MAIN EVENT ($1,320)

In just four hours of Final Day action, the Won Poker Cup III Main Event crowned a new champion with Khayal Abbasov claiming all the accolades. Abbasov showcased a full display of unwavering composure, sharp decision-making, and relentless pressure throughout the final games, ultimately rising as the last man standing out of a 415-entry field.

“I feel very excited and happy,” Abbasov said shortly after the win. “I have been waiting for this for a long time—maybe since the start of my career. I haven't won anything bigger than this. I'm really happy.”

For his well-earned feat, Abbasov rewrote his career best cash to $116,500, and takes with him the coveted Won Trophy and the exclusive W Ring.

Only nine players headed back to the scene, with Abbasov holding down a commanding lead. Abbasov kicked off the day to a slow start but eventually picked up the momentum once the field drew thinner. A decisive double knockout five-handed propelled him further ahead, and set the stage for the Azerbaijani to steamroll to victory.

"I played my game and got very lucky.. Aces, kings, what more could you ask for, just very lucky.”

From there, the chips continued to fall in Abbasov’s favor, eventually landing him a seat in the final duel against 2024 Runner Up Armon Van Wijk with an 8:1 chip advantage. It only took half a level for Abbasov to secure the victory, leaving his Australian foe yet with another close finish.

“I will definitely be back, I won the Mini Main last time and the Main Event this time.” he added. “Actually, I think I can say that this is the best organization I have ever played in around Asia. Having played a lot of series, I think so far, this has been the best venue.”

/As for what comes next?

“I plan on celebrating for about two weeks to a month,” he laughed. “Drink with friends, just have fun, and celebrate all of this. After that, I’ll find a series to play.”

Congratulations to all the winners!

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

Final Table Results

Armon Van Wijk again completed his big blind against Khayal Abbasov's button open, and faced another 200,000 cbet on flop 8♦ 5♠ J♥ . Van Wijk this time, pulled a check raise to 600,000, which shortly merited a call from his opponent.

With a tower of chips already in the middle, Van Wijk decided to slow down on turn 9♦ and check to his opponent. Abbasov unrelentlessly, put Van Wijk to the test for his remaining 10 big blinds, and shortly garnered a call from the Australian with top pair J♣ 6♥ . Abbasov revealed a better K♦ K♥ , leaving Van Wijk with only a few outs to turn the tables.

River 8♠ sealed the win for Abbasov, leaving Van Wijk with another Won Main Event runner up finish on his resumé.

Armon Van Wijk defended his big blind against Khayal Abbasov's 250,000 button open, and check called 400,000 on flop 8♦ 6♥ 5♦ . On turn 2♠ however, Van Wijk was left unable to continue as Abbasov followed with another 900,000.

Khayal Abbasov opened 225,000 on the button and Armon Van Wijk completed his big blind.

On board 6♠ 9♥ K♣ 4♥ J♦ , Abbasov triple barreled 150,000, 450,000, and a final all-in, with Van Wijk calling down all three streets with two pair K♠ 6♥ . Abbasov showed a busted straight draw T♠ 7♣ and forked over yet another pot to his opponent.

A limp pot, action checked to turn 7♠ 6♥ 8♣ 3♦ , where Khayal Abbasov led a bet of 200,000. Armon Van Wijk stuck around to see river 9♣ and decided to gun for a final 400,000. Abbasov paid the price, yet mucked as Van Wijk revealed a straight J♣ 5♣ .

This season’s Won Poker Cup III Main Event has reached its final showdown, with Azerbaijan’s Khayal Abbasov facing off against Australia’s Armon Van Wijk. Abbasov entered the Final Day as the chip leader and maintained his dominance, continuing to hold an overwhelming 8:1 chip advantage to put him in prime position to capture the victory. For Van Wijk, it’s a familiar scene as he finds himself once again heads up for the title, just as he did in last year’s inaugural edition.

Following a series of opens and folds, Abhijith Cheruku finally took a stand and called off his last 7 big blinds against Khayal Abbasov's open jam.

Cheruku poised for a double up, unfortunately didn't get one as board 9♠ 2♥ 9♥ 9♦ 8♥ rolled Abbasov a full house to take the win, sending him out of the running.

Armon Van Wijk slammed his 19 big blind stack against Khayal Abbasov's button open, and saw the chip leader waste no time in making the call.

Lucky for Van Wijk, the board 4♣ 3♦ 2♣ K♣ 5♣ landed both players a wheel straight, saving him from a potential bust.

A massive three way preflop all-in unfolded beginning with a button open from Khayal Abbasov. Ngoc Thai Huynh was the first to shove his last 1,140,000, called by Viet An Nguyen behind. Abbasov jumped in on the action with another jam, leaving Nguyen to commit the remainder of his chips for a dramatic three way showdown.

Abbasov's nutted aces held up across board 9♦ 2♣ 8♠ T♣ 2♦ , delivering the double knock out to extend his lead even further with only three left in contention.

Abhijith Cheruku shot out a minraise on his button option and saw Khayal Abbasov complete on the big blind.

On flop 6♣ 5♦ 7♥ , Abbasov went ahead and led for 140,000, followed by another 425,000 on turn 5♠ . Cheruku called the initial bet, but found no reason to continue as Abbasov kept up the aggression.

A three way raised pot led by Khayal Abbasov saw the aggressor triple barrel - 155,000, 300,000, and 1,200,000, on board K♦ 5♠ 5♣ 7♠ J♥ . Viet An Nguyen on the button, called down two streets, but just couldn't get past the final bet for a showdown.

Khayal Abbasov defended his big blind against Viet An Nguyen's cutoff open, and got a free pass on flop 2♠ 6♦ 7♠ through to turn A♦ . Abbasov made an attempt with a bet of 300,000, called by Nguyen. Both checked river 2♦ to showdown, with a quick muck from Abbasov earning Nguyen the pot as he revealed top pair A♥ .

Abhijith Cheruku opened 160,000 on the button and was quickly met with a 500,000 three bet from Khayal Abbasov on the big blind. Cheruku fired back with a raise to 900,000, leaving Abbasov to walk away entirely.

Armon Van Wijk stood his ground and agreed to risk his last 12 big blinds with A♦ 4♦ , up against Khayal Abbasov's all-in with K♣ J♣ for a race.

Van Wijk broke a sweat as Abbasov flopped a flush draw on 7♣ 7♦ 3♣ , but was relieved to see the runout 6♠ 8♠ fade his opponents' outs, earning him a double up.

With action folded to the blinds, Mikayel Balabekyan limped in and faced a 460,000 raise from Khayal Abbasov right behind. Balabekyan jumped the gun for his last 1,400,000 and was snapped by Abbasov, putting him at risk.

Board 6♠ 3♣ Q♣ 8♠ 8♣ sealed Balabekyan's fate in 6th, cutting the field down to five.

Viet An Nguyen defended his big blind against Mikayel Balabekyan's 120,000 cutoff open, and check called a 100,000 cbet on flop 4♠ 2♠ J♦ . On turn 7♠ , Balabekyan barreled another 250,000, only to tank fold after Nguyen made it 700,000 to go.

Two big stacks were already in the pot beginning with an utg open from Khayal Abbasov, followed by a call from Abhijith Cheruku on the button. Armon Van Wijk undeterred, pulled a squeeze to 830,000 on the small blind and picked up the pot uncontested.

Running short, Adrian Brion flicked in his last 280,000 on the button and saw Viet An Nguyen shell out the few more big blinds for a showdown.

Brion slightly behind, missed to catch up on board 3♥ A♥ Q♥ 7♦ J♥ , ending his run in today's final table battle.

Viet An Nguyen once again pushed his last few big blinds in the middle and this time, found Khayal Abbasov as his latest customer.

Looking to pair up, Nguyen did just so on board 7♣ J♣ 8♣ Q♣ 3♥ , securing him the much needed double.

Viet An Nguyen pushed on the button for 315,000 and was looked up by Armon Van Wijk right on the big blind.

Nguyen in rough shape, was in luck to find two pairs on board K♥ 3♠ K♦ 3♦ T♦ , offering him a second life.

Action folded to the blinds, prompting big stacked Khayal Abbasov to open raise all-in. Adrian Brion on the big blind, called off his last couple of big blinds and found himself in for a flip for his tournament life.

Things were looking glum for Brion as the flop 4♣ 5♦ 2♦ landed Abbasov a set, but quickly turned around as the runout 3♠ 6♦ showed a straight on board for a split pot.

Viet An Nguyen defended his button open and called a 325,000 three bet from Abhijith Cheruku on the small blind.

On flop 2♠ T♣ 9♣ , Nguyen faced a 170,000 cbet from Cheruku and opted for a 400,000 raise. Cheruku completed, and checked turn 7♠ to his opponent. Following through with his aggression, Nguyen pulled the trigger with midpair A♥ 9♥ , only to see Cheruku happily get his last 635,000 in with top set T♦ T♥ .

Nguyen drawing dead, relinquished a chunk of his stack just as river 5♣ completed the board.

Armon Van Wijk opened utg and was joined by Abhijith Cheruku on the big blind. Action on board 6♠ 7♥ 6♥ A♠ 4♦ was cheked down to the river, where Cheruku led 290,000. Van Wijk made the call with two pair A♥ J♥ and picked up a win as Cheruku tabled A♦ 3♦ .

Khayal Abbasov lodged a 300,000 three bet against an early open and was priced in to call Ngoc Thai Huynh's 485,000 all-in from the big blind.

Crushed against the best hand in the deck, Abbasov booked the loss on board 4♣ T♠ K♠ J♠ 4♦ , giving Huynh more room to breathe.

Ngoc Thai Huynh opened utg+1 and was met with a 250,000 raise from Abhijith Cheruku on the cutoff. Huynh gave it a thought and went for a 650,000 fourbet, only to give it up moments later Cheruku demanded for the rest not before burning two more time banks.

Having started at the bottom of the ranks, Hoang Anh Nguyen failed to pick up any momentum and decided to go with A♠ 3♣ for his last four big blinds. Unfortunately for him, Abhijith Cheruku woke up with a better A♦ Q♣ and easily delivered the bust on board 5♦ 2♥ 2♣ 7♣ J♦ .

Mikayel Balabekyan defended his big blind against an early open from chip leader Khayal Abbasov, and check called two streets - 70,000 and 180,000 on board 9♦ 5♦ 9♣ 9♠ . On river J♠ , Abbasov decided to slow down, check it back, and concede the pot as Balabekyan revealed 6♦ 6♥ .

Coming in as one of the shortest stacks, Kyle Bao Diep was the first to fall after running the remainder of his chips smack into Ngoc Thai Huynh's better ace. No help arrived on board A♠ 6♠ Q♥ 4♠ K♦ for Diep, eliminating him as the day's first casualty.

Khayal Abbasov opened from early position and saw Mikayel Balabekyan defend his big blind. On board J♥ 4♠ A♥ T♣ , Abbasov double barreled 70,000 and 225,000, convincing Balabekyan to give it up by the turn.

Won Poker Cup III Main Event Final Table action begins, good luck to all the players!

The stage is set for the thrilling conclusion of the Won Poker Cup III Main Event! After several days of intense action and a 415-entry field reduced to just nine contenders, the final table returns today — May 21st at 12:00 PM, to battle for the $116,500 top prize, the trophy, and the exclusive W Ring.

Leading the charge is Azerbaijan's Khayal Abbasov, who enters the Final Day with a dominant stack and nearly a third of the chips in play. But with poker’s unpredictable swings and increasing blinds, anything can happen as the final chapter of this Main Event unfolds. Each finalist has locked up at least $11,500, but only one will walk away as the Won Poker Cup III champion.

Stay locked in as SMP brings you real-time updates, key hands, and chip counts straight from the tournament floor!

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