Championship Warm Up ($600)

Ilya Firstov opened on the button and called Mateusz Stanielewicz' jam for 1,250,000 (8 BB).

Stanielewicz at risk, was crushed to see his opponent land two pair on board 8♦ 7♠ 9♥ J♦ 3♦ to knock him out entirely.

Ilya Firstov raised all-in and saw Mateusz Stanielewicz right behind, call off for his last 550,000 (4 BB).

In for a race, Stanielewicz managed to hold on as board 4♥ Q♥ T♠ 9♠ 9♣ left his seven-high good for the take down.

Mateusz Stanielewicz opened 300,000 utg and saw Ilya Firstov complete his big blind.

Stanielewicz continued for 300,000 on flop J♣ 7♣ 3♥ , check called by his opponent. No bets went in on turn T♠ , peeling river 2♠ . Firstov led for 1,000,000, and showed two pair T♥ 7♠ for the win after Stanielewicz made the call.

Mateusz Stanielewicz opened 300,000 utg, and saw Ilya Firstov complete on the big blind.

On board A♠ K♦ T♦ , Stanielewicz double barreled - 350,000 and 700,000, with Firstov check calling both streets. Firstov took initiative on river Q♥ and led for 1,700,000, denying Stanielewicz showdown entirely.

Mateusz Stanielewicz defended his button open and called a 675,000 three bet from Ali Hassan.

On flop A♣ Q♦ 6♥ , Stanielewicz called another 300,000 onto turn 3♠ . Both checked it through to river 8♥ , where Hassan checked once more. Stanielewicz went for a final 600,000, and showed top pair A♦ 9♦ for the win after Hassan put out the chips.

Ilya Firstov opened on the cutoff and was met with a 650,000 three bet from Mateusz Stanielewicz a seat after. Firstov answered with an all-in, pushing Stanielewicz out of the pot completely.

Mateusz Stanielewicz opened to 250,000 on the hijack, called behind by Ali Hassan on the button.

On board K♥ Q♠ J♦ J♠ 4♦ , Stanielewicz triple barreled - 225,000, 525,000 and a final 1,000,000, and was looked up by Hassan all the way to showdown.

Stanielewicz mucked, shipping Hassan the pot by default.

Mateusz Stanielewicz opened utg, and was called by Amir Abbas on the button along with Ilya Firstov on the big blind.

Action on board A♠ Q♥ 8♦ K♣ 9♥ was checked all the way down to the river, where Firstov made a 450,000 attempt. Stanielewicz called with two pair Q♠ 9♠ , exposing Firstov's bluff 5♠ 3♠ at showdown.

Hassan Sey opened utg+1 and tank called Mateusz Stanielewicz' jam for 2,625,000 (21 BB).

A crucial flip, Stanielewicz managed to keep ahead all the way through board 6♠ 4♠ 2♠ T♦ Q♠ , shipping a full double up his way with a flush.

Mateusz Stanielewicz defended his big blind against Hassan Sey's button open, and faced a 200,000 continuation bet on flop 2♠ 3♠ K♥ . Stanielewicz responded with an all-in and left Sey unable to continue.

Ali Hassan opened 200,000 utg+1 and saw Mateusz Stanielewicz call from the big blind.

On board Q♥ 6♦ 6♣ 3♣ 3♠ , Hassan bet all the way - 100,000, 225,000 and a final 450,000, and saw Stanielewicz check call all three streets to showdown.

Hassan showed a flopped boat Q♦ Q♠ , leaving Stanielewicz to toss his hand back in the deck.

Mateusz Stanielewicz defended his big blind against Amir Abbas' cutoff open, and headed to flop 9♦ 6♥ 7♥ . Both checked it through to turn A♠ , where Stanielewicz led for 150,000. Abbas called behind and revealed river A♥ . Stanielewicz checked to Abbas, pushing his opponent to fire 400,000.

Stanielewicz called to showdown and won the pot with trip aces A♣ 3♣ after Abbas revealed bluff K♣ T♦ .

Mateuz Stanielewicz opened to 200,000 on the button, joined by both Robert Sherwood and Ali Hassan on the blinds.

Action on flop Q♥ J♣ 3♣ was checked round to turn 6♦ . Hassan led for 225,000, and saw only Sherwood continue to river Q♠ . Both checked it down, revealing Sherwood's trip queens Q♣ T♣ for the pot.

The WPT Cambodia Championship Warm Up games is due to crown its champion today with its 527-entry field whittled to the final eight. While initially set to narrow down to six, all remaining players agreed to wrap up yesterday's Day 2 following ten levels of play.

Leading the charge for the lion's share of the $274,943 prize pool is UK's Robert Sherwood with 4,275,000 (57 BB), having claimed a last minute double up right as the day closed. Trailing just six big blinds behind are both Ali Hassan and Ilya Firstov, to round up the top three counts.

A ton of play however, is left on the table with all the remaining contenders stacking above the 30 big blind mark. Still anyone's game, each runner has a fighting chance to claim the $52,383 top prize along with a seat to WPT Prime worth $1,100, all while guaranteed $7,122 in winnings as they return to the felt for the final battle.

Play resumes at 11:30 local time, with 46 minutes left on the clock at Level 26: 50,000 / 75,000 ante 75,000. Stay tuned for updates as SMP brings you all the latest directly off the floor!

Championship Warm Up

Date/s: February 7-10, 2025

Buy-in: USD 600

Guarantee: USD 150,000

Entries: 527

Prize pool: USD 274,943

ITM: 66 places

Final 8 Chip Counts

The WPT Cambodia Championship Warm Up wrapped up Day 2 at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh with the field trimmed from 113 players down to just eight finalists.

Sitting at the top of that lineup is Robert Sherwood with a stack of 4,275,000 (57 bb). Sherwood was chip leader for a large portion of the day then dropped down with 12 players left. He reclaimed the lead on a double up off Thomas Eychenne with A♦ Q♦ over K♠ T♠ just before they called it a day.

Sherwood is closely trailed by Ilya Firstov with 3,850,000 (51 bb) and rounding out the top three is Ali Hassan with 3,800,000 (51 bb). While the leaders have an edge over the rest, it is still anyone's game with the shortest sitting on a healthy 31 bb.

The remaining players are now guaranteed a minimum $7,122 payout while awaiting the champion is a hefty $52,383 along with a seat to WPT Prime worth $1,100.

The Championship Warm Up opened Day 2 with 113 players out of the 527 entries returning to action. Two levels in, the bubble round arrived with 67 players remaining. In a gutsy showdown, Pham Tien Dung's aggression was finally challenged by Ireland's Frank Lillis, calling a preflop shove by risking 30 bigs holding Ace-King. It paid off with a big double. Immediate following the win, Lillis delivered the bubble to the ailing Jingyi Wang with 8♠ 3♠ flush dusting A♥ J♠ . Lillis went on to finish in 47th place while Pham fared better in 34th place.

The players raced down for a spot at the final table. India's decorated Ankit Ahuja seesawed throughout the day and was grounded in 23rd place. Fellow countryman Dhaval Mudgal finished notches higher in 12th place. For Vietnam, Mai Bien also saw his stack swing and emptied out in 16th place. Their final hope was Thanh Ha Duong who just missed the unofficial final table in 10th place. The day ended shortly after the fall of Shane Pearce in 9th place.

Somuchpoker returns tomorrow for the final dash to the title. Stick with us for all of the action.

The aim for Day 2 was to play down to the official WPT final table of six players however with ten hours of play, the game was stopped at the final 8. Action resumes at 11:30 tomorrow, February 10, 2025.

Day 3 blinds resume at Level 26: 50,000-75,000 ante 75,000 with 46:24 remaining in the clock.

Here are the finalists:

Four players in for 100,000 preflop check it to the turn A♠ 7♦ K♦ 3♥ . Big blind Mateusz Stanielewicz takes a stab for 150,000 to lose one player, cutoff Thanh Ha Duong raises 425,000, then small blind Ali Hassan tank-shoves. Hassan claims the pot with no one willing to take the risk.

Mateusz Stanielewicz continues to fight for chips and secures a pot against Thanh Ha Duong. After Duong defended on the big blind by calling the 120,000 raise, Stanielewicz fired again at the flop 7♠ J♣ 9♥ for 125,000. Stil Duong called and the turn was A♥ . Once more, Stanielewicz dug into his stack and tossed in 200,000, this time Duong let him have it uncontested.

Ali Hassan is on the move at the start of the new level. Having just won a pot, he picked up another without a showdown. From cutoff, he opened 100,000, button Marius Stanielewicz three-bet 300,000, Hassan took it to the limit with a four-bet all in and pushed Stanielewicz out of the pot.

Ali Hassan opened from under the gun and was joined by three callers. They all checked to the turn T♣ 6♣ 2♦ 2♣ . Small blind Mateusz Stanielewicz test bet 100,000 and picked up the pot that easy.