Main Event

Day 1B is a wrap with 53 players out of the 121 entries surviving the nine hours of play. During the last level, driving their stacks to the top were Tuan Pham (244,500) and Sang In Lee (217,600). We will have the full chip count for you in our recap which will be up shortly. The day’s survivors join the 41 Day 1A players that advanced to Day 2 for a total of 94 qualifiers. There is still one more starting day ahead.

Day 1B Chip Counts

Utg Tuan Pham raised to 2500, everyone folded around to the sb Dao Minh Phu who jammed his 80k stack. Tuan called to put Phu at risk of elimination. Tuan K♠ T♠ , Phu Q♥ 6♦ , the board ran 7♥ K♦ 3♠ 3♦ 5♦ . Phu busted, Tuan zoomed to 240k.

Side note: Hands prior, Phu said he didn’t want to enter Day 2 with just 80k. It was too small. Seems he planned to shove.

For a majority of the day, Hamish Crawshaw has been one of the big stacks. He fueled more in on a hand against Doan Tien Thanh. Preflop action, Crawshaw raised to 2000, cutoff Thanh called, joined as well by the sb and bb players. At the flop A♣ 2♠ 6♦ , the blinds checked, Crawshaw c-bet 6k, Thanh called, the blinds folded. The turn 2♣ Crawshaw check-called a 13k bet by Thanh and the river came T♣ . Crawshaw checked again, Thanh bet 26k, Crawshaw answered with a shove (106.2k), Thanh tank-folded. Crawshaw climbed to 190k.

Lucky Sang In Lee banked a big pot while simultaneously sending one out in brutal fashion. The hand kicked off with utg raising to 2200, mp Lee called, lo-jack three-bet to 8500, back to utg who folded, Lee called. The flop A♠ A♦ 4♠ brought on more chips to the middle. Lee checked, lo-jack bet 9500, Lee raised to 28.6k, called by Lee. The turn Q♠ Lee shoved (25k), lo-jack called with 3k less.

Lee 7♠ 7♣ two pair Lo-jack A♣ 9♣ trips

When the river came down 7♦ , Lee landed a lucky two-outer to improve to a full house.

SJ Kim got full pay for his pocket pair to instantly cross over six digits. The hand saw an mp player raise to 1600, hijack called, cutoff Kim called, bb player three-bet to a very large 31k. Only Kim found the courage to call. At the flop 5♠ 6♣ 2♥ , bb player c-bet 30.5k, Kim snap-shoved, called by bb to put Kim at risk of elimination.

BB A♥ K♣ Kim 8♦ 8♥ pair

The turn and river 9♥ 9♦ did not improve the bb player. Kim shipped a double up. Bb plummeted then busted out on the next hand.

Change in leadership here with Guan Tian Liang losing over 60k. Capitalizing was Rubin Labroo who recently finished 2nd at the Kickoff event. The hand began with Liang raising to 2800, hijack called, sb called, bb Rubin Labroo three-bet to 13.6k, Liang and sb called while hijack folded in between.

At the flop 3♠ J♣ 9♥ , sb checked, aggressor Labroo c-bet 16.5k, only Liang continued. The turn T♣ , Labroo checked, Liang sent out 30k, Labroo called. On the river J♦ , both players checked, Labroo showed Q♣ Q♥ , Liang mucked.

Labroo stormed to 210k, Liang dropped to 120k.

Ashish Munot 200,000 Nguyen Chi Thinh 170,000 Guan Tian Liang 170,000 Tran Duc Phuong 150,000 Hamish Crawshaw 145,000 Doan Tien Thanh 130,000

Two players went to see the flop J♥ 9♣ T♠ . Tran Anh Trung checked, William Kang bet 5100, Tran called. The turn 4♠ , Tran checked again, Kang bet 10.1k, Tran raised to 45k, Kang shoved (38k total) putting himself at risk. Kang had 7♣ 8♦ straight but Tran had better K♠ Q♣ higher straight. Kang was drawing dead. The river was 7♦ . Tran over 100k.

Nguyen Chi Thinh has been sitting on a big stack since Level 4 but we haven’t been able to catch him ship a big hand. We finally caught one before the chips were sent his way. He had Ax Qx higher full house against a player’s 9x 8x full house on a board of Qx 7x 7x 7x 8x . Nguyen up to 180k.

Preflop action saw three players build a pot of 5300 as the flop ran J♣ 8♣ K♠ . Sb SJ Kim checked, utg checked, mp bet 1300. Back to Kim who raised to 4k, called by both opponents. On the turn 5♥ , Kim sent out 12.3k, utg called, mp folded. The river Q♥ , Kim continued with a 23.4k bet, utg tank-folded.

A preflop betting war went down between Jack En-Ching Wu and Hamish Crawshaw that led to both players all in. The at-risk player was Wu with Q♦ Q♥ , Crawshaw with A♣ A♠ , no luck on the board for Wu.

Catching the action on a flop 7♥ J♥ T♦ and 7k already in the middle, sb checked, bb Tran Duc Phuong bet 4k, sb raised to 14k, bb shoved (100k), sb put himself at risk with (43k).

SB Q♥ T♥ flush Tran K♥ J♦ top pair flush draw

The river 8♥ was one of the outs Tran needed to improve to a higher flush than his opponent to ship it all. Tran now up to 150k.

Utg+1 raised to 1600, lo-jack Tran Anh Trung called, cutoff Benedict Koh three-bet to 7000, utg+1 and Tran called for a three-way to the flop K♠ 9♦ 5♥ . Action was checked to Koh, he fired 15k, only Tran joined to see the turn 7♣ . Both checked. The river 2♥ saw Tran check, Koh bet 25k, Tan tanked then folded.

Huynh Duc Tai was on his second bullet having busted at Day 1A. Once again, he was bounced out in a hand against Jaideep Sajwan. From the button, Huynh raised to 1600, bb Sajwan three-bet to 5300, Huynh called. The flop came Q♣ 5♣ 4♦ , Sajwan led out 5400, called by Huynh. The turn J♣ , Sajwan c-bet 10k, Huynh shoved (25k), Sajwan called with 10k more than Huynh.

Sajwan A♠ A♣ Huynh T♠ J♦

The river 8♠ was no help to Huynh and he packed up.

On a board 3♠ 4♠ 9♥ and 3800 in the middle, bb Huynh Duc Tai checked to button Lewis Higham who bet 2300. Back to Huynh, he raised to 7200, Higham called. On the turn 6♣ , Huynh led for 7100, Higham called. On the river 6♠ , Huynh checked, Higham shoved (31.2k), Huynh tank-called. Higham opened J♠ Q♠ flush, Huynh mucked.

On a raised pot built preflop, two players stared down a flop 8♠ 5♦ 9♣ . Linh Tran bet 5k, called by button Benjamin Gonzva. On the turn 8♣ , Tran fired 7500, Gonzva called. On the river T♣ , Tran checked, Gonzva all in (18.5k) which covered Tran. Tran folded.

Five way limped pot saw a flop run K♦ 5♥ 4♥ . Action was checked to the button player who bet 1300. Only utg player Ronak Vyas called. On the turn Q♠ Vyas check-called a t 2600 bet. On the river, Vyas checked, button bet 6k, Vyas raised to 15k and was called. Vyas showed A♥ Q♦ and won the pot. Vyas entered the next hand and also claimed it with an uncalled flop bet. He now has 72k.

Guan Tian Liang has been sitting on a big stack and it just got fatter after railing a player. The hand began with utg+1 raising to 1200, three-bet to 3300 by a mid positioned player, sb Liang called, back to the initial raiser who four-bet to 13.3k, mp folded, Guan called. On the flop 2♦ T♥ 5♦ , Guan checked, utg+1 shoved, snap-call by Guan.

Guan A♦ 9♦ flush draw Utg+1 K♣ K♦

The turn 8♣ and river J♦ gave Guan his flush to ship it and climb to 180k.

On a raised pot preflop, the board showed T♠ 9♣ A♥ , sb Alok Birewar checked to db SJ Kim who bet 2k. Birewar called. The turn A♠ saw Kim send out 4k and Birewar check-called. The river 8♣ , Birewar checked, Kim bet 10k, Birewar folded.

Cutoff Ashish Munot raised to 1300, button Wayne Heung (2nd bullet today) three-bet to 3000, called by Munot. The flop 2♦ J♠ 5♣ brought in more chips with Munot check-calling a 2800 c-bet by Heung. On the turn 7♣ , another 7500 bet check-called by Munot. The river 3♠ was checked by both. Munot showed A♠ 2♠ for bottom pair, Heung mucked.

Benedict Koh min-raised to 1000, called by mp Trinh Anh Dung and the bb defended. At the flop 8♠ 8♦ J♠ , bb checked, Koh c-bet 1300, Dung called, bb folded. The turn 2♦ saw another c-bet called by Dung. On the river Q♥ , Koh slowed to a check, Dung slid out 5k, Koh called then mucked to Dung’s A♦ J♥ .

Utg Linh Tran min-raised to 1000, three players called. Button Tzai Wei Phua three-bet to 5000, only Tran called. The flop A♥ 3♠ 8♠ , both checked. On the turn J♦ , Tran checked again, Phua bet 2000, Tran mucked.

Utg player opened to 800, utg+1 Huy Pham three-bet to 3000, sb called, back to utg who folded. At the flop 2♦ K♥ 4♠ , sb check-called Pham’s 2500 c-bet. The turn 5♦ saw checks. The river 9♠ , sb checked, Pham bet 12k, sb tank-called. Pham showed A♥ K♠ , his opponent mucked.

Two fellow countrymen went head to head, Sahil Agarwal and Jaideep Sajwan. Action began with a 1k raise from Agarwal, Sajwan three-bet to 3600, Agarwal called. The flop 5♣ 4♦ A♥ , Sajwan led for 2100, called by Agarwal. The turn 4♠ Sajwan led again for 3400 then faced a shove of 14k. Sajwan tank-folded.

Tung Nguyen earned a very good pot for his full house while simultaneously sending Wayne Heung up and out. The hand saw Kim Phan raise to 1000, hijack Heung three-bet to 3200, bb Nguyen and Phan called. The flop Q♥ 5♥ K♠ saw everyone check and the turn landed 4♣ . Nguyen led for 5k, Phan folded, Heung called. The river 5♠ , Nguyen bet 13k, Heung jammed (32k), and a quick call from Nguyen. Heung showed K♦ T♦ two pair, Nguyen Q♣ Q♦ full house.

Catching the action with three players all in, A♥ A♠ versus K♣ K♠ versus Hon Cheong Lee’s Q♠ Q♦ . The board ran 7♠ Q♣ 3♦ 4♣ 8♠ for a triple up to Lee to 103k.

The tournament stage is pumping with a long list of decorated players. While several have been seen in Vietnam at previous events, many are here for the first time. The mixed list of players now seated are Tom Alner (two-time Red Dragon champion), Aaron Lim, Aditya Agarwal, Andre Lettau, Bobby Zhang, and Abhinav Iyer.

We are on the second 10 minute break of the day. The screens say 93 entries which is exactly what Day 1A closed with. Among the latest arrivals are Mike Takayama (who busted in Day 1A), En Ching Wu, Ashish Munot, Huy Pham, Akshay Nasa, Wayne Heung, Co Chung Chuen, and Sahil Agarwal.

Three way raised pot, the flop came 6♥ 9♦ 6♣ . Khoi Nguyen checked, William Kang bet 3300, one player folded, Nguyen raised to 8400, called by Kang. The turn Q♥ , Nguyen jammed (26k), Kang tanked then slid out the call while saying “gamble!”. Kang was indeed gambling as he was behind with A♥ K♥ , Nguyen ahead with A♣ A♠ . In danger of elimination, Nguyen stood up, the river felted 7♦ , Nguyen celebrated his win and double up to 82k.

Getting a hand on one of the recent champions at Pro Poker Club- Oliver Helm who won the APT Championships Event 2019 in July. Hijack player raised to 800, called by cutoff Jaideep Sajwan and sb Helm. On the flop 4♦ A♣ Q♠ , hijack c-bet 1k, and both Sajwan and Helm called. The turn and river K♣ 5♠ saw no bets. Helm showed A♦ 8♥ to win the pot.

Smit Trivedi picked up another pot to grow to 35.5k while simultaneously booting one out. It was a doozy of a hand. Both players all in preflop. Trivedi with A♥ A♠ , challenger K♣ K♥ . When the flop ran 8♠ K♠ 5♣ , the cowboys improved, however the turn A♣ drowned the player’s hopes. The river 2♠ completed the board.

Four players limped in until it landed on the sb player who raised to 700, utg Jacky Lou three-bet to 2700, three folds followed, then a call by the initial raiser. At the flop 8♣ A♣ 9♥ , sb bet, Lou called. On the turn J♠ , sb bet 5k, Lou raised to 16k, sb called. On the river 6♣ , sb checked, Lou all in (11.2k), called by sb. Lou doubled up with T♣ 9♣ flush. Sb showed A♦ J♣ .

Four players limped in, the flop came 9♠ 3♠ T♣ , three players checked while cutoff Huynh Duc Tai bet 1000. Everyone called and the turn fell 6♣ . Sb checked, bb Smit Trivedi all in (5100), called by utg, fold by Huynh, called by sb. The river K♣ , no side pot generated with both players checking. Trivedi showed 8♦ 7♠ straight to win the pot against K♥ T♥ two pair and A♦ A♥ .

With the pot already at 16k and a board of T♦ 8♠ 9♥ K♦ 4♦ , a local player led out 6500, Korean pro Soo Jo Kim raised to 18.8k, he was called. Kim showed 7♥ 6♥ for a straight.

After a quick ten-minute break, players headed back to their seats. More players have arrived to form two more tables. We are over 65 players. Among the new sluggers are SJ Kim, Oliver Helm, Ping Liu, Rubin Labroo (2nd at the Kickoff), Sumit Sapra, William Kang, and Nguyen Pham The Quan (7th at the Kickoff).

Registration is open all day. One re-entry per starting day allowed. Players bag at the end of Level 9. Registration closes at the start of Level 11 in Day 2.

No bust outs yet. 48 players splashing chips out there. Among the new arrivals are Benedict Koh, Fuk On Wong, Nguyen Quang Minh (6th at the High Roller 1), Tung Nguyen, and Thinh Chi Nguyen. 

We have four tables going with over 30 players already shuffling chips. Among them are Vietnam’s leading pro Linh Tran, Singapore’s Tzai Wei Phua, and Latvian Aigars Plivcs (Main Event Satellite winner). Some re-entering players are Benjamin Gonzva, Huynh Duc Tai, Guan Tian Liang, and Jaideep Sajwan. More are lined up at registration… we will have another update shortly.