MINI MAIN EVENT (12,000,000 VND)

Day 1A of the Mini Main Event at the Grand Loyal Poker Championship (GLPC) in Hanoi drew a strong field of 289 players, dwarfing Day 1A of the Kick Off Event by a considerable margin, with Hyunsu Lee emerging as the chip leader, bagging 877,000 chips by the end of play. The South Korean player built momentum early, eliminating Nguyen Trung Phong in the early stages and grew his stack steadily throughout the day. A key moment came later when he dispatched another player on the soft bubble, catapulting him into the lead substantially.

The 30-minute bubble had no shortage of drama and tension, including a standout "no-look all-in" at the 38-player hand-for-hand stage. A "no-look raise", followed by a "no-look all-in" drew quite the crowd but ultimately resulted in a double-up with a four-deuce offsuit hand surviving, incredibly.

The bubble burst in a tense three-way all-in. Li Shankui shoved his short 80,000-chip stack from the button, with blinds Phung Song Hoang and Li Chengbei calling. Confusion arose when Nguyen Duy Thuc’s premature reveal rendered his hand dead. The showdown revealed Shankui with ace-jack, Hoang with a pair of kings, and Chengbei as the preflop favourite with aces. The board offered Shankui a nut flush draw, but the turn and river failed to complete it, making him the unfortunate bubble boy as 37 players advanced to the second day.

The full list of chip counts will be posted as soon as they are made available. Tune in Somuchpoker tomorrow for the thrilling conclusion to the flights and see who'll be leading going into Day 2!

A dramatic previous hand featuring a 'no-look raise' followed by a 'no-look all-in' that resulted in a double-up unfolded prior; on the next table over, on the next hand, an equally dramatic three-way all-in unfolded between Li Shankui, Phung Song Hoang, and Li Chengbei. Button Shankui shoved with the short stack of 80,000 chips, followed by calls from the two blinds.

There was confusion over whether Nguyen Duy Thuc was part of the hand, as it seemed like he made the call but prematurely revealed his hand, which the floor deemed dead.

The three players turned over their hands when instructed to see if the bubble would finally burst:

Li Shankui: A♣ J♦

Phung Song Hoang: K♦ K♣

Li Chengbei: A♦ A♥

It truly was a battle of the giants, with Chengbei the favorite going in preflop.

The floor instructed the dealer to run out the board, with Q♣ J♣ 6♣ arriving, giving Shankui the nut flush draw and keeping his hopes alive.

The T♦ and 6♥ turn and river couldn't complete Shankui's flush, and he became the unfortunate bubble boy of the first flight.

The floor has instructed dealers to finish their current hands then commence hand-for-hand play. Stick around to see who bursts the bubble!

Song Hoang Phung raised to 16,000 from middle position and was three-bet by cutoff Nguyen Duy Thuc to 42,000. Phung then four-bet to 60,000 and Thuc made the call.

Action checked through the 9♥ 2♦ 5♠ 7♠ flop and turn to the 7♣ river, where Phung bet 60,000. Thuc called and turned over T♠ T♦, beating out Phung's A♠ 9♣ with a superior two pair.

Players are now on a 10-minute break. This will likely be the last break of the evening before the bubble bursts.

Nguyen Thanh Trung raised to 15,000 from middle position and was called by cutoff Tran Tuan Minh who called. Li Shankui then three-bet to 40,000 from the button, prompting both Trung and Minh to tank, each burning through a timebank before letting their respective hands go.

Currently, 43 players remain. Flight A is playing down to ITM which will be only 37 players. Once 38 have been reached, hand-for-hand will commence until the bubble has burst.

Hand 1

Nguyen Trung Chein raised to 10,000 from the cutoff, small blind Trinh Anh Dung three-bet to 22,000 which was called. Dung shoved the 8♠ 4♣ 2♦ flop and got a fold.

Hand 2

Vo Van Quoc made it 10,000 to go from middle position, called by Chien next door and big blind Haoran Sun.

Both Sun and Chien folded to Quoc's 14,000 continuation-bet following the K♦ T♦ Q♣ flop.

Hand 3

Nguyen Ngoc Bich shoved for about 100,000 from the small blind and got it through.

Hand 4

A 10,000 raise from Quoc under the gun was enough to shake everybody off the pot, not before showing ace-queen to the table.

Hand 5

Shu Liu raised to 11,000 from middle position and found a caller in Ngo Xuan Thuy in the small blind.

Both checked the 6♥ 8♣ 5♦ flop. Thuy check-called 10,000 from Liu on the K♦ turn.

Thuy led out for 37,000 on the T♦ river, which Liu called, prompting Thuy to reveal A♦ 3♦ for the nut flush.

Tianshi Hu raised to 8,000 from the button when Ilia Timofeev three-bet to 24,000.

Hu responded by grabbing his entire stack and before he could move the chips to go all-in, Timofeev slung his cards into the middle.

Phung Song Hoang raised to 9,000 from the hijack and Nguyen Thanh Trung defended from the big blind.

The dealer fanned the 5♥ 7♣ 4♥ flop and Trung led out for 8,000, which Hoang called.

Both players checked through the 6♦ turn to the 5♠ river, where Trung check-folded Hoang's all-in for around 330,000.

Players are now on their fourth scheduled break of the day. All 500-denomination chips will be exchanged.

Nguyen Ngoc Tuan limped in from the middle position, as did Raju Vijayasankar one seat over. Button Pham Tien Dung then moved all in for around 60,000, and only covering stack Tuan made the call:

Pham Tien Dung: Q♥ J♦

Nguyen Ngoc Tuan: J♣ J♥

Dung saw the bad news knowing he'd have fewer outs to keep himself in the game. It was a brutal flop for Dung as the dealer fanned out Q♣ J♠ 8♦, giving him two pair but Tuan a set.

The 4♥ A♦ runout completed the board and Dung was eliminated.

Tuan Linh Bui opened to 5,500 from under the gun and Xiangyu Zhao three-bet to 15,000 from middle position. When it got back to Bui, he called.

On the 8♣ T♠ 2♠ flop, Bui checked and Zhao bet 15,000. Bui then shoved for 42,000, and Zhao snap-called.

Tuan Linh Bui: A♥ A♣

Xiangyu Zhao: K♠ K♦

Bui had slow-played his aces to perfection, but most likely would have gotten the chips in anyway. Nothing changed on the 9♦ Q♠ runout, and Bui doubled up while Zhao's stack took a hit.

Following an 18,000 three-bet from hijack Maksim Scherbakov, button Aditya Subramanian got the remainder of his stack into the middle for around 60,000, with Scherbakov at risk:

Maksim Scherbakov: A♥ Q♠

Aditya Subramanian: K♠ K♣

Scherbakov had already risen to his seat by the time the 5♦ 7♣ 4♦ flop had hit the felt, and the K♥ 8♣ runout only improved Subramanian to a set, sending the Russian out with no possibility to re-enter into this flight.

Jun Zhao raised to 3,000 from the hijack and found two callers in small blind Xuan An Dang and big blind Charles McGregor.

Dang check-called whilst McGregor check-folded Zhao's 3,500 continuation-bet following the 8♠ 4♦ 3♣ flop.

Both players checked through the 5♦ turn to see the 9♥ river, where Dang fired off 14,000 into the middle. Zhao tanked before ultimately deciding on a fold.

Nhu Hieu Mai had his stack of around 30,000 in the pot and was put at risk by Song Hoang Phung.

Nhu Hieu Mai: K♣ Q♦

Song Hoang Phung: A♥ A♣

Mai needed to overcome the bullets, but didn't manage to do so as the 7♣ 4♣ 5♥ 4♠ 6♦ runout meant he hit the rail.

Registration for the Mini Main Event has closed, drawing a total of 289 entries (201 unique) for Day 1A; far exceeding the Kick Off Event's turnout. With 133 players still in contention, the field battles through 30-minute levels toward the money bubble at 37 remaining. Hand-for-hand play begins at 38, as survivors chase the VND 10 billion guaranteed prize pool.

Players are now on their third scheduled break of the day. All 100-denomination chips will be exchanged during this time.

Xie Chengrun opened to 2,500 from under the gun and was called by button Nguyen Van Hien and big blind Tran Thanh Hung, and they headed three-ways to the flop.

All three opted to check the T♦ J♦ T♠ flop to see the 7♣ turn. Van Hien led out for 5,000, and Chengrun stuck around.

Van Hien upped it to 7,000 once the 3♦ landed on the river, Chengrun quickly called again. Van Hien flipped over A♥ J♣ for a flopped two pair and Chengrun's cards hit the muck.

In the next hand at table 9, Bubna Harsh raised to 2,400 from middle position, prompting a three-bet shove from a now short-stacked Chengrun for around ~20,000. Harsh stuck his stack in the centre and threw his cards in face up:

Xie Chengrun: 4♦ 4♣

Bubna Harsh: A♥ 8♦

Harsh's pocket fours held up to eliminate Chengrun as the board ran out 8♥ 9♦ K♦ 3♠ 7♥.

Le Viet Anh opened by placing a hefty stack of 100s into the middle, equating to 2,700 from middle position. Only Jules Rohr made the call out of the big blind.

A monochromatic J♦ 5♦ T♦ hit the felt for the flop, and both players checked through.

Rohr led out for 5,000 on the 8♠ turn, Anh stuck around.

Once the 3♠ came on the river, Rohr moved the remainder of his 16,500 stack into the centre. Struggling with the decision, Anh leant back in his chair and took a moment to contemplate, before ultimately deciding on a fold.

The VND 12,000,000 Mini Main Event is already shaping up to be one of the biggest draws of the Grand Loyal Poker Championship. With a massive VND 10 billion guarantee on the line, Day 1a has already attracted 235 entries, and registration remains open for two more levels.

That number already surpasses the Kick Off Event, which featured a smaller VND 8,000,000 buy-in and a VND 7 billion guarantee, and drew 222 entries on its opening flight.

If the early turnout is anything to go by, the Mini Main looks set to smash its guarantee well before the final flight even begins.

Ngoc Anh Ngo had put in a three-bet to 5,300 and a cold four-bet shove came from Sumin Oh behind. The initial raiser folded, but Ngo called off his stack of under 20,000.

Ngoc Anh Ngo: A♥ Q♣

Sumin Oh: A♦ K♠

Ngo was dominated, and didn't find any help from the 2♠ 4♠ 7♥ J♠ T♣ runout, which ended his run.

Fear not, though, Ngo fans, as there are still around 90 minutes of late registration for anybody to hop back in.

Pham Anh Tuan min-raised from the cutoff and only big blind Nguyen Quoc Duy responded with a three-bet to 5,000 from the big blind.

Duy fired again once the diamond-studded 9♦ T♦ J♦ flop landed, this time for 25,000. Tuan promptly sent his hand back to the dealer.

In the very next hand, Tuan raised to 1,600 again from the hijack, with three callers coming along: Le Manh Cuong in the cutoff, Ngo Ngoc Anh in the small blind and Zhong Yuan in the big.

All four players remained cautious on the 3♦ Q♠ 7♠ flop, checking through to the Q♣ turn. Both blinds checked before Tuan sent 2,000 into the middle, prompting folds from the rest of the table, allowing him to earn back some valuable chips.

Players are now on their second break of the day.

Hijack Nguyen Thanh Hai raised to 1,200, with cutoff Ngoc Anh Ngo calling and Nguyen Ngo Khanh defending from the big blind.

All three players checked the 7♥ J♠ J♣ flop, onto the J♥ turn, where Khanh check-folded and Anh called Hai's 1,800 bet.

Neither player opted to put any more chips into the middle as they both checked on the 4♥ river. Hai flicked over A♠ 8♦, and Anh sent his hand into the muck.

Shankui Li, who is approaching $200,000 in live tournament earnings according to The Hendon Mob, has taken his seat in the Mini Main.

Somuchpoker decided to stay with his table for a few hands to see what went down.

In the first hand, Li opened to 1,100 from under the gun and Peng Yang called in the cutoff.

On a flop of 2♥ 2♠ 5♣ , a bet of 2,000 did the trick for Li as Yang folded.

Next, Van Chien Nguyen opened middle position to 1,000 and Vijayasankar Raju three-bet to 3,200 in the cutoff. When it got back to Nguyen, he called.

They saw a flop of T♥ 6♠ 7♠ and Nguyen checked, Raju bet 4,000, Nguyen made it 12,000, and Raju shoved 34,000. Nguyen called

Vijayasankar Raju: A♠ 9♠

Van Chien Nguyen: Q♠ 5♠

Both had flush draws, but Raju's was best and he locked up the hand on the A♥ turn with top pair. A meaningless 3♦ hit the river, and Raju doubled.

The next hand saw Nguyen open and then four-bet all in against Yang, but the handed ended there as the shove wasn't called.

Le Anh Dung raised to 1,000 from early position before calling a 2,500 three-bet from cutoff Nguyen Thanh Trung.

Action checked through the K♠ K♣ 2♠ J♠ flop and turn, onto the 8♣ river where Dung fired 5,000 into the middle. Trung quickly called.

Dung thew his A♦ 9♦ into the centre, but Trung had woken up with bullets for A♠ A♣ to take down the pot.

Xuan Duy Tran had his stack of around 21,000 in the middle preflop from the button, and was put at risk by Thanh Trung Nguyen in the hijack.

Xuan Duy Tran: J♠ J♥

Thanh Trung Nguyen: A♠ Q♦

Tran was in a flip, and it was his pair of jacks that held strong through the 3♠ 9♦ 7♥ 7♦ 6♥ runout, earning him a double.

Aleksei Varashev raised to 800 from the button and was joined by big blind Ngo Quoc Phu.

Phu check-called Varashev's continuation-bet of 600 once the dealer flipped the J♥ 3♦ 5♣ flop.

Both players checked through the 4♠ turn, onto the T♣ river where Phu sent 2,200 into the middle, prompting Varashev to check his cards a final time before sending them back to the dealer.

Tran Hai Hai raised to 800 from middle position and was joined by cutoff Preecha Suckchai and button Xie Chengrun.

Action checked through the J♥ 4♣ 8♣ flop to the 9♠ turn, where Ha check-folded Suckchai's 5,000 bet, whilst Chengrun made the call.

Chengrun struggled to find the call on the T♥ river after Suckchai fired off another barrel of 5,000, awarding him the healthy pot.

Anzhela Vasylenko opened to 800 from middle position and Ngo Xuan Thuy called in the hijack. Anh Tuyen Mai called in the cutoff, before Tran Hoang Nam bumped it up to 4,000 from the button. Vasylenko, Thuy, and Mai all called.

After the 6♦ 8♣ J♣ flop hit the felt, the action checked to Nam, who continued for 6,000. Vasylenko called, but both Thuy and Mai got out of the way.

On the 4♥ turn, Vasylenko checked again, then Nam bet 9,000. Vasylenko used a time bank before she moved all in for 18,800, and not long after, Nam called.

Anzhela Vasylenko: Q♦ J♥

Tran Hoang Nam: 9♠ 9♣

Vasylenko had top pair and just needed to fade a nine on the river to secure the double-up. That's exactly what she did when the 8♠ rolled off, earning her a stack of around 57,000.

Double-up secured, now back to the massage!

Players are on their first scheduled break of the day.

Some players haven't had the best of luck during the early stages of Day 1A of the Mini Main Event. But with five flights across today and tomorrow, there's ample opportunity for them to get back in the mix.

Five players went to a flop following Bhanu Chaluvaiah's raise to 600 in middle position, and they all checked through once the 7♥ K♣ T♦ hit the felt.

Ganbold Javkhlan and Tran Van Diem got out of the way after Le Anh Dung put 2,200 into the middle after the 3♠ turn, but Bhanu and Tianhshi Hu stuck around to see the river.

Dung fired again, this time for 6,000, leaving himself a very short amount of chips behind, but it was enough for him to claim the pot as both Hu and Bhanu surrendered their hands.

On a board of 3♥ 2♠ 7♥ with around 7,000 in the pot, it checked to Nhu An Le in the cutoff, who fired 2,500. Nguyen Dang Tu folded, and Nguyen Ngoc Viet called in the hijack.

When the K♦ dropped on the turn, Viet check-folded to a bet of 6,000 from Le.

It's been a good start for Le, who has boosted his stack to around 65,000 as the first break approaches.

Nguyen Thanh Hai opened the button to 500 and Ngoc Anh Ngo called in the small blind. Warren James Rustad then bumped it up to 4,000, which didn't deter either of his opponents, as they both called.

On the flop of A♣ 5♣ A♥ , it checked to Hai, who bet 5,500. Ngo and Rustad both quickly got out of the way.

Rustad seems to be relatively unknown on the poker scene, with one only documented live cash coming in Jeju not too long ago. Perhaps he has been caught by the poker bug!

Cutoff Nguyen Van Chien opened to 400 and button Preecha Suckchai as well as Yang Peng stuck around to see a flop.

Peng check-raised Chien's 500 bet following the A♦ 2♠ 5♦ flop, and Suckchai got out of the way. Chien made the call.

On the K♣ turn, Peng led out for 1,500. Chien then made is 4,000, before Peng re-raised all in for the remainder of his ~22,000 stack. After tanking for a short while and burning a timebank, Chien opted not to make the call as he tapped the table.

The action was joined on a board reading 5♣ 8♣ 9♣, when Le Anh Dung put 2,200 into the middle, which was called by Le Ngoc Giao.

The 5♥ landed on the turn, and Dung fired off 6,000. Giao obliged with a call.

Dung slowed down on the K♣ river, opting to check. Giao sent 8,000 in, and after a brief look at his cards, Dung couldn't find the call and slid his cards back to the dealer, taking a hefty dent to his stack.

On a board of 7♠ 4♥ 5♠ T♥ with around 4,000 in the pot, Minjung Kim bet 3,000 out of the big blind and Nguyen Dang Tu called from the hijack.

A 7♥ landed on the river and another bet came in from Kim, this time for 10,000. Tu took some time before he shoved 24,200, and Kim quickly called.

Tu then revealed he had backdoored a flush with A♥ 6♥ , and Kim showed that he flopped a straight holding 6♣ 3♦ .

Five players went to see a flop after all calling Park Hyung Keun's 200 raise from middle position.

Once the 5♣ 9♠ K♠ flop was shown, Keun continued for 600, and only button Trinh Anh Tuan stuck around to see the turn.

The 2♣ hit the felt, and Keun put 1,000 into the middle. Tuan responded with a 2,400-bet, which sent Keun into the tank for a little while, using a single timebank before ultimately deciding on a call.

Both players slowed down on the 6♥ river, where Keun turned over T♥ 9♥ for middle pair - good for the pot as Tuan slid his cards back to the dealer.

On a board of 3♣ K♥ T♥ J♠ , Nguyen Trung Phong had bet 2,000 and been raised to 6,000 by Le Van Tuan. Hyunsu Lee then made it 15,000 to go, and Phong shoved 28,000. Tuan folded, but Lee quickly called.

Nguyen Trung Phong: J♥ 3♥

Hyunsu Lee: K♠ K♣

Phong had two pair and a flush draw, and needed to connect with the latter of the two as he was up against the top set of Lee. All eyes were on the board while the dealer slammed down the Q♦ , which meant Phong was one of the first casualties of the day.

Vo Van Quoc raised to 200 from under the gun and received a call from Tran An Khang two seats to his left.

Khan check-called after Quoc continued for another 200 once the A♦ 6♣ 4♥ flop hit the felt.

Action repeated on the 9♦ turn; 1,000 was thrown in by Quoc this time around.

The 8♣ landed on the river, and Khan checked for a third time - Quoc fired off a 5,000 chip into the middle, and Khan responded by tripling the price to 15,000, and Quoc quickly moved the call in, before turning over 9♣ 8♥ for two pair.

Khan flipped over 9♠ 9♥ for a set of nines on the turn to Quoc's dismay.

There was an open from under the gun and a call that followed before Keun Park three-bet the button to 1,300. Hyunsu Lee was in the big blind and four-bet to 4,000, which only Park called.

The flop came 4♥ 3♣ Q♥ and a bet of 5,000 did the trick for Lee as Park quickly folded

Lee then revealed A♦ A♣ for the bullets.

Park Hyung Keun opened to 600 from early position, and was joined by button Nguyen Ngoc Viet and big blind Nguyen Trung Phong, and they headed three-ways to the flop.

Phong check-folded Keun's 600 continuation-bet following the 7♠ K♠ 2♠ flop, whilst Viet stuck around with a call.

Keun bumped it up to 3,500 once the 8♦ hit the felt. Again, Viet didn't go anywhere.

Keun fired off a third barrel of 6,000 on the 2♣ river. Viet still wasn't deterred and fired 15,000 into the middle which was instantly called by Keun.

A very audible groan was heard at the table as Viet tabled 7♥ 7♣ for a flopped set of sevens, and Keun sheepishly slid his cards back to the dealer.

With action now underway, here are a few of the early birds that made it in from the start.

The Mini Main Event at GLPC - Powered by USOP - Hanoi begins today, at 11:00 a.m. local time, featuring a VND 10 billion guaranteed prize pool. With a buy-in of VND 12,000,000 and a 30,000-chip starting stack, the tournament offers multiple re-entries for players wanting to give themselves the best shot at the title. Day 1 flights, including today’s Day 1A, run through Day 1D with 30-minute levels (20 minutes for the turbo flight), escalating to 35-minute levels on Day 2, which starts Wednesday.

Blinds and antes start at 100/100/100 and rise progressively, with breaks every few levels to give players a brief respite. Redraws will take place during day 2, final 3 tables, and at the Final Table, which will be streamed live.

Event starts 11:00 local time..