Mystery DRAGON (20,000 JPY)

The 2025 USOP Osaka Mystery Dragon Final Day concluded in thrilling fashion at Japan’s Dojima River Forum, as the United States’ Duy Manh Ho emerged victorious in the bounty-hunting field, etching his name into the tournament’s record books.

Ho not only claimed the prestigious title and top prize but also collected bounties worth 750,000, marking his hunt in a highly satisfying fashion.

Entering the final table as the second-largest stack, Ho quickly built momentum by doubling through former chip leader Takamaru, leaving him crippled with just 5 BB. In the very next hand, Takamaru’s final chapter came to an end at the hands of Maasa.

From there, Ho maintained his strong stack and continued to gather ammunition, knocking out Dots with a flopped set of queens against the Japanese player’s pocket nines.

Next to fall victim to Ho’s hot streak was Maasa, who moved all in with ace-ten but ran into Ho’s pocket eights, which set up on the turn and sent her out in fourth place.

When play reached three-handed action, the remaining contenders exchanged chips back and forth through a series of shoves until Korin called one of Ho’s all-ins. Ho held firm with a turned straight against Korin’s ten-eight, ending her run in third place.

However, the Goddess of Fortuna did not completely turn her back on Korin, as she collected over 1 million in bounties, including two iconic Samurai draws, finishing her run with hands full of rewards.

After just 20 minutes of heads-up play, Nakai raised and called Ho’s shove, but his ace-deuce found no help from the deck against Ho’s sailboats, ending his run in second place.

With the final card dealt, Ho stood tall as the ultimate bounty hunter of the 2025 USOP Osaka Mystery Dragon. His fearless play, timely reads, and unshakable momentum carried him all the way to the title, trophy, and a rewarding haul of bounties, a performance that will be remembered as one of the most dominant finishes of the series.

After just 20 minutes of heads-up play, Nakai raised to 275,000 from the button when Duy Manh Ho moved all in with the covering stack. Nakai almost instantly called and they showed their hands:

Nakai: A♦ 2♦

Duy Manh Ho: 4♠ 4♣

Nakai needed a red board, but the 9♣ 7♣ T♠ flop provided no salvation to him. The 3♦ turn didn't help much either, and the 5♠ on the river was too little, too late, and he was sent away in the runners-up position, to collect his bounties.

His first envelope was the USOP Samurai sword, and there were two further 100,000 envelopes that he pulled.

From an initial field of 290 entries, just two remain. Nakai and Duy Manh Ho will now go head-to-head for the Mystery Dragon Championship title.

Korin opened the button to 200,000, only to be jammed by Duy Manh Ho from the big blind. Korin called for 600,000, putting her tournament life on the line.

Korin: T♦ 8♦

Duy Manh Ho: Q♣ J♥

Ho held the lead with queen-high against Korin’s ten-high. The dealer spread an A♦ 9♣ 3♠ flop, offering little help to Korin.

The K♣ landed on the turn, giving Ho a straight draw. Unfortunately for Korin, the river bricked out with the 2♠, ending her run in third place.

After a short break, Korin walked over to the Bounty Table with five shots in hand, which ultimately culminated in two Samurai draws for her.

The first envelope offered 500,000, followed by a USOP Dragon on the second. The third revealed 300,000, the fourth showed another USOP Dragon, and the final envelope contained 10,000.

The two Mystery Dragon Samurai boosted Korin’s bounty haul with an additional 500,000 and 200,000, bringing her total bounty winnings to 1,510,000.

Duy Manh Ho open-shoved on the button for around 3,800,000, and Massa called off her last 1250,000 from the small blind, putting herself at risk.

Maasa: A♥ T♣

Duy Manh Ho: 8♦ 8♥

Ho picked up the lead with pocket eights and extended his dominance on the 5♥ K♣ 8♠ flop, improving him to a set and leaving Maasa drawing thin.

The dealer fanned out a runout of A♦ 5♠, pairing Maasa’s ace while giving Ho a boat to send her out in fourth place in style.

Maasa then walked over to the Bounty Table for her additional three chances. The first envelope contained 50,000, the second held 100,000, and the last one gave her another 50,000, marking her exit in a more satisfying way.

Small blind Korin moved all in for around 370,000, with big blind Masamisama calling to put himself at risk:

Masamisama: 6♦ Q♦

Korin: J♦ J♠

The board kept Korin's jacks ahead with a 3♦ 9♣ 4♦ T♥ 7♠ runout, and he was sent to collect his prize.

He opened the envelope to reveal a figure of 100,000 inside!

Cutoff "K" got it all in for around 200,000 preflop against small blind Masamisama, with K holding pocket eights and Masamisama with pocket kings.

The dealer ran out the board: 5♦ Q♠ 3♥ Q♥ 9♣, ensuring Masamisama's kings held up and he collected K's personal bounty.

K went over to the bounty area with his remaining two, pulling out 50,000 first, then 10,000!

Dots got it all-in preflop with Duy Manh Ho looking to bust him and collect yet another bounty. The showed their hands:

Dots: 9♦ 9♥

Duy Manh Ho: Q♥ Q♦

It seemed as if Ho's luck had finally turned around, as the board ran out T♠ 8♥ Q♣ A♦ 5♥, eliminating Dots and adding a healthy boost to Ho's stack.

When Dots went to collect his bounty, he pulled an envelope worth 50,000!

Takamaru raised from early position, and Duy Manh Ho randomly grabbed a purple stack to shove for around 1,100,000. Takamaru quickly announced the call, putting his opponent at risk.

Takamaru: 7♣ 7♥

Duy Manh Ho: A♥ A♠

Ho picked up the lead with pocket aces and maintained the dominance throughout the 2♦ Q♥ J♣ K♣ 4♦ board, leaving Takamaru with a short stack of just 260,000.

In the very next hand, a three-way all-in unfolded, culminating in Takamaru’s exit.

Takamaru open-shoved for 260,000 from under the gun, and Dots called from middle position. Maasa then shoved all in from the big blind for 725,000, and Dots announced the call again.

Takamaru: T♦ 8♦

Dots: K♣ 8♣

Maasa: A♠ K♠

Maasa picked up the lead with ace-high and improved to top pair on the 3♦ 7♣ K♥, leaving Takamaru drawing thin.

The dealer swiftly revealed a runout of T♣ 9♠, ending Takamaru’s run in eighth place.

After being eliminated by Maasa, Takamaru walked over to the Bounty Envelope Table, hoping for some luck. With the envelope showing a dragon, he picked his Samurai on the stage, which contained 200,000!

Takamaru raised to 100,000 from middle position and was called by cutoff Sakurai, small blind Nakai and big blind K.

On the 3♣ 5♥ 6♠ flop, Takamaru bet 200,000, and Sakurai moved all-in for 325,000, called by Nakai and Takamaru.

Nakai, with 6♥ 6♦, had made a set on the flopp and looked primed to knock out Sakurai, who had T♥ T♣, and take a healthy chunk from Takamaru with A♣ 6♣.

The J♦ J♥ runout did just that, as Sakurai was eliminated and Nakai launched himself into the chip lead.

After being eliminated by Nakai and shipping over his personal bounty, Peng Yang took his remaining two over to the bounty table to see what he'd won.

The first envelope contained 50,000, with the second one containing 10,000!

The Mystery Dragon event is now down to the Final Table.

After being eliminated by Duy Manh Ho wheh his K♦ 4♦ couldn't hold up against Ho's A♦ 9♣ on a 9♠ A♥ 3♦ 4♠ 2♣ board which took Ho's personal bounty count to five, Pei went over to the bounty collection area to see what he'd won.

He opened the envelope to reveal a figure of 50,000 inside!

Nakai opened the hijack to 125,000 and Peng Yang called in the small blind.

The dealer delivered a 4♠ 4♥ 3♦ flop, and Yang checked to Nakai, who continued for 375,000, sending Yang into the tank with his last 280,000 chips. After mulling it over, Yang called off his chips.

Peng Yang: 5♦ 5♥

Nakai: T♥ T♦

Nakai picked up the lead with pocket tens against Yang's fives. The deck quickly revealed a runout of 2♠ 9♦, sending Yang out of the tournament.

After being eliminated by Maasa and surrendering his personal bounty to her, Kazuki still had a chance to win with the two he collected from his former opponents.

He selected his Mystery Dragon Bounty from the table, his first prize was access to open one of the six USOP Katanas on the main stage - each promising a higher bounty. He also opened a second, with a prize of 50,000.

After that, he got on the stage he selected his Katana - he opened to multiple 0s on the blade, and as he pulled it out it was revealed he'd won 200,000.

Peng Yang limped in from the cutoff, only to face a raise of 100,000 from Dots on the button. Yang then shoved for around 670,000, and Dots called for 324,000 immediately, putting his tournament life on the line.

Peng Yang: T♣ T♥

Dots: A♦ A♣

Dots dominated the hand with pocket aces and held control on the monochrome 2♣ K♣ 3♣ flop, offering both players a flush draw.

The dealer quickly revealed a runout of Q♠ 5♦, securing a crucial double-up for Dots.

Duy Manh Ho has been on the losing side of his last two all-in confrontations, with the first being against Maasa, when she called his all-in to put herself at risk with 360,000.

Ho had pocket sevens, with Big Slick as Maasa's weapon during this hand.

The board favoured Maasa as it ran out T♦ Q♦ Q♥ A♣ 2♣, catching her ace on the turn and doubling her up.

The next was when button Pei shoved for his last 370,000, with Ho on the small blind looking for his fourth bounty.

Pei was the one with the sevens this time, with Ho holding A♦ Q♥.

The dealer was not wanting to help Ho out this time either, as Pei flopped a set of sevens on the 3♠ 7♠ K♥ board. The J♥ turn opened up a straight draw but the Q♣ gave him no salvation, and he took yet another huge dent to his stack.

Haeun Jeong opened the hijack to 65,000 and Maasa called from the small blind.

The two checked through the 4♣ 7♣ T♣ flop to see a 6♦ fall on the turn, where Jeong shoved all in for around 110,000. Maasa snap-called to put the Korean player at risk.

Maasa A♠ 5♠

Haeun Jeong: 8♠ 7♠

Both players picked up a straight draw from the dealer, with Jeong holding the lead with a flopped pair of sevens.

However, fortune favored Maasa as the 8♣ landed on the river, completing her straight. Jeong could only stand from the felt and make her exit.

Sagawa made it 40,000 to go from the cutoff and received calls from the blinds: Nirin and Pei.

On the 2♦ 4♥ 5♦ flop, Nirin checked to Pei, who led out for 60,000. Sagawa folded, and Nirin stuck around.

The dealer sent a board-pairing 2♠ on the turn, where Nirin check-called again Pei's 100,000 bet. An A♦ filled out the board, and action went check-check.

Nirin tabled quickly 8♣ 8♦, but it was no match for the rivered two pair of Pei's A♠ 5♣.

"Phew... I was afraid you had trips," Pei said in relief.

Akito moved all in from middle position for his remaining ~100,000 stack. The only person to make the call was small blind Peng Yang, looking to snatch his bounty. They flipped their hands:

Akito: K♦ 7♦

Peng Yang: 5♥ 6♠

Akito flopped a pair when the dealer laid out 9♣ 7♥ 3♠, but Yang made his straight when the 8♣ landed on the turn, and Akito surrendered his bounty as the J♥ completed the board.

Donghwan Min moved all in from the cutoff, with big blind Maasa looking to take him (and his bounty) out.

Donghwan Min: J♠ J♦

Maasa: A♥ J♥

Maasa couldn't have been sitting prettier once the dealer laid out the A♠ 7♥ A♦ flop; Min gathered his things and was out of his seat by the time the 6♦ 7♠ had hit the felt.

In the first half hour of play, five players have already been sent to the rail after their all-in shoves couldn’t hold up.

Among those is Hovey. Starting the day as the second shortest stack he struggled to gain any momentum, culminating in a shove from the hijack, and was called by Kazuki in the cutoff:

Hovey: A♣ 9♦

Kazuki: A♦ K♥

The 8♦ 2♠ 7♣ 5♥ K♣ runout did nothing to improve Hovey and he was sent home, or perhaps to the registration desk to try for another one of the final events running this series!

Just 30 players remain from the 290 who registered yesterday, and they’ll be battling it out today for the title. The field will play through five 30-minute levels before a short 10-minute break, with only one set to walk away as champion. Stay tuned for full coverage!

Day 2 starts 12:00 local time...