WPT Prime Cambodia: Kiale Matthews and Konstantin Generalov rise to victory; Arun Sriram bags big at Main Event Day 1B; Rolands Norietis leads NLH Final 9

Plenty of exciting stories at WPT Prime Cambodia Season XXI starting with the Main Event $500,000 guarantee breached at Day 1B. The headliner is currently at 529 entries (Day 1A – 218, Day 1B – 311) with one starting day yet to play out. How high the pot will go shall be determined at the end of Day 1C registration.

Another hot news is Australia’s Kiale Matthews who continues to run red hot. He reached his fourth final table at the Short Deck High Roller, the most by any player, and shipped it to maintain his lead in the Player of the Festival race.Russia’s Konstantin Generalov also bagged a win, rising from just 4 bb to champion. Day 9 closed with the final 9 players of the NLH 2-Day event led by Latvia’s Roland Norietis.

We’ve got those results down below.

Main Event Day 1B chip leader – Arun Sriram (India)

India’s Arun Sriram topped the Day 1C survivors list with a huge 888,000 stack, that’s over 300K more than the Day 1A leader’s stack. Sriram is now the overall leader with one flight yet to play out. Also bagging a big one was Vitalii Borodin, just 3 bb behind Sriram.

WPT Prime Cambodia – MAIN EVENT – Chip Counts

End of Day 1B – Top 10 in chips

Main Event update

Buy in: US$ 1,100

Guarantee: US$ 500,000

Day 1A: 218 entries / 28 ITM

Day 1B: 311 entries / 39 ITM

Cumulative entries: 529

Day 2 players: 67

Day 2 – Top 10 in chips

WPT Prime Cambodia – MAIN EVENT – Chip Counts

Kiale Matthews crushing the felt, bags Short Deck High Roller

Kiale Matthews has been a total beast! Entering the Short Deck High Roller with three final table cashes, he proceeded to close it out to capture his first WPT title and a career high payout of US$ 16,490.

The event was a light one with only 17 entries at US$ 2,200 each for a prize pool of US$ 32,980. At bubble time, with only three players guaranteed pay, short stacks Brad Owen and Matthews tangled. Both players were all in on a flop . Matthews with two pair, Owen with open ended, the turn awarded Owen the straight but with the river , Matthews jumped back out front with a boat to eliminate Owen.

Down to three players, chip leader Nobuaki Sasaki grinded down Lun Loon to clean him out and bring about heads up. Both were very deep, Sasaki had 116 bb, Matthews sitting on 54 bb. The first all in showdown was a double up for Matthews with dominating to even them up.

As the race continued, Matthews took the lead after exposing two of Sasaki’s bluff. The costlier was calling a river bet on a board , Sasaki had missed draw.

This led to the final hand with Sasaki ahead , Matthews , the board for a crushing full house to Matthews. With this win, Matthews widened his lead in the Player of the Festival race. (POF leaderboard at the bottom of the page)

Buy in: US$ 2,200

Entries: 17

Prize pool: US$ 32,980

ITM: 3 places

Comeback victory for Konstantin Generalov at PLO 800

The two-day PLO 800 event brought 47 enthusiasts to action, each one ponying up US$ 800 for a pot of US$ 32,825. Only the top six earned a cut with the largest determined at Day 2. On his second final table cash, Latvia’s Rolands Norietis was backed by an overwhelming stack, also in the final six lineup was India’s Deep Raina who was back for his third final table ITM.

Short stacks dropped quite fast to trim the field and boost Norietis to nearly 70 percent of the chips in play, however Russia’s Konstantin Generalovwas a difficult one to crack. Generalov was down to 4 bb when he doubled up not once, but four times through Norietis to switch positions. On the fifth clash, Norietis crashed in 3rd place with two pair losing to Generalov’s trips.

With a towering lead at heads up, Generalov went on to eliminate India’s Sanjay Kandampully with over on a board . Generalov became the second player from Russia to win a trophy at the series, it was also his second WPT title having won one a side event in 2021 WPT Russia. In cash, Generalov walked away US$ 12,803 richer.

Buy in: US$ 800

Entries: 47

Prize pool: US$ 32,825

ITM: 6 places

Event 20: NLH 2-Day – Final 9 players

The NLH 2-Day event picked up 155 entries for a prize pool of US$ 54,126. The bubble was delivered in brutal fashion with Shardul Parthasarathi‘s cracked by Kittipong Charoenvijitchai‘s on a board .

From there, the 20 remaining players raced for a spot at Day 2’s final 9. Rolands Norietis eliminated a player in 11th place with pairing the Queen to overtake pocket Tens. He closed the day eliminating another player with over on a board .

Buy in: 400

Entries: 155

Prize pool: US$ 54,126

ITM: 20 places

*Payouts 10th – 20th to be posted

Player of the Festival – update after 18 events

Kiale Matthews

After 18 completed events, Australia’s Kiale Matthews has widened his lead in the Player of the Festival race from 800 points to 1100 points after winning the Short Deck High Roller. It will be tough to catch him however there are several players rising fast.Deep Raina reached three final tables to move up to 5th rank and Rolands Norietis entered the top 16 in 8th place with two final tables. Norietis is currently leading the NLH 2-Day event.

Still plenty of events to conquer and earn points including the Main Event which is underway. The player with the most points at the end of the festival will win a WPT Passport worth $5,000 to any WPT Main Tour of Season XXI.

Top 10 in POF points

Season XXI WPT Prime Cambodia

WPT Prime Cambodia, in partnership withConnaissance Management, runs from March 9 to 21 atNagaWorld Integrated Resortsin Phnom Penh, Cambodia. A total of 30 tournaments are scheduled and US$ 1 Million in guarantees. To date, eighteen players have walked away victorious. Only 12 trophies left.

The Main Event $500,000 guaranteed is underway. With Day 1A and Day 1B completed, which means only one starting day left to join the race. Day 1C takes place on Saturday, March 18. Buy in is US$ 1,100. By the looks of it, it will easily breach one thousand entries with the potential to surpass its previous turnout.

WPT Prime Cambodia – Player Guide
Breakdown of WPT Prime Cambodia schedule
WPT Prime Cambodia – Festival Payouts
WPT Prime Cambodia – Main Event Chip Counts

For added enjoyment, there are ample cash games running daily and theCash Game Bonanza.

Reminders:

• NO TAX on winnings

• Event photos can be found in theSomuchpoker Facebook pageand inSomuchpoker IG page.

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker as we bring you updates of WPT Prime Cambodia from start to finish