Viet Nam, InterContinental Halong Bay ResortEVENT #58

2026.05.28 - 2026.06.01Add to Calendar

U Series Of Poker

Blind level

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Entries

50/394

Total Chips

15,760,000

Average

315,200

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 5:05:04 PM

Day 1E Draws 394 Entries as Junseok Oh Bags Over 1.1 Million to Lead Final 50 Survivors Into Day 2

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Junseok Oh

After 14 hours of play, Day 1E of the USOP Vietnam 2026 Main Event came to an end. The flight drew a total of 394 entries, with just 50 survivors advancing to Day 2 and securing a minimum cash. Thanks to the massive turnout, the initial VND 30 Billion (~USD 1.14 Million) overall tournament guarantee was easily broken midway through the registration period.

Leading the pack is Junseok Oh, who bagged a massive 1,159,000 in chips (116 big blinds). Oh’s ascent began with a brave hero call holding pocket jacks against Dinh Giang Truong’s turn shove on a flush draw.

Oh successfully dodged Truong's outs to win that pot, and later eliminated Anh Dung Trinh on the soft bubble to soar past the seven-digit mark, making him the only player to cross one million chips today.

Manh Hung Nguyen

Trailing him are local crusher Manh Hung Nguyen with 815,000 (82 big blinds) and Tuan Hung Nguyen with 756,000 (76 big blinds), the latter having held the chip lead for most of the day.

Top 10 Chip Count

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	1,159,000(116 BB)
MH Manh Hung NguyenViet Nam	815,000(82 BB)
TH Tuan Hung NguyenViet Nam	756,000(76 BB)
MC Mingcong ChenChina	614,000(61 BB)	248,000
KS Kiwanont SukhumThailand	605,000(61 BB)
AP Alan PhamAustralia	521,000(52 BB)	481,000
JF Joshua FiguerresPhilippines	516,000(52 BB)	71,000
TK Takuya KorokiJapan	503,000(50 BB)	294,200
AC Antoine CaoFrance	467,000(47 BB)	159,000
NK Nikhil KediaIndia	414,000(41 BB)	18,000

The Bubble

The flight ended when Van Tien Dinh shoved his pocket jacks into the ace-king of Kiwanont Sukhum. Sukhum spiked an ace on the flop to eliminate Dinh as the official Day 1E bubble boy.

Joshua Figuerres

Former MPT Macau champion Joshua Figuerres also secured a top-10 stack, bagging 516,000 (52 big blinds). Figuerres was earlier eliminated in a brutal straight-versus-straight cooler, but he quickly re-entered and fought his way straight to the top.

All 50 survivors will return tomorrow at 12:00 PM for Day 2 to battle for pay jumps, with play scheduled to continue until the final two tables are reached.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 4:33:48 PM

Van Tien Dinh Is The Day 1E Bubble Boy

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Van Tien Dinh shoved his last 150,000 chips all in on the cutoff and was matched by Kiwanont Sukhum on the small blind.

Van Tien Dinh: J♦ J♣

Kiwanont Sukhum: A♥ K♥

Players gathered round, but had to wait for the action on the other tables to end before the tournament director could come over and announce the hand.

In reference to the ongoing UEFA Champions League livestream between PSG and Arsenal, players were pointing out that the bubble hand was also PSG vs Arsenal with the big slick referenced for Arsenal.

The flop came A♣ 4♦ T♥ to give Sukhum a pair of aces to take the lead and leave Dinh with a two-outer to survive.

The turn threw in a Q♦ and Dinh had three outs with the king to make a straight, while his jack outs were removed since that would give Sukhum the straight.

With Dinh and his rail praying for a miracle on the river, the rest of the players were playing for Sukhum to hold, so that they would all make it in the money.

Finally, the poker gods dealt a 6♣ on the river, sealing the fate of Dinh as the bubble boy.

Player	Chips	Progress
KS Kiwanont SukhumThailand	605,000(61 BB)	565,000
VT Van Tien DinhViet Nam	busted	-157,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 4:29:37 PM

Bubble Time!

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

With just 51 players remaining in the field, the clock has been officially paused to initiate hand-for-hand play.

The tournament is now one elimination away from bursting the bubble, at which point the surviving players will bag up their chips and secure both their spot in Day 2 and a guaranteed cash.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 4:27:03 PM

Oh's Fours Pop the Soft Bubble

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Junseok Oh opened the action with a raise to 25,000. From the big blind, Anh Dung Trinh opted to three-bet shove all-in for his remaining 178,000 chips.

When the action got back to Oh, he took his time and exhausted one time-bank extension before deciding to make the call.

Anh Dung Trinh: A♥ Q♣

Junseok Oh: 4♣ 4♦

Trinh was flipping for his tournament life, but the board ran out a dry K♥ T♠ 7♣ 9♠ 6♠ .

Oh's pocket fours held up, sending Trinh to the rail as the official soft bubble boy.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	1,039,000(104 BB)	203,000
AD Anh Dung TrinhViet Nam	busted	-308,500

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 4:23:38 PM

Nguyen's Big Slick Comes Through

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Action folded to Tan Khoa Nguyen on the cutoff, who shoved his remaining 63,000 chips all in. Azizjon Rakhimov was on the big blind and gave some thought before pushing in a chip to call.

Tan Khoa Nguyen: A♣ K♦

Azizjon Rakhimov: Q♠ J♣

Nguyen was ahead pre-flop and maintained the lead when the board ran 2♥ 4♠ 9♥ 2♠ T♥ to double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
AR Azizjon RakhimovUzbekistan	175,000(18 BB)	-55,000
TK Tan Khoa NguyenViet Nam	150,000(15 BB)	45,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 4:18:02 PM

Li Finds A Three-Outer To Stay Alive

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Action folded around to Long Li on the cutoff, who shoved his remaining 92,000 chips in the middle and risked his tournament life.

Mangkone Sanaphanith was on the small blind and made the call.

Long Li: T♥ 9♥

Mangkone Sanaphanith: A♣ T♣

Sanaphanith was dominant, leaving Li with three outs.

The flop arrived 6♠ 4♣ 9♦ and Li paired his nine to take the lead. The runout of 2♦ on the turn and 8♠ on the river maintained for Li to get a crucial double up.

Player	Chips
MS Mangkone SanaphanithLao People's Democratic Republic	271,000(27 BB)
LL Long LiChina	215,000(22 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 4:16:42 PM

USOP Vietnam Main Event Draws Massive 1,520 Entries, Locking In Near VND 40 Billion (~USD 1.5 Million) Prize Pool

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

All starting flights for the USOP Vietnam Main Event have officially wrapped up, locking in a massive total of 1,520 entries across the six fields.

The incredible turnout smashed expectations, building an enormous total prize pool of nearly VND 40 Billion (~USD 1.5 Million). With registration officially closed, the remaining players are now locked into a competitive race for life-changing money and the coveted Main Event title.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 4:15:00 PM

Ace-High Hero Call Goes Wrong

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Middle position Junseok Oh started the action with an open to 20,000. Luke Martinelli called from the hijack, and Xin Hong Pau defended his big blind to see a three-way flop.

The dealer spread 7♠ 5♥ 4♥ . Action checked over to Martinelli, who fired out 25,000. Pau made the call while Oh folded.

The 2♣ landed on the turn, prompting a second barrel of 45,000 from Martinelli. Pau stuck around with another check-call.

When the 4♦ paired the river, Pau shook things up by leading out with a shove for his remaining 98,000. Martinelli went deep into the tank before finally making the call.

Xin Hong Pau: 7♦ 6♦

Luke Martinelli: A♥ J♥

The entire table was left stunned when Martinelli showed down nothing but ace-high.

The ambitious hero call completely backfired as Pau revealed top pair, scooping up a massive 411,000 pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	836,000(84 BB)	76,000
LM Luke MartinelliAustralia	532,000(53 BB)	-78,000
XH Xin Hong PauSingapore	411,000(41 BB)	371,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 4:04:47 PM

UEFA Champions League Final: PSG v Arsenal LIve!

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Meanwhile, while Day 1E is playing down to a bubble, Day 1F is still going and other side events are active, Arsenal is playing Paris St. Germain for the UEFA Champions League final and is being shown in the huge screen.

Arsenal just scored in the 5th minute and Arsenal fans erupted in cheer here at the poker area.

Knowing poker players, someone somewhere here is taking some action.

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 60/394

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:56:59 PM

Ten More To Go

Level 19: 5,000 / 10,000 ante: 10,000

Kooksung Kim

With 60 players remaining, just 10 more outs are needed for the top 50 survivors to make ITM and advance to Day 2.

Some of the shorter stacks that may be at risk include:

Player	Chips	Progress
TH Thanh Hiep PhamViet Nam	120,000(12 BB)	80,000
TH Tran Hai Dang LeViet Nam	117,000(12 BB)	-19,000
CF Chengcheng FengSingapore	82,000(8 BB)
LW Lidong WangChina	77,000(8 BB)
KK Kooksung KimSouth Korea	68,000(7 BB)	-15,200

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:51:01 PM

The Ol' Check Raise

Level 18: 4,000 / 8,000 ante: 8,000

Quang Truong Le was on the big blind against Joshua Figuerres under the gun.

A healthy pot of 65,000 was in the middle beside a board that showed T♠ 2♣ 4♥ 4♠

Le had checked his option over to Figuerres, who made a bet of 30,000. Le bade his time, then re-raised to 82,000 and left 10,000 behind in his stack.

Figuerres stared down Le, used up two of his three remaining time bank tokens, checked his cards twice, wondered if we would be able to all migrate to Mars one day, then folded his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
JF Joshua FiguerresPhilippines	445,000(56 BB)	118,000
QT Quang Truong LeViet Nam	215,000(27 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 3:49:00 PM

Tuk Tuk Tuk To The Top

Level 18: 4,000 / 8,000 ante: 8,000

Marvin Rettenmaier was busy scooping up another pile of chips after eliminating a player when Junseok Oh chimed in from across the table, calling him a "Lucky guy!"

Oh was remembering an earlier hand where the two got all their chips in preflop. Oh held ace-jack and had Rettenmaier’s ace-ten dominated, but a ten spiked on the flop to give Rettenmaier the double-up.

Using his hands to mimic a skyrocketing chip stack, Oh joked that ever since that lucky double, Rettenmaier's stack has just gone "tuk, tuk, tuk, tuk!", climbing higher and higher.

Rettenmaier couldn't help but laugh along with the story as he stacked his new chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	760,000(95 BB)	40,000
MR Marvin RettenmaierGermany	345,000(43 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 3:35:00 PM

Oh's Knockout Streak Snapped

Level 18: 4,000 / 8,000 ante: 8,000

Under the gun, Trung Hieu Nguyen moved all-in for his last 38,000 chips. Looking to claim yet another elimination, chip leader Junseok Oh made the call from the cutoff to put him at risk.

Trung Hieu Nguyen: K♦ Q♦

Junseok Oh: A♥ 5♥

Oh could only laugh when the dealer spread a Q♥ Q♠ T♣ flop, giving Nguyen trips right out of the gate.

The 2♠ on the turn sealed the victory for Nguyen, locking up a well-deserved double-up through the tournament leader.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	720,000(90 BB)	-38,000
TH Trung Hieu NguyenViet Nam	96,000(12 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:33:18 PM

Hao Finds A Miracle

Level 18: 4,000 / 8,000 ante: 8,000

Hao Chen

Hao Chen opened for 16,000 from early position and was raised all in by Liang Peng on the hijack for his last 59,000. Action folded around back to Chen, who didn't hesitate to call.

Liang Peng: A♦ T♥

Hao Chen: 6♦ 6♠

Peng made top pair on the flop of 5♣ A♥ Q♣ to give him the lead and reduce Chen to a two-outer. Nothing changed on the 3♠ turn, but everything turned around on the miracle 6♥ on the river that gave Chen a set to eliminate Peng.

Player	Chips	Progress
HC Hao Chen 2China	355,000(44 BB)	95,000
LP Liang PengChina	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 3:26:13 PM

Hero Call Propels Oh to Chip Leader

Level 18: 4,000 / 8,000 ante: 8,000

Dinh Giang Truong moved all-in on the turn with nothing but a flush draw, putting Junseok Oh to a massive decision. Oh came up with a spectacular hero call, committing his chips with just pocket jacks.

Truong had plenty of outs to hit his flush, but Oh successfully dodged every single one of them on the river.

Truong was sent to the rail, while Oh dragged in a monster pot to become the new tournament chip leader.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	758,000(95 BB)	241,000
DG Dinh Giang TruongViet Nam	busted

Level 18: 4,000 / 8,000 ante: 8,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 69/394

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 70/394

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 3:04:00 PM

Jackpot!

Level 17: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Action started with Thien Anh Nguyen opening to 12,000 from the cutoff. After another player called, Van Tien Dinh moved all-in from the big blind for his remaining 68,000.

When the action got back to Nguyen, he re-shoved over the top, forcing the caller to fold and isolating Dinh.

Van Tien Dinh: 6♣ 6♥

Thien Anh Nguyen: A♠ Q♣

Dinh absolutely hit the jackpot when the dealer spread a 6♦ 6♠ 3♣ flop. Having locked up the hand immediately with quad sixes, the meaningless Q♥ turn and 4♦ river sealed a massive, stress-free double-up for Dinh.

Player	Chips
VT Van Tien DinhViet Nam	157,000(26 BB)
TA Thien Anh NguyenViet Nam	44,000(7 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 2:47:00 PM

Double Kill for Big Slick

Level 17: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Under the gun, Van Lam Nguyen opened the action with a raise to 12,000. Sitting directly to his left, Hoang Anh Cao just called. On Cao's left, Nikhil Kedia upped the ante with a three-bet to 25,000.

Back to Nguyen, he decided to move all-in over the top for 137,000. Cao committed his remaining 37,000 chips as well, and Kedia snap-called to put both opponents at risk.

Hoang Anh Cao: Q♣ J♥

Van Lam Nguyen: J♠ J♣

Nikhil Kedia: A♣ K♣

Kedia took the lead on the K♦ 5♠ 2♣ flop by pairing his king. The 7♥ on the turn changed nothing, and the 4♠ river stayed completely safe. Kedia's top pair held up to secure the massive pot and eliminate both Cao and Nguyen in a single hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
NK Nikhil KediaIndia	396,000(66 BB)	186,000
VL Van Lam NguyenViet Nam	busted
HA Hoang Anh CaoViet Nam	busted	-36,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 2:44:55 PM

Le Shoves On Pham

Level 17: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Tran Hai Dang Le

Tran Hai Dang Le was on the big blind against Thi Minh Hong Pham on the hijack.

The board showed 5♦ 3♦ 2♣ 3♣ with a pot of around 33,000.

Le checked over to Pham, who fired a bet of 15,000.

Le threw in a time bank token, assessed his strategy, then shoved all in for his last 83,000, putting his tournament life at risk as well.

Pham stared down Le, used a time bank token and wondered who was the first brave soul who ate an oyster. She then took a last look at her cards before returning them to the dealer.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	275,000(46 BB)	-30,000
TH Tran Hai Dang LeViet Nam	136,000(23 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 2:35:00 PM

The Champion Curse Continues: Lee Eliminated

Level 17: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

In a preflop raising war, past USOP Main Event champion Juyeol Lee moved all-in for 146,000. Dinh Tri Tran made the call, putting the former champion at risk.

Juyeol Lee: A♠ J♦

Dinh Tri Tran: 6♦ 6♣

Lee was flipping for his tournament life, but he failed to connect with the 9♦ 7♥ 5♦ T♥ 7♠ board. Tran's pocket sixes held up, sending the former titleholder to the rail.

With Lee's exit, the "champion curse" remains unbroken tonight; up to this point, not a single past Main Event champion has managed to bag a stack for Day 2.

Their only remaining hope hangs on the final flight, Day 1F Turbo, which is already halfway through its registration period.

Player	Chips	Progress
DT Dinh Tri TranViet Nam	381,000(64 BB)
JL Juyeol LeeSouth Korea	busted	-153,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 2:33:56 PM

Where'd They Go?

Level 17: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Mei Yee Lo

With the field thinned down to 79 players, the area where Day 1E is being played has become more spacious and thus the observation that some key players are no longer in their seats.

These include:

Player	Chips	Progress
MY Mei Yee LoChina	busted	-53,700
HM Haohui MaChina	busted	-104,000
VT Van Thinh DoViet Nam	busted	-108,600
BL Benjamin LeblondCanada	busted
CM Christian MitchellAustralia	busted
TA Tuan Anh Nguyen 3Viet Nam	busted	-162,300
TA Tuan Anh NguyenViet Nam	busted	-40,000

Level 17: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 84/394

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 2:19:16 PM

Chen's Deuces Send Nguyen Out

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Mingcong Chen

Mingcong Chen opened for 10,000 on the lowjack. Nikhil Kedia called on the cutoff. When action fell to Khoi Nguyen on the big blind, he shoved his last 47,000 all in.

Chen thought about his next move, then shoved a stack of 100,000.

Kedia moved out of the way to leave Chen and Nguyen to fight it out.

Khoi Nguyen: A♦ K♥

Mingcong Chen: 2♣ 2♣

Nguyen couldn't find any help on the board of 3♠ Q♥ J♦ 9♦ 5♠, sending him out of the Main Event.

Player	Chips	Progress
MC Mingcong ChenChina	366,000(73 BB)	36,000
NK Nikhil KediaIndia	210,000(42 BB)
KN Khoi NguyenViet Nam	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 2:14:00 PM

Nguyen's Kowboys Cripple Cao

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Thi Nga Nguyen

The cards were on their backs and the all-in button on Thi Nga Nguyen, who was at risk for her last 80,000 chips against Hoang Anh Cao.

Thi Nga Nguyen: K♠ K♣

Hoang Anh Cao: A♣ Q♣

The board of 7♥ 7♠ 4♦ 6♦ J♣ posed no threat for Nguyen, who found a huge double up while leaving Cao in critical condition.

Player	Chips	Progress
TN Thi Nga NguyenViet Nam	175,000(35 BB)	80,000
HA Hoang Anh CaoViet Nam	36,000(7 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 2:10:00 PM

Figuerres Bounces Back After Straight vs Straight Cooler

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Joshua Figuerres

After losing a devastating straight-over-straight cooler earlier, Joshua Figuerres has mounted a massive comeback. He has fought his way back into contention and now sits with a comfortable 327,000 chips, nearly double the current tournament average stack.

This kind of pressure is nothing new for Figuerres. He is fresh off a spectacular victory at the MPT Macau Poker Open Main Event this past March, where he took down the title and took home a career-best live score of $244,510.

It will be hard, but he already knows the way.

Player	Chips	Progress
JF Joshua FiguerresPhilippines	327,000(65 BB)	327,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 2:02:00 PM

Oh’s River Magic Sinks Lyu

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

With the board showing A♦ K♦ 2♥ 8♠ 6♠ and about 150,000 already in the pot, Junseok Oh fired out a bet of 60,000 from the small blind. Junqiang Lyu hesitated, thinking it over before finally making the call.

Oh turned over A♥ 6♣ , revealing a rivered two pair. Lyu could do nothing but shake his head in frustration and muck his cards.

With that scoop, Oh dragged in a big pot and crossed the 500,000 chip mark.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	517,000(103 BB)	245,500
JL Junqiang LyuChina	55,000(11 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 2:01:02 PM

How They Stack Up

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Juyeol Lee

A quick scan around the room of some random players revealed some stack sizes. FYI, this is not an official chip leader board count.

However, there will be a VND 75 million bonus for this flight's chip leader after the bubble bursts.

Player	Chips	Progress
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	360,000(72 BB)	-157,000
MC Mingcong ChenChina	330,000(66 BB)	204,000
CC Carlo CalingasanPhilippines	185,000(37 BB)	145,000
JL Juyeol LeeSouth Korea	153,000(31 BB)	-116,000
MK Marie KabakiJapan	97,000(19 BB)
TN Thi Nga NguyenViet Nam	95,000(19 BB)	32,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 1:54:27 PM

Nguyen's Kings Show Zhang The Exit

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Action folded to Cheng Zhang on the button who moved all in for his last 36,000 and was called by Van Trung Nguyen.

Cheng Zhang: A♥ 5♥

Van Trung Nguyen: K♣ K♥

The flop came 7♦ 9♣ K♠ immediately giving Nguyen a set and having Zhang desperate for miracle runners. The 8♥ offered some hope for a gut-shot straight draw, but the 3♣ river bricked for Zhang, sending him out of his seat and off to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
VT Van Trung NguyenViet Nam	305,000(61 BB)	158,500
CZ Cheng ZhangChina	busted	-60,500

Level 16: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 95/394

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 1:42:00 PM

Chaos, Screams, and a Near-Triple

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Under the gun, Amitkumar Tejura moved all-in for 51,000. Action folded to Anh Tuan Trinh in the cutoff, who re-shoved for 56,000. In the small blind, Yansong Wu joined the party, putting his remaining 39,000 into the middle.

Before the big blind, Mingyang Zhang, could make his decision, Tejura accidentally exposed his hand. Seeing the strength, Zhang folded his pocket tens.

Yansong Wu: 9♦ 9♣

Amitkumar Tejura: J♠ J♣

Anh Tuan Trinh: A♠ K♠

The flop came 8♣ 7♣ 4♥ , keeping Tejura’s jacks firmly in the lead. Chaos erupted when the T♠ hit the turn. Zhang started shouting in frustration, realizing that the card would have given him a set of tens had he not folded.

The 5♦ on the river was completely safe for Tejura, who also started shouting in celebration. His pocket jacks held up, eliminating Wu in the process and leaving Trinh crippled down to just a single big blind.

Despite winning the massive hand, Tejura's accidental mistake of showing his cards while action was still pending did not go unnoticed. Because his premature reveal influenced the action, causing Zhang to fold his tens, tournament directors handed Tejura a three-hand penalty.

He was forced to sit out for the next three hands, losing both his small blind and big blind in the process.

Player	Chips
AT Amitkumar TejuraIndia	149,000(37 BB)
MZ Mingyang ZhangChina	91,000(23 BB)
AT Anh Tuan TrinhViet Nam	5,000(1 BB)
YW Yansong WuChina	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 1:41:53 PM

Pham On A Roll

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Thi Minh Hong Pham

Bei Shi was on the big blind against Thi Minh Hong Pham on the button.

Both players were competing for a pot of around 50,000 chips with a board that showed 7♥ J♦ 2♦ 6♣ 8♣

Shi checked his option over to Pham, who pushed in a bet of 16,000.

Shi countd off 16,000 of his own and caller her bet.

Pham opened her 9♠ 8♠ for a pair of eights that was made on the river, while Shi left his hand down while he returned it to the dealer.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	305,000(76 BB)	141,000
BS Bei ShiChina	77,000(19 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 1:31:00 PM

Queens Rules, Tens Drools, Jacks Exit

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

From early position, Thanh Thang Do moved all-in for 62,000. Right next to him in middle position, Cong Luyen Le pushed his remaining 51,000 chips into the middle as well.

The action folded to Van Hai Do, who made the call, covering both players and putting them at risk.

Cong Luyen Le: Q♦ Q♣

Thanh Thang Do: T♥ T♦

Van Hai Do: J♦ J♣

It was a rare three-way battle of pocket pairs. Le was in the lead with his pocket queens and managed to hold through the A♥ K♣ 9♣ 2♠ 5♥ board to secure a triple-up.

Meanwhile, Van Hai’s pocket jacks were good enough to win the side pot against Thanh Thang's tens, officially eliminating Thanh Thang from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
VH Van Hai DoViet Nam	175,000(44 BB)	19,800
CL Cong Luyen LeViet Nam	163,000(41 BB)
TT Thanh Thang HoViet Nam	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 1:20:32 PM

Dinh Flushes For Good Measure

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Action folded to Tien Thanh Dinh on the button, who jammed his last 56,000 all in and put his tournament life at risk.

Jinsun Jung was on the big blind and decided to make the call.

Tien Thanh Dinh: A♠ J♦

Jinsun Jung: Q♥ J♥

Dinh was ahead and dominated Jung to reduce his hand to three outs. The board of T♦ 5♣ 5♦ 6♦ 8♦ gave Dinh a flush to assure his double up.

Player	Chips	Progress
JJ Jinsun JungSouth Korea	190,000(48 BB)	-111,000
TT Tien Thanh DinhViet Nam	118,000(30 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 1:20:00 PM

"Oh My God" Deuces Done

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Down to his last 57,000 chips, Suparerk Totsaponvisad moved all-in. Action folded around to Ilias Aliev in the big blind, who quickly called to put him at risk.

Suparerk Totsaponvisad: 2♥ 2♠

Ilias Aliev: 8♠ 8♦

After turning over his cards, Totsaponvisad looked at his opponent and asked, "You have pair?" When Aliev revealed his pocket eights, Totsaponvisad could only say, "Oh My God."

He needed a miracle deuce to survive, but the A♠ 7♠ 6♥ 9♥ 3♥ board ran out clean for Aliev. Totsaponvisad failed to find any help and was eliminated from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
IA Ilias AlievBrazil	260,000(65 BB)	112,000
ST Suparerk TotsaponvisadThailand	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 1:08:34 PM

Battle of the Short-stacked Blinds Results In Ko

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Thi Nga Nguyen

On the first hand after the break, action folded all the way to the blinds, where both Tran Anh Tuan Le on the small blind and Thi Nga Nguyen on the big blind were short-stacked.

Le risked his last 24,000 chips all in and Nguyen threw a chip to call.

Tran Anh Tuan Le: K♦ 4♦

Thi Nga Nguyen: A♥ 4♣

The flop came 8♣ Q♥ A♠ to extend Nguyen's lead by pairing the ace and putting Le on the brink of elimination. The 5♥ on the turn had Le drawing dead. The 4♥ on the river improved Nguyen to a two pair to put a resounding stomp on Le's exit.

Le was the bubble boy on Day 1C and today, he didn't even get that far. Perhaps in the last Day 1F flight, he'll do better as he went straight to register for that one.

Player	Chips	Progress
TN Thi Nga NguyenViet Nam	63,000(16 BB)
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	busted	-148,500

Level 15: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 111/394

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 12:54:30 PM

Break Time!

Break

The remaining players are now on a 10-minute break. A chip race for the 500-denomination chips will take place during this break.

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 111/394

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 12:53:00 PM

"Did You Bluff?"

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Luke Martinelli

Most of the table had taken their break, leaving Hengje was on the cutoff against Luke Martinelli on the button.

A massive pot of around 80,000 was in the middle with a board that showed K♠ 9♥ 3♠ K♣

Hu check-called the 42,000 bet of Martinelli to see a A♣ on the river.

Hu checked again. Martinelli spent two time bank tokens to go over his strategy, then eventually opted to shove all in, covering the stack of Hu.

Hu folded immediately and Martinelli flashed a T♠ when he returned his card to the dealer.

While scooping his pot and stacking his chips, Hu asked Martinelli, "Did you bluff?"

Martinelli smiled, then remarked, "Was ten-nine good enough?"

Hu tapped the table "nice hand" and stood up to take his break. Martinelli - the chip leader at the table - had to chip up the smaller stacks.

Player	Chips	Progress
LM Luke MartinelliAustralia	535,000(178 BB)
HH Hengje HuChina	174,000(58 BB)	143,500

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 12:50:03 PM

Bautista's Flush Gets Paid

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

The board was complete and it showed K♦ 3♦ 7♠ 7♦ 4♠. Beside it was a juicy pot worth around 40,000.

Milbert Bautista was on the big blind. Myunghwan Han was under the gun and Hoang Dat Vu was on the cutoff.

Bautista threw in a time bank token to assess his options. After much deliberation, he counted 13,500 chips and pushed it past th betting line.

Han folded immediately. Vu took a look at the board, then peeked at his cards, did a quick stack damage assessment, then counted the chips to make the call.

Bautista tabled J♦ 4♦ for a flush, while Vu tapped the table "nice hand" and mucked his hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
MB Milbert BautistaPhilippines	125,000(42 BB)	35,000
HD Hoang Dat VuViet Nam	101,000(34 BB)
MH Myunghwan HanSouth Korea	39,500(13 BB)	-500

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 12:48:00 PM

Zhang Survive the Brainrot

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Action folded to Sumin Jang in the cutoff, who opened with a raise to 6,000. Sitting right next to him on the button, Cheng Zhang moved all-in for his remaining 26,500. Jang made the call.

Cheng Zhang: 4♥ 4♠

Sumin Jang: 6♦ 7♦

Jang was holding the famous "six-seven" and pulled ahead on the T♠ 6♠ 2♠ flop by hitting a middle pair of sixes.

The 3♥ on the turn gave Zhang a few more straight outs, but it was the 5♠ on the river that ultimately saved him, completing a one-card flush to win the hand and keep his tournament alive.

Player	Chips
CZ Cheng ZhangChina	60,500(20 BB)
SJ Sumin JangSouth Korea	29,000(10 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 12:37:00 PM

Kicker Cuts Pham Short

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Under the gun, Dongying Ling started the action with a minimum raise. Sitting right to his left, local grinder Duy Anh Pham moved all-in for 32,000. When the action folded back around, Ling called to put Pham at risk.

Duy Anh Pham: K♣ J♣

Dongying Ling: A♦ J♦

Pham was in deep trouble and heavily dominated by Ling's superior ace-kicker. Pham did manage to pair up on the J♠ 4♦ 3♥ flop, but his jack was still behind.

The Q♠ on the turn and the T♥ on the river offered no help, keeping Ling in the lead and eliminating Pham from the game.

Player	Chips	Progress
DL Dongying LingSingapore	121,000(40 BB)	60,800
DA Duy Anh PhamViet Nam	busted	-69,700

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 12:35:45 PM

Blinds Battle Ends In Truce

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Vo Minh Nhut Phan was in the small blind against The Dan Chu on the big blind for a Battle of The Blinds.

Both players had a board that showed T♣ 2♥ J♠ 5♠ beside a pot of around 35,000.

Phan tapped his option over to Chu, who fired all his remaining 22,500 chips in the middle. Phan returned fire by matching the bet, looking to eliminate Chu.

The Dan Chu: Q♥ J♦

Vo Minh Nhut Phan: Q♦ J♣

Both had similar hands, pairing the jack with a queen kicker. It was a ceasefire. The 4♦ on the river a formality to settle the truce by splitting the pot.

Player	Chips
VM Vo Minh Nhut PhanViet Nam	65,000(22 BB)
TD The Dan ChuViet Nam	56,000(19 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 12:29:26 PM

Droppin' Like It's Hot!

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Ritesh Khatwani

There are 121 players still left competing for the 50 Day 2 seats and a minimum ITM. Some of those who have ended their journey include:

Player	Chips	Progress
VL Victor LamViet Nam	busted	-40,000
AL Alexis LimPhilippines	busted	-700
JT John TechPhilippines	busted	-40,000
JN John Niko CostinianoPhilippines	busted	-80,400
JP Jan Peter EickholtGermany	busted
DH Dinh Hai Linh NguyenViet Nam	busted	-40,000
NG Nicholas GaltosAustralia	busted
AA Alex Anton RodriguezSpain	busted
RK Ritesh KhatwaniIndia	busted

Level 14: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 129/394

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 12:14:20 PM

Meanwhile...

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

The last flight of the Main Event - Day 1F - has begun with almost 50 entries at Level 4. The blind levels for that flight are a bit faster with 25-minute levels. Registration will close before the start of Level 12 at approximately 11:05 PM local time.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 12:10:00 PM

Current Chip Leaders

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Player	Chips	Progress
TH Tuan Hung NguyenViet Nam	421,000(168 BB)	86,900
KS Koyo SeraJapan	372,000(149 BB)	173,600
AD Anh Dung TrinhViet Nam	308,500(123 BB)	159,300
AC Antoine CaoFrance	308,000(123 BB)	268,000
JJ Jinsun JungSouth Korea	301,000(120 BB)	28,000
CM Clyde MoralesPhilippines	291,000(116 BB)	226,600
JO Junseok OhSouth Korea	271,500(109 BB)
CH Chul Ho ParkSouth Korea	269,000(108 BB)
HC Hao Chen 2China	260,000(104 BB)	131,000
TT Tien Thanh NguyenViet Nam	233,500(93 BB)
AR Azizjon RakhimovUzbekistan	230,000(92 BB)	-15,000
HH Hengje HuChina	30,500(12 BB)	-9,500

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 12:09:27 PM

Pham Continues To Stack Up

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

A pot of 27,000 was in the middle with a flop that showed 3♥ 3♣ 9♣.

In the hand were Quang Tung Bui under the gun, John Tech on the lowjack and Thi Minh Hong Pham on the button.

Action checked over to Pham, who fired a bet of 15,000.

Bui made the call and Tech stood down.

The turn showed a 2♥. Once again Bui check-called, but this time for 24,000.

The river showed a 7♦. Bui checked and Pham did the same.

Bui showed A♣ Q♣ for ace high and a missed flush draw, while Pham turned over T♦ 9♦ for two pair with the nine she hit on the flop.

Player	Chips	Progress
QT Quang Tung BuiViet Nam	221,000(88 BB)
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	164,000(66 BB)	49,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 12:00:00 PM

Bluff and Out

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Still reeling from a big bluff by Juyeol Lee in an earlier hand, Hai Duong Tran decided to move all-in for his remaining 23,500 chips. Tran Anh Tuan Le called from the big blind to put him at risk.

Hai Duong Tran: K♦ T♠

Tran Anh Tuan Le: A♠ 9♥

The flop came down A♣ K♥ 6♥. While Tran paired his king, Le flopped a higher pair with his ace. The 9♦ on the turn gave Le two pair, cutting down Tran's chances even further.

The Q♠ landed on the river, changing nothing and officially eliminating Tran from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	148,500(59 BB)	91,500
HD Hai Duong TranViet Nam	busted	-23,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 11:50:00 AM

No Spades, No Tournament Life for Vo

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Van Quoc Vo

From middle position, Jinsun Jung opened with a raise to 5,000, and Van Quoc Vo called from the small blind to defend.

The flop came down A♠ Q♠ 8 c. Jung bet out 5,500, but Vo went all-in over the top for 58,000. Jung made the call, putting Vo at risk.

Van Quoc Vo: J♠ 6♠

Jinsun Jung: A♥ J♥

Vo was chasing a flush draw with his spades but was behind Jung’s top pair of aces.

Vo needed help, but the 4♣ on the turn and the 7♥ on the river changed nothing. Vo missed his draw and was knocked out of the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
JJ Jinsun JungSouth Korea	273,000(109 BB)
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	busted	-40,000

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 155/394

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 11:30:00 AM

Pham Finds A Three-Outer To Double

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Thi Minh Hong Pham

Van Tan Nguyen opened fo 5,000 from under the gun. On the next seat, Thi Minh Hong Pham shoved her last 57,000 chips in the middle and risked her Main Event journey.

Two seats over, Haohui Mi made the call.

Action folded back to Nguyen, who liked his cards, but had to shake his head and return it to the dealer, leaving Pham and Ma for the showdown.

Thi Minh Hong Pham: A♠ J♠

Haohui Ma: A♥ Q♥

Ma had a dominating hand and Pham stood from her seat, almost resigned that this would not go her way.

The flop came J♣ 5♣ T♠ with Pham hitting a three-outer to make a pair of jacks. She stayed ahead on the 4♦ turn and sealed her double up on the 9♣ river, while doing significant damage to Ma's stack.

Pham sat back down again to stack her chips and continue her Main Event journey.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	115,000(58 BB)	95,500
HM Haohui MaChina	104,000(52 BB)	72,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 11:25:00 AM

Show or Fold?

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Juyeol Lee

Bien Mai was already all-in preflop and found callers in both Hai Duong Tran and former USOP Main Event Champion Juyeol Lee, who created a side pot.

The flop landed K♠ T♠ 9♦ , prompting a bet of 9,000 from Lee, which Tran check-called.

When the 8♦ peeled off on the turn, Lee fired a second barrel for 20,000. Tran wasn't going anywhere just yet and check-called once more. The 5♠ completed the board on the river.

Tran checked a final time, and Lee put maximum pressure on by announcing all-in. Tran folded but flashed J♣ J♥ for a pair of jacks.

Lee then proudly tabled his A♦ J♠ for just ace-high, revealing an absolute masterpiece of a triple-barrel bluff to claim the side pot.

With Tran out of the way, the main pot was contested. Mai turned over A♠ 2♣ , also holding ace-high, but Lee’s jack kicker was best.

Player	Chips	Progress
JL Juyeol LeeSouth Korea	168,000(84 BB)	128,000
HD Hai Duong TranViet Nam	23,000(12 BB)
BM Bien MaiViet Nam	busted	-51,200

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 11:13:05 AM

End Of The Line

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Kyle Bao Diep

There are still 172 entries remaining. However, the field has completely shrunk from the 394 total entries with a lot being eliminated and no longer allowed to re-enter in this flight.

Some of the fallen include:

Player	Chips	Progress
PE Paul ElliottAustralia	busted
JJ Jaesok JangSouth Korea	busted	-51,400
ZY Zhifan YeChina	busted
YF Yu FangChina	busted
XZ Xiaosheng ZhengChina	busted	-8,100
JL John LopezColombia	busted
JX Jieming XuChina	busted	-40,000
HD Hung Duong DangViet Nam	busted
LT Lester TimoneraPhilippines	busted	-56,600
JS Jeoffrey SibalPhilippines	busted	-40,000
TQ Trung Quan NguyenViet Nam	busted	-15,500
KB Kyle Bao DiepViet Nam	busted
EC Eric CeretSingapore	busted	-134,100
JC Jose ColadaPhilippines	busted
SY Sangwook YimSouth Korea	busted
SL Sofia LovgrenSweden	busted	-50,300
RK Ritesh KhatwaniIndia	busted
MA Meer AhmetIndia	busted
VS Van Son NguyenViet Nam	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 11:08:00 AM

Ma Said Knock You Out

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Haohui Ma

All the 67,000 chips of Guillem Segarra were in the middle and was at risk against Haohui Ma.

Guillem Segarra: A♥ K♠

Haohui Ma: A♣ 4♣

Segarra was way ahead and looked to earn a huge double up. However, the board fell 3♠ J♥ 5♦ 6♠ 7♠ to give Ma a one-card straight, cracking Segarra's big slick and ending his Main Event championship hopes.

Player	Chips	Progress
HM Haohui MaChina	155,000(78 BB)	51,000
GS Guillem SegarraSpain	busted	-75,700

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 11:05:53 AM

Ta Gets Straight Out Of Ha Long

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Thanh Vuong Nguyen was in early position against Khang Duy Ta on the cutoff.

Both players were looking at a pot of around 65,000 with a complete board that showed K♠ 2♥ Q♠ 5♥ 9♠

Nguyen tapped his option over to Ta, who didn't hesitate to shove his last 33,000 all in and risk his tournament life.

Nguyen made the snap call.

Ta peeled open K♦ Q♦ for two pair. Nguyen showed J♣ T♥ for a straight that took all of Ta's chips and sent him out of this flight for good.

Player	Chips
TV Thanh Vuong NguyenViet Nam	167,000(84 BB)
KD Khang Duy TaViet Nam	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 11:05:00 AM

Day 1E Registration Closes at 394 Entries, 50 ITM

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Registration for Day 1E of the USOP Main Event has officially closed, locking in a final field size of 394 entries for the flight. The battle is now on to see who survives, as only the top 50 players (12.5% of the field) will bag up their chips tonight, simultaneously securing their spot on Day 2 and locking up a minimum-cash.

With 193 players currently still seated, a long and grueling grind remains ahead before the money bubble bursts.

Meanwhile, across the tournament room, the final starting flight of the event, Day 1F Turbo, has just kicked off. Featuring faster blind levels, this flight represents the last opportunity for players to punch their ticket to Day 2.

Level 12: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 193/394

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 181/376

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 10:42:20 AM

Bang!

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Thi My Phuong Nguyen

Thi My Phuong Nguyen was eliminated earlier in the table of sharks and seems that she found her way back again in another table, where she has collected herself and boosted her stack from the 40,000 starting to make it to the average.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Thi My Phuong NguyenViet Nam	82,000(55 BB)	82,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 10:40:00 AM

Runner-Runner Stuns Aces

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

In a three-bet pot, initial preflop aggressor Clyde Morales fired out a continuation bet on the T♥ 6♥ 2♠ flop. He was instantly met with a check-raise all-in for 23,100 from Chengxiang Wei, which Morales snap-called.

Chengxiang Wei: 7♥ 7♣

Clyde Morales: A♠ A♣

Morales was firmly in the driver's seat with his pocket aces, leaving Wei with just two direct outs to a seven.

However, the poker gods delivered a shocker as the J♥ peeled off on the turn, followed by the K♥ on the river. The runner-runner hearts completed an improbable one-card flush for Wei, stunning the table and leaving Morales looking on in disbelief as his aces were ruthlessly cracked.

Player	Chips	Progress
CW Chengxiang WeiChina	76,000(51 BB)
CM Clyde MoralesPhilippines	64,400(43 BB)	-39,600

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 10:30:00 AM

Cooler of the Day

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Under the gun, Azizjon Rakhimov opened the action and found callers in both blinds: Joshua Figuerres in the small blind and Seongho Cho in the big blind.

The flop landed a highly coordinated Q♠ J♦ T♥ . Rakhimov fired a continuation bet of 5,000, and both Cho and Figuerres check-called to see the 5♦ on the turn.

Action checked to Cho, who led out for 10,000. Rakhimov flat, only for Figuerres to check-raise all-in. Cho then committed the rest of his remaining stack all-in as well, and Rakhimov snap-called to create a massive three-way showdown.

Seongho Cho: K♥ 8♦

Joshua Figuerres: K♣ 9♣

Azizjon Rakhimov: A♣ K♠

Cho was semi-bluffing with an open-ended straight draw, but both Figuerres and Rakhimov had already flopped straights.

Figuerres held the king-high dummy straight, but Rakhimov held the absolute nuts with his ace-high broadway straight.

The river changed nothing, allowing Rakhimov to scoop a monstrous pot and score a devastating double elimination.

Player	Chips	Progress
AR Azizjon RakhimovUzbekistan	245,000(163 BB)
SC Seongho ChoSouth Korea	busted
JF Joshua FiguerresPhilippines	busted	-110,200

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 10:28:44 AM

Thi Xoa Nguyen Out

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Thi Xoa Nguyen

Thi Xoa Nguyen is the top female Vietnamese player with over USD 1.9 million in total live earnings. She is ranked No.8 in Vietnam's all time money list and is the only woman inside the top ten.

Nguyen was seen leaving her seat with her K♠ K♣ being wrapped up by the dealer and her last chips being shipped the way of Ilias Aliev.

Aliev is a Brazilian with a modes total live earnings of over USD 50,000. He is probably uncertain whom he just knocked out.

Player	Chips
IA Ilias AlievBrazil	148,000(99 BB)
TX Thi Xoa NguyenViet Nam	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 10:22:00 AM

Power Play From Bautista

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Under the gun, Milbert Bautista opened the action with a raise to 3,000. Sitting directly to his left, Thi Minh Hong Pham bumped the price with a three-bet to 8,500, which Bautista called.

The flop landed 8♠ 7♠ 4♣ . Pham fired out a continuation bet of 6,500, and Bautista check-called.

When the 3♥ peeled off on the turn, Pham didn’t let up and fired a second barrel of 15,000. This time, however, Bautista sprang a trap and check-raised all-in for 47,500. The sudden show of force worked instantly, prompting a snap-fold from Pham and sending the pot over to Bautista.

After forcing the fold, Bautista proudly turned over 5♣ 5♥ , revealing that he hadn't completely clicked buttons. Instead, he had pulled off a perfectly executed semi-bluff with his small pocket pair and a gutshot straight draw.

The aggressive turn check-shove worked like a charm, forcing the better hand out of the pot and locking up the chips for Bautista.

Player	Chips	Progress
MB Milbert BautistaPhilippines	90,000(60 BB)
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	19,500(13 BB)	-30,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 10:21:45 AM

Pham Doubles On Blinds Battle

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Dongying Ling was on the small blind against Duy Anh Pham on the big blind.

Both players were looking at a board of K♥ 4♦ 2♠ Q♣ beside a pot of around 5,000 chips.

Ling was the first to act and pushed in a bet of 2,500. Pham re-raised to 8,000 and Ling jammed all in. Pham made the instant call, risking his last 34,100.

Dongying Ling showed a formidable K♦ T♠ for a pair of kings.

Pham tabled Q♥ 4♥ for two pairs. Ling had 5 outs to hit the river, but the 3♥ bricked for him, sending the chips Pham's way.

Player	Chips
DA Duy Anh PhamViet Nam	69,700(46 BB)
DL Dongying LingSingapore	60,200(40 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 10:12:04 AM

Snowmen Survive the Sweat

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Van Thinh Do was seen all-in and at risk against Wang Chen, who held the covering stack.

Van Thinh Do: 8♥ 8♦

Wang Chen: A♦ K♦

The flop fell Q♥ J♠ 7♠ , giving Chen additional backdoor outs alongside his overcards.

However, the clean 2♥ turn and 3♣ river brought no help to the big slick, allowing Do’s pocket eights to hold up for a crucial double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
VT Van Thinh DoViet Nam	108,600(72 BB)	44,600
WC Wang ChenChina	49,000(33 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 10:03:16 AM

Registration Window Closing Fast

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

Time is running out for players looking to find a bag. This marks the final level of the registration period for the current flight.

Once this level concludes, the field will head on a 10-minute break, during which the registration desk will officially close its doors. Anyone wishing to buy in or re-enter must lock it in before the cards are back in the air.

Level 11: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 193/352

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 10:00:00 AM

Lee’s Third Time’s a Charm?

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

Juyeol Lee

The only former champion in the field today is Korea's Juyeol Lee, who famously captured the USOP Hai Phong Main Event title back in 2024.

Lee's path today has been a rocky one; he was spotted playing in the early levels of the Main Event but suffered an early elimination.

He then shifted his focus to the Single Day High Roller, but unfortunately hit the rail in that event as well. Refusing to give up, Lee has jumped back into the Main Event and is now seated over at the incredibly tough Table 53, looking to survive the remaining levels and bag up chips for Day 2.

Player	Chips
JL Juyeol LeeSouth Korea	40,000(33 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 9:55:00 AM

Le’s Tens Outflip Big Slick

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

Facing a standard opening raise to 2,500, Manh Cuong Le raised the stakes by three-betting to 7,900.

From the small blind, Thi Hien Hoa Nguyen pushed the action by four-bet shoving all-in for 37,900. The initial raiser quickly folded, and Le didn't hesitate to snap-call.

Thi Hien Hoa Nguyen: A♣ K♠

Manh Cuong Le: T♥ T♣

Le's pocket tens held firm through the clean 6♠ 2♠ 2♥ 9♦ 8♥ board. Nguyen failed to improve her big slick and was eliminated from the tournament field.

Player	Chips	Progress
MC Manh Cuong LeViet Nam	129,000(108 BB)
TH Thi Hien Hoa NguyenViet Nam	busted	-33,800

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 9:50:00 AM

Segarra's Set Gets Paid

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

Guillem Segarra was on the small blind. Cong Song Phan was on the big blind. Haohui Ma was on the lowjack.

The three players were competing for a pot of around 25,000 beside a flop that showed 3♦ 9♠ T♥ Q♠

All checked their options to open a 7♥ on the river.

Segarra led out for 16,000. Phan carefully weighed his decision and threw in a time bank token. He counted off the chips and assessed the damage. It was for almost half his stack. After some deliberation, he pushed the chips to make the call. Ma got out of the way.

Segarra turned over 3♣ 3♥ for a set of threes, while Phan slowly pushed his cards back to the dealer as if he was crying and walling slowly in a bathroom shower.

Player	Chips	Progress
GS Guillem SegarraSpain	75,700(63 BB)	35,700
HM Haohui MaChina	32,000(27 BB)	-8,000
CS Cong Song PhanViet Nam	19,600(16 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 9:48:21 AM

Dang's Kings Give A Double

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

Van Thinh Do opened for 2,500 from the cutoff. Action then rolled on to Hung Duong Dang on the big blind, who jammed all in for 9,600.

Do explained that he didn't want to call, but he had a big stack and only so little to add, so he did.

Hung Duong Dang: K♣ K♦

Van Thinh Do: A♣ 7♥

The board of Q♠ T♠ 5♥ 4♠ T♠ ran clean in favor of Dang to give him a crucial double up to 22,400.

It would be short-lived, however, as Dang was seen vacating his seat a few moments later.

Player	Chips	Progress
VT Van Thinh DoViet Nam	64,000(53 BB)	24,000
HD Hung Duong DangViet Nam	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 9:42:00 AM

Set Spells Doom for Yim

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

From the cutoff, Koyo Sera opened the action with a raise to 2,500. Sitting in the small blind, Sangwook Yim raised the stakes with a three-bet to 10,500, which Sera called to see the Q♣ 4♦ 3♣ flop.

Yim fired out a continuation bet of 14,000, and Sera made the call.

When the 6♦ peeled off on the turn, Yim slowed down and checked. Sera seized the opportunity to bet 18,000, and Yim called to bring the 9♦ on the river.

Yim checked for the last time, prompting Sera to shove all-in. Yim hesitated before finally committing his last 21,900 chips into the middle.

Sangwook Yim: A♦ Q♠

Koyo Sera: 6♠ 6♥

Yim was devastated to see that Sera had turned a set of sixes. Sera scooped the massive pot and sent Yim to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
KS Koyo SeraJapan	198,400(165 BB)	66,000
SY Sangwook YimSouth Korea	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 9:36:40 AM

Double KO at Table 53

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

Aditya Sushant

In table 53, where the sharks are, two people were eliminated at the same time. Seeing leaving their seats together were WSOP bracelet winner Aditya Sushant and Thi My Phuong Nguyen.

The cards were all wrapped up by the dealer, so there was no sense of what action occurred, but the most important result was still witnessed, which was that a ton of chips were being shipped the way of Mingcong Chen.

Player	Chips	Progress
MC Mingcong ChenChina	126,000(105 BB)
AS Aditya SushantIndia	busted	-443,100
TM Thi My Phuong NguyenViet Nam	busted	-50,600

Level 10: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 207/334

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 9:20:00 AM

Big Stack Gets Bigger

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

In a single-raised pot, the flop landed 7♣ 6♥ 2♠ .

Tuan Hung Nguyen, fresh off winning a massive pot and eliminating a player, fired out a continuation bet. However, Van Lich Vu responded by check-raising all-in. Nguyen quickly made a snap-call to put Vu at risk.

Van Lich Vu: 8♦ 7♦

Tuan Hung Nguyen: T♣ T♠

Vu had flopped top pair but was trailing well behind Nguyen’s overpair of tens. The turn and river brought the A♥ and Q♦ , which offered no help to Vu, securing another elimination for Nguyen.

With that pot, Nguyen added even more chips to his towering mountain of a stack. He currently sits with around 334,100 chips, completely dominating the field where the average stack is just 63,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
TH Tuan Hung NguyenViet Nam	334,100(334 BB)	74,100
VL Van Lich VuViet Nam	busted	-16,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 9:11:00 AM

Ace-High Wins Massive Pot

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

With 72,000 chips already in the middle and the board showing Q♠ 7♠ 6♣ 9♥ , Tuan Hung Nguyen checked from the small blind. Action was on Anh Tu Nguyen, who used a time bank card before moving all-in for 45,700.

Tuan Hung hesitated for a moment before deciding to call, putting Anh Tu at risk.

Anh Tu Nguyen: K♥ J♥

Tuan Hung Nguyen: A♠ T♠

Both players were on draws heading into the final card. The 3♦ peeled off on the river, failing to help either player. Tuan Hung's ace-high held up to win the massive pot and eliminate Anh Tu from the field.

Player	Chips	Progress
TH Tuan Hung NguyenViet Nam	260,000(260 BB)	111,800
AT Anh Tu NguyenViet Nam	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 8:50:00 AM

Chip Leaders At The Break!

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

Top 12 Chip Count

Player	Chips	Progress
TK Takuya KorokiJapan	208,800(209 BB)
TA Tuan Anh Nguyen 3Viet Nam	162,300(162 BB)	80,200
VH Van Hai DoViet Nam	155,200(155 BB)
DC Duc Cuong NguyenViet Nam	151,900(152 BB)	137,100
AD Anh Dung TrinhViet Nam	149,200(149 BB)	39,500
KL Katrina LimUnited States of America	148,500(149 BB)	8,300
TH Tuan Hung NguyenViet Nam	148,200(148 BB)
VT Van Trung NguyenViet Nam	146,500(147 BB)
QM Quang Minh NguyenViet Nam	145,200(145 BB)	-23,800
EC Eric CeretSingapore	134,100(134 BB)	94,100
KS Koyo SeraJapan	132,400(132 BB)
HC Hao Chen 2China	129,000(129 BB)	102,300

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 8:37:36 AM

Stacked

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

Mingcong Chen, Super High Roller Champion

Some big names have entered Day 1E.

There's China's Haohui Ma with over USD 1.18 million in total live earnings. Ma already has 26 cashes this 2026 alone, not yet including those from these series. Nine of those events were final table appearances including a championship in the Single Day High Roller during the Korea Poker Cup.

Former Main Event champion Juyeol Lee of South Kora has also made his presence felt. Lee was the big winner in the USOP Hai Phong Main Event, pocketing his career best score of USD 256,715. Lee also topped a Main Event in the VPT Championship II Phu Quoc, where he took home the lion's share of over USD 157,000.

China's Mingcong Chen has over USD 2.13 million in total live earnings. Chen is an APT Super High Roller champion and just recently his his biggest career cash of over USD 1.14 million after topping the USD 30,000 NLH - 8 Handed in the Trition Super High Roller Series recently held in Jeju. In this series, Chen booked a win in the Super High Roller event.

In some not so good news, Chen also bubbled in Day 1A of this Main Event.

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 196/292

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 196/292

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 8:25:26 AM

From Bubble to Shark Tank

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

After a heartbreaking finish as the bubble boy last night in Day 1C, Tran Anh Tuan Le has returned for another shot, but his new seat draw is anything but forgiving.

Le has been assigned to a true "monster" lineup over at Table 53.

The table is absolutely stacked with talent, featuring local Vietnamese crushers Dinh Hai Linh Nguyen, Thi My Phuong Nguyen, and Bien Mai.

Adding to the pressure, Le is sharing the felt with WPT Championship Main Event Winner Xiaosheng Zheng, alongside WSOP bracelet winners Aditya Sushant and Guoliang Wei.

All of them are starting their day at Table 53, creating what is easily one of the toughest tables in the room.

Player	Chips	Progress
AS Aditya SushantIndia	443,100(554 BB)	403,100
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	57,000(71 BB)
BM Bien MaiViet Nam	51,200(64 BB)	600
TM Thi My Phuong NguyenViet Nam	50,600(63 BB)
DH Dinh Hai Linh NguyenViet Nam	40,000(50 BB)
GW Guoliang WeiChina	29,000(36 BB)
XZ Xiaosheng ZhengChina	8,100(10 BB)	-31,900

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 8:20:00 AM

Checked Down to a Win

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Van Lich Vu opened the action with a raise to 1,600 and found a caller before Bien Mai bumped the price from the cutoff with a three-bet to 6,500. The initial caller folded, leaving only Vu to make the call.

The flop landed 9♠ 3♥ 3♦ , prompting a 5,000 continuation bet from Mai, which Vu check-called.

Both players elected to slow the action down from there, checking through the 2♦ turn and the 2♠ river.

At showdown, Vu turned over T♣ 6♣ for complete air, allowing Mai to scoop the pot with just A♣ J♥ for ace-high.

Player	Chips
BM Bien MaiViet Nam	50,600(63 BB)
VL Van Lich VuViet Nam	16,000(20 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 8:11:56 AM

VND 1 Million For Starbucks Iced Tea

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Xiaosheng Zheng And The Starbucks Iced Tea

Thi My Phuong Nguyen had a Starbucks Iced Tea delivered by her friend. Xiaosheng Zheng said, "I want that!"

Nguyen joked, "1 million!"

Zheng brought out the cash and handed it over to take the iced tea away from her hands.

Nguyen handed over some the cash to her delivery friend and told her to get another one.

Zheng then asked Nguyen if she is married or single.

Nguyen said - "No married, but three kids."

Zheng answered back, "We can have one more."

The table laughed.

All this conversation was happening right in front of the media table.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 8:10:00 AM

Chen Shoves, Kim Folds

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

From middle position, Kooksung Kim opened the action with a raise to 1,600. Sitting in the hijack, Hao Chen bumped the price with a three-bet to 4,000, which Kim called to see the A♣ 7♠ 2♣ flop.

Chen fired out a continuation bet of 2,500, and Kim check-called.

When the 4♥ peeled off on the turn, Kim checked once again.

Chen didn't hesitate and moved all-in for his remaining 11,700, forcing Kim to fold his hand and forfeit the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
KK Kooksung KimSouth Korea	83,200(104 BB)	43,200
HC Hao Chen 2China	26,700(33 BB)	-13,300

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 7:59:30 AM

Roses Among The Thorns

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Mei Yee Lo

Several women have showed up to play this flight and this is how they stack up:

Player	Chips	Progress
KL Katrina LimUnited States of America	140,200(175 BB)	35,100
LT Lester TimoneraPhilippines	56,600(71 BB)
MY Mei Yee LoChina	53,700(67 BB)
SL Sofia LovgrenSweden	50,300(63 BB)	10,300
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	49,500(62 BB)
TH Thi Hien Hoa NguyenViet Nam	33,800(42 BB)
HN Hong Nhung NguyenViet Nam	9,900(12 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 7:55:00 AM

Guarantee Officially Shattered!!

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

The tournament director has officially announced that the original VND 30 Billion (~USD 1.14 Million) guarantee has been broken, thanks to Day 1E drawing a swift 247 entries.

With four levels still remaining before registration closes for Day 1E, and the final turbo flight, Day 1F, scheduled for later tonight, the ultimate prize pool is primed to climb significantly higher.

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 177/247

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 7:46:00 AM

Pham Pressures

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Thi Minh Hong Pham

Thi Minh Hong Pham was in early position just right after under the gun and was up against Duc Cuong Nguyen on the button.

The two had been competing for a pot of 22,500 built before the flop.

The flop arrived 3♥ T♠ 9♥

Pham opened with a bet of 7,500. Nguyen threw in a time bank token and considered his options before he finally decided to fight another day, despite wanting to desperately scoop the big pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	49,500(83 BB)	6,500
DC Duc Cuong NguyenViet Nam	14,800(25 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 7:45:00 AM

Lim’s Queens Cracked

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Facing an opening raise and a call, Alexis Lim three-bet to 5,200 from the cutoff. Sitting directly to his left, Dinh Duc Linh pushed the action by four-bet shoving all-in for 37,400.

The initial raiser and caller quickly folded, sending the decision back to Lim, who made the call.

Alexis Lim: Q♥ Q♠

Dinh Duc Linh: A♦ K♥

It was a classic flip, but Linh took a commanding lead on the A♥ 9♠ 2♥ flop by pairing his ace.

Left with only two remaining outs in the deck, Lim hoped to catch a queen, but the 4♠ turn and 7♣ river offered no help.

The hand left Lim severely short-stacked, while Linh secured the double-up.

Player	Chips
DD Dinh Duc LinhViet Nam	78,700(131 BB)
AL Alexis LimPhilippines	700(1 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 7:36:00 AM

No Action, No Problem

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Folded to the button, Katrina Lim opened the action with a raise to 1,200. In the big blind, Quang Minh Nguyen raised the stakes with a three-bet to 4,800, which Lim called after a brief hesitation.

Both players elected to slow the action down completely from there, checking down through the entire K♠ 8♥ 7♦ T♣ Q♠ board. At showdown,

Nguyen tabled A♥ Q♣ for a rivered pair of queens, which was enough to take it down as Lim mucked her hand.

Player	Chips	Progress
QM Quang Minh NguyenViet Nam	169,000(282 BB)	129,000
KL Katrina LimUnited States of America	105,100(175 BB)	11,700

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 7:27:43 AM

Ta Gets Paid And Stacks Up

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Khanh Duy Ta (L) and Tung Lam Cao (R)

A pot of nearly 15,000 was in the middle of the pot with a completed board that showed 8♠ 9♠ 2♥ J♠ Q♦

Khanh Duy Ta was on the cutoff against Tung Lam Cao on the button.

Ta was the first to act and made a bet of 12,000.

Cao took a look at his stack. That amount was over a third of his stack and he would be left with crumbs if he got it wrong. Cao threw in some time bank tokens to go over his options. Finally, when he had convinced himself to be brave, he threw in a chip to call.

Ta showed 5♠ 3♠ for a flush. Cao mucked his hand and shipped Ta the chips he owed.

Player	Chips	Progress
KD Khanh Duy TaViet Nam	128,000(213 BB)	88,000
TL Tung Lam Cao	18,500(31 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 7:23:00 AM

Turn Card Torture

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

John Lopez

John Lopez found himself all-in from the small blind for his remaining 13,300 chips, facing a covering stack from Thi Minh Hong Pham directly to his left.

Thi Minh Hong Pham: A♣ 3♦

John Lopez: A♥ 9♠

Lopez looked to be in excellent shape to secure a double-up after spiking top pair on the 9♣ 5♠ 2♥ flop.

However, the poker gods had other plans as the 4♦ peeled off on the turn, completing a straight for Pham and leaving Lopez drawing completely dead.

The 9♦ river mocked Lopez by improving his hand to trips, but it was far too little, too late, and he was sent directly to the registration desk to consider a re-entry.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	43,000(72 BB)
JL John LopezColombia	busted	-40,000

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 163/214

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 7:08:03 AM

Costiniano Shows

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

John Niko Costiniano

Tung Lam Cao opened for 1,000 from under the gun. Hengje He called from the next seat.

On the lowjack, John Niko Costiniano three-bet raised it to 5,000. Action then fell to Haowei Xu on the small blind, who four-bet raised to 16,000.

Cao stood down. He got away as well. But then, Costiniano shoved all in for 59,600, covering the stack of Xu.

Xu spent an eternity with his thoughts, spreading out all his four time bank tokens for the dealer to pick from. Xu had an out-of-body experience and worm-holed to another universe. where there were similar planets to Earth and the dinosaurs thrived and were happy. When he finally came back after four time banks, he sent his cards to the muck.

Costiniano showed A♥ K♥ while he raked in the pot.

Xu peeled open an A♦ before the dealer could collect them.

Player	Chips	Progress
JN John Niko CostinianoPhilippines	80,400(161 BB)	40,400
HX Haowei XuChina	24,000(48 BB)	-16,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 7:08:00 AM

Day 1E Surpasses 200 Entries; Guarantee on the Verge of Being Shattered

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

The field continues to grow rapidly here at USOP Vietnam 2026. Only halfway through the registration period, Day 1E has already broken the 200-entry milestone.

With a steady stream of players still heading to the registration desk, the overall tournament guarantee is now on the verge of being completely shattered.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 7:05:00 AM

Tran Plays Back with the Big Shove

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

With 8,700 chips already in the middle, the complete board ran out Q♠ T♦ 7♥ 8♣ 8♥ .

Hoai Anh Tran led out with a bet of 4,500, but Manh Cuong Hoang raised the action to 10,000. Tran did not back down and challenged Hoang by moving all-in.

Hoang went deep into the tank before ultimately deciding to fold his hand, giving Tran the pot without a showdown.

Player	Chips	Progress
HA Hoai Anh TranViet Nam	58,100(116 BB)
MC Manh Cuong HoangViet Nam	18,000(36 BB)	-22,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 6:50:00 AM

USOP High Roller Update

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

Want to see how the biggest high roller action played out last night?

The VND 4 Billion guaranteed Single Day High Roller completely exploded, with a massive turnout pushing the total prize pool to a jaw-dropping VND 10 Billion!

Head over to the Somuchpoker website right now to catch all the tournament recaps, winning hands, and full updates from the festival.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 6:40:32 AM

Trinh Wins It Without a Showdown

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

Tuan Anh Nguyen

With the board already complete showing A♥ J♥ 3♠ J♠ 5♠ , Tuan Anh Nguyen fired a bet of 18,000 into a 22,000 pot. Action was on Anh Dung Trinh, who then check-raised to 42,000.

Nguyen went deep into the tank before deciding to fold his hand, allowing Trinh to take down the pot without a showdown.

Player	Chips	Progress
AD Anh Dung TrinhViet Nam	109,700(219 BB)	69,700
TA Tuan Anh Nguyen 3Viet Nam	82,100(164 BB)

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 147/181

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 6:30:52 AM

But Wait...

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Quang Trinh Do

A♠ the field of Day 1E grows, so does the number of crushers and sharks. Some of the recent entries include the likes of Jose Colada from the Philippines, who has total live earnings of nearly USD 600,000. Colada was a champion in the High Roller Ultra Stack during the APT Championship Taipei 2025, where he hauled his best score of over USD 152,000.

Also in the field is Paul Elliot of Australia, who has over USD 137,000 in total live earnings. Elliot is a USOP title holder, winning the Pot Limit Omah Turbo event during USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong.

Vietnam's Quang Trinh Do just recently won a Mini High Roller event in this series and also booked several cashes. With over USD 400,000 in total live earings, Do also won the USOP High Roller Warm Up during USOP Hanoi 2023.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 6:27:00 AM

Wang Blocked from Re-Entry After Registration Loophole

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Following the tournament ban issued to Leibin Wang for disruptive behavior, another incident involving the player occurred at USOP Vietnam 2026.

Despite the ban from the previous day, Wang managed to register and play in the Day 1D flight last night after the registration system failed to properly block his details. Earlier today, Wang was able to buy in yet again before the registration staff was finally alerted and instructed to completely lock him out of the system.

Shortly after entering today's field, Wang was eliminated early. When he went back to the registration desk to re-buy, staff informed him that he was officially blocked from entering any further events. Wang became highly persistent, continuously arguing and begging the staff to let him re-buy into the tournament. However, management stood by the rules, denied his request, and enforced his permanent ban from the series.

Player	Chips
LW Leibing WangChina	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 6:26:57 AM

Lovgren Wants Bigger

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Sofia Lovgren

Sweden's Sofia Lovgren has just jumped in the Main Event again despite having bagged a stack in Day 1C.

At the registration, Lovgren confessed, "I made a wrong move trying to bluff in the bubble and the guy with trips wasn't going to fold, so today I want to make a bigger stack."

Lovgren ended with a stack of 62,000, which wasn't ideal for her entering Day 2 where the average stack would be between 250,000 to 300,000.

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/30/2026, 6:14:58 AM

Lim Knocks Out Dong and Dang

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Under the gun Viet Anh Dong opened the action and Hung Duong Dang made the call. Katrina Lim then three-bet from the button, which both Dong and Dang called to see a flop.

The dealer spread out Q♠ 5♠ 3♣ , and action checked over to Lim who fired a bet of 5,000. Dong responded by shoving his remaining 21,500 into the middle, and Dang quickly followed suit by moving all-in for 22,500. Faced with the two shoves, Lim used a time bank card before ultimately making the call.

Viet Anh Dong: J♠ T♠

Hung Duong Dang: Q♣ 9♣

Katrina Lim: A♣ Q♦

Lim was ahead with top pair, top kicker against Dang's top pair and Dong's flush draw.

She successfully dodged all of her opponents' outs on the 3♦ turn and 7♦ river runout to secure a double knockout.

Player	Chips	Progress
KL Katrina LimUnited States of America	93,400(234 BB)
VA Viet Anh DongViet Nam	busted	33,500
HD Hung Duong DangViet Nam	busted	-40,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 6:13:53 AM

Morales Chips Up In Battle Of The Blinds

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

A pot of around 40,000 was in the middle beside a complete board that showed T♠ 5♣ 8♥ K♣ 8♠

Clyde Morales was on the small blind against Tan Khoa Nguyen on the big blind.

Morales was the first to act and used up the shot clock then checked his option over to Nguyen, who just checked behind.

Morales peeled open T♦ 8♣ for a full house and was disappointed Nguyen didn't fire a bet. Nguyen just smiled and mucked his hand. Some at the table gave Morales that look that said, "You sneaky bastard." and took note of that action for future reference.

Player	Chips	Progress
TK Tan Khoa NguyenViet Nam	105,000(263 BB)
CM Clyde MoralesPhilippines	104,000(260 BB)	7,600

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 106/122

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 106/122

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 5:39:43 AM

Suhendra's Hooks Catch Nguyen

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

Suhendra

The cards were on their backs with the all-in button on the stack of Suhendra, which had 14,200 chips.

The board red Q♣ 5♣ 7♦ K♥ beside a pot of around 13,000

Trung Quang Nguyen gave it some thought, then decide to throw in a chip to call.

Suhendra: J♦ J♥

Trung Quang Nguyen: A♣ 8♣

Suhendra was ahead with a pair of jacks, but Nguyen had a nut flush draw. The poker gods threw in a 9♦ on the river, saving Suhendra from elimination and giving a crucial double up while Nguyen was left damaged.

Player	Chips	Progress
MS Mr. SuhendraIndonesia	48,500(162 BB)	8,500
TQ Trung Quan NguyenViet Nam	15,500(52 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 5:22:29 AM

Four All In

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

Clyde Morales

It started simple enough. There was a minimum raise to 600 from the cutoff by Viet Anh Dong, which was matched by Van Song Nguyen on the button, Yongyi Liu on the small blind and Clyde Morales on the big blind for a family pot.

The flop came 8♣ 4♠ 7♠ and action was checked around to Van Song Nguyen on the button, who jammed his last 5,600 all in.

Liu, Morales and Dong all made the call.

The turn threw a T♣

Liu moved all in, Morales went all in and Dong also went all in.

The cards first. The chips to be sorted, pending the results.

Van Song Nguyen: 8♦ 5♥

Yongyi Liu: J♠ T♠

Clyde Morales: 9♣ 6♣

Viet Anh Dong: J♦ T♥

Nguyen was ahead with a pair of eights when he went all in on the flop.

However, the turn changed everything. Liu and Dong went in with top pair, but Morales had made his straight.

When the dealer put down the J♥ on the river, Liu thought he would split the pot with Dong for two pair. But it was Dong who pointed out that Morales already had a straight. Liu assumed it was just a flush draw.

When the chips were sorted, Nguyen and Liu were eliminated and Dong was crippled.

Morales jumped up the chip leader board and probably all the way to the top.

Player	Chips	Progress
CM Clyde MoralesPhilippines	96,400(321 BB)	56,400
VA Viet Anh DongViet Nam	6,500(22 BB)	-33,500
VS Van Son NguyenViet Nam	busted
YL Yongyi LiuChina	busted	-40,000

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 74/78

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 4:46:48 AM

Satellite Winner Takes A Seat

Level 3: 100 / 200 ante: 200

Guillem Segarra

Singapore-based Guillem Segarra of Spain won a Main Event Satellite seat in last night's tournament. For just a VND 4.3 million (~USD 160), Segarra was able to spin that into a seat worth VND 30 million (~USD 1,100).

More importantly, he has a chance to win a share from the VND 30 billion (~USD 1.1 million) guaranteed prize pool.

Segarra has already cashed in this series during the Championship Event and in the Deepstack Big Buyin event.

-

Remaining Players: 47/48

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 4:14:11 AM

Crushers Come To Play

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

Quang Minh Nguyen

Some notable names of the Asian poker scene have taken their spot at the tables here at the InterContinental Ha Long Bay.

Vietnam's Quang Minh Nguyen, who has over USD 1.2 million in total live earnings, has joined the fray. Nguyen was a former APT Super High Roller champion, where he banked a career best cash of over USD 283,000.

In this series, Nguyen made a final table appearance at the High Roller Big GTD event, placing 8th. He followed that up with a runner-up finish in the High Roller Championship.

Jieming Xu

China's Jieming Xu just came from Jeju where he played in the Poker Dream 22 series and cashed in ten events and lifting a trophy in 5 of those. Prior to that, Xu won the Red Dragon Plus Championship - the signature main event of the RDPT Plus Championship series. Xu has over USD 1.1 million in total live earnings.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:56:35 AM

Filipino Crusher John Tech Takes A Seat

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

John Tech

Filipino poker pro John Tech tried his chance during Day 1A, but missed out, and is back in this flight for another chance to advance into Day 2.

Tech has over USD 2.2 million in total live earnings and has lifted a championship trophy an astounding 20 times, including an APT Main Event, APT Superstar Challenge and a 2017 MBP Summer Showdown in Macau, where he banked a career best USD 594,612.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:46:37 AM

On The Road To Redemption

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

Van Quoc Vo

Some familiar faces from earlier Main Event Day 1 flights have surfaced again to hope for a chance to be among the survivors into Day 2.

Canada-based Vietnamese player Van Quoc Vo is back again. Vo managed to build a big stack early yesterday in Day 1C, but had the problem of the unpredictable Xuan Khang Dinh to his left, where he ended up losing his stack. Vo fired another bullet, but once again failed to advance.

Vo also tried in Day 1D... and to make a long story short, he's here now. And since Dinh already made it through to Day 2 and won't be around, then perhaps Vo will have better odds.

Australian Christian Mitchell and Vietnam's Victor Lam used just one buy-in yesterday to make a very deep run, but fell out a few spots away from the magic 31 spots needed to advance.

Other players like Aditya Sushant, Kooksung Kim, Zhifan Ye, Thanh Long Bui and Quoc Bao Huy Nguyen have also had the misfortune of exiting early in their previous flights, so they're all here again for a chance at retribution.

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 28/29

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:35:33 AM

Fang First To Fall

Level 1: 100 / 100

Jaesok Jang

Yu Fang of China shoved his last 5,300 in the middle on his big blind to go against a 300 minimum raise from Jaesok Jang of South Korea on the lowjack.

Jang made the call.

Yu Fang: A♣ 3♣

Jaesok Jang: A♥ K♠

The flop came 8♦ 5♣ A♠ to give both players a pair of aces, but Jang's dominant kicker kept him ahead.

The turn threw another A♦ to give both trips, but Jang still maintaining the lead. Fang needed a miracle three on the river, but the poker gods bricked him with a 7♦ to mark him as the first elimination.

Registration is still open, but it doesn't seem that Fang has taken the option to re-enter, perhaps content enough with the free hoodie.

Player	Chips
JJ Jaesok JangSouth Korea	51,400(514 BB)
YF Yu FangChina	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:20:28 AM

Nguyen Looking For 6th USOP Main Event ITM

Level 1: 100 / 100

Van Sang Nguyen

The field has grown now to 16 entries with some crushers getting in early.

Vietnam's Van Sang Nguyen has over USD 1.15 million in total live earnings and is already stacking some chips. Nguyen failed to make it through on the previous flights and will hope that the remaining windows of opportunity will finally see him through to Day 2 of the Main Event.

Nguyen has cashed in all of the Main Events, dating back to USOP Ha Noi in 2023. That's a total of 5 Main Event ITMs. The only one he missed was USOP Osaka, but only because he failed to attend the series. But of all the Main Event series he's attended, he's 100% in making ITM.

His best Main Event finish was as runner-up in the Grand Loyal Poker Championships - powered by USOP, where he banked over USD 111,000 for the amazing run.

Player	Chips	Progress
VS Van Sang NguyenViet Nam	17,800(178 BB)	-22,200

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:15:53 AM

Main Event Satellite Also Ongoing

Level 1: 100 / 100

For those who think the VND 30 million (~USD 1,100) buy-in for the Main Event might hurt the pocket a little, then you can try to win a seat via the VND 4.3 million (~USD 160) buy-in Main Event Satellite, which is currently running and is Level 2.

There are 3 seats guaranteed with more to be made available depending on the number of entries. A♠ of now there are 15 players, hoping to win a seat.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 3:05:47 AM

Free Hoodie!

Level 1: 100 / 100

Free USOP hoodies are being awarded to those who register and take their seat by Level 1. There are limited stocks per flight, so make sure to sit down early.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 2:59:45 AM

Cards Are In The Air!

Level 1: 100 / 100

The tourney has announced "Shuffle up and deal!" and the journey to the fame and fortune of a Main Event championship continues.

Level 1: 100 / 100

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 7/7

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/30/2026, 1:08:50 AM

Final Chances Of Main Event Today

The USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay 2026 is offering last two chances to participate in the VND 30 billion (~USD 1.1 million) Main Event with the final Day 1 starting flights happening today at the InterContinental Ha Long Bay.

Four Day 1 flights have already concluded with a total of 931 entries taking to the tables so far. From there, only 118 survivors advanced to Day 2 with each guaranteed a minimum payout. Some players have already made some money, earning bonuses as the chip leaders of their respective flights.

Day 1A chip leader Minh Tang Tran earned VND 90 million to lead the 49 survivors of his flight. Manh Tuan Nguyen received a VND 75 million bonus when the topped the 21 Day 1B survivors. Then, Fengxiang Hu booked the final chip leader bonus after bagging the biggest stack at the end of Day 1D among the 17 remaining survivors.

The last two flights won't have any bonuses to give away, but the opportunity to earn a share from the VND 30 billion prize pool is enough of an incentive. In fact, only a 70 entries are needed to break the 1,000-entry mark and boost the prize pool even more. That means more people paid and bigger prizes to share.

With a VND 30 million (~USD 1,100) buy-in, the Day 1E flight will have cards in the air at 10:00 AM local time. Players will begin with a 40,000 starting stack and play through 40-minute levels until 12.55 of the field remain. Registration will close before the start of Level 12, which will be approximately at 5:50 PM local time.

Day 1F will offer the last chance at 6:00 PM local time and will play at a quicker pace with 25-minute blind levels. Registration will close before the start of Level 12 at approximately 11:05 PM local time.

Also, those who register and take their seat by Level 1 will receive a free USOP hoodie. Supplies are limited though, so be sure to be seated early.

You can check the list of Day 2 qualifiers and their chip counts in the Day 2 Surivor List.

Stay glued here for all the live reports and updates from the Day 1E action and other events happening in today's festival schedule.

Event starts 10:00 local time..