Deep Runs By APAC Players At 2025 WSOP & Other Las Vegas Events

The 2025 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas has officially crossed the half-way mark with more than 65 gold bracelets already awarded. Our previous articles have covered up to 49 events. Unfortunately since then, there have been no further victories for any contender from the Asia-Pacific region however several final table runs have been recorded as of lately, which is highlighted below.

Asia-Pacific Deep Runs At 2025 WSOP

Najeem Ajez Finishes 7th At $25K High Roller PLO

Australia’s Najeem Ajez was chasing glory in Las Vegas after a career-best score during the 2024 World Poker Tour Championships and held the chip lead after Day 2 of Event #51 $25,000 High Roller Pot-Limit Omaha. In a field of 489 entries filled with some of the biggest names in poker, the Aussie showcased his aggressive style and he made it all the way to the final table in pursuit of the massive $11,491,500 prize pool.

What followed was a roller coaster ride of sorts and Ajez had to settle for seventh place, which came with a still very respectable payday of $293,329. Next player to bust was none other than Phil Ivey and German player Dennis Weiss defeated former WSOP Main Event finalist Michael Duek in heads-up to claim his second WSOP PLO bracelet in as many years and the gargantuan top prize of $2,292,155.

Another 3rd Place For Punnat Punsri

The four-card variant was also on display at the same time in Event #54: $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha, which drew a field of 1,564 entries for a total prize pool of $2,076,210. Two Asians reached the final table and China’s Qiaonan Liu bowed out in fourth place for $105,947. Thai superstar Punnat Punsri reached his second WSOP final table of the summer but was denied victory once again, taking $146,266 for third place. Long-time American grinder Matt Vengrin came out on top against Bryce Yockey thereafter for his first bracelet and $306,791.

Things got even more expensive for the Omaha lovers in Event Event #57: $50,000 Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller and the tournament drew a very healthy field of 194 entries to generate a prize pool of $9,215,000. The top 30 finishers earned at least six figures for their efforts. Indian businessman Santhosh Suvarna bowed out in 16^th place for $105,000, and once the field combined to a single table, three Asian hopes were still in contention.

This also included The Lord Poker Tournament co-founder Quan Zhou, who eventually bowed out in seventh place for a payday of $294,013. One spot higher was the Hong Kong born and Spain resident Ka Kwan Lau, who already had one PLO high-stakes bracelet to his name. His roller coaster ride ended with sixth place, good enough for a payday of $386,768. Biao Ding then fell in fourth place for $713,762 and that left two Brits and an American to battle for the title. Ultimately, mixed game expert Dylan Linde prevailed against Stephen Chidwick and earned his third bracelet along with $2,146,414.

Making the debut on the WSOP schedule was Event #59: $1,000 Battle of the Ages, which saw two starting days split between players below and above 50 years old before all survivors combined to one field as of Day 2. The tournament drew 3,074 runners for a $2,705,120 prize pool and one Asian player reached the final table. Xia Wang from Macau/China was the last woman in the field in eighth place to collect $42,424 for her efforts.

One of the most affordable tournaments on the entire schedule was Event #61: $500 No-Limit Holdem Freezeout and it came as little surprise to draw a large field of 5,082 entries for a prize pool worth $2,109,030. Yudai Futai from Japan made it to eighth place for $28,635 and Ben Fan from China bowed out in fifth place for $63,706. Recreational American Craig Savage player turned his investment into a payday of $229,628 and his first bracelet.

Asia-Pacific Players Outside Of WSOP

Besides the World Series of Poker, many other casinos are hosting larger live poker festivals at the same time in Las Vegas. That doesn’t really come as much of a surprise, after all, there are thousands upon thousands of poker enthusiasts from all over the world in the gambling paradise during the two summer months and that essentially turns out to be the busiest time of the year for poker.

Properties such as the Venetian, Wynn, Aria and Golden Nugget all host numerous tournaments and some of them also regularly share the notable winners on their social media accounts. Uploading the full results to The Hendon Mob database is not done as frequently, though, so please accept our apologies if we only mention a few of the Asia-Pacific deep runs and wins below.

Kunal Patni Finds Success At Venetian

Kunal Patni has enjoyed a very successful last 12 months with several Asian Poker Tour trophies to show for on his resume but the WSOP tournaments were not quite as good yet. However, he won a $1,600 Monster Bounty Event during the Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series for a cash prize of $37,210 plus bounties. He then reached the final table in the same event the following week with a sixth place for $13,609 and bounties but it was Jun Obara from Japan who won it this time after a three-way chop for $49,000 and the bounties.

At the same venue, Marie Kabaki also recorded a deep run in the $2,500 Ladies High Roller. She made it to the live-streamed final table and her ace-king flopped top pair and top kicker, but Kabaki was drawing dead to a turned straight to collect $10,839 for sixth place. The victory went to Tirza Sanders from the US, who collected $67,846 in cash, the gold coin and trophy.

Elsewhere, Thailand resident and PokerDream presenter Grant Gardner reached the final table during the Wynn Summer Classic in the same event he won the previous year, a $2,200 Mystery Bounty Event. This time, he bowed out in fifth place on June 15 and earned a cash prize of $171,965 along with $20,500 in bounties.

Josh McCully Hoists At The Wynn

Joshua McCully also had reason to celebrate outside of the WSOP bracelet events as he took down a $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Progressive Bounty Event at the Wynn for a cash prize of $99,936. Suffice to say that he also notched up some bounties along the way but we leave that amount up for guessing.

Marc Rivera Wins PLO High Roller At Aria

At the WSOP, the Philippines All Time Money List front runner Marc Rivera ran deep at the Seniors High Roller, finishing 32nd for $17,670 out of 801 entries. While this deep run may not have grabbed headlines, Rivera still found his moment of triumph beyond the WSOP halls, conquering a field of 37 runners to win the Aria High Roller $10.1K PLO event for a payout of $133,200.

*First three photos by Pokernews