Mini Championship ($1,100)

Both Mini Championship qualifiers have now concluded, with Day 1B bringing in an additional 198 entries, pushing the total field to 457 entries. With over double the guarantee on the line, the prize pool has swelled to an impressive $442,320, set to be awarded across tomorrow's Day 2 battle.

The final flight saw last season's WPT Champion Konstantin Held cap the day with the lead, being the sole runner to bag a seven digit chip count. Held took advantage of the last few levels, ramping up the aggression to end the day with a mighty 1,034,000 (86 BB). Held leads the overall Day 2 charge, surpassing Day 1A chip leader Suguru Sawada's 959,000 (80 BB) stack. Australia's Johan Lees follows with 897,000 (75 BB), along with compatriot Bobby Zhang two big blinds behind, to round up the top three counts.

Action will continue tomorrow at 11:30 local time with all returning players guaranteed a mincash for their efforts.

Mini Championship

Date/s: February 21-22, 2025

Buy-in: USD 1,100

Guarantee: USD 200,000

Entries: 457

Prize pool: USD 442,320

ITM: 58 places

D1A: 259 entries, 33 qualified

D1B: 198 entries, 25 qualified

Day 2/ Final: Saturday, February 22

Dongying Ling flicked in his last 62,000 (5 BB) right on bubble time and was put at risk by initial raiser Bobby Zhang.

A coinflip situation, Zhang's overcards quickly landed the advantage on board T♣ 8♣ 5♥ J♦ T♠ , leaving Ling empty-handed, one spot shy of the money.

Only one more elimination is due before the Mini Championship Day 1B qualifier wraps up with 25 players moving forward to Day 2.

Facing an open and a call, Adam Lydford raised all-in on the small blind for his last 62,000 (5 BB) and was duty called by Joris Michl on the button.

Lydford a huge favorite, was left with no worries as board 6♥ 4♣ 2♦ K♥ K♠ locked in the win for his ladies.

Johan Lees open raised all-in on the small blind, leaving Dongying Ling right behind bound to call for his last 43,000 (4 BB).

Ling ahead, survived the showdown on board T♦ 4♥ Q♣ J♠ 6♦ and secured the much needed double up.

Konstantin Held has picked up two orbits of blinds and antes, having open raised all-in twice in a row and remained unchallenged.

With action folded to the blinds, Diego Valencia moved all-in for his last 80,000 (6 BB) and was called by Hyunkyou Park right behind.

Valencia, whilst a favorite to win, bowed out shortly after Park landed a boat on board 8♦ 7♦ 7♥ 7♣ 4♥ to take it down.

Action on today's Day 1B heat is close to wrapping up with five more eliminations left on the table. 25 runners are guaranteed a spot in the Day 2 games, joining Day 1A's 33 survivors already on the hunt.

Top Chip Counts

Yakiv Syzghanov open jammed his last 91,000 (9 BB) utg, which Jerome Finck initially thought was a minraise. Having already put 20,000 in, Finck was bound to join the three way showdown as Jianfeng Sun reshoved behind for 10,000 more.

Board K♣ 7♠ 8♠ 2♠ 3♥ steered clear of any of his opponents' overcards, earning Sun the triple up just as the day is about to close.

Johan Lees opened midposition and shelled out 30,000 more following a raise from Cecil Moagi behind.

On flop 4♦ 6♣ 8♣ , Lees check called another 20,000 from his opponent, revealing turn J♦ . Both checked it through to river K♦ , where Moagi gunned a final all-in for 104,000. Lees gave it a thought and eventually found the call with a pair of eights 9♠ 8♠ , busting Moagi just as he revealed bluff A♥ T♦ .

Leo Schulhof opened on the hijack and was met with a 65,000 three bet from Xianling Chen on the button. Schulhof answered with an all-in for 318,000, leaving Chen nowhere to go but out.

David Chiv opened 25,000 in early position and called Jungsup Yun's all-in behind for 84,500 (8 BB) more.

Yun gunning for an ace, found none on board K♠ 7♥ 5♣ Q♥ 8♣ , ending his Mini Championship run for good.

Adrian Garcia pushed his last 79,000 (8 BB) in the middle and was looked up by initial raiser Erik Rozhynskyi.

In for a flip, Rozhynskyi's overcards clipped the win this time, having paired up on river K♣ K♠ 4♥ 3♠ A♦ to deliver the bust.

Johan Lees opened utg and went on to stuff his entire 138,000 (17 BB) against Jungsup Yun's raise behind.

Yun called off, and took the hit shortly after board Q♠ 8♠ 8♥ T♦ 6♣ felted no aces.

George Tomescu sent out a 51,000 three bet against an early open and saw lone female runner Xianling Chen move all-in for 215,000 on the small blind. Tomescu made the call, committing a large portion of his stack.

Crushed against the cowboys, no salvation arrived on board 6♥ 8♣ 6♦ 7♣ 5♣ for Tomescu, pushing Chen high up the leaderboard.

With a pot of 48,000 centered on flop Q♥ 5♠ 6♠ , Travis Endersby made an attempt for it with a bet of 18,000 on the button. Frank Lillis check raised to 55,000, yet folded shortly after Endersby padded it further to 168,000.

Facing an open and a call from Kristopher Rundquist, Akshay Jain squeezed all-in on the button for 120,000 (15 BB) and saw Rundquist take the pot.

Rundquist's bold move failed to pay off this time, with Jain's higher kicker running in play through board 5♠ 2♥ 9♣ T♠ 3♣ for the win.

Sergin Mark went with K♥ 8♥ for his last 82,000 (10 BB) and ran smack into Konstantin Held's A♥ A♠ behind.

No help for Mark arrived on board 9♦ J♥ 2♠ 7♦ J♠ , cutting his run entirely.

Julian Salvesen opened utg and went on to four bet jam 185,000 against Leo Soma's raise on the cutoff. Soma gladly obliged with the best hand in the deck, leaving Salvesen in rough shape.

Lucky for Salvesen, one of his two outs showed up on board 7♣ T♦ Q♠ Q♦ 4♠ , offering him another chance at the Mini Championship title.

Registration for the Mini Championship is officially closed with Day 1B adding another 198 entries to the tally, bringing the final count to 457 entries. This impressive turnout means the prize pool now sits at an eye-catching $442,320, more than double the initial guarantee.

Day 1B action will continue down to 12.5% of the field at 25 players advancing to join the 33 survivors from Day 1A.

Mini Championship

Date/s: February 21-22, 2025

Buy-in: USD 1,100

Guarantee: USD 200,000

Entries: 457

Prize pool: USD 442,320

ITM: 58 places

D1A: 259 entries, 33 qualified

D1B: 198 entries, 25 ITM

Day 2/ Final: Saturday, February 22

Those who missed the Day 2 cut of the esteemed WPT Cambodia Championship no need to fret, with the Mini Championship games giving players another chance at securing lucrative prizes! With the first flight already in action, today’s Day 1B is your last chance to qualify and vie for a spot in the finals.

For a buy-in of $1,100, entrants will be awarded a starting stack of 50,000, 250x the opening blinds. Faster paced 20 minute levels until registration closes is on track for the later flight, followed by 25 minute levels thereafter. On top of the payouts, tomorrow's winner will also claim a $1,100 entry to the WPT Prime Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, offering another formidable player a chance to make their mark on the global poker scene.

Registration remains open at the start of Level 10 @20:25. Stay tuned for updates as SMP brings you all the latest directly off the floor!

Mini Championship

Date/s: February 21-22, 2025

Buy-in: USD 1,100

Guarantee: USD 200,000

Starting stack: 50,000

D1A: Friday, February 21

D1B: Friday, February 21

Day 2/ Final: Saturday, February 22