MAIN EVENT ($1,320)

Today's Won Poker Cup III Main Event festivities showcased a fierce battle on the felt, with only 52 players returning from a 415-entry field. After just under seven hours of intense play, the field was trimmed to its final nine contenders, with Khayal Abbasov stacking an undeniable lead.

Abbasov delivered a crushing performance throughout Day 2 and finished as the overwhelming chip leader with 4,105,000 (102 BB), nearly a third of the total chips in play. His pivotal moment came just before the final break, when he vaulted into the lead following a failed bluff attempt by Tomas Dedinas. From that point on, Abbasov maintained full control, applying pressure on his opponents, all the while steadily growing his stack.

Sitting a distant second is Vietnam's Viet An Nguyen with 1,720,000 (43 BB), trailed closely by Armenia's Mikayel Balabekyan with 1,660,000 (41 BB). Not to be overlooked is Australia's Armon Van Wijk, who settled for a runner-up finish in last year's inaugural run, now back for redemption with a comfortable 1,270,000 (32 BB) stack.

All nine final tablists have locked up a minimum payout of $11,500, with the $116,500 top prize just a few more steps away. Play will resume tomorrow, May 21st, noon sharp, where the newest Won Poker Cup champion will be crowned in the Final Day showdown.

Won Poker Cup III Main Event

Date/s: May 17-21, 2025

Buy-in: USD 1,320

Guarantee: USD 600,000

Entries: 415

Prize pool: USD 600,000

ITM: 52 places

Facing an utg open from chip leader Khayal Abbasov, Jeorge Lagatuz decided to take the aggressive route and shove his entire 925,000 from the small blind. Unfortunately for him, Abbasov was ready to pounce with a premium pair, putting the Filipino at risk.

Board 7♥ 9♣ 6♠ 4♥ 4♦ offered Lagatuz no salvation, leaving him to exit as the final table bubble while Abbasov further extended his lead.

Jeorge Lagatuz defended his big blind against chip leader Khayal Abbasov's cutoff open, and faced a 90,000 cbet from the aggressor on flop 9♦ 2♣ 3♣ . Lagatuz responded with a check raise to 400,000, pushing Abbasov out of the pot after giving it some consideration.

Chip leader Khayal Abbasov has been running up a storm and swung more chips after a blind vs blind clash against Bien Mai left the latter empty-handed.

Abbasov open raised all-in on the small blind with 9♣ 7♦ and picked up a pair on board K♥ 3♣ T♣ 7♠ A♦ , enough to dust Mai's 4♦ 4♣ and scoop up his last 8 big blinds.

John Matsuda fell victim to the worst cooler in the deck, having happily committed his last 190,000 (16 BB) against Khayal Abbasov, only to suffer a cruel elimination.

No help arrived on board Q♠ 2♦ 4♦ 7♥ 4♥ , keeping Abbasov's rockets well ahead.

Sergey Kharitonov pushed his last 13 big blinds in the middle from utg. Khayal Abbasov on the button, reshoved to isolate, pushing everyone else out of the way.

Kharitonov in rough shape, failed to improve on board Q♥ 8♥ Q♦ 8♣ 2♠ , busting him out in quick fashion.

Danny Huynh open jammed 69,000 utg+1 and was called by two players behind - Lewis Cowell and Khayal Abbasov.

On flop 6♠ 7♣ 7♥ , Cowell check called a 50,000 bet from Abbasov for a side pot. Action slowed down on both turn 5♥ and river 7♦ , shortly revealing Huynh's full house for the triple up. Abbasov on the other hand, raked in the side pot, cutting his losses significantly.

Action folded down to the blinds, where Khayal Abbasov went ahead and open ripped. Shi Jin Lin called off his entire 110,000 (18 BB) behind, and found himself in great shape for a double up once the cards were turned.

Board K♥ A♠ 9♠ 2♠ 2♣ however, ran three spades, giving Abbasov a flush to knock Shi out.