Once again, U Series of Poker (USOP) has broken bounds! At USOP Hanoi, high roller events have been enjoying the same level of popularity as lower-tiered events, a fact that was overwhelmingly evident during the much-anticipated Superstar Challenge.
Conceived by host venue Crown Poker Club, the beloved homegrown tournament attracted an outstanding 94 entries (52 unique) to easily surpass the previous 62-entry Vietnam record for a shattering VND 10.2 Billion (~USD 424,000) prize pool.
After two days of intense showdowns and fantastic poker action, Vietnam’s own Hoang Hai Nam “Luckyman9999” staged an impressive comeback at three-handed to steal the win and lock up a career high payout of VND 3,000,000 (~USD 124,560).
This specific event had posed a significant challenge for Hoang in the past. Last year, he narrowly missed the top spot twice at previous festivals, finishing in runner-up position. However, in this latest showdown, he conquered, defeating Malaysia’s Ian Lee at heads up.
You can relive the final table race to victory via the livestream channel:
Date: September 3 to 4, 2023
Buy in: VND 120,000,000 (~USD 5,074)
Guarantee: VND 2,500,000,000 (~USD 103,800)
Entries: 94 (52 unique)
Prize pool: VND 10,212,100,000 (~USD 424,000)
ITM: 14 places
| Place | Player |
Payout in VND
|
| 1 | Hoang Hai Nam | 3,000,000,000 |
| 2 | Lee Tse Ian | 1,900,000,000 |
| 3 | Oshiro Gakuto | 1,170,000,000 |
| 4 | Nguyen Van Sang | 781,100,000 |
| 5 | Abhinav Iyer | 576,000,000 |
| 6 | Allen Michael Josheph | 456,000,000 |
| 7 | Pham Alan Anh-Minh | 385,000,000 |
| 8 | Agarwal Sahil | 336,000,000 |
| 9 | Do Quang Trinh | 298,000,000 |
| 10 | Teoh Minh Hong | 270,000,000 |
| 11 | Pham Duy Anh | 270,000,000 |
| 12 | Kitazato Yohei | 270,000,000 |
| 13 | Husson Pierre | 250,000,000 |
| 14 | Benloch Florent Remi | 250,000,000 |
Event Recap
The Superstar Challenge was a two-day affair attracting many well known high profilers. Among them were David Erquiaga, Alex Lee, William Jia, Nguyen Quang Minh, to mention a few. While all of them missed the mark, it was Yeh Hung-Wei who fell the hardest with 
unable to improve against Michael Allen’s 
on the bubble.
Day 2 proceeded with 14 players returning led by Hoang. Pierre Husson was hunting down his third final table but it was not to be as the Frenchman finished 13th. WSOP Online bracelet winner Teoh Ming Hong aka Paul Teoh exited in 10th place to form the final table.
Make sure to relive the action via the livestream. To briefly retell Hoang’s swinging game to the top, at three-handed, the majority of chips were divided between Hoang and famous Japanese star GACKT. The pecking order changed when Lee doubled up through Hoang with 
full house over 
straight on a board 
.
Following the loss, Hoang continued to drop to just 7 bb when he landed a much needed double up off GACKT. The momentum carried, mixed in with timed aggression, Hoang soon reclaimed the top spot. To reach heads up, Hoang hero-called on a board 
to eliminate GACKT who pushed with 
. Hoang had set.
Heads up was just one fast hand. Hoang pushed with , Lee called for his tournament life with 
, the board ran 
.
USOP Hanoi – VND 32 Billion in guarantees
USOP Hanoi is the young brand’s third event since its break out to the live scene on February 2023. With its variety of offerings and buy ins that cater to all types of bankrolls, the USOP has quickly become one of the most sought after festivals in the region.
If you haven’t heard yet, for this edition, the brand has spiced up the schedule with VND 32 Billion in guaranteed prize pools. Games run from September 1 to 11, 2023. The star attraction is the Main Event which carries a mighty VND 12 Billion guarantee, that’s over half a million USD! Mark these dates, Main Event runs from September 7 to 11, 2023. Buy in is VND 25,000,000 (~USD 1,060).
Hoodies have become the go-to choice of table attire for poker players, and at USOP, participants who register and have their chips in play during Level 1 of the Main Event will be gifted the newest USOP hoodie. It’s advisable to join on Day 1A as supply is limited to a total of just 250 pieces.
New Events
Several new events have also been added. The Heads Up Challenge is gearing up to be one of the most exciting with all 32 spots quickly claimed. Click the link down below for the list of players and their first round match-ups.
USOP Hanoi – Heads Up Challenge first round match-ups revealed!
One of the most enjoyable will be the Tag Team Event. Strategy is the key. The winning team will receive two trophies, one for each player. Buy in is VND 6,600,000 per player / VND 13,200,000 per team. Teammates must register together. Event takes place on September 8, 2023.
The first 8 levels is individual play with teams battling at separate tables. As soon as Level 9 kicks in, teammates combine their stacks and play Tag Team poker from then on. Teammates can switch off anytime as long as they are not in an active hand.
Livestream Events
| Event | Date |
| Mini High Roller | September 1, 2023 |
| High Roller Warm Up | September 2, 2023 |
| Mystery Bounty | September 3, 2023 |
| Superstar Challenge | September 4, 2023 |
| High Roller Superstack | September 5, 2023 |
| Mini Main Event | September 6, 2023 |
| High Roller Megastack | September 6, 2023 |
| Super High Roller | September 7, 2023 |
| Heads Up Challenge | September 8, 2023 |
| Main Event | September 11, 2023 |
| High Roller Finale | September 11, 2023 |
Final table promo
In addition to the Hoodie promo, players that reach the final table of any trophy event will receive a newly designed USOP cap. Three colors are available: black, white, and pink.
Links:
USOP Hanoi – Coverage
USOP Hanoi – Full Schedule
USOP Hanoi – Festival Results
USOP Hanoi – Photo Gallery
USOP Hanoi – Heads Up Challenge players revealed
USOP Hanoi: Bigger, Fresher, More Lucrative
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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