Championship Warm Up ($600)

Day 1B of the WPT Cambodia Championship Warm Up saw a marked improvement in the number of entries as 251 were logged with 49 players making it through to Day 2 after fifteen riveting levels of play. Korea’s Seok Jaemoon finally ended hostilities atop the leaderboard as the competition was marked by several chip lead changes as well as pulsating poker action.

Seok managed to finally get a stronghold of the chip lead after he eliminated China’s Zhang Hongru in a situation where the Korean woke up with A♥ A♦ against Zhang’s A♣ K♣ . Another player from China in Huang Bo Hao was the first to hit six figures and the chip lead was also held at one point of another by India’s Ankit Ahuja and another Korean in Jae Jun Han.

Seok’s stack of 703,000 still pales in comparison to Dat 1A chip leader Tero Laurila of Finland who amassed his stack with less players as only 154 entries helped him obtain 930,000 in chips.

Second in chips thus far is England’s Rob Sherwood, who just weeks ago snared a runner-up finish in the WPT World Championship. Sherwood has 605,000 while third place from Day 1B is Huang with 520,000.

Day 1C (Turbo) is presently ongoing with 122 entries logged at the end of registration.

Championship Warm Up

Date/s: February 7-10, 2025

Buy-in: USD 600

Guarantee: USD 150,000

Day 1A: 154 entries, 27 qualified

Day 1B: 251 entries, 49 qualified

Day 1C: Saturday, February 8

Day 2: Sunday, February 9

Day 3/ Final: Monday, February 10

After a raising war preflop, Colombia’s Andres Fajardo gets his stack of 233,500 into the middle of the table against WPT Championship Runner-Up Rob Sherwood of England.

Fajardo shows A♦ Q♦ while Sherwood isn’t going anywhere with K♣ K♥ .

The subsequent runout goes: 5♠ 6♠ 7♠ 2♣ T♥ as Fajardo bids adieu to the competition. Sherwood, who has been steadily flying under the radar for the duration of the day, now has over 620,000 in chips and could be headed to a favorable position in Day 2.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Duc Thanh opens from utg to 12,000 and the action is folded all the way to the bb where Amin Riyazati of Australia decides to make his final bid for Day 2 by executing a 3-bet shove for his remaining 56,000. Nguyen decides to call.

Riyazati shows A♣ 5♠ which percentage-wise is ahead of Nguyen’s K♠ J♠ .

The flop gave the Australian some reason to be hopeful but it also came with reasons to doubt: A♠ 2♠ 9♥ . Despite hitting top pair, Riyazati now has to dodge any spade, which did not happen as the 7♠ made him drawing dead nd the river card added insult to injury by bringing out the A♥ .

Korea’s Kim Taeil open shoves for 53,000 from utg+1 and gets called just to his left in the +2 by Zhong Jiazhi of China.

Kim shows A♥ 9♥ while it turns out to be a coinflip against Zhong’s 8♠ 8♥ .

The runout goes: T♥ 7♦ 4♠ Q♥ (a glimmer of hope because of the possible backdoor flush) 3♦ .

The final stretch nears.

France’s Jeremy Jehanne opens from the button to 14,000 but gets re-raised on the sb by Chudapal Siarhei of Belarus to 40,000. Jehanne opts to only call.

The flop is 8♣ 9♣ 7♦ as Siarhei continues firing for 11,500. Jehanne raises it to 37,000 as the Belarusian decides to make the call. The turn is the Q♥ as Siarhei checks. The Frenchman unloads 40,000. Siarhei folds.

Jehanne’s recent aggression has netted him a significant increase in his stack which is now up to above 400,000.

With the pot at 76,000 on a board of K♠ T♣ A♦ J♣ J♥ Belarus’ Chudapal Siarhei puts in a river bet of 66,000. Kyle Bao of Vietnam goes into the tank anew but this time decides to make the call.

Siarhei tables K♦ J♦ for a runner-runner full house. Bao mucks and sees his stack dwindle to a mere 28,500. Siarhei’s stack climbs to above the 420,000 mark.

Sweden’s Daniel Skoglund and Vincent Joel Albert of France have gone all-in preflop with Skoglund being the player at risk.

The Swede tables 8♠ 8♦ while Albert has A♦ Q♦ .

The runout goes: K♥ 4♠ 7♣ K♠ 4♦ as Skoglund’s pocket pair manages to dodge all the outs of the Frenchman.

Skoglund nears the 200,000 chip mark with that double up but Albert’s stack drops to about 12,000 at the worst possible time in the competition.

Amin Riyazati of Australia opens from the hijack for 10,000 and gets re-raised by Korea’s Jae Jun Han to 26,000. Riyazati calls.

The flop is J♠ 7♠ 9♠ as Jae continues for 20,000. The Australian still calls. The turn is the 3♣ and this time, the Korean fires 70,000. Riyazati opts to fold.

Vietnam’s Kyle Bao has the action folded to him on the button and he raises it 10,000. Jeremy Jehanne of France 3-bets it to 36,500. Folded back to Bao, he 4-bets to 68,000. Jehanne executes a 5-bet shove that puts the Vietnamese pro into the tank and he eventually folds.

Jehanne, a member of the renowned Team Scimitar now has over 300,000 in his stack.

A player from utg +1 opens the action to 12,000 but is quickly 3-bet by erstwhile chip-leader Seok Jaemoon of Korea from the cutoff to 40,000. Suddenly, from the sb, China’s Zhang Hongru makes a 4-bet shove for 201,000 prompting the initial raiser to fold but getting a snap-call from Seok.

Zhang tables A♣ K♣ while Seok brandishes A♥ A♦ .

The runout goes: 9♠ 7♣ 4♦ 8♦ 9♣ as Zhang gets eliminated and Seok increases his stack to over 700,000 and regains his seat atop the leaderboard.

Australia’s David Copeland opens from utg+1 for 10,500 and gets 3-bet by Valeriy Fokin of Russia from the hijack for 36,000. Copeland calls.

The flop is Q♦ 4♦ 4♣ as both player check. The turn is the Q♥ as Copeland leads out for 17,500. Fokin makes the call. The river is the 6♣ as the Australian unloads 35,500. Fokin tanks awhile but then decides to fold.

The action is folded to Germany’s Konstantin Held who opens from the button for 10,000. However, Chudapal Siarhei of Belarus re-raises to 22,000 from the sb. Held wasn’t done yet though, as he 4-bets to 56,000 prompting Siarhei to just make the call—out of position.

The flop comes A♦ Q♥ 9♠ as Siarhei checks and Held CBets to only 14,000, which gets the call from the Belarusian. The turn is the A♠ and this time, both slow down and check. The river is the 6♥ and further action commences.

The German shows T♠ T♦ while Siarhei is relieved to see that his J♦ J♣ survived to take down the pot.

By slowing down post flop, Held did not lose too much his stack.

India’s Kabir Tandon opens from the utg+2 position for 9,000 and gets 3-bet by 2-time WSOP bracelet winner Marius Kudzmanas of Lithuania to 26,000 from the cutoff. However, Vietnam’s Nguyen Duc Thanh goes over the top and 4-bet shoves for his remaining 81,000 as the action is folded back to Tandon who 5-bets all-in. Kudzmanas looks to both his sides an d decides to sit this one out.

Nguyen turns over A♥ K♥ while a smiling Tandon shows A♦ K♠. Big Slick versus Big Slick.

The runout goes: 4♥ 7♦ 4♣ T♣ 2♦ for a split pot. Kudzmanas ends up as the biggest donor.

With the pot already up to 25,000 on a board of 2♥ K♠ 9♣ 3♠ , chip leader Ankit Ahuja of India checks his option from the bb as former chip leader Huang Bo Hao bets 25,000. Ahuja calls. The river is the 4♥ as Huang fires what appears to be a value bet of 50,000. The Indian still calls.

Huang tables K♣ 3♥ for Kings up on the turn. Ahuja mucks as he loses the chip lead for the moment.

In a battle of the blinds on a board of Q♠ 2♥ 8♣ 5♦ A♣ with the pot ballooning to 52,000, Andres Fajardo of Colombia bets 36,000 from the sb and gets the call from Germany’s Konstantin Held in the bb.

Fajardo shows Q♥ J♣ as Held mucks.

The Colombian, who just missed qualifying in Day 1A, now puts himself in a solid position to advance this time around.

Indian poker icon Ankit Ahuja opens from the lowjack for 8,000 and gets 3-bet from the button by Minh Dat Dang of Vietnam for 25,000. However, the action isn’t done yet as China’s Zhang Hongru 4-bets it to 60,000 from the sb. It is folded back to Ahuja who executes a 5-bet shove as he also covers both of his opponents.

Minh quickly folds while Zhang takes awhile to consider but ultimately decides to fold.

With the preflop heist, Ahuja has now overtaken Korea’s Seok Jaemoon for the overall chip lead.

China’s Zhong Jiazhi tries to steal the blinds and antes by open shoving from the button only to get called by Maulik Shukla of India from the sb for 57,500.

Zhong flips over 5♥ 5♣ while Shukla is coinflipping for his tournament life with A♥ Q♠ ,

The runout goes: T♥ 8♥ 4♣ J♠ and the river is the Q♣ which extends Shukla’s tenure in the competition.

It is ironic that both players have exactly 123,000 in their stacks.

Khayal Abbasov of Azerbaijan raises it to 8,000 from utg+2 and manages to draw two callers.

The flop comes T♥ 8♣ A♠ as the caller from the bb checks. Abbasov CBets 10,000 and gets a call from Lithuania’s Simas Karaliunas in the cutoff. The bb caller folds. It is heads-up to the turn which brings out the T♣ as this time. Both remaining players check. The river is the 5♠ as the Azerbaijani—after choosing to skip the turn—fires a river vet of 32,000. Karaliunas opts to fold.

A player from utg+2 opens to 6,000 and India’s Sumit Sapra 3-bets to 19,000 from the hijack. From the cutoff, however, Shane Pearce of Australia goes for a 4-bet shove for his remaining 66,000. The original raiser folds and Sapra—who barely covers Pearce—makes the call.

Pearce shows K♦ K♥ while a disgruntled Sapra tables J♣ J♠ .

The runout provided no sweat for the Australian: 7♦ 6♣ 9♦ 9♠ 5♣ .

Sapra’s stack has now fallen below 20,000.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Tuan Hung opens the action from the lowjack position for 6,000 but gets 3-bet on the hijack by 4-time WSOP Circuit champion Wendy Freedman of the United States for 22,000. Nguyen calls.

The flop is 2♠ 6♦ 9♠ as Nguyen checks. Freedman CBets to 16,000 and still gets called by her Vietnamese opponent. The turn is the A♣ and Nguyen checks again. The American now unleashes 80,000 as Nguyen folds, leaving only 26,000 in his stack. Freedman has now made her presence felt in her first Asian sortie.

With a hotly contested pot of already 37,000 at the river on a board of 4♠ 9♥ T♥ 5♦ J♦ , Korea’s Jae Jun Han checks his option being first to act in the bb. Nguyen Duc Thanh of Vietnam decides to bet 26,000 only to be met with a check-raise all-in.

Nguyen tanks but decides to fold, his stack dropping to a mere 45,000 after the hand. Jae’s stack climbs to 352,500 and could vie for the chip lead.

Hwang Wei Choong of Malaysia opens from the utg+2 position and ends up in a raising battle against China’s Wang Jingyi ultimately ending in Hwang’s stack of 42,500 in the middle of the table with A♥ J♠ against Wang’s dominating A♦ K♥ .

The runout goes: Q♦ 6♥ 5♥ 6♦ 3♥ as the King plays for Wang.

The player from China now has 269,000 and is in prime position to qualify for Day 2 is pitfalls can be avoided.

Entering a hand with a monochorme board of 5♥ T♥ J♥ 9♥ and the pot at 50,000, Soo Ghee Lim of Singapore leads out for 26,000 from the sb and gets called in the bb by Vietnam’s Pham Tien Dung.

The river is the Q♣ , also competing a one-card straight. Soo stays unrelenting as he fires 35,000. Pham takes a while but eventually folds.

American native and Vietnam resident Robert Kiss opens the action from utg for 6,000 and gets two callers, one of them is Vietnam native Nguyen Manh Hung.

The flop comes 7♦ Q♦ 2♥ as the caller in the bb checks. Kiss CBets to 7,500 and gets called by Nguyen on the button. The bb folds. It’s heads-up to the turn of the 9♣ as Kiss and Nguyen opt to skip the street. The river is the 4♦ as Kiss checks again. Nguyen unloads 23,000 and the American lets go of his hand.

Vietnamese ace Mai Bien opens the action from the cutoff for 6,000 and gets called on the bb of chip-leader Seok Jaemoon of Korea.

The flop is Q♦ 4♣ 9♠ as both players check. The turn is the 2♠ as Seok checks anew. Mai leads out for 10,000 and almost immediately gets check-raised to 32,000 by the Korean. Mai decides to call. The river is the 6♠ as Seok unloads 45,000. Mai folds.

Seok is close to being the first player in this flight to surpass the half million mark.

Li Guangming of China makes a bold move by going all-in blind from utg for 121,500. However, it didn’t get very far as right on utg+2 Germany’s Martin Sedlak re-raises all-in to isolate his opponent and no one else came into the pot.

The Chinese player shows T♠ 8♠ , a decent hand from a “no look” shove. However, Sedlak tables A♣ T♦ , dominating his foe.

The first three community cards go: 7♦ 6♣ 2♠ (giving Li an open-ended straight draw). The turn, though, is the 5♦ and the river is the 6♥ to eliminate Li and put Sedlak in a favorable position to contend for the chip lead.

Andres Korn of Argentina opens from the utg+2 position to 5,000 and gets the defense from the bb of Korea’s Kim Junggu.

The flop comes K♠ Q♥ 8♣ as Kim checks. Korn CBets 7,000 and is greeted with a check-raise all-in from the Korean for 36,000. Korn quickly calls.

Kim shows K♥ 2♥ for top pair while the Argentinian flips over K♣ Q♦ for top two pairs. The turn has Kim drawing dead as the Q♣ shows while the river card is the 3♥ .

Korn’s stack has been fluctuating but this elimination could get him back into consistency.

China’s Sun Jianfeng opens the action from the lowjack by shoving and ends up getting called by Maxim Kuznetsov of Russia from the sb. Kuznetsov is at risk as he stakes his last 63,500.

Sun shows A♠ Q♥ while the Russian is ahead with K♥ K♦ .

The runout goes: J♥ 7♠ 6♣ Q♠ 6♦ .

Kuznetsov’s double-up reduces Sun’s once might stack substantially heading into the homestretch of today’s competition.

Two Indians go up against each other in another all-in preflop situation Ankit Wadhawan puts his remaining stack of 43,000 in the middle and gets a call from Gagandeep Malik in the bb.

Wadhawan shows 8♥ 8♦ while Malik tables A♥ K♦ in a virtual coinflip for the former’s tournament life.

The first three community cards are 6♥ 3♥ 7♣ while the turn is the J♥ . However, the river card is the K♠ which gives the win to Malik and rails Wadhawan. Malik now makes a serious bid for contention and advancement to the next phase tomorrow.

Anirban Kundu of India opens from utg for 5,000 and the action is folded all the way to the bb of Switzerland’s Yves Thalmann who opts to defend.

The flop comes 7♦ 8♥ K♠ as Thalmann checks. Kundu fires a continuation bet of 7,500 and gets called by his Swiss opponent. The turn is the 3♦ and this time both decide to check. The river is the 2♦ and no further action ensues.

Kundu turns over A♣ K♣ for top pair as Thalmann mucks.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Duy goes all-in for 43,000 from the button after a limper came in from the lowjack. Right beside him in the sb, Ankit Ahuja of India makes the call. The original limper gets out of the way.

Nguyen turns over K♥ 9♥ while Ahuja shows A♦ J♦ .

The runout goes: 7♦ 2♦ 6♣ Q♦ 3♦ as the Indian had his opponent drawing dead on the turn with the nut flush. Nguyen is ousted but still has enough to re-enter as this is the last level before registration closes.

With the action folded to the blinds, India’s Sumit Sapra makes his stand and shoves his dwindling stack of 19,000 from the sb. He gets a customer in Shane Pearce of Australia in the bb.

Sapra tables K♦ J♥ while Pearce finds himself dominated, holding Q♣ J♣ .

The runout goes: T♥ 7♥ J♠ 3♠ 4♦ as the Indian still has a pulse after a fortuitous double up.

The board shows Q♣ 7♦ J♥ 5♦ and 21,500 in the middle. Japan’s Koki Tokuda checks his option first to act from the lowjack as Chen Xinhong of China leads out for 11,000. Tokuda then check-raises to 30,000 which sends Chen into the tank. After much thought, the Chinese players opts to fold.

With the action folded to the hijack position of Finland’s Ari Kumpumäki, he raises it to 3,200. However, Simas Karaliunas of Lithuania had other plans as he 3-bets it to 10,000. Kumpumäki makes the call.

The flop is 7♣ 5♥ 5♦ as Karaliunas CBets to 10,000 anew. The answer from the Finnish player is to raise it to 25,000. It didn’t take long for Karaliunas to declare that he is all-in on a 3-bet shove. Kumpumäki’s next move is to perform a quick fold.

India’s Arjun Agarwal got some of his groove back by eliminating a player in an all-in preflop situation where he held Q♠ Q♣ against his opponent at risk with 7♥ 7♦ .

The subsequent runout produced a bit of a sweat when the first three community cards were: 8♣ 5♠ 4♠ for a gutshot straight draw. However the turn was the T♠ and the river was the 2♦.

Agarwal’s stack gains relevance anew as at nears the 150,000 mark.

A player from utg opens for 3,200 only to be re-raised by American Peter Kiem to 10,000 from the hijack. Then David Copeland of Australia declares he is all-in from the button. He covers both his opponents.

The original raiser quickly folds, but that wasn’t the going to be the case for Kiem who was closer to burning a time bank card before he opted to fight another day.

The pot steadily built to 39,000 by the river on a board of T♥ 3♦ 3♠ J♥ K♦ as both Li Guangmin of China and Korea’s Woo Kwon put all they had in the middle in one of the sickest revelations of the day.

Li is first to show and tables 3♣ 3♥ for quads on the flop. Woo shows K♥ K♣ for a full house on the river.

Woo’s stack plummets to a mere 2,000 after the ridiculous cooler.

A modest pot of 9,900 sees this hand with a board of J♦ 6♦ J♣ 9♦ . A player from the bb checks as Azerbaijan’s Khayal Abbasov leads out for 7,200. He gets company as Maxim Kuznetsov from Russia makes the call. The player in the bb steps aside.

The river card is the 6♠ as Abbasov fires 22,000. Kuznetsov snap folds.

China’s Chen Xinhong has it folded to him on the button and raises it to 2,400. Both blinds call.

The flop comes Q♦ 8♥ 2♠ as the blinds check. Chen CBets to 4,200 and gets called on the sb of Australian Louise Ingram. The caller in the bb folds. It is heads-up to the turn where the T♠ arrives. Both check. The river is the K♦ and this time Ingram leads out and unloads 5,000. Chen folds.

Already at the river on a board of 8♠ 6♦ K♦ J♠ 2♥ and a pot size of 33,000, a player in the bb checks to India’s Arjun Agarwal who over bets the pot for 42,500. Huang Bo Hao excruciates in his seat but eventually makes the call as the player in the bb folds.

Agarwal is forced to show Q♠ T♣ for a missed straight draw while Huang proudly tables 3♠ 2♠ for a pair of deuces on the river in one of the sickest hero calls of the tournament thus far. The win gives the Chinese player 236,000 in chips and is once again poised to go atop the leaderboard.

In another hand already at the river with a board of 6♦ Q♥ 2♠ 2♣ 6♠ , former chip leader Huang Bo Hao of China fires 12,000 and gets called by his two Indian opponents in Ankit Ahuja and Arjun Agarwal.

After getting called, Huang insta-mucks while Ahuja shows Q♦ 7♦ for top pair. Agarwal, however, turns over 6♣ 5♠ for a full house on the river.

His pickup nears his stack to the 200,000 mark at a crucial juncture of the competition.

The pot is already at 44,000 and the board showing T♥ T♣ 6♣ 6♥ , Michael Falcon of Italy declares he is all-in from the bb for this remaining stack of 24,800. At the utg position, Thailand’s Thanakrit Lachaima makes the call and the third player in the hijack gets out of the way.

Falcon shows 9♣ 3♣ for a flush draw while Lachiama has Q♠ Q♥ for an overpair to the board.

The river card is the 5♠ as Falcon misses everything and is sent walking.

Malaysia’s Yoke Wei Woon open s the action from utg+1 for 2,600 and draws in two callers.

The flop is T♦ 3♦ 8♦ as all check. The turn is the J♥ as it is checked around to the button where Martin Sedlak of Germany leads out for 6,500. The caller in the sb folds but Yoke sticks around. It is heads-up to the river that brings in the T♣ . This time, both check.

Yoke turns over K♥ T♥ for trips on the river as Sedlak mucks his hand.

With a huge pot of 23,000 brewing and a board of J♦ 3♦ 9♥ 7♠ , Finland’s Tommi Krankka shoves his remaining stack of 56,300 and gets called by Lithuanian foe Simas Karaliunas.

Krankka shows that he has a mega draw with A♦ Q♦ while Karaliunas made the call with J♠ 8♠ for top pair on the flop and a redraw to a straight on the turn.

The river is the 5♠ having the Finnish player miss all his draws and sidelined anew. Karaliunas continues his march to join the chip leaders.

The flop had already been dealt on the board of J♣ 4♠ 5♥ as Indian poker icon Ankit Ahuja leads out for 4,000 from the utg+1 position. Comebacking compatriot Arjun Agarwal check-raises it to 12,500 from the sb. Ahuja 3-bets to 25,000 and Agarwal immediately declares he is all-in. Ahuja makes the call.

Agarwal turns over K♦ J♠ for top pair while Ahuja tables Q♣ Q♠ for an overpair and the lead.

The turn is the 5♠ and the river is the 3♠ as Ahuja’s double-up allows him to surpass the 200.000 chip mark while Agarwal has to grind again as his stack has fallen below the 100,000 mark.

Yu Lin of Taiwan opens from utg+2 for 2,000 and gets two callers.

The flop is 6♥ 4♣ 3♣ as the caller in the sb and Yu check. Japan’s Takahiro Seki takes the betting lead and fires 4,000. The player in the sb calls but then Yu check-raises to 12,000. Seki calls and the player in the sb folds. It’s heads-up to the turn of the 9♥ Yu continues for 20,000 and gets quickly called by the Seki. The river is the A♣ and the presence of a third club prompts both players to check.

Yu tables A♠ 3♥ for Aces up on the river while Seki shows 6♣ 6♦ for a set on the flop.

The hit drops Yu to just a shade over 21,000 while the Japanese player moves closer to the 170,000 chip mark.

The action is folded to the hijack where Vietnam’s Pham Bao raises it to 2.000. Peteris Enders of Latvia makes the call from the cutoff as everyone else opts out.

It is heads up to the flop of 5♦ 4♠ T♥ as both check. The turn is the J♦ as Pham now leads out for 3,000 and gets called by Enders. The river is the 9♦ as Pham checks. The Latvian unleashes a bet of 8,000. Pham goes into the tank but eventually folds.

Enders shows A♦ 6♦ for the nut flush on the river. His stack is now approaching the 200,000 mark.

With the pot at 12,700 and a board of 7♣ 5♣ 3♥ 8♣ , Deepankur Gupta of India checks from the utg+2 position to his opponent from Germany, Martin Sedlak who bets 7,000. Gupta calls. The river yields the 5♥ as Gupta checks again. Sedlak reaches for chips and unloads 20,000. Gupta makes the call.

The German tables A♣ 9♣ for the nut flush on the turn. Gupta mucks. Sedlak breaches the six-figure chip mark with the victory.

Going all-in preflop are Victor Fryda of France and Singapore’s Jiang Ho Huang with the latter having more chips.

When the hold cards are revealed, Fryda has A♠ K♠ while Jiang has A♦ K♦ . It’s a battle of the suits in this Big Slick showdown.

The flop immediately tilts the advantage towards the gentleman from Singapore as it goes 5♦ 4♦ 7♠ with the K♣ arriving on the turn and the dagger T♦ coming on the river to give Jiang the nut flush, sidelining the Frenchman.

With the triumph, Jiang’s stack now climbs to above 143,000.

Raising from the utg+1 position to 1,600 is Finland’s Tommi Krankka and gets called in the hijack by Simas Karaliunas ofr Lithuania.

The flop comes K♦ 5♠ 5♣ as Krankka CBets for the same amount of 1,600. Karaliunas makes the call. The turn is the Q♠ and this time, the Finnish player checks. Karalinas now grabs the betting lead and fires 4,000. Krankka still calls, however. The river is the 2♣ and nothing follows as both players check.

Krankka shows K♣ J♥ for top pair while the Lithuanian opts to muck.

Three players go all-in preflop and when the hands are flipped over, it is revealed that Singapore’s Jian An Tan has K♠ K♥ while Ryan Plant of England has A♥ K♣ . Australian Johan Lees has the worst of it preflop with A♠ Q♥ .

The runout goes: Q♠ 6♣ 3♥ 7♦ 8♥ as Jian’s Cowboys dodge the last two aces in the deck and eliminates two competitors in his wake. The Singaporean now has over 162,000 in chips.

From the utg+2 position, James Paul Rann of England opens for 2,000 and the actions folds all the way to the bb of Korean Sim Wanseop who 3-bets to 4,200. Rann calls.

The flop is 7♣ 5♦ T♦ as both check. The turn is the 5♠ and once again both players opt to skip the betting street. The river is the 7♦ and further action ensues.

Rann turns over K♥ 8♥ while Sim mucks. Rann takes down the pot with King high.

The turn had already been revealed on the board of A♦ A♣ J♦ 2♠ and 13,300 in the pot, Ukrainian Ihor Yerofieiev leads out for 3,600 in the cutoff and gets called by Koji Matusmoto of Japan on the button. The river is the 6♦ as Yerofieiev unloads 6,500.

Matusmoto uses one time bank card in pondering his decision and he decides to let it go.

Italy’s Michael Falcon raises it to 1,600 from utg and when the action gets folded to the hijack of Yakiv Syzghanov, the Ukrainian greets him with a 3-bet to 4,600. Falcon then 4-bets to 13,500 to which Syzghanov opts to just call.

The flop is 9♥ 7♥ 5♦ . Falcon’s next move is to shove and it becomes uncallable for Syzghanov who just folds and is only left with less than 10,000.

The board shows K♦ 2♦ 6♠ J♥ with the river card about to be dealt and already 10,300 in the pot. Lithuania’s Aurimas Stanevicius checks his option from the utg+1 position while his opponent Nguyen Tuan Hung of Vietnam in the lowjack decides to check behind.

The river is the 4♦ as this time Stanevicius bets 7,600. Nguyen raises it to 21,000, forcing the Lithuanian to go into the tan and even use a time bank card. Stanevicius eventually decides to fold.

With the board already on the turn showing 9♣ T♠ T♥ 4♣ and 15,500 in the middle, India’s Aditya Sushant checks his option from the lojack as Amin Riyazati of Australia fires 10,500. Sushant makes the call. The river is the J♣ as the Indian checks. Riyazati then moves all-in and Sushant cannot call

Kang Jinho of Korea opens from utg for 1,600 and draws two callers.

The flop is 4♠ A♣ 2♦ as Kang CBets to 3,400. The caller in the utg+1 position folds but Latvia’s Peteris Enders makes the snap call. The turn is the J♦ and this time both remaining players check. The river is the T♦ as now Kang unloads 7,700. Enders gives it some though, but eventually makes the call.

Kang reveals 7♥ 2♥ and almost got away with the pot on the huge river bet. However, Enders has A♥ 8♥ for top pair on the flop and the takedown.

Joining another hand in progress with 30,300 already in the middle and a board of 8♣ 3♥ 6♠ 2♥ South Africa’s Marc Joseph bets 30,000 to put his opponent Tommi Krankka of Finland all-in. Krankka makes the call.

Joseph tables 6♣ 6♦ for a set on the flop while the Finnish player shows A♦ 8♦ for top pair.

The river produces the 8♠ which gives Krankka trips but improves Joseph to a boat and busts Krankka. The South African now eclipses the six-figure mark in chips.

In blind versus blind action, China’s Sun Jianfeng in the sb raises it to 2,200 and gets the bb defense from Kim Wanseop of Korea.

The flop comes T♠ 8♣ 5♠ as Sun Cbets for 800 and gets quickly called by the Korean. The turn is the Q♠ and this time the Chinese player slow down to check. Kim takes the initiative and fires 3,200. Sun folds

Vietnam’s Minh Tien Ngo opens the action from the utg+1 position for 1,200 as it is folded to the hijack where chip leader Huang Bo Hao of China makes a re-raise to 3,300 and gets a call from a player in the cutoff. Minh decides to join.

The flop is K♦ 9♦ T♥ as Minh checks. Huang CBets 6,000 and gets no callers. Huang is still hovering above the 230,000 chip mark.

The board reads 5♥ K♣ 4♣ A♦ and the pot at 6,400 when Max Deveson of England in the bb checks to India’s Somashekar Kurkhepally Nahadeva from utg who CBets 4,200. Deveson calls. The river is the 6♥ as the Englishman checks anew. Nahadeva delivers a huge barrel of 18,000 to which Deveson folds.

A preflop raising war ends up in a showdown between Vietnam’s Quang Trinh Do who tables 2♦ 2♣ and James Paul Rann of England who brandishes Q♦ Q♣ .

The runout goes: 9♥ 3♣ 3♠ T♦ 4♠ to give Rann a lifeline and cripple Quang’s stack to less than 8,000.

Russia’s Valeriy Fokin had the good fortune of having his A♣ A♦ called by an opponent who had A♠ K♠ and survived a board of 9♠ 4♥ 7♦ 5♠ (redraw for the nut flush) 7♣ .

Fokin now approaches the 100,000 chip mark as well.

France’s Thomas Pierre Bruno opens from utg+2 for 1,200 and gets the blinds to call.

The flop is J♣ 5♦ A♥ as the blinds check. Bruno unloads another 1,200 and the blinds call. The turn is the 9♠ and again the blinds check. This time, the Frenchman checks behind. The river is the 5♥ as it is checked back to Bruno who now bets 6,200. The Player in the sb folds, but Thailand’s Piyawat Tangwilai opts to make the call from the bb.

Bruno tables A♣ 8♥ for top pair on the flop. Tangwilai chooses to muck.

Bruno now nears the 100,000 chip mark.

The action is folded to the hijack where Korea’s Jae Jun Han opens for 1,000 only to get 3-bet by Pham Tien Dung of Vietnam on the cutoff to 4,000. Jae calls.

The flop is 5♣ 9♥ 6♣ as Jae checks. Pham continues the aggression, this time for 6,000. The Korean calls. The turn is the 6♠ and Jae checks anew. Pham now unloads 18,000 and this time Jae finds a fold.

Dmitry Nemiroysky of Russia opens from the utg+2 position for 1,000 and gets three callers.

The flop comes 4♦ 9♣ 5♣ as the action is checked back to Nemiroysky who CBets 2,200. Only to be called by Vietnam’s Vu Chau Duong on the button. It is heads up to the turn where the 6♥ appears. This time, the Russian checks. Vu fires 3,000 and get no response from Nemiroysky who folds.

In a battle of preflop raises, Chen Xinhong of China is all-in with A♠ K♣ while Daniel Skoglund of Sweden is dominated with A♦ Q♥ .

The runout had other ideas, however: 8♥ 7♣ 8♣ 2♦ 7♠ as both players are only playing the ace for a chop.

Joining another hand in progress, the turn card has already been revealed on a J♦ 5♥ K♠ 2♣ board with the pot at 13,500. China’s Zhang Hongru checks from the sb while Hwang Wei Choong of Malaysia bets 6,500. Zhang makes the call. The river is the J♣ and not further action happens.

Hwang flips over A♦ A♣ while Zhang shows Q♦ T♠ for a missed straight. The win puts the Malaysian just shy of the six-figure chip mark.