Main Event

After nine rounds of action, the first starting day of the VN₫ 15 Billion (US$ 644,000) guaranteed Main Event came to a close with 41 players remaining out of the 93 entries (80 uniques, 13 re-entries). Driving his stack to the top was Filipino player Christopher Mateo with 272,000 at bagging time. Also racking up in the same range was Austria’s Martin Stausholm with 234,400. Stay tuned, we will have a recap for you shortly. 

Day 1A Chip Counts

One of the last hands of the day was won by Christopher Mateo to bring his stack over 260k. Catching the action on a board showing 4♣ 7♦ 8♣ 4♣ and 38k brewed, Josh McCully checked, Mateo bet 10.5k, McCully called. On the river A♥ , McCully checked, Mateo shoved his huge stack, no call from McCully. Mateo courtesy showed K♥ J♣ while shipping in the pot.

Five players were in on a raised pot, the flop fell 9♥ J♠ Q♠ . Action was checked to the button player Vincent Chauve who bet 5k. He was called by one player, Nguyen Ngoc Dai. On the turn 4♦ , Nguyen checked to Chauve who fired 12k. Nguyen replied with a shove (40k), Chauve called with 5k more.

Chauve K♠ T♣ straight on the flop Nguyen A♠ J♦ mid pair

Nguyen was drawing dead. The river 4♥ completed the board. Nguyen busted while Chauve shipped it to bring his stack over 100k.

On a board showing 4♥ J♦ K♥ 2♣ and 26k already swimming in the middle, Thanh Quyen bet 12k and Nguyen Van Dung (aka Dung God) called. The river 2♥ , Thanh Quyen sent out 55k, Dung folded.

The betting opened with a player raising to 2100, Gerald called, button player Dajia Chen three-bet to 8k, initial raiser folded, Gerald called. At the flop A♦ 9♥ T♠ , Gerald checked, Chen c-bet 6k, called by Gerald. On the turn 4♦ , Chen bet 17k, and still Gerald check-called. The river 8♣ , Gerald checked, Chen shoved (55.1k), this time Gerald folded.

Vincent Huang jumped into the Main Event after finishing 3rd at the High Roller 1. We caught him in action against Arravind Udayakumar who raised to 2300, called by one player, Huang three-bet to 7500, Udayakumar answered with a four-bet to 15.5k, one player folded, Huang five-bet shoved (42.5k), Udayakumar tank-folded.

In just one big double up, Peter Robertson joined with over 100k in chips. The hand saw him open to 2600, called by one player. At the flop 3♠ 3♣ 9♦ , Robertson c-bet 4200, was raised to 12.7k, Robertson called. On the 6♦ turn, Robertson checked, his opponent banged out 9500, Robertson raised to 27k, and was called. On the river 5♠ , Robertson shoved (45.4k), his opponent tank-called. Robertson shipped it with Q♣ Q♦ . His challenger held T♦ T♠ .

Vincent Chauve kicked off the hand with a 1800 raise then faced a three-bet by Van Sang Nguyen to 6k. Chauve called and off to the flop they went T♠ 3♣ 4♦ . Chauve checked to the aggressor Nguyen who c-bet 4500. Chauve called. The turn 9♠ saw no bets. The river 5♠ , Chauve fired 12k, Nguyen called. At the showdown, Chauve had A♣ Q♣ , Nguyen A♦ K♠ , both missed. Nguyen earned the pot for his higher five-card spread.

Big pot preflop fueled by two players, Hamish Crawshaw and Nguyen Nam Duong. Crawshaw raised to 1600, Nguyen three-bet to 3700, Crawshaw four-bet to 10.7k, Nguyen called. At the flop and turn K♦ K♠ 9♥ 5♣ , no bets landed. On the 2♦ river, Crawshaw shoved (60k) then shipped it with Nguyen folding up.

Big hand just went down at table 7 with Nguyen Duc Hop very unhappy at having to fold his K♠ 4♠ second nuts. Action began with four players in on a limped pot. The flop landed 7♠ 2♠ 3♠ , three players checked to Martin Stausholm who bet 1500. Nguyen raised to 5k, two players folded, Stausholm three-bet to 17k, Nguyen called. On the Q♣ turn, Nguyen bet 30k, Stausholm called. On the river J♠ , Nguyen checked, Stausholm shoved his stack the covered Nguyen, that’s when Nguyen folded and showed his hand.

Pros Vincent Chauve and Phachara Wongwichit tangled for a pot that sent one of the pros tumbling. Catching the action on a board 3♦ 9♠ 4♦ 2♣ 2♦ and 13k in the middle, Chauve checked, Wongwichit jammed his remaining 8500 stack, Chauve called. Wongwichit’s K♠ Q♠ bluff sent him packing to Chauve’s 8♣ 9♥ two pair.

A mid position player opened to 1600, one player called, cutoff Jaideep Sajwan three-bet to 4500, button Charlton Hawes four-bet to 10k, initial raiser and caller folded, Sajwan five-bet shoved (48k), Hawes called with 36k behind.

Hawes A♣ K♣ Sajwan A♥ 5♥

The board ran A♠ 4♣ K♦ 8♠ 7♦ for a double up to Hawes.

Hard fall for Benjamin Gonzva who faced off against Martin Stausholm. Gonzva raised to 1500 then called Stausholm’s three-bet to 4500. At the flop A♣ 5♥ T♦ , Gonzva checked, Stausholm c-bet 2500, Gonzva called. On the turn 7♦ , check again by Gonzva, Stausholm bet 12k, Gonzva shoved (26k), and a quick call by Stausholm.

Gonzva 5♦ 5♠ set Stausholm A♦ A♥ nuts

The river 2♦ was not the out Gonzva needed. He busted while Stausholm rose to 140k.

Big pot at table 3 with Binh Minh capitalizing. The hand opened with utg player raising to 1500, lo-jack Binh three-bet to 4500, called by Kjell Ove Dyb, sb Phachara Wongwichit shoved (45k), only Binh called with less chips.

Wongwichit J♣ J♦ Binh K♣ K♦

The board ran 7♠ K♠ 2♠ T♣ 2♦ for a double up to Binh.

After a 1200 raise by the hijack player, cutoff Christopher Mateo three-bet to 4100, sb Xiao Yu Cheng four-bet to 24k, hijack folded, Mateo five-bet shoved (63k), Cheng called for his tournament life with 61k behind. Cheng held Q♥ Q♦ , Mateo A♠ 4♥ , when the board completed 7♦ J♦ | 8♥ 6♣ 5♠ , Mateo improved to a lucky straight on the river to end Cheng’s run and ship a big one.

Vincent Chauve raised to 1300, hijack Van Sang Nguyen three-bet to 3600, button Abhinav Iyer four-bet to 9k, called by both Chauve and Nguyen. When the flop came A♦ 9♠ 4♣ , no bets arrived to bring on a free turn card 6♦ . Chauve checked, Nguyen bet 20k, Iyer called, Chauve folded. The river 5♦ , Nguyen checked, Iyer jammed (33k), then won the pot with Nguyen surrendering his hand.

After losing some chips to Nguyen Dang Long, Nguyen Duc Hop proceeded to gain some back off Christopher Mateo. On a board showing T♥ 9♥ 8♠ 9♠ and 12k already brewed, Nguyen bet 5k, Mateo raised to 10k, Nguyen called. On the river 6♣ both checked. Nguyen showed J♦ J♠ , Mateo mucked. Nguyen up to 100k.

Nguyend Dang Long returned to action after getting the boot on his first bullet. We caught him winning a good pot against Nguyen Duc Hop. Long opened with a 1600 raise, called by a cutoff player, sb Hop three-bet to 5300, Long called. At the flop 5♣ 8♣ 5♦ , Hop c-bet 4k, Long called. On the turn A♦ , Hop fired 9400, Long shoved (30.7k), Hop tank-folded. Long showed A♥ then scooped up the pot.

Heavy betting preflop staerted with a mid position player raising to 1500, cutoff Christopher Mateo three-bet to 5000, Xiao Yu Cheng four-bet to 14.4k, initial raiser folded, Mateo tank-called. At the flop 9♦ 2♦ T♥ , Cheng shoved (44k), Mateo tanked, then opted to fold.

Prior betting action saw the pot grow to 25k with Alok Birewar and Frederic Bolliet staring down a turn board 9♦ T♦ 9♣ K♥ . At this point both got all their chips in. Bolliet held Q♠ 9♥ trips, Birewar ahead with A♥ 9♠ higher kicker, however when the river came Q♥ , Bolliet was saved and doubled up with his full house.

Action packed preflop began with a raise to 1500 by Yin Mingbao, Nguyen Dang Long called, Dinh Gia Hung three-bet to 6300, Yin tank-folded, Nguyen jammed (17K), called by Hung.

Nguyen A♠ T♣ Hung 8♦ 9♥

Board ran 8♥ J♦ J♣ 2♦ 6♥ . Nguyen eliminated.

After losing chips on a previous hand to David Wang, Jao Rui Hong lost the rest of it to Dinh Xuan Dinh. Five players were in on a raised pot preflop, cards landed A♣ J♣ T♣ . Everyone checked. The turn 3♥ saw Hong take stab with a 3k bet, Dinh check-raised to 8100, Hong called. On the river A♣ , Dinh shoved, Hong called with less chips, Dinh showed 4♣ 6♣ flush sending Hong out with A♦ 7♦ trips no good. Dinh climbed to 110k.

Unfortunate turn of events for Ca Phe against Michael Seymour. Both players were all in preflop with Ca Phe holding 7♦ 7♠ and Seymour A♣ J♥ . When the flop ran T♠ 7♣ T♦ , it was an instant full house for Ca Phe. The turn A♥ gave Seymour outs to win the hand, and when the river fell T♣ , that’s exactly what happened. Seymour doubled up his short stack with a higher full house.

David Wang banked himself a sweet double up. Kicking off the hand, he raised to 1200, Benjamin Gonzva three-bet to 4k, Wang called. At the flop 2♦ 9♥ 7♠ , Wang check called a 3500 c-bet by Gonzva. On the 6♣ turn, check again by Wang, Gonzva slid out 5500, Wang shoved (20k), Gonzva called. Wang 9♣ 9♦ set, Gonzva showed A♦ A♣ .

Preflop raise war awarded to Dinh Gia Hung. Initial raiser was Minh Le who bumped it up to 1200, Hung three-bet to 4300, Alex Wei Xiang Lee four-bet to 12k, Minh folded, Hung jammed (55k), Lee with the snap-fold.

A nice pot formed preflop began with a raise to 1100, called by Jao Rui Hong, three-bet to 5500 by big blind Nguyen Duc Hop, called by initial raiser and Hong. At the flop 2♦ 5♦ A♣ , Nguyen c-bet 6300, one fold followed, Hong called. On the turn A♥ , another 12k fired by Nguyen, and Hong continued to match it. The river 7♠ , Nguyen bet a lower 11k, Hong called, Nguyen showed Q♣ Q♦ , Hong mucked. Nguyen up to 95k.

Four way raised pot preflop saw a flop land 6♥ 8♠ 7♣ . Three players checked to Ta Duy Quoc Chinh who fired 3200. Only Aysee Nguyen called. The turn 4♥ saw more chips dropped with Chinh betting 5200. Nguyen check-called. On the river 5♣ , another 11k check-called by Nguyen. With the board showing a straight, Chinh played the board with his 8♣ 7♦ , Nguyen won the pot with J♥ 9♥ higher straight.

More players have shown up since our last update. Among them are Minh Le, Alex Wei Xiang Lee, Vincent Li, Christopher Mateo, Ta Duy Quoc Chinh, Nguyen Van Dung, and WSOP bracelet winners Aditya Sushant and Abhinav Iyer.

Tough table for Cao Ngoc Anh who initiated a preflop raise war with 6♣ 6♦ only for his four-bet shove to be called by Dajia Chen with Q♠ J♠ . The board ran 5♦ 4♠ 8♦ 3♠ K♠ for a flush to Chen and the exit for Anh.

We caught the action only on the river with both hands already tabled. The board showed 9♠ J♣ T♥ 6♥ 8♦ , a local player with 9♦ 9♣ set was eliminated by Sriharsha Doddapaneni’s {qh] J♥ straight. Doddapaneni shipped a big one to rise to 123k.

Passing by action table #5, looks like the round has downsized a bit with Arravind Udayakumar sitting on a nice pile worth 130k. Udayakumar shared the winning hand. With pocket eights in the hole, he flopped a full house then rivered quads. His opponent shoved on the river.

Vincent Chauve -Season XVII WPT Vietnam Main Event champion and Asia-Pacific Player of the Year winner - took a seat moments ago and immediately doubled up off Vu Duc Trung. Vu Duc raised to 700, Chauve three-bet to 2500, Vu Duc four-bet to 7500, Chauve called. The flop ran Q♣ T♣ 8♦ , both players checked. On the turn 2♣ , Vu Duc bet 8k, Chauve called. The river 9♠ , Vu Duc checked, Chauve went all in for 24.5k, Vu Duc tank-called. Chauve opened A♣ K♣ nut flush and shipped it. He now has 80,800.

61 entries so far - 58 uniques, 3 re-entries - and already we have one player with a visible lead. China’s Yuwen Pan has over 100k, his closest challenger is Korea’s Jeonggyu Cho with around 88k.

According to Kunal Patni, we may as well park ourselves at his table with plenty of action on every hand. True enough, we witnessed a three-way that saw a raise (1,600), three-bet to 4,300 (by a larger stack), four-bet shove (9,300 shortest stack - Nguyen Dang Long), five-bet shove (initial raiser), called by the largest stack.

Initial raiser: K♣ Q♣ Larger stack: T♦ T♠ Nguyen Dang Long: K♥ J♥

The board ran K♠ 5♣ J♠ 8♦ A♦ for a triple up to Nguyen. Initial raiser won the side pot.

The ante stage has begun. Six tables are now up and running. Among the newcomers are Lim Yohwan (Boxer), Cao Ngoc Anh, Terry Nguyen, and just taking a seat is David Erquiaga.

Filipino player Erquiaga has been running extremely well this year. He recently finished 2nd at the PKC Taiwan Main Event, 2nd at the APT Vietnam Championships Event in July, and 6th at the Manila Megastack Main Event in March. We will be tracking his progress throughout the day.

Another table has opened up. New faces on the poker green are Iori Yogo, Jeonggyu Cho, Benjamin Gonzva, Guan Tian Liang, Kunal Patni, and Jaideep Sajwan (4th place at the Kickoff).

We have an early bust here with Nguyen Ngoc Dai delivering the boot. All the chips went in on the flop with the board completing 6♦ A♦ 2♠ 5♥ K♠ . Bust out player had A♣ 2♣ two pair but the river denied him the win with Nguyen holding K♥ K♠ for a winning set.

Cards are in the air here at the Main Event. Only three tables are up and running so far with 22 players registered. We see several more at the reg area. Among the early faces are Van Sang Nguyen, Dinh Xuan Dinh, and two players from the final table of the opening Kickoff event - Huynh Duc Tai and Suren Balachandran.