U Series of Poker (USOP) made landfall in Da Nang, Vietnam and with it came a thunder of players eager for an early start at the grand finale celebration. Games kicked off on November 17 at Furama Resort Danang with seven events on tap. Sizable fields were seen across the board, and after a lengthy eighteen hours, five players walked away with maiden USOP titles, among them was Yu-Chung Chang who clinched the first High Roller hardware.
Also making headlines were Freeroll winner Ka Shun Tsang and Mystery Millions Day 1A chip leader Bjorn Vuilliomenet. Here are the opening day highlights.
KA SHUN TSANG wins Freeroll to the Main Event
80 players rolled out of bed early for a chance to win a free ticket to the Main Event. In the end, it was Hong Kong’s Ka Shun Tsang keeping his big lead intact to finish off the last three players. The final hand was 
two pair outdrawing 
on a board 
.
After his win, Tsang brought the winning momentum to the Turbo event where he finished 4th out of 80 entries for a payout of VN₫ 19,700,00 (~$811).
Event 1: Mystery Millions – Day 1A update
The tournament floor kicked off with the much-anticipated Mystery Millions, a favorite among players. This edition featured an impressive one billion dong boost in the prize pool for a VN₫ 4 Billion guarantee. It attracted 148 Day 1A entries with 19 players advancing to the next stage.
Closing the day as chip leader was USOP newcomer Norwegian Bjorn Stian Vuilliomenet who experienced a late game surge. Vuilliomenet won a three-way pot with 
then claimed another big one with 
to rack up 451,000 in chips (45 bb). At his heels was Korean Moo Young Jae with 413,000 (41 bb).
On the flip side, it was not so fortunate for Kabir Khattar who fell on the bubble. Small blind Khattar went all in for his last 4 bb holding , big blind Yannick Leonard called with 
. The board 
gave Leonard a full house.
The 19 survivors are all guaranteed a piece of the prize pool and a shot at drawing mystery bounty rewards. Before that happens, they have a day break to await the results of Day 1B and Day 1C. Both entry flights run on Saturday, November 18 at 12pm and 4:30pm.
Mystery Millions – Day 1A
Date: November 17, 2023
Buy in: VN₫ 11,000,000 (~$465)
Guarantee: VN₫ 4,000,000,000 (~$165,000)
Day 1A: 148 (117 unique)
Survivors: 19 players (ITM of 12.5%)
Chips in play: 3,700,000
Average stack: 194,736
| Player | Stack |
| Bjorn Stian Vuilliomenet | 451,000 |
| Moo Young Jae | 413,000 |
| Nguyen Thanh Son | 397,000 |
| Leonard Yannick | 322,000 |
| Lee Seokyoung | 283,000 |
| Anuy Voong | 234,000 |
| Ham Dong Myung | 202,000 |
| Isaac Phua Chern Chze | 191,000 |
| Jehanne Jeremy | 182,000 |
| Dang Minh Dat | 181,000 |
| Erik Rozhynskyi | 132,000 |
| Nguyen Duc Loi | 119,000 |
| Jin Yuan Mai | 119,000 |
| Vu Vien Theng | 109,000 |
| Le Tuan Kiet | 100,000 |
| Lo Kuen Wai Jeffrey | 94,000 |
| Le Thi Kim Thuy | 72,000 |
| Jian Zhu Chen | 58,000 |
| Phuong Nguyen | 33,000 |
YU-CHUNG CHANG clinches first USOP title at High Roller Warm Up
While the Mystery Millions filled up the left side of the room, on the right was a substantial crowd for the High Roller Warm Up. Big high roller turnouts are a trend at the USOP. Recognizing the growing interest, the organizers wisely increased the number of High Roller events for this finale. This event in particular is a mainstay. Due to its popularity, the guarantee was bumped up another 300 million dong.
After ten levels, registration closed with 127 runners contributing the VN₫ 44,000,000 (~$1,860) buy in to amass a guarantee-crushing prize pool of VN₫ 4,927,600,000 (~$203,000).
Among the attendees were a long list of USOP newcomers and frequent flyers that included international and local players Julian Warhurst, Yita Choong, Dae Woong Song, Hwany Lee, Yeh Hung Wei, Jinlong Hu, Roland Kivi, Hon Cheong Lee, Ian Lee, High Roller multi champion Hoang Hai Nam, USOP Main Event champion, India’s Vishal Ojha, and USOP Hanoi Heads Up champion Leo Du Boisbeaudry who was down to just 2 bb when he fell on the bubble.
Leading up to the final table, Dylan Foster’s over cards failed him to take 18th place, Tony T cracked Lee Yun Beom’s set of Aces with 
flush, then Julian Warhurst outdrew William Jia in 12th place.
To form the final table, Warhurst eliminated Truong Toan Chan with over 
and Nay Tha Lin cleaned out Yuan Xin with pocket Sixes standing firm against 
. You can watch the thrilling race to the finish via the final table livestream link below.
HIGH ROLLER WARM UP – LIVESTREAM
At the crack of dawn, Taiwanese pro Yu-Chung Chang aka Nevan Chang defeated Nguyen Quang Huy to clinch the title and the VN₫ 1,360,000,000 (~$56K) top prize. Prior to coming to the festival, Chang expressed,
“I am looking forward to returning to Da Nang and competing against players from there. I will definitely join all of the USOP High Roller events and the Main Event, and hopefully run hot as a Natural8 Team Hot ambassador.”
Chang indeed ran hot. He claimed his first ever USOP title and became the first player to win one of the coveted High Roller trophies.
Date: November 17, 2023
Buy in: VN₫ 44,000,000 (~$1,860)
Guarantee: VN₫ 1,500,000,000 (~$61,800)
Entries: 127 (90 unique)
Prize pool: VN₫ 4,927,600,000 (~$203,000)
ITM: 19 places
| 1 | Chang Yu Chung | ₫1,360,000,000 |
| 2 | Nguyen Quang Huy | ₫827,000,000 |
| 3 | Warhurst Julian Andrew | ₫505,000,000 |
| 4 | Nay Tha Lin | ₫341,000,000 |
| 5 | Natalia Rozova | ₫267,700,000 |
| 6 | Nguyen Khoi | ₫224,800,000 |
| 7 | Choong Yita | ₫186,000,000 |
| 8 | Kim Seonggwon | ₫153,900,000 |
| 9 | Yuan Xin | ₫129,900,000 |
| 10 | Jia William | ₫108,400,000 |
| 11 | Kim Nam Hyung | ₫108,400,000 |
| 12 | Truong Toan Chan | ₫108,400,000 |
| 13 | Dinh Manh Hung | ₫93,600,000 |
| 14 | Lu Anton Zhen Zhao | ₫93,600,000 |
| 15 | Nguyen Nang Quang | ₫93,600,000 |
| 16 | Foster Dylan Wayne | ₫83,800,000 |
| 17 | Vu Van Linh | ₫83,800,000 |
| 18 | Lee Yun Beom | ₫83,800,000 |
| 19 | Hein Htet Aung | ₫74,900,000 |
YIN WENHUA comes from behind to win the Deepstack
The Deepstack attracted a smaller than usual crowd of just 50 entries however there certainly was no lack of suspense. Down to six-handed, it was anyone’s game with the short stacks surviving and the chip lead changing hands numerous times. At three-handed, China’s Yin Wenhua doubled up on a flip against then chip leader Matthew Bevin with set dusting 
. Two hands after, Bevin was eliminated with outkicked by Yin’s 
.
Facing Park Jujung at heads up, Yin was ahead 44 bb to 6 bb and quickly closed it out. The final hand was Yin , Park 
, board ran 
.
Date: November 17, 2023
Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~$372)
Entries: 50 (42 unique)
Prize pool: VN₫ 388,000,000 (~$16,000)
ITM: 6 places
| 1 | Yin Wenhua | ₫145,000,000 |
| 2 | Park Jujung | ₫89,000,000 |
| 3 | Bevin Matthew Henry | ₫58,200,000 |
| 4 | Bier Romain Michel | ₫41,500,000 |
| 5 | Haro Clement Jean – Michel | ₫30,100,000 |
| 6 | Cho Miyoung | ₫24,200,000 |
Zhiwen Deng earns trophy after heads up chop at Mini High Roller
The evening kicked off with first of five Mini High Roller events scheduled. With 62 total entries, it tripled up the guarantee. The title came down between Zhiwen Deng and Kim Woo Seok both players agreeing on an even chop and play for the trophy. Zhi emerged victorious to give China its second trophy. The final hand was 
straight dusting on a board 
.
Date: November 17, 2023
Buy in: VN₫ 22,000,000 (~$930)
Guarantee: VN₫ 400,000,000 (~$16,500)
Entries: 62 (48 unique)
Prize pool: VN₫ 1,202,800,000 (~$49,570)
ITM: 9 places
| 1 | Deng Zhiwen | ₫330,500,000* |
| 2 | Kim Woo Seok | ₫330,500,000* |
| 3 | Le Ngoc Minh | ₫153,000,000 |
| 4 | Perry John Edward | ₫108,200,000 |
| 5 | Bui Tuan Hoang | ₫84,200,000 |
| 6 | Micheal O’Neil | ₫66,200,000 |
| 7 | Joshua Mccully | ₫51,700,000 |
| 8 | Daniel Patrick | ₫42,400,000 |
| 9 | Konstantin Held | ₫36,100,000 |
*Heads up chop, play for trophy
AMIT KAUSHIK wins maiden USOP at the Turbo
After a commanding performance at the final table, India’s Amit Kaushik captured his first ever USOP title and trophy at the Turbo event. Kaushik outlasted the 80-entry field to earn a cool VN₫ 72,000,000 (~$3,000). At heads up, he entered with a 12:1 advantage and easily closed it out. The final hand was Kaushik 
against Nguyen Minh Hoai An’s 
on a board 
.
Date: November 17, 2023
Buy in: VN₫ 3,400,000 (~$144)
Entries: 80 (68 unique)
Prize pool: VN₫ 232,800,000 (~$9,600)
ITM: 10 places
| 1 | Kaushik Amit | ₫72,000,000 |
| 2 | Nguyen Minh Hoai An | ₫45,800,000 |
| 3 | Ng Tsun Yin | ₫29,800,000 |
| 4 | Tsang Ka Shun | ₫19,700,000 |
| 5 | Lee Jihoon | ₫15,500,000 |
| 6 | Dang Minh Dat | ₫12,700,000 |
| 7 | Tai Weiliang | ₫10,900,000 |
| 8 | Tong Van Viet | ₫9,700,000 |
| 9 | You Minsun | ₫8,700,000 |
| 10 | Ng Guo Guang | ₫8,000,000 |
KRISHNA WADEESIRISAK wins Short Deck Hyper Turbo
Thailand got on the board at the Short Deck Hyper Turbo after Krishna Wadeesirisak survived the heavy swings to best the 16 entry field. Like every champion of the day, this was Wadeesirisak’s first ever USOP title.
Date: November 17, 2023
Buy in: VN₫ 4,500,000 (~$190)
Entries: 16
Prize pool: VN₫ 62,080,000 (~$2,600)
ITM: 2 places
| 1 | Krishna Wadeesirisak | ₫41,080,000 |
| 2 | Ermin Ivan | ₫21,000,000 |
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
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