W HIGHROLLER ($5,000)

The W High Roller, the most expensive event in the Won Poker Cup III lineup brought in some of the Asian circuit's most decorated players that included Henri Hinds, last edition's runner-up. Hinds came out strong, delivering the first knockout right out of the gates however, by the time registration closed, he was nowhere to be found.

Attracting 59 runners in total, each one coughing up $5,000, the prize pool surged well past the $100K guarantee for a sweeter $268,981. Day 1 played to ITM of 9 players led by Vietnamese high roller Hoang Hai Nam with a stack of 1,965,000 (65 bb).

Hoang earned a large portion of his stack in two big hands. The first was by cracking Erik Rozhynskyi's pocket Aces with pocket Tens set, then later, he eliminated Warm Up event champion Neng Zhao with A9 rivering a full house to dust AJ trips.

The action heats up, the remaining 12 players are now on a break, with the bubble drawing closer. Hoang Hai Nam is currently in the driver's seat, holding a commanding lead with 2 million in chips.

The pressure is rising as only 13 players remain in the tournament, and the money bubble is quickly approaching. With just a few eliminations left before the payouts begin, every decision is becoming more crucial.

Among the recent bustouts are John Matsuda and Titov Oleg, both of whom fell short of reaching the final table and a potential payday. The remaining players are now fighting not only for a spot at the final table, but also to avoid becoming the last to leave empty-handed.

Play will continue until we reach the final 9, where the real prize chase begins.

In a dramatic showdown, Hoang Hai Nam and Neng Zhao got all the chips in preflop—Nam holding Ax 9x and Zhao well ahead with Ax Jx .

The board ran out Ax Ax 8x 2x 9x , giving both players trip aces. But it was the 9x on the river that gave Nam a full house, allowing him to outdraw Zhao’s stronger kicker and win the pot.

After the hand, Hoang Hai Nam surged to 1,700,000 in chips, making him one of the top stacks in the field

A huge hand unfolded with six bets flying preflop, ending in a massive all-in clash between Hoang Hai Nam and Erik Rozhynskyi.

Nam held pocket tens, while Rozhynskyi had the premium pocket aces. The chips went in, and the flop delivered one of the two remaining tens, stunning the table and giving Nam a huge lead in the hand.

Rozhynskyi, crushed by the cooler, was eliminated from the tournament.

Hoang Hai Nam now sits atop the leaderboard as the new chip leader.

Zhifan Ye continues to dominate the field with a towering stack of around 290 big blinds, comfortably holding the chip lead as play continues deep into the tournament.

Trailing behind is Abhijith Cheruku, who also sits in a strong position with approximately 190 big blinds, well above the current average stack of 80 big blinds.

With deep stacks still in play, there's plenty of room for maneuvering, and both Ye and Cheruku are in prime position for a deep run. The rest of the field will need to make moves soon if they hope to catch up.

Atinan Tranarungroj opened to 4,000 and picked up two callers, Hoang Hai Nam and Sia Lee.

The flop came 4♦ K♥ 7♣ . Tranarungroj checked, and Hoang Hai Nam seized the opportunity, leading for 6,500.

The pressure was enough, both Tranarungroj and Lee folded, and Nam scooped the pot uncontested.