Championship Warm Up ($600)

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♥ .

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 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.