duc Hieu (447,000) also advanced.

Play ended dramatically when Shu Liu moved all in with pocket eights from early position to isolate Nguyen Thanh Trung’s short stack of 25,000, who held ace-seven. No one else called, and when the board ran out dry, Trung became the unfortunate bubble. Once the hand was complete, Nguyen Quang Viet said he had folded kings preflop. When the river fell, he saw that his kings would have been cracked, proving once again that sometimes, folding really is winning.

With Day 1d and 1e now underway, all survivors will return in the money on Sunday, October 12, to play down to a winner. Action resumes at 12 p.m., with blind levels increasing to 35 minutes, and the final table will be live-streamed on the USOP Facebook page.

Keep it right here with Somuchpoker to see who has what it takes to get their hands on the crown.

Shu Liu made a power move from UTG+1, shoving over Nguyen Thanh Trung’s 25,000-chip all-in and isolating the table. No one else dared to call. No help from the board, Nguyen Thanh Trung will exit as today's bubble.

Adding to the tension, Nguyen Quang Viet said to his fellowmen that he folded kings. All of the Vietnamese shout to him when the river 8♠ comes. If he called, his Kings will be cracked and there will be a double elimination. Like the old saying goes, "Sometimes, folding is winning".

Tran Xuan Duy opened to 17,000 from under the gun and got a call from another player in middle position. Khayal Abbasov then three-bet to 85,000 from the big blind, leaving himself just 3,000 behind. Duy called, and the other player folded.

Abbasov checked the 5♣ 2♣ 3♦ flop, and then called off his remaining 3,000 when Duy bet.

Khayal Abbasov: A♣ K♦

Tran Xuan Duy: A♥ Q♠

Abbasov was glad to be ahead, but he was the only one that was happy about it as the rest of the field were rooting against him.

A 3♣ turn added some extra protection for Abbasov in the form of a flush draw, and the K♥ river locked up the double-up for him.

Kun Han Lee opened to 12,000 from middle position and Le Van Binh made it 30,000 to go from the big blind. Lee quickly called.

On the A♥ 2♣ 3♦ flop, Binh led for 6,000, which Lee called to the J♥ turn. Again Binh put out 6,000, and this time Lee bumped it up to 22,000. Binh took some time to recheck his cards, then elected to fold, which allowed Lee to boost his stack to around 180,000.

Shu Liu, the current chip leader, just added more to his growing stack after winning a flip against Pham Cong Khanh. He’s now sitting comfortably with 718,000 in chips, tightening his grip on the top spot as the day goes on.

Just three hands later, Nguyen Khoi found himself in another massive pot after 4-bet shoving against Pham Duc Dung’s 3-bet. Pham called off, putting all his chips on the line, and Khoi was behind with only two outs.

But the poker gods had other plans. Khoi spiked a set on the flop and sealed the deal with quads on the turn, sending Pham to the rail and adding another huge stack to his growing pile.

Nguyen Khoi's stack has grown to over 400,000, with a portion of that coming from Yujia Ding, who just hit the rail.

Nguyen opened middle position to 11,000 and Ming Thang Tran called on the button. Ding was in the small blind and shoved 20,000, then he got some protection as Khoi isolated with a four-bet to 50,000. Tran folded.

Yujia Ding: K♥ 7♥

Nguyen Khoi: A♣ K♦

Ding was dominated, and didn't find any path to victory on the 5♣ J♦ 2♠ Q♣ 3♥ runout, which ended his run just a few spots away from the money.

Pham Duc Dung opened from under the gun and Yupeng Xie defended his big blind.

On the 7♥ T♥ J♦ flop, Xie check-called a bet of 12,000 from Dung to see the 8♥ turn, where both checked.

A 3♠ on the river saw a min-bet come in from Xie for just one big blind, which Dung snapped off.

Xie then revealed Q♥ 8♣ for a turned pair of eights, but Dung had that beat with A♦ 9♥ for a rivered straight.

The board was already out, the cards were face up, and Aleksei Varashev was calmly scooping in the massive pot. His runner-runner flush crushed Nguyen Thanh Tung’s pocket aces and Le Ngoc Giao’s flopped top set in one dramatic showdown. With that huge win, Aleksei surges to the top of the counts.

Georgios Skarparis, although wrapped up in a blanket, has picked up some heat as of late, and has a stack of around 170,000 to attack the nearing bubble with.

Skarparis just opened from middle position to 8,000 and Nguyen Ngoc Viet called on the button.

A simple continuation-bet of 9,000 got the job done for Skarparis on the A♥ 5♠ 2♦ flop, which helped pad out his stack a little more.

Hoang Van Phong won a huge pot earlier with a flopped set of tens, and recently he just raked another after getting his stack in the middle against Thanh Trung Nguyen.

Hoang Van Phong: K♥ K♦

Thanh Trung Nguyen: J♠ J♦

Both have good hands, but Phong's was best and he retained his lead through the 5♣ T♥ 9♠ flop. A Q♠ on turn meant they swapped out as each needed the other's card to make a straight, which is exactly what Phong did on the J♣ river.

After that hand, Phong's stack moved to around 325,000, while Nguyen's plummeted to around 80,000.

Only 77 players remain out of 388 entries here at Day 1C of the Ultimate GTD Kick Off Event, with 49 spots will make the money.

It’s the local players who are shining brightest so far, dominating the chip counts as they look to secure their seats for Day 2!

Here are your current chip leaders:

With around 35,000 already in the middle on a board of A♠ K♥ 6♦ 7♥ , Kumar Sogani checked from the big blind and Yujia Ding bet 14,000 from under the gun. Sogani called.

A 3♥ completed the runout and Sogani quickly tapped the table, only for Ding to throw out another bet of 30,000. Sogani didn't look comfortable and eventually flashed the A♣ as he folded. Ding didn't show, so Sogani will never know if he made the right fold or not.

A flop of J♦ 2♣ T♠ was already showing in a pot between Nguyen Trung Chien and Hoang Van Phong. After a series of bets and raises, Chien called the shove of Phong, which left a pot of around 200,000 up for grabs.

Phong had a set with T♥ T♣, but needed to hold against the open-ended straight draw of Chien, who held K♦ Q♥.

The 4♣ turn didn't offer any help to Chien, and neither did the 7♦ river, which meant he was left with around 6,000 in his stack, while Phong bounced up the counts to around 200,000.

Day 1C of the Ultimate GTD Kick Off Event has officially come to an end with a total of 388 entries, including 133 re-entries. Players will battle it out until only 49 remain, securing their place in the money.

With 169 players still in the field, the race to survive continues as everyone aims to bag chips for Day 2 and move one step closer to the title!

The 4-bet preflop action built a pot of 27,000, and the cards were all revealed after the flop 5♥ Q♥ K♣ . Pham Quang Van, holding K♦ Q♦ , flopped top two pair, dominating Shu Liu's 5♣ 4♣ , who had only bottom pair.

Shu moved all in for 48,000, almost drawing dead, faced a near-impossible situation — until the turn 6♣ and river 7♣ delivered a miraculous runner-runner flush.

The table gasped, stunned by the improbable comeback, but Shu remained calm, almost as if he had already known the cards would fall his way.

Seats are full, tables are full. The Ultimate GTD Kick Off Event is buzzing with action! Over 200 players are currently in play, and the total entries have already reached 320. Three more levels before registration closes before the start of level 11.

Cyprus’ Georgios Skarparis knows exactly what it takes to capture World Series of Poker gold and is now looking to add another strong result to his poker resume here in Hanoi. The accomplished Cypriot claimed his maiden WSOP bracelet in 2024, winning the $1,000 Mini Main Event in Las Vegas for $554,925 after topping a field of more than 6,000 players. It was a breakthrough victory that firmly established him on the international stage.

Skarparis has also enjoyed success in Vietnam, where he won the VND 7,000,000 No-Limit Hold’em Tuesday Special during the USOP Hai Phong, earning VND 140,000,000 for his first recorded win on Vietnamese soil.

Now sitting on around 35,000 in chips, Skarparis is once again testing his skills against a tough field. With a WSOP bracelet already to his name and proven success in Vietnam, the Cypriot is one to keep an eye on as the tournament continues.

One of the many USOP Main Event Champions, Choi Hun Tae, is here at the Grand Loyal Poker Championship Hanoi 2025. Fresh off winning his first trophy, he’s already back in the table, ready to try his luck at winning another trophy. His known as one of the player who proves even the small player can win big. Choi is someone everyone will be keeping an eye on.

The pot had grown to 8,400 , and the tension at the table was visible. Tang Xinxing, last crowned Player of the Series at the USOP Hai Phong, casually bet 7,000, his eyes not on the felt but glued to his phone, completely unbothered by the action around him.

Zaitsev Evgenii, still no idea from yesterday’s “mucked chop” mistake, decided to push his luck, check-raising all in for 25,000 with two pair. The table leaned in, waiting to see if Tang would fold or react. But Tang didn’t even look at the board. With the same calm he had shown since the start of the day, he called.

When his cards revealed a full house, the outcome was sealed, Zaitsev’s tournament run ended, and Tang simply stacked the chips, still absorbed in his phone as if nothing had happened. Zaitsev could only watch his tournament end as Tang, like a boss, stacked the chips one-handed without even looking up.

The field continues to grow rapidly! With just three levels completed, Day 1C of the Ultimate GTD Kick Off Event has already crossed 100 entries, and more players are still joining the action as registration remains open.

Day 1C of the Ultimate GTD Kick Off Event has officially begun with 20 early entries taking their seats. Registration will remain open until 16:30, before the start of Level 11, giving players more time to join the action. Unlike the previous flights, there will be no more chip leader bonus for this round.

Just yesterday, the guaranteed prize pool was increased from VND 7 Billion to VND 7.2 Billion, making the event even more exciting for everyone. Day 1A drew 222 entries with 28 survivors, led by Nguyen Dang Truong who bagged 868,000 chips and earned the VND 15 Million chip leader bonus. Meanwhile, Day 1B attracted 161 entries, with 21 players advancing led by Nguyen Hien Trung, who ended the flight with 745,000 chips and the same VND 15 Million bonus.

Event starts 11:00 local time..