Finished

InterContinental Halong Bay Resort

Viet Nam, Hạ Long

USOP Vietnam HaLong Bay 2026

2026.05.19 - 2026.06.01 Add to Calendar

U Series Of Poker

Info Chip Counts Gallery

Blind level

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

Entries

31/248

Total Chips

9,920,000

Average

320,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 5:22:13 PM

Stojkovic Tops Day 1C Field; Le Ends Up as Bubble Boy After Brutal Runout

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

Milan Stojkovic

After 13 grueling hours of poker action, Day 1C of the USOP Main Event has officially wrapped up. The third starting flight brought in 248 entries, pushing the total combined field up to an impressive 802 entries across Days 1A, 1B, and 1C. When the chips were finally bagged, only 31 players remained to secure their place in Day 2 and lock up a guaranteed minimum cash.

Leading the survivor pack is Milan Stojkovic, who finished the day with 746,000 in chips (75 big blinds). Stojkovic steadily built his stack pot-by-pot through a calculated late-level grind, which included the elimination of past USOP Main Event champion Tse Ian Lee.

Nipping at his heels is Hoang Nam Khuu, who secured 721,000 (72 big blinds). Khuu won the vast majority of his chips in the final hand of the night when he successfully burst the bubble in a massive 660,000-chip pot. Rounding out the top three is Thanh Tu Dang, who bagged a healthy 668,000 (67 big blinds).

Top 10 Chip Count

Player	Chips	Progress
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	746,000(75 BB)
HN Hoang Nam KhuuViet Nam	721,000(72 BB)
TT Thanh Tu DangViet Nam	668,000(67 BB)
TD Tien Dat DangViet Nam	600,000(60 BB)	104,000
TT Thi Tuyet Trinh NguyenViet Nam	515,000(52 BB)
TK Taewoo KimSouth Korea	479,000(48 BB)	78,000
AT Anh Tuan LuongViet Nam	436,000(44 BB)	-20,000
MT Manh Tu NguyenViet Nam	425,000(43 BB)	29,000
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	425,000(43 BB)
DG David GershunRussia	425,000(43 BB)	255,000

Tse Ian Lee

With Lee’s elimination, the curse of the former champions continues; up to this point, no past USOP Main Event winner has managed to find a bag.

However, with three starting flights still remaining, there are plenty of chances left for the champions to qualify.

The Bubble Burst

Tran Anh Tuan Le

The Bubble Burst

The flight ended when three different tables had all-in showdowns at the same time. Thi Tuyet Trinh Nguyen and Yaxin Chen both managed to win their hands and double up to stay alive.

However, Tran Anh Tuan Le was eliminated. Le became the bubble boy after Hoang Nam Khuu hit a three-outer on the turn to win the pot and end the day.

Player Banned for Bad Behavior

In a rare event, player Leibin Wang was officially banned from USOP Vietnam 2026. Wang was loud and rude, broke tournament rules, and refused to listen to the tournament director. Because of this, he was removed from the tournament and will not be allowed to play in any more events.

Hand of the Day

Xuan Khang Dinh

Hand of the Day

The most interesting hand of the day happened with a three-way all-in. Xuan Trung Tran held ace-king against Dieu Tu Dinh's pocket kings. Meanwhile, Xuan Khang Dinh went all-in with just nine-six suited.

Xuan Khang hit a straight on the turn to beat both premium hands for a huge triple-up. He finished the night with 425,000 chips (43 big blinds). Tran was eliminated on the hand, and Dieu Tu won the side pot to finish with 232,000 chips (23 big blinds).

The 31 players who survived will return on Sunday, May 31 at 12:00 PM local time for Day 2.

Play will continue until only 18 players are left.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 4:11:00 PM

Tran Anh Tuan Le Eliminated As The Bubble Boy

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

Tran Anh Tuan Le

There was around 180,000 chips in the middle with a flop that showed 3♠ A♣ 5♥

Tran Anh Tuan Le and Hoang Nam Khuu had decided to put all their chips in the middle.

Le was at risk with his 240,000 chips, covered by Khuu.

When the cards went on their backs...

Tran Anh Tuan Le: A♠ K♠

Hoang Nam Khuu: A♥ T♥

Le just had to fade Khuu's three-outer.

With the entire crowd watching... and the poker gods happy with the audience, they threw in a T♣ on the turn that brought an "oooh" from the crowd and a sigh of disbelief from Le and his rail.

It was Le's turn to pray for a three-outer on the river. The poker gods tried to listen beyond the noise of the crowd and gave an exciting face card... Le's heart skipped, but it was a Q♥.

It was official Le was the bubble boy.

Player	Chips	Progress
HN Hoang Nam KhuuViet Nam	721,000(72 BB)	407,000
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	busted	-132,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 4:10:00 PM

Chen and Nguyen Doubles Up

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

The tournament tension reached a boiling point as three different tables went all-in simultaneously.

Over on Table 40, Yaxin Chen three-bet shoved for 127,000, and the initial raiser, Xuan Khang Dinh, made a snap-call.

Yaxin Chen: A♠ K♣

Xuan Khang Dinh: J♠ T♠

The Q♣ 9♠ 5♣ flop immediately gave Chen a massive sweat, handing Dinh an open-ended straight draw.

The sweat grew even more intense when the 6♠ turn fell, picking up a flush draw for Dinh to go with his straight and live overcard outs. Despite the massive array of outs, the 2♦ river bricked completely, securing a vital double-up for Chen.

Meanwhile, a similar survival story unfolded on Table 32. With the board already showing 6♠ 2♠ 2♥ K♣ , Thi Tuyet Trinh Nguyen was already all-in on the turn against Sofia Lovgren, who held the covering stack.

Thi Tuyet Trinh Nguyen: 5♥ 2♦

Sofia Lovgren: Q♥ J♦

Nguyen turned over trips, prompting Lovgren to try to muck her hand early since she was already drawing completely dead.

The non-bearing river completed the board, and Nguyen locked up her own double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
TT Thi Tuyet Trinh NguyenViet Nam	515,000(52 BB)	250,000
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	425,000(43 BB)	-27,000
YC Yaxin CenChina	279,000(28 BB)	169,000
SL Sofia LovgrenSweden	62,000(6 BB)	-142,000

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 32/248

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 4:00:27 PM

Pan Still Alive

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

Van Hien Dang opened for 16,000 on the hijack. Rosalie Petit made the call on the cutoff. Action fell to Xu Pan on the small blind, who jammed his last 48,000 all in.

Dang stood down, but Petit matched.

Xu Pan: A♦ K♦

Rosalie Petit: Q♠ 9♠

The flop arrived A♣ Q♠ 4♠

Pan paired his ace, but was in danger of Petit's flush draw. "No flush please!"

The turn was a 9♣, pairing Petit and sweating out Pan, who begged, "Enough, please."

The poker gods heard and bricked an 8♥ to assure his double up, while putting a scratch on Petit's stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	395,000(49 BB)	-111,000
XP Xu PanChina	116,000(15 BB)	76,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:59:09 PM

Bubble Time!

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

With just 32 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

5/29/2026, 3:55:52 PM

Misstep Near the Bubble

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

Facing a raise ahead of him, small blind Wencheng Lin three-bet shoved for his remaining stack of around 90,000. Big blind Manh Tu Nguyen then four-bet shoved over the top, successfully forcing the initial raiser to fold.

Wencheng Lin: 8♥ 8♦

Manh Tu Nguyen: K♣ K♠

Lin sat up straight in his seat the moment he saw Nguyen's premium monster hand.

No miracle eight appeared on the A♣ J♠ 4♦ A♦ K♥ board. The river card improved Nguyen to a full house, officially eliminating Lin as the soft bubble.

Player	Chips	Progress
MT Manh Tu NguyenViet Nam	396,000(50 BB)	167,000
WL Wencheng LinChina	busted	-78,600

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:53:55 PM

Rolli's Cowboys Show Karia The Exit

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

Siddharth Karia was under the gun and shoved his last 66,000 all in. Hoang Nam Khuu made the call from early position. When action fell to Fabian Rolli, he shoved all in for 257,000. Khuu got out of the way.

Siddhart Karia: A♥ T♠

Fabian Rolli: K♠ K♣

The flop arrived A♠ K♥ Q♣

Karia hit top pair, but Rolli made a set. However, there was still danger with a gut-shot straight draw for Karia.

The turn was a 9♦ and the river 3♣ provided no miracle for Karia, sending him out a few spots away from advancing to Day 2 and making it in the money.

Player	Chips	Progress
FR Fabian RolliSwitzerland	408,000(51 BB)	61,000
SK Siddharth KariaIndia	busted	-96,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:49:42 PM

Ngo Doubles And Survivrs

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

Alan Turabayev opened for 16,000 on the cutoff and Van Dat Ngo jammed all in on the small blind for his last 81,000.

Turabayev made the call.

Van Dat Ngo: A♠ K♠

Alan Turabayev: K♦ Q♥

The board ran J♠ 3♥ 5♥ 6♦ 6♥

The big slick of Ngo was enough to book the double and survive elimination, while leaving Turabayev crippled.

Player	Chips	Progress
VD Van Dat NgoViet Nam	182,000(23 BB)	104,000
AT Alan TurabayevKazakhstan	75,000(9 BB)	48,200

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:49:06 PM

Monster Flop for Jia

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

Facing a raise ahead of him, Trung Hieu Nguyen three-bet shoved for his remaining 86,000 chips. Small blind Yuequan Jia reshoved over the top, which successfully forced the initial raiser to fold.

Trung Hieu Nguyen: 7♥ 7♦

Yuequan Jia: J♥ J♣

Nguyen found himself in a devastating spot, and he was left nearly drawing dead after Jia flopped a set on the A♣ J♠ 3♥ flop.

The 6♠ turn officially secured the pot for Jia, sending Nguyen to the rail just three spots short of making the money.

Player	Chips	Progress
YJ Yuequan JiaChina	312,000(39 BB)	-6,000
TH Trung Hieu NguyenViet Nam	busted	-106,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:45:00 PM

Stojkovic Settles the Score with Lee

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

Facing a raise from his left, former USOP Main Event Champion Tse Ian Lee three-bet shoved for his remaining 68,000 chips. Action folded to the big blind, where Milan Stojkovic hit back with a four-bet to 125,000. That was enough to force the initial raiser out of the way, leaving the two to battle it out.

Tse Ian Lee: K♦ 9♣

Milan Stojkovic: 6♥ 6♦

The board ran out a clean J♠ 8♠ 3♥ 3♠ 7♦ . Lee failed to connect with either of his overcards and was officially sent to the rail by Stojkovic.

A♠ the chips were being pushed his way, Stojkovic smiled and joked to Lee, "You bust me out yesterday, now we're even."

With Lee's exit, the streak continues. Still to this point, no past USOP Main Event champion has managed to find a bag in three flights .

Player	Chips	Progress
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	666,000(83 BB)	81,000
TI Tse Ian LeeMalaysia	busted	-88,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:32:51 PM

Jacks Hold Against Air

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

Early position Van Dat Ngo opened the action and then called after Tokumoto Mitsuhiro three-bet to 40,000.

When the K♠ 9♦ 9♠ flop hit the felt, Ngo surprisingly led out by moving all-in. Mitsuhiro went deep into the tank before deciding to risk his remaining 51,000 chips on a call.

Tokumoto Mitsuhiro: J♣ J♠

Van Dat Ngo: A♣ Q♥

Mitsuhiro was looking good for a double-up against Ngo's ace-high blast, and his pocket jacks safely held through the 8♣ turn and 2♠ river runout to earn him the pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
TM Tokumoto MitsuhiroJapan	202,000(25 BB)	98,600
VD Van Dat NgoViet Nam	78,000(10 BB)	-74,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:29:56 PM

Big Slick v Big Chick

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

Trung Hieu Nguyen opened for 17,000 from under the gun. Action folded around to Yanzhi Li on the small blind who re-raised to 55,000.

Nguyen four-bet all in, covering the stack of Li, who didn't hesitate to make the call.

Yanzhi Li: A♦ K♦

Trung Hieu Nguyen: A♠ Q♠

Board ran 6♥ J♥ 7♣ T♠ 5♠

No one hit anything, but the big slick of Li was ahead and defeated Nguyen.

Player	Chips	Progress
YL Yanzhi LiChina	317,000(40 BB)	51,000
TH Trung Hieu NguyenViet Nam	106,000(13 BB)	4,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:17:00 PM

Chip Leaders At The Break!

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

Player	Chips	Progress
TT Thanh Tu DangViet Nam	790,000(99 BB)	455,000
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	585,000(73 BB)	63,000
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	506,000(63 BB)	158,000
TD Tien Dat DangViet Nam	496,000(62 BB)	-19,000
AT Anh Tuan LuongViet Nam	456,000(57 BB)	279,000
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	452,000(57 BB)	-145,000
TK Taewoo KimSouth Korea	401,000(50 BB)	31,000
DT Dieu Tu DinhViet Nam	372,000(47 BB)	91,000
QA Quyen Anh DangViet Nam	360,000(45 BB)

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 36/248

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 37/248

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:04:26 PM

No Comeback This Time: Inocentes Hits the Rail

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

Once again, Alvir Inocentes found himself all-in, risking his remaining 62,000. Big blind Van Hien Dang made the call to put Inocentes at risk.

Alvir Inocentes: Q♣ T♣

Van Hien Dang: 9♥ 9♦

The flop came down J♣ 7♦ 2♣ , keeping Dang ahead with his pocket nines but giving Inocentes plenty of life with a club flush draw and overcards.

However, Inocentes luck ran out this time around as the 5♠ turn and 9♠ river missed his outs, cementing his elimination from the tournament.

Player	Chips	Progress
VH Van Hien DangViet Nam	142,000(24 BB)
AI Alvir InocentesPhilippines	busted	-105,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 2:45:41 PM

Rolli's Unanswered Shove Earns Massive Pot

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

Fabian Rolli

A pot of 45,000 chips sat beside a board of A♥ K♠ A♦ 4♥

Hoang Nam Khuu was on the big blind against Fabian Rolli on the button.

There is uncertainty whether there was a bet, a raise, a three-bet raise, but what was obvious was that a bet of 100,000 was before Khuu.

And then, the all-in button was in front of Rolli with a stack of 203,000 laid out.

Khuu was stumped and gave it some deep thought, spent all his time bank tokens and wondered who was the brave person that first tried to eat an alien-looking lobster. With time running out, Khuu couldn't make a decision and with no time bank tokens remaining, he was forced to fold and the dealer shipped his 100K to Rolli.

Player	Chips
FR Fabian RolliSwitzerland	347,000(58 BB)
HN Hoang Nam KhuuViet Nam	314,000(52 BB)

-

Remaining Players: 45/248

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 2:39:53 PM

Wheel Rolls Phan Out

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

Vo Minh Nhut Phan shoved his remaining 155,000 all in from the small blind.

Milan Stojkovic, with one arm being taken over by the masseuse, used his one hand to throw in a chip to call and the same hand to peel his cards open.

Vo Minh Nhut Phan: J♠ J♣

Milan Stojkovic: A♠ Q♠

Phan had two black jacks, while Stojkovic had a true black jack with ace-queen suited for a classic coin flip.

The flop came 5♦ 2♠ 4♠ giving Stojkovic a flush draw.

"I like that," he said.

The 9♦ on the turn didn't change much, keeping Phan ahead and needing to avoid the draws of Stojkovic.

The 3♣ on the river gave Stojkovic a wheel straight, ending Phan's Main Event run in this flight.

With the masseuse still accosting Stojkovic's arm, he used one hand to stack his chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	522,000(87 BB)	224,000
VM Vo Minh Nhut PhanViet Nam	busted	-137,500

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 2:35:00 PM

What Just Happened??

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

Xuan Khang Dinh

One of the wildest hands of the tournament just played out over at table 40.

The action started with an early position open from Dieu Tu Dinh, followed by a three-bet from cutoff Xuan Trung Tran. Small blind Xuan Khang Dinh, who had been playing loose and aggressive like a maniac since the start of the tournament, just made the call.

Things quickly went off the rails from there. Dieu Tu announced an all-in for 355,000, and Tran moved all-in over the top for 316,000. Back to the small blind, Xuan Khang called off his remaining 195,000 stack, creating a massive three-way showdown.

Xuan Khang Dinh: 9♣ 6♣

Xuan Trung Tran: A♥ K♠

Dieu Tu Dinh: K♣ K♦

Both Dieu Tu and Tran held absolute premium hand, while Xuan Khang was caught turning over a very weak nine-six suited.

The poker gods had a surprise in store. The 8♦ 7♦ 2♠ flop gave everyone a massive sweat, handing Xuan Khang an open-ended straight draw. The 5♥ turn completed the straight right away, leaving both Tran and Dieu Tu completely drawing dead.

The 2♣ river changed nothing. Xuan Khang raked in a huge main pot to secure a massive triple-up, while Dieu Tu claimed the remaining side pot with his pocket kings, sending Tran to the rail.

Dieu Tu Dinh

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	597,000(119 BB)	277,000
DT Dieu Tu DinhViet Nam	281,000(56 BB)
XT Xuan Trung TranViet Nam	busted	-319,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 2:25:38 PM

All of Her

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

Facing a minimum raise, Aaron Lam flatted before button Mei Yee Lo, who had just doubled Lam up a couple of hands earlier, three-bet all-in for 126,000.

The initial raiser folded, and Lam asked for a chip count before making the call to put Lo at risk.

Mei Yee Lo: A♥ K♦

Aaron Lam: Q♠ Q♦

It was a classic flip, and Lam's pocket queens held up through the T♥ 9♦ 5♠ 8♥ 6♦ board to eliminate Lo. In a span of just two hands, Lam managed to take every single one of Lo's chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
AL Aaron LamSingapore	300,000(60 BB)	71,000
MY Mei Yee LoChina	busted	-125,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 2:21:09 PM

Dang Scoops A Big One

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

Tien Dat Dang

A massive pot of over 115,000 was in the middle with a complete board that showed Q♥ 4♠ Q♣ 6♣ A♦.

Tien Dat Dang was in early position up against Milan Stojkovic on the cutoff.

Dang acted first and put in a reasonable bet of 35,000.

Stojkovic, in the middle of a massage, threw in a few time banks, probably even got more stressed, counted off the chips and finally called.

Dang opened K♠ Q♣ for trips, while Stojkovic mucked, shaking his head, silently blaming himself for a bad decision and hoped the masseuse would take away his stress and bring him some relaxing peace.

Meanwhile, Dang climbs way up the chip leaderboard.

Player	Chips	Progress
TD Tien Dat DangViet Nam	515,000(103 BB)
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	298,000(60 BB)	96,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 2:10:32 PM

Li’s River Bet Forces Dinh to Fold

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

The board was showing J♣ 8♠ 6♠ K♣ with 68,000 already in the pot when Yanzhi Li fired a bet of 20,000. Xuan Khang Dinh then hit back with a check-raise to 60,000, which Li easily called.

When the 3♠ river completed the board, Dinh checked one last time but quickly folded his cards after Li fired a final bet of 80,000 to take down the healthy pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	320,000(64 BB)	-196,000
YL Yanzhi LiChina	266,000(53 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 2:07:12 PM

Roses Still In Bloom

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

Mei Yee Lo (L) and Rosalie Petit (R)

There are 17 eliminations still needed and there are still 6 women still in the field, looking to advance to Day 2.

Here are how they stack up:

Player	Chips	Progress
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	348,000(70 BB)	-39,000
TT Thi Tuyet Trinh NguyenViet Nam	265,000(53 BB)	-16,000
DT Dieu Tu DinhViet Nam	255,000(51 BB)
SL Sofia LovgrenSweden	204,000(41 BB)	169,300
YC Yaxin CenChina	132,000(26 BB)	96,400
MY Mei Yee LoChina	125,000(25 BB)	-15,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 1:57:30 PM

Inocentes Finds the Flush to Stay Alive

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

With 46,000 left, Alvir Inocentes pushed it all-in and found a caller on the button in Tran Anh Tuan Le.

Alvir Inocentes: K♠ Q♠

Tran Anh Tuan Le: A♥ K♣

Inocentes was dominated by Le and found himself in a bad position after Le hit top pair on the A♣ T♠ 9♠ flop.

However, the flop also gave Inocentes plenty of hope with a massive royal and straight flush draw.

The 3♠ turn immediately locked up the win for Inocentes with a flush, securing a much-needed double-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	132,000(26 BB)	32,000
AI Alvir InocentesPhilippines	105,000(21 BB)

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 51/248

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 1:42:00 PM

Ahmet Catches Rive to Triple Up

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

Cutoff Anh Tuan Luong opened the action, and things quickly escalated from there. Small blind Meer Ahmet shoved for 66,000, and Minh Tuan Tran shoved over the top for 100,000.

Luong answered with a quick call, putting both opponents at risk.

Meer Ahmet: A♣ Q♣

Minh Tuan Tran: Q♥ Q♠

Anh Tuan Luong: K♠ K♥

The flop came K♣ 7♦ 5♣ , giving Luong top set.

However, the T♥ turn gave Ahmet both straight and flush draws, and the J♣ on the river completed his flush to secure a triple-up.

Meanwhile, Luong's set was still good enough to claim the side pot, resulting in the elimination of Tran.

Player	Chips	Progress
MA Meer Ahmet	202,000(51 BB)
AT Anh Tuan LuongViet Nam	177,000(44 BB)	-43,000
MT Minh Tuan TranViet Nam	busted	-460,000

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 1:34:43 PM

Pham Doubles Loot In Battle Of The Blinds

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

Hao Ling (L) Ships To Quang Van Pham (R)

Action folded to Hao Ling on the small blind, who raised 8,000 to the very short-stacked Quang Van Pham.

Pham answered back with a re-raise to 32,000, leaving 1,000 behind.

Ling did a quick potential chip damage assessment and then shoved a stack forward.

Pham threw in his last 1,000 chip.

Quang Van Pham: A♥ Q♦

Hao Ling: K♥ J♦

The flop came 7♥ A♣ 5♠ to extend Pham's lead with a pair of aces, with Ling needing miracle runners to win.

The turn showed a 4♠ and Ling was drawing dead, preparing the amount to pay.

The 9♥ was a inconsequential, but needed to make the double up official.

Player	Chips	Progress
HL Hao LingChina	125,000(31 BB)	-30,000
QV Quang Van PhamViet Nam	70,000(18 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 1:30:00 PM

Kings Hold in Preflop Raising War

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

Table chip leader Yanzhou Meng opened to 9,000, only for hijack Aaron Lam to three-bet to 35,000. Button Mei Yee Lo then four-bet to 60,000.

Action folded back to Meng, who went into the tank before releasing his hand. Lam then five-bet shoved for 105,000, and Lo snap-called to put Lam at risk.

Aaron Lam: K♠ K♥

Mei Yee Lo: A♣ Q♣

The flop came Q♠ 9♥ 7♠ , giving Lo top pair, but Lam remained in the lead with his overpair. The 9♠ turn changed nothing, and the 3♥ river missed Lo's remaining outs, securing a full double-up for Lam.

Player	Chips	Progress
YM Yanzhou MengChina	395,000(99 BB)	216,000
AL Aaron LamSingapore	229,000(57 BB)
MY Mei Yee LoChina	140,000(35 BB)	38,600

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 1:21:12 PM

Nguyen Ends Chen

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

Trung Hieu Nguyen

Action folded to Van Dat Ngo, who raised to 8,000 on the cutoff. Chen Hao was on the button and jammed all in for 38,000. Trung Hieu Nguyen also jammed on the small blind for 54,000.

Ngo thought about it, spent a time bank token, had the chips to make the call, but eventually folded - showing A♥ J♠ before throwing it to the muck.

Hao peeled open A♦ J♥, disappointed his outs were with Ngo.

Nguyen was pleased with his 9♠ 9♣, knowing that a few outs of Hao were removed.

The flop came Q♦ 8♥ K♦ and all of a sudden Hao had a gut-shot straight draw.

The turn came 3♦ and a flush draw was now possible.

The suspense was killed by the poker gods, throwing a K♥ on the river to allow Nguyen to breathe easy and allow Hao to be on his way as was highly expected before the flop.

Player	Chips
TH Trung Hieu NguyenViet Nam	102,000(26 BB)
CH Chen Hao	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 1:12:00 PM

Chip Leaders At The Break!

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

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	516,000(129 BB)	179,000
MT Minh Tuan TranViet Nam	460,000(115 BB)
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	387,000(97 BB)	60,500
TK Taewoo KimSouth Korea	370,000(93 BB)	180,000
JP Jan Peter EickholtGermany	334,000(84 BB)	-10,000
XT Xuan Trung TranViet Nam	319,000(80 BB)	164,000
YJ Yuequan JiaChina	318,000(80 BB)

-

Remaining Players: 57/248

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 60/248

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 12:50:00 PM

Le Lays Down The Law

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

Action folded around to the button, where Tran Anh Tuan Le opened and then snap-called after Yuxuan Hou moved all-in for 34,500.

Yuxuan Hou: K♠ T♦

Tran Anh Tuan Le: K♥ J♥

Hou was dominated by Le and was left nearly drawing dead after the flop came down K♦ J♦ 4♣ , giving Le top two pair.

The 8♣ turn brought no runner-runner miracle for Hou, and he was officially sent to the rail.

Player	Chips	Progress
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	100,000(33 BB)	42,500
YH Yuxuan HouChina	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 12:49:52 PM

Eickholt Triples And Jumps Way Up Leaderboard

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

Jan Peter Eickholt

The cards of Jan Peter Eickholt, Tuan Anh Nguyen and Jie Zheng were already on their backs and all their chips were in the middle.

Zheng covered both players, but Eickholt had more chips than Nguyen, who was the smallest stack and had his last 46,000 at risk.

If Zheng won, both would be eliminated. If Eickholt won, Nguyen would go home. If Nguyen won, it would be a huge triple up.

There was a pot of around 80,000 and a flop that showed K♦ 2♥ J♦ and, according to reports, that's when the fireworks began and all the chips went in the middle.

Jan Peter Eickholt: Q♦ 9♦

Tuan Anh Nguyen: 8♦ 6♦

Jie Zheng: 7♦ 5♦

When all the cards were opened, the entire table erupted. NO ONE had hit anything and all were drawing to a flush.

Eickholt was ahead and just had to avoid anyone else making a pair. In fact, whoever paired would win for sure! Nguyen and Zheng, who were gunning for a flush before the cards were open, were not searching for diamonds anymore.

The turn hit a Q♣ and both Nguyen and Zheng were drawing dead after Eickholt hit his pair. The 2♠ on the river sealed the deal for Eickholt's monster scoop.

Nguyen was sent out and Zheng was crippled.

Player	Chips	Progress
JP Jan Peter EickholtGermany	305,000(102 BB)	-29,000
JZ Jie ZhengChina	107,000(36 BB)	14,000
TA Tuan Anh Nguyen 3Viet Nam	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 12:36:25 PM

Nguyen Wins A Double From Zhang

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

Van Dong An Nguyen

Van Dong An Nguyen was on the big blind against Xiannan Zhang on the hijack.

Both players were competing for a very mouth-watering pot of 90,000 with a complete board that showed 9♠ Q♥ 3♠ A♦ T♠

Nguyen was the first to act and laid out his time bank tokens for the dealer to pick. With three tokens used, Nguyen let the clock run down before announcing all-in and pushing his remaining 28,500 in the middle.

This time, it was Zhang's turn to lay out his time bank tokens. Zhang thought deep and hard, using up two time bank tokens, marvelled that there are no McDonald's franchises in the Ha Long Bay area, then threw in a chip to call.

Nguyen showed A♠ T♠ for two pair, while Zhang sheepishly flipped his losing K♠ K♥.

Player	Chips	Progress
VD Van Dong An NguyenViet Nam	147,000(49 BB)	147,000
XZ Xiannan ZhangChina	32,500(11 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 12:32:17 PM

Sukhum Misses, Phan Doubles

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

Action folded around to the cutoff, where chip leader Thanh Tu Dang opened to 6,500. Sitting on his direct left, Vo Minh Nhut Phan three-bet shoved for 62,500.

Small blind Kiwanont Sukhum used a time bank before announcing an all-in over the top. Dang hesitated for a moment but ultimately laid his hand down.

Vo Minh Nhut Phan: 8♥ 8♣

Kiwanont Sukhum: A♣ K♣

Phan was flipping for his tournament life and stayed safe on the Q♦ J♠ 2♦ flop, though it gave Sukhum additional straight outs.

The 9♥ turn changed nothing, and the 2♥ on the river was perfectly safe for Phan, securing him a full double-up through Sukhum.

Player	Chips	Progress
TT Thanh Tu DangViet Nam	335,000(112 BB)	212,400
VM Vo Minh Nhut PhanViet Nam	137,500(46 BB)
KS Kiwanont SukhumThailand	34,000(11 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 12:22:50 PM

Zheng Forces Fold on Turn Bet

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

Middle position Jie Zheng opened to 6,000, and on his left in the cutoff was Van Dat Ngo, who three-bet to 20,000. Zheng made the call and the two went to a 9♣ 6♥ 2♥ flop.

Both players checked the flop. When the 9♥ turn came, Zheng took the lead with an 18,000 bet.

It was enough to get the job done, as Ngo hesitated before folding his hand.

Player	Chips
VD Van Dat NgoViet Nam	152,000(51 BB)
JZ Jie ZhengChina	93,000(31 BB)

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 82/248

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 12:05:00 PM

Stojkovic Stacks Some More

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

Milan Stojkovic

A decent pot of 23,000 was in the middle with a board that showed J♣ T♠ A♦ 9♦ 3♥

Siddharth Karia was on the small blind. Hoang Anh Tran was under the gun and Milan Stojkovic was on the cutoff.

Karia and Tran checked their options over to Stojkovic, who pushed in a bet of 12,000.

Karia surrendered immediately and Tran had to check his cards twice before finally letting go.

Stojkovic showed an ace before returning his hand to the dealer.

Player	Chips
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	202,000(81 BB)
SK Siddharth KariaIndia	154,000(62 BB)
HA Hoang Anh TranViet Nam	27,000(11 BB)

Player	Chips	Progress
MS Milan StojkovicAustralia	202,000(81 BB)
SK Siddharth KariaIndia	154,000(62 BB)	114,000
HA Hoang Anh TranViet Nam	27,000(11 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 11:59:00 AM

Totsaponvisad Fails To Find Five

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

Under the gun Chee Sun Tong opened to 5,000, and button Jihwan Kim made the call. Small blind Suparerk Totsaponvisad was already automatically all-in with just 1,000 left.

The flop came 7♣ 3♦ 2♠ and the action was checked to Kim, who bet 5,500. He quickly folded after facing a check-raise all-in from Tong. With the side action cleared, the remaining cards were turned over.

Suparerk Totsaponvisad: 6♣ 4♠

Chee Sun Tong: 9♣ 9♥

Tong was ahead with his overpair, and Totsaponvisad was shouting "Nuts!" hoping for a five to hit the board for a straight. However, no five came on the 8♦ J♣ runout, and he was eliminated.

Player	Chips	Progress
CS Chee Sun TongMalaysia	152,000(61 BB)	66,200
JK Jinhwan KimSouth Korea	25,000(10 BB)	-21,200
ST Suparerk TotsaponvisadThailand	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 11:56:22 AM

Who's In

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

After a long list of busts, some of those that are still alive include former USOP Da Nang Main Event Champion Tse Ian Lee.

Rosalie Petit of France is still there with a very healthy stack. Some of the early birds we noticed who were here since Level 1 and are just on one bullet are Jan Peter Eickholt, Christian Mitchell and Victor Lam. Here since Level 1 but on his second bullet is Xuan Khang Dinh.

Super short stacked Ritesh Khatwani was able to spin his last 14,000 with a KO of Siddharth Mishra and has boosted his stack to a little more than above the average.

Here's a look.

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	337,000(135 BB)	229,600
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	274,000(110 BB)	93,000
RK Ritesh KhatwaniIndia	147,500(59 BB)	147,500
JP Jan Peter EickholtGermany	136,000(54 BB)	96,700
TI Tse Ian LeeMalaysia	72,500(29 BB)
VL Victor LamViet Nam	63,000(25 BB)	23,000
CM Christian MitchellAustralia	48,500(19 BB)	-45,500

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 11:41:00 AM

BANNED!!

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

Leibing Wang, who was acting rude and loud, broke tournament rules and repeatedly refused to listen to the tournament director. Due to these actions, Wang has been officially banned from USOP Vietnam 2026 and will no longer be allowed to play in any tournaments moving forward.

This serves as a reminder to always be respectful and play by the rules. It costs absolutely nothing to be kind to other players at the table.

Player	Chips	Progress
LW Leibing WangChina	busted	-65,000

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 93/248

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 11:12:37 AM

No Return

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

Shuma Kimura

With registration closed and no more re-entries allowed on this flight. The following players have officially ended their Main Event journey... at least in Day 1C. They can still jump in at the three other remaining Day 1 starting flights.

Those no longer in this flight include:

Player	Chips	Progress
JX Jieming XuChina	busted	-48,800
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	busted
JX Jia XiaoChina	busted
HK Haechan KimSouth Korea	busted	-40,000
HM Hayato MinekawaJapan	busted	-40,000
GC Gongtuan ChenChina	busted	-40,000
JG Javkhlan GanboldMongolia	busted	-40,000
CW Chengxiang WeiChina	busted
KG Kim GangminSouth Korea	busted	-40,000
XZ Xiaobin ZhengChina	busted
SL Shankui LiChina	busted	-40,000
NG Nicholas GaltosAustralia	busted	-40,000
AS Aditya SushantIndia	busted
KK Kooksung KimSouth Korea	busted	-40,000
PS Phu Son Lam PhamViet Nam	busted	-40,000
ZY Zhifan YeChina	busted
TD The Dan ChuViet Nam	busted
YJ Yihao JiangChina	busted
VD Van Dan NguyenViet Nam	busted
SK Shuma KimuraJapan	busted	-35,600
QB Quoc Bao Huy NguyenViet Nam	busted	-40,000
JS Jianfeng SunChina	busted
BM Bien MaiViet Nam	busted
JH Jiaqi HeChina	busted
DA Dinesh AltSwitzerland	busted
EC Eric CeretSingapore	busted	-40,000
TP Tony PhaysithUnited States of America	busted	-40,000
SY Sangwook YimSouth Korea	busted
SA Santi AdultrakulThailand	busted
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 11:05:00 AM

Main Event Day 1C Hits 248 Entries, 31 ITM

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

The USOP Vietnam 2026 Main Event Day 1C has officially closed registration with 248 entries. Combined with the turnouts from Day 1A and Day 1B, the total field has reached 802 entries, and there are still three flights left to play.

Day 1D is currently running in level 2, and registration for that flight will remain open until the start of level 12.

The remaining Day 1C players will play down until only 31 players are left. Everyone who survives the night will lock up a min-cash and bag their chips for Day 2, which plays out on May 31 at 12:00 PM local time.

Right now, 116 players are still in their seats, so there is a long way to go before anyone hits the money.

Here are the current chip leaders at the break:

Top 12 Chip Count

Player	Chips
TT Thi Tuyet Trinh NguyenViet Nam	281,000(141 BB)
HA Hoang Anh DoViet Nam	279,000(140 BB)
MT Manh Tu NguyenViet Nam	229,000(115 BB)
AT Anh Tuan LuongViet Nam	220,000(110 BB)
TK Taewoo KimSouth Korea	190,000(95 BB)
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	181,000(91 BB)
YM Yanzhou MengChina	179,000(90 BB)
TA Tuan Anh TranViet Nam	163,000(82 BB)
DA Duy Anh PhamViet Nam	162,500(81 BB)
XT Xuan Trung TranViet Nam	155,000(78 BB)
XZ Xugang ZhangChina	155,000(78 BB)
HL Hao LingChina	155,000(78 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 11:02:43 AM

Happy Birthday!

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

Earlier in the evening, before the break, the lights went out briefly following yet another inconvenient power outage here at the five-star InterContinental Ha Long Bay in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.

The lights went out and some cell phone lights went on around the room. It felt like a concert, or maybe a rave. But then, there was no sound - just the continued riffling of chips. Certainly, you can count on the poker players to continue their riffling without showing emotions. LOL

Somewhere from the corner of the room, someone started singing "Happy Birthday.... Happy Birthday..... Happy Birthday to youuuu...." and a lot joined in to bring in some laughter in the darkness.

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 116/249

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 10:44:57 AM

Break Time!

Break

Players are now on their 10-minute break. During this break, a chip race of 100-denomination chips is taking place.

After this break, registration will officially close for Main Event Day 1C.

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 112/244

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 10:43:00 AM

Dinh Doing Ding Things

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

Sanwook Yim

A pot of 25,000 was in the middle beside a board that showed 6♠ 4♣ Q♥ 2♥

In the hand were from Sanwook Yim under the gun and Xuan Khang Dinh on the cutoff.

Yim led out with a bet of 25,000 and Dinh re-raised all in. Yim took two peeks at his card, the board and then at Dinh, who just smiled his Dinh-y smile. Yim mucked and let Dinh get away with it.

Player	Chips	Progress
SY Sangwook YimSouth Korea	109,000(73 BB)
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	107,400(72 BB)	48,400

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 10:42:32 AM

Khatwani Deliver One-Two KO To Mishra

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

Ritesh Khatwani

Both Siddharth Mishra and Ritesh Khatwani are from India. Both players had short stacks. And both went head to head when Mishra shoved for 37,500 and was matched by Khatwani on the next seat.

Siddharth Mishra: 6♠ 6♦

Ritesh Khatwani: A♣ J♦

The flop came 9♠ J♥ 8♣ to give Khatwani the lead with a pair of jacks. The K♠ on the turn and the Q♦ on the river offered no help for Mishra and his stack was reduced to 22,700, while Khatwani improved to around 34,000.

SIddharth Mishra

On the very next hand, Mishra was all in for his last 22,700 and was called by Khatwani, who had him covered this time around.

Siddharth Mishra: 6♦ 6♣

Ritesh Khatwani: A♦ K♥

The table gave a "whoa" when Mishra tabled sixes for a second straight time. Given the consequences, perhaps this time it would win the flip.

The flop of 5♠ 8♠ 2♠ favored Mishra as did the 2♥ turn. The trend had to stay low, but that poker gods have a sick sense of logic and threw in a K♦ on the river to give Khatwani a pair of kings to send Mishra out of the tournament.

Mishra entered the Main Event after winning a seat through the VND 4.3 million buy-in Main Event Satellite earlier this morning and went straight to compete. It would've been a great story, but sadly that chapter ended.

Player	Chips	Progress
SM Siddharth MishraIndia	68,400(46 BB)	28,400
RK Ritesh KhatwaniIndia	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 10:40:00 AM

Massive Payouts Await In Single Day High Roller

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

The USOP Vietnam 2026 High Roller Single Day Big Guaranteed has gone far beyond expectations, with the prize pool already more than doubling the original VND 4 Billion (~USD 152,000) guarantee.

Player turnout has been strong across the venue, and this High Roller event is even keeping up with the Main Event Day 1C field size. So far, 175 entries have been recorded, and with registration still open, the numbers are expected to grow even more.

With such a big field, the winner will take home a huge top prize. Because of the fast single-day format, players are preparing for a long night of poker that could finish in the early morning.

The strong turnout is another big result for USOP Vietnam 2026, where many High Roller events have already gone past their guarantees during the series.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 10:37:20 AM

Gershun Barrels Through Cheng

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

David Gershun was on the small blind against Cher Whey Cheng on the hijack.

Both players were competing for a pot of around 60,000 beside a board that showed Q♥ K♦ 9♣ 3♣

Gershun acted first and pushed in another barrel of 25,000. Cheng took a look at his hand and bid it farewell for the last time.

Player	Chips	Progress
DG David GershunRussia	170,000(113 BB)	43,000
CW Cher Whey ChengSingapore	67,700(45 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 10:31:00 AM

Gershun Outmaneuvers Nguyen Postflop

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

David Gershun opened the action, and Thanh Phat Nguyen three-bet to 15,000 from the cutoff. Gershun made the call to see the K♠ 7♠ 4♣ flop.

Nguyen fired a continuation bet of 7,500, which Gershun check-called.

When the J♣ turn came, Gershun took the lead with a bet of 9,000, and Nguyen hesitated briefly before making the call.

The 6♠ river saw Gershun fire a massive 50,000, effectively putting Nguyen all-in. Ultimately, Nguyen decided to save his remaining stack and folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
DG David GershunRussia	127,000(85 BB)
TP Thanh Phat NguyenAustralia	18,300(12 BB)	-30,700

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 10:17:52 AM

Do Claims Quick Knockout

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

Early position Van Hai Do opened to 3,000 and then snap-called after Amitkumar Tejura three-bet shoved for 11,400.

Amitkumar Tejura: 8♦ 8♠

Van Hai Do: K♠ K♥

Tejura was left looking for just two outs and failed to find one on the T♥ T♠ 7♥ J♦ 4♠ board, resulting in his elimination by Do.

Tejura still has 20 minutes left before registration closes, but Day 1D has also started, offering smaller blinds where he can choose to jump back into the action.

Player	Chips
VH Van Hai DoViet Nam	49,000(33 BB)
AT Amitkumar TejuraIndia	busted

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 125/233

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 9:59:00 AM

Same Hand Double Trouble

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

Middle position Xuan Khang Dinh opened to 2,500, and on his left was Haowei Xu, who three-bet to 7,500. Button Tien Thanh Pham then four-bet to 15,000.

Back to Dinh, he announced a five-bet all-in, covering both Xu and Pham.

Xu used two time banks before committing his last 47,000, while Pham snap-called all-in for 86,400.

Haowei Xu: J♥ J♠

Tien Thanh Pham: A♣ A♠

Xuan Khang Dinh: J♦ J♣

Xu was devastated when he saw that he held the exact same hand as Dinh.

No miracle arrived for either of them on the K♥ Q♦ 5♣ Q♥ 6♣ board, allowing Pham to scoop a massive pot and eliminate Xu.

Player	Chips	Progress
TT Tien Thanh PhamViet Nam	222,800(186 BB)	-1,229,200
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	59,000(49 BB)	59,000
HX Haowei XuChina	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 9:35:17 AM

Min Wins Wangs Wrangling

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

Hijack Vu Duc Trung opened and found one caller. On the button, Jinhee Min three-bet to 6,500, prompting small blind Leibing Wang to four-bet to 23,500.

Back to Trung, he moved all-in for 25,800, and the initial caller folded. Min then moved all-in for 39,700, and Wang snap-called, covering both players.

Vu Duc Trung: A♣ K♠

Jinhee Min: A♦ A♠

Leibing Wang: A♥ K♦

Min was way ahead with pocket aces and held clean on the J♣ J♥ 7♣ T♦ 3♦ board, eliminating Trung and securing a massive double-up through Wang.

Following the hand, Wang tried to adjust and match the chips himself, but the dealer told him no and tried to correctly pull the 39,700 from his stack. Wang refused and proceeded anyway. The dealer repeated the instruction three times, but Wang did not listen, prompting the dealer to call the floor.

The floor talked to Wang and calmed him down, explaining that his actions were not allowed and that he must let the dealer count the chips. Wang eventually complied after a brief moment.

Player	Chips
JM Jinhee MinSouth Korea	109,200(91 BB)
LW Leibing WangChina	65,000(54 BB)
VD Vu Duc TrungViet Nam	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 9:26:00 AM

Grinders To Watch Out For

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

Santi Adultrakul

While there are many notable figures in the field of 221 entries, some of the less-known players to watch out for include the likes of Thailand's Santi Adultrakul, who has grown his total live earnings to over USD 43,000 as a confessed recreational player.

Adultrakul is part of the Trip of Poker group, who try to find time from their busy work schedules to attend some poker festivals. In USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong 2024, Adultrakul cashed thrice and each time was a trip to the final table. He finished 2nd in a Hyper Turbo event, 7th in another Hyper Turbo event and then 5th in a Win The Button event.

His biggest score was for over USD 14,000 where he came second place in a Single Re-entry NLH event during APT Championship Taipei 2025. He also won a title in the Gods of Poker - Titan Assembly in Taipei earlier this year in a Titan Stack Turbo event.

China's Wanhao Zhao of Australia has over USD 210,000 in total live earnings. In 2026 alone, Zhao has made thirteen cashes, including a runner-up in the Single Day High Roller and a 5th Place in the RPT Champshionship event during the RPT Championship II. In this series, he placed 12th in the Championship event.

Player	Chips
WZ Wanhao ZhaoAustralia	59,000(49 BB)
SA Santi AdultrakulThailand	17,600(15 BB)

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 132/221

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 9:10:49 AM

Nguyen vs Nguyen

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

With 15,200 left, Van Dong An Nguyen open-shoved, and big blind Thanh Phat Nguyen made the call, putting Van Dong An at risk.

Van Dong An Nguyen: A♠ Q♠

Thanh Phat Nguyen: 6♣ 6♥

The T♥ T♦ 3♣ flop was safe for Thanh Phat, who stayed ahead through the 3♠ 4♦ runout, eliminating Van Dong An and sending him back to the registration desk.

Player	Chips
TP Thanh Phat NguyenAustralia	49,000(49 BB)
VD Van Dong An NguyenViet Nam	busted

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 8:59:35 AM

Eight Enough For Le

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

Facing a 2,500 raise, cutoff Tran Anh Tuan Le made the call. Small blind Rosali Petit then squeezed to 10,500, which only Le called.

The flop came Q♦ Q♠ 8♦ .

Petit fired a 5,000 continuation bet, only to face an all-in shove from Le. Petit went into the tank before laying her cards down.

Le showed one card, the 8♥, prompting Petit to say, "I have ace-king, you got lucky."

Player	Chips
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	139,500(140 BB)
TA Tran Anh Tuan LeViet Nam	57,500(58 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 8:37:00 AM

Femme Fatales

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

Sofia Lovgren

The field has a whole bunch of women present. Notables names like Sweden's Sofia Lovgren, who was the champion in the Mystery Bounty Championship during the APT Championship Taipei 2025. In that event, Lovgren also pulled the two biggest mystery bounty envelopes along with other smaller envelopes for a total haul of over nearly USD 200,000. Lovgren has total live earnings (not including those bounties) of over USD 780,000.

Thi Minh Hong Pham of Vietnam is based in the United Kingdom, where she recently scored her biggest achievement by winning the Main Event in the UK Poker Championships - by GG Poker. Pham banked over USD 136,000 and boosted her total live earnings to over USD 523,000.

Thi Minh Hong Pham

Pham also has several cashes this series already, maintaining her consistency from when she first played in USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong 2024. In that series, she finished 5th place in the Madness Kickoff and 12th in the Main Event.

Rosalie Petit of France has over USD 350,000 in total live earnings. Petit's crowning achievement so far was a victory in the Women's Championship during APT Championship Taipei 2025, where she banked over USD 24,322 - her career best so far.

Vietnamese players Thi Tuyet Trinh Nguyen and Dieu Tu Dinh are also registered in the event.

Nguyen has a modest total live earnings of USD 7,500. She's had previous success in the USOP, where she placed 3rd in the ladies event and finished in 88th place during the Main Event. Both achievements were made during USOP Ha Noi 2023.

Dinh has over USD 12,000 in total live earnings since she started taking poker seriously last year. Dinh mostly earned from the five cashes she made during the APT Jeju Classic 2026 this year, which include two third place finishes in a Women's Event and a Turbo Double Stack event.

Mei Yee Lo

Chinese players Yaxin Cen, Mei Yee Lo and Zhiying Zhou are also present.

Cen has a little over USD 10,000 that include three cashes during WSOP 2024 in Las Vegas.

Lo already has two cashes in this series during the Madness Kickoff and the Championship Event, showing her efficiency in being able to navigate through mutli-day formats.

Zhou has the most success so far among the three Chinese with over USD 43,000 in total live earnings. Zhou also has made cashes this series, including a final table appearance in the Thursday Deepstack and a NHL Turbo event.

Player	Chips
RP Rosalie PetitFrance	136,000(136 BB)
MY Mei Yee LoChina	101,400(101 BB)
TT Thi Tuyet Trinh NguyenViet Nam	92,700(93 BB)
ZZ Zhiying ZhouChina	36,500(37 BB)
TM Thi Minh Hong PhamViet Nam	36,100(36 BB)
YC Yaxin CenChina	35,600(36 BB)

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

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 135/208

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 135/208

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 8:31:10 AM

Aces Cracked After Floor Dispute

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Earlier, Gleb Ershov was in a spot where he three-bet, and Yong Li raised. However, Ershov argued that Li's action was only supposed to be a call, even disputing the matter with the floor staff.

The floor ruled that it was indeed a raise because both the dealer and the other players confirmed it. Ershov was not happy with the decision and folded his hand.

Shortly after, Ershov was four-bet all-in for 30,300, and the initial three-bettor, Wencheng Li, used three time banks before making the call to put Ershov at risk.

Gleb Ershov: A♣ A♥

Wencheng Li: T♣ T♥

Ershov was looking good to double up, but a nightmare arrived on the Q♣ T♠ 7♠ flop, giving Li one of his two outs for a set. The 7♣ 8♦ runout produced no ace, and Ershov was eliminated, adding to his frustration.

Player	Chips	Progress
WL Wencheng LinChina	78,600(98 BB)	38,600
GE Gleb ErshovRussia	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 8:16:19 AM

Duong Doubles From Turabayev

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Alan Turabayev opened for 1,600 from the cutoff. Ngoc Tan Duong then shoved all in from the small blind at put his last 12,800 at risk and all in. Turabayev made the call.

Ngoc Tan Duong: 8♠ 8h:

Alan Turabayev: A♦ T♥

The board ran clean with a Q♠ 5♣ 4♠ 3♥ 4♣ to give Duong a much-needed double up, while huring th stack of Turabayev.

Player	Chips	Progress
NT Ngoc Tan DuongViet Nam	27,400(34 BB)
AT Alan TurabayevKazakhstan	26,800(34 BB)	-15,200

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 8:12:41 AM

Current Chip Leaders

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Top 10 Chip Count

Player	Chips	Progress
TT Tien Thanh PhamViet Nam	1,452,000(1815 BB)	1,302,600
HA Hoang Anh DoViet Nam	203,000(254 BB)	58,100
AT Anh Tuan LuongViet Nam	182,300(228 BB)
MC Manh Cuong LeViet Nam	169,900(212 BB)
TC Trung Chung TrinhViet Nam	158,000(198 BB)
MT Manh Tu NguyenViet Nam	156,700(196 BB)	71,700
TT Thanh Tu DangViet Nam	122,600(153 BB)
YL Yong LiChina	121,000(151 BB)	81,000
PE Paul ElliottAustralia	110,000(138 BB)	70,000
TM Tokumoto MitsuhiroJapan	103,400(129 BB)	63,400

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 8:07:14 AM

Lovgren With A Decent Preflop Score

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

Jinhwan Kim of South Korea opened for 1,600 from under the gun. Anh Duc Nguyen of Vietnam matched on the cutoff. Kazakhstan's Alan Turabayev.

Sweden's Sofia Lovgren, on the small blind, dared the boys to a raise of 8,500.

One by one, they folded allowing her to haul a decent scoop for a handful of blinds.

Player	Chips	Progress
JK Jinhwan KimSouth Korea	46,200(58 BB)	6,200
AT Alan TurabayevKazakhstan	42,000(53 BB)
SL Sofia LovgrenSweden	34,700(43 BB)
AD Anh Duc NguyenViet Nam	29,600(37 BB)

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 123/178

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 7:34:47 AM

Pham Triples In Six Bet Monster

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Middle position Shuma Kimura opened, and Xuan Khang Dinh three-bet to 3,500. Sitting on the button, Tien Thanh Pham then four-bet to 8,000.

Action escalated quickly when Kimura five-bet shoved, and Dinh quickly six-bet shoved over the top. Pham snap-called for his remaining 49,300.

Tien Thanh Pham: A♦ K♣

Shuma Kimura: Q♥ Q♣

Xuan Khang Dinh: Q♠ T♠

The flop came A♠ 3♠ 3♣ , giving Pham the lead with top pair while Dinh still held a flush draw. The 2♣ turn changed nothing, and the 7♣ river secured the win for Pham to earn a massive triple-up, while Kimura won the side pot and eliminated Dinh.

Player	Chips	Progress
TT Tien Thanh PhamViet Nam	149,400(249 BB)
SK Shuma KimuraJapan	35,600(59 BB)	-4,400
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	busted	-82,200

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 7:32:17 AM

Costly Cigarette For Nguyen

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Hoa Thinh Nguyen was caught smoking just outside the tournament venue doors but not within the designated smoking area. A♠ a result, Nguyen received a three-hand penalty.

He was visibly upset with the decision, arguing that he should have received a warning or a one-hand penalty instead. However, the floor ruling stood, and he was forced to sit out for three hands.

Player	Chips	Progress
HT Hoa Thinh NguyenViet Nam	66,800(111 BB)	26,800

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 7:14:32 AM

Meanwhile...

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

The Highroller Championship just concluded with Thi Xuan Ha Tran emerging as the champion, defeating Quang Minh Nguyen in the final heads up battle.

Tran took home the trophy and the lion's share of VND 922 million (~USD 35,000), while Nguyen banked VND 615,000 (~USD 23,300).

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 7:14:05 AM

Registration Halfway Mark Passed

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

Midway through registration, the field has already grown past 150 entries and continues to count up quickly as more players arrive.

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 117/149

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 7:10:00 AM

Kings Claim Double Elimination

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

Action escalated quickly with raise after raise on table 28 until it resulted in a three-way all-in.

Short stack The Dan Chu was all-in for 38,500, followed by Thanh Thang Ho who risked around a starting stack, while Hoang Anh Do covered them both.

The Dan Chu: J♦ J♠

Thanh Thang Ho: A♣ K♦

Hoang Anh Do: K♥ K♣

Do was way ahead with pocket kings and stayed ahead on the 7♠ 5♠ 4♥ 8♥ Q♥ board, eliminating both Chu and Ho simultaneously.

Player	Chips	Progress
HA Hoang Anh DoViet Nam	144,900(290 BB)
TT Thanh Thang HoViet Nam	busted	-40,000
TD The Dan ChuViet Nam	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 6:53:00 AM

Poker Wars: Revenge Of The Dinh & A Brand New Vo

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

Van Quoc Vo

Earlier, in a galaxy far, far away- before Van Quoc Vo was eliminated in the three-way showdown that also included Xuan Khang Dinh - Vo's chip count was reduced to below 30,000 and Dinh's stack stood tall at over 90,000.

Vo was asked - did all your chips go to Dinh?

Vo gave a straightforward reply - "I can't handle him!"

True enough, following Vo's elimination, it may seem that Dinh had exacted the revenge he sought for after Vo took all his chips and pushed him to fire another bullet.

Now, Vo has fired his second bullet and is on another table where he can properly train to be a Jedi Poker Master and hopefully build a stack without the destructive presence of his arch-nemesis.

Dinh has also been moved to a table at the opposite side of the galaxy, where his force will collide with other rebels away from Vo.

Perhaps in a much later time, these two will once again collide. But for now, we close the chapter on this bout and await the next chapter in the trilogy.

Like they say in USOP - "May the flop, the turn and the river be with you."

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	118,600(237 BB)	36,400
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	40,000(80 BB)	40,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 6:52:00 AM

Kings Cool Down The Table

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

Van Quoc Vo just lost to Xuan Khang Dinh and was left short, moving all-in from under the gun. On his left was Dinh, who three-bet shoved, and Dinh Hieu Nguyen joined the party by calling all-in for 28,600.

Van Quoc Vo: A♥ 4♠

Dinh Hieu Nguyen: K♦ K♠

Xuan Khang Dinh: 9♥ 9♠

Finally, Dinh got a decent hand, but this time he failed to improve as Nguyen's kings held on the Q♠ J♦ 8♠ 8♦ 3♣ board for a double-up, eliminating Vo in the process.

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	82,200(164 BB)	25,200
DH Dinh Hieu NguyenViet Nam	81,100(162 BB)	41,100
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	busted	-64,500

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 6:42:51 AM

Aces Split On Flush Board

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

Yanzhou Meng was all-in once again against Xuan Khang Dinh, who held the covering stack.

Yanzhou Meng: A♥ A♦

Xuan Khang Dinh: 5♦ 4♦

Meng was looking good to double up and was safe on the T♣ 8♣ 7♣ flop. The 3♣ turn gave Meng a bit of a sweat with a chance to split, and the 5♣ river completed a club flush on the board to force a split pot.

Once again, Dinh survived against pocket aces, shortly after cracking them to secure a triple-up.

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	57,000(114 BB)	-2,800
YM Yanzhou MengChina	40,200(80 BB)

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 90/104

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 6:24:08 AM

Looks Like DInh Is Getting The Better of Vo

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Van Quoc Vo (L) and Xuan Khanh Dinh (R)

Maybe it's because Xuan Khang Dinh is seated at Van Quoc Vo's left and Dinh is on a mission to get back his chips after losing them to Vo earlier in the day, forcing him to fire another bullet.

Nevertheless, Dinh is chipping up and catching up to Vo, whose stack recently got dented.

Player	Chips	Progress
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	64,500(161 BB)	-33,700
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	59,800(150 BB)	17,100

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 6:22:00 AM

Vo Traps But Dinh Triumphs

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Benjamin Leblond limped from under the gun, and on his left was Van Quoc Vo, who also limped. Xuan Khang Dinh then shoved for his remaining 13,900.

Back to Leblond, he shoved over the top, and Vo snap-called, successfully trapping both players.

Xuan Khang Dinh: K♣ 7♥

Benjamin Leblond: K♥ T♦

Van Quoc Vo: A♥ A♦

Vo had executed a successful trap and was way ahead with his monster hand.

The flop came 8♦ 7♠ 4♥ , giving Dinh a middle pair, but Vo remained in the lead.

However, a lucky K♦ on the turn gave Dinh two pair to take the lead. The J♠ on the river was safe for Dinh, allowing him to successfully triple up, while Vo won the side pot and eliminated Leblond.

The players at the table were left stunned as Dinh scooped the main pot.

Player	Chips	Progress
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	98,200(246 BB)	1,700
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	42,700(107 BB)	28,800
BL Benjamin LeblondCanada	busted	-40,000

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 6:11:00 AM

Kings Tame The Maniac

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Xuan Khang Dinh once again started his maniac play, shoving all-in most of the time. This time he found one caller, Manh Tu Nguyen, who was all-in for 42,000 on the button.

Manh Tu Nguyen: K♠ K♦

Xuan Khang Dinh: J♥ 8♥

Nguyen was way ahead with his pocket kings and held strong on the Q♣ 6♥ 2♣ 6♦ 3♦ board, securing a clean double-up for his starting stack.

Player	Chips	Progress
MT Manh Tu NguyenViet Nam	85,000(213 BB)
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	13,900(35 BB)	-26,100

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 5:52:00 AM

Meanwhile....

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Main Event Satellite Final Table

The final table of 9 is set at the Main Event Satellite and is at Level 13.

There will be 5 seats to be award with the 6th placer earning

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 90/98

Break

10 minutes

Remaining Players: 70/80

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 5:28:34 AM

Mishra Looking To Turn Satellite To Gold

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

Siddharth Mishra

Siddharth Mishra of India has just jumped in.

Mishra was one of eight players who was able to win a VND 30 Million Main Event seat for just a VND 4.3 million (~USD 160). Mishra qualified from yesterday's satellite and opted to jump in today. It would be interesting to watch if he can spin his satellite into a deep run, or even better - to a Main Event championship.

Mishra has a modest total live earnings of over USD 28,000.

Player	Chips
SM Siddharth MishraIndia	40,000(133 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 5:18:13 AM

Mitchell Builds

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

Jan Peter Eickholt

Jan Peter Eickholt of Germany opened for 900 from under the gun. Christian Mitchell of Australia called the seat over. Mingyang Zhang of China also matched to defend his big blind.

The three players were shown a flop of 9♥ T♠ 7♠

Zhang and Eickholt checked to Mitchell, who didn't shy from pushing a bet of 1,200 across the betting line.

Zhang folded, but Eickholt stayed on to see a 4♥ turn.

Both players checked and saw a 8♠ on the river.

Eickholt led out for 2,500. Mitchell raised to 8,000. Eickholt looked at his cards to be sure and then surely folded.

Player	Chips	Progress
CM Christian MitchellAustralia	94,000(313 BB)	16,700
MZ Mingyang ZhangChina	46,400(155 BB)	6,400
JP Jan Peter EickholtGermany	39,300(131 BB)

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 53/59

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 4:42:38 AM

But Wait....There's More!

Level 3: 100 / 200 ante: 200

Benjamin LeBlond

The field has just reached 50 entries with more expected while registration remains open until the start of Level 12, which is at approximately 3:50 PM local time.

Some of those who just jumped in include Benjamin LeBlond of Canada. LeBlond won the Superstar Challenge during USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong 2024, where he scored a career best haul of over USD 127,000. LeBlond has over USD 1.2 million in total live earnings.

China's Shankui Li has also taken a seat. Li has almost USD 200,000 in total live earnings and has cashed in the Madness Kickoff, the Mini Main Event and the Championship Event. He knows how to get to through from Day 1, we just have to wait and see if he can run deeper this tme around. Li's best USOP results was a 7th place finish in the Championship Event during USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong 2024.

India's Siddharth Karia has over USD 380,000 in total live earnings. Karia made five cashes in USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong. This series, Karia made money in the Madness Kickoff,

Player	Chips
BL Benjamin LeblondCanada	40,000(200 BB)
SL Shankui LiChina	40,000(200 BB)
SK Siddharth KariaIndia	40,000(200 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 4:32:41 AM

Random Stacks

Level 3: 100 / 200 ante: 200

Christian Mitchell

These isn't the official chip leader board, but just some random stacks that looked quite attractive enough to pay attention to.

Player	Chips	Progress
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	96,500(483 BB)
CS Chee Sun TongMalaysia	85,800(429 BB)
CM Christian MitchellAustralia	77,300(387 BB)	37,300
JX Jieming XuChina	48,800(244 BB)	8,800

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 4:22:42 AM

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Level 3: 100 / 200 ante: 200

Xuan Khang Dinh

Xuan Khang Ding wasn't able to recover from the damage done by Van Quoc Vo and he was eliminated shortly after.

The good news is that Ding has fired another bullet and returned to the same table. This time, Ding is seated right next to Vo in the hopes that the proximity to his old chips will find an easier way home to him again.

In yesterday's Day 1A flight, Ding also fired at least 2 bullets that are known. Hopefully, Ding gets a deep run in this series to recover his bullets.

A♠ they say in USOP.... May the flop, turn and river be with you.

Player	Chips	Progress
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	40,000(200 BB)	37,500

Level 3: 100 / 200 ante: 200

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 36/39

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 4:17:53 AM

Vo Puts Dinh In Critical Condition

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

The action was missed by what was caught was a whole ton of chips being shipped to Van Quoc Vo who had J♠ J♦ in front of him.

The chips migrated from the stack of Xuan Khang Ding, who was put in critical condition. Vo probably holds the chip lead.

Player	Chips	Progress
VQ Van Quoc VoViet Nam	96,500(965 BB)	56,500
XK Xuan Khang DinhViet Nam	2,500(25 BB)	-37,500

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:48:45 AM

Who's In

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

Paul Elliot

Among other early registrants are the likes of Australia's Paul Elliot, who also made an effort in yesterday's Day 1A flight. Elliot has over USD 137,000 in total live earnings. Elliot has already raised a USOP trophy, winning the Pot Limit Omaha - Turbo event during USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong 2024. In this series, Elliot cashed in the Championship Event.

Christian Mitchell, also from Australia, made the final table in the Thursday Deepstack and a cash in the Mini Main Event.

Canada-based Vietnamese Van Quoc Vo has been making Asia his home, where his poker career is thriving. Vo has booked several cashes in Vietnam Poker Tour (VPT) and Grand Loyal Poker Championship (GLPC) events.

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

40 minutes

Remaining Players: 21/21

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:41:52 AM

Meanwhile...

Level 1: 100 / 100

The Main Event Satellite for VND 4.3 million (~USD 160) is underway with at least 3 seats worth VND 30 million guaranteed.

Yesterday, there were 8 players who won seats. The seats can be used in any of the remaining Main Event Day 1 flights.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:36:32 AM

Free USOP Hoodie!

Level 1: 100 / 100

Players who register and put their chips in play at Level 1will receive a free USOP hoodie! This applies for all flights. So far, the 17 who have entered have received their loot bag.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 3:09:00 AM

Early Birds And Familiar Faces

Level 1: 100 / 100

Jieming Xu

Some of the early birds of Day 1C are the familiar faces from yesterday's flights.

China's Jieming Xu is the more prominent face so far. Xu was the chip leader for most of the day in Day 1A but got crippled by a two-outer when his aces got outdrawn by jacks. Xu wasn't able to recover and failed to advance to Day 2.

Xu is on a rampage, having cashed ten times in the recently concluded Poker Dream 22 and made champion in five of those. Xu also just scored his biggest career cash after winning the Red Dragon Plus Championship during the RDPT Plus Jeju 2026 last April for over USD 344,000. Xu boosted his total live earnings to over USD 1.1 million.

Japan's Shuma Kimura is also early. Kimura already bagged a trophy in this series, topping a Mini High Roller event. Kimura also had a great start yesterday and was among the top chip stacks, but also had the misfortune of falling short.

Player	Chips
JX Jieming XuChina	40,000(400 BB)
SK Shuma KimuraJapan	40,000(400 BB)

Derick ElominaDerick Elomina

5/29/2026, 3:04:34 AM

Shuffle Up And Deal!

Cards are officially in the air for Day 1C of the Main Event!

Good luck to everyone taking their seats today!

-

Remaining Players: 9/9

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

5/29/2026, 12:59:44 AM

Two More Flights For A Chance At VND 30 Billion (~USD 1.1 Million)

Break

The VND 30 Billion Guaranteed Main Event of the USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay 2026 continues to take the spotlight today at the InterContinental Ha Long Bay in Ha Long Bay, Vietnam. With a buy-in of VND 30 million (~USD 1,100), the Main Event offers two more Day 1 starting flights on the schedule with Day 1C starting things off at 10:00 AM local time and Day 1D following later at 5:00 PM local time. The Day 1D flight has an added bonus with the end-of-day chip leader receiving VND 75 million (~USD 2,600) to more than double their buy-in.

Day 1C will have 40-minute blind levels, while Day 1D adjusted to have 30-minute blind levels.

Yesterday saw days 1A and 1B conclude with a combined total of 554 entries.

Minh Tang Tran, Day 1A Chip Leader

Day 1A brought in 385 entries and producing 49 survivors, who will carry their chips onto Day 2 and are guaranteed a minimum payout. Play was ended last night after the bubble burst on China's Mingcong Chen, who pushed his ace-two into the pocket aces of Anh Tuan Dang from Vietnam.

When play was stopped and the chips were counted, it was Vietnam's Minh Tang Tran with the largest stack at 1,164,000, claiming the chip leader bonus of VND 90 million (~USD 3,300). Anh Tuan Dang was a very close second with 1,045,000 and was the only other player to cross the million mark. Singapore's Andrew Ong took the third spot with 870,000.

Day 1B saw 169 entries take to the felt with 21 players advancing to Day 2. Vietnam's Manh Tuan Nguyen topped the flight with 869,000 and earned the chip leader bonus award of VND 75 million (~USD 2,600). Following him was South Korea's Wongyu Kang with 844,000.

There will still be two more final Day 1 starting flights tomorrow with Day 1E and Day 1F providing the final opportunities to qualify.

Stay glued here for all the live reports and updates.

Event starts 10:00 local time..