A huge 503 turnout at inaugural APL Hanoi Main Event; Quang Nguyen denies SJ Kim the High Roller title

The Asia Poker League is firing up Vietnam full throttle with the inaugural APL Hanoi festival drawing nothing short of incredible numbers. On our previous news, the floodgates opened with 562 pouring in for the VN₫ 6,600,000 (~US$ 285) Kickoff Event. This was followed by the VN₫ 16,500,000 (~US$ 700) Main Event which attracted 503 entries to more than exceed the VN₫ 6,000,000,000 guarantee. We’ve got the scoop on that event just below. At the time of writing, Day 2 was underway. We also have a rundown of the latest side winners including the High Roller event that witnessed Quang Nguyen defeat Soo Jo Kim for the title.

VN₫ 16,500,000 Main Event update

The Main Event was expectedly the hottest ticket around especially with its VN₫ 6B guarantee for an entry price of just VN₫ 16,500,000 (~US$ 700). At the conclusion of the four starting days, 503 hopped on to amass a much richer prize pool over VN₫ 7 billion (~US$ 345,000). We will have the official number and payouts once it has been released. Here’s a breakdown of each flight:

Day 1A – 14 advanced out of 49 entries

Day 1B – 18 advanced out of 106 entries

Day 1C – 28 advanced out of 133 entries

Day 1D – 54 advanced out of 215 entries

A total of 114 players advanced to Day 2 led by Vietnam’s Ly Tran Tien who topped Day 1C with 450,000 in chips. Korea’s Hwah Young Kim also ran well, closing Day 1D in the lead with 444,000 in chips. Top ten leaders listed below.

Top 10 leaders into Day 2

Ly Tran Tien – Vietnam – 450,000

Hwah Young Kim – Korea – 444,000

Nguyen Ngoc Dai – Vietnam – 390,000

Doan Tien Thanh – Vietnam – 332,000

Steve Nguyen – Vietnam – 328,000

Rajesh Sabapathy – India – 327,000

Luong Anh Tuan – Vietnam – 278,500

Tran Hieu – Vietnam – 277,500

Nguyen Van Sang – Vietnam – 275,500

Tran Nam Trung – Vietnam – 264,000

In addition was lineup of notable players that included: Huy Pham (255,500), Huu Dung Nguyen (253,500), Cheli Lin (242,500), Soo Jo Kim (236,500), Quang Nguyen (218,500), Cao Ngoc Anh (198,500), En Ching Wu (159,000), Raiden Kan (92,500), Alex Lee (92,500), David Erquiaga (66,000), Macarron Tran (45,000).

We will bring you the results of the ensuing stages as soon as it wraps up.

Quang Nguyen defeats Soo Jo Kim for the High Roller title

Nang Quang Nguyen and Soo Jo Kim were at it again. Last time we saw both of these pros face off at heads up was at the APL Vietnam Main Event back in November 2018 where Nguyen went on to win it. At the recent APL Hanoi VN₫ 27,000,000 (~US$ 1,200) High Roller 1 event that saw 41 participate, Nguyen denied Kim the glory once again to ship the VN₫ 407,500,000 (~US$ 17,600) first prize.

This was more than a big relief for Nguyen who told Somuchpoker that he bricked every event he attended at APPT Manila 2019. Seems like home soil is home court advantage for the pro. He has won three major titles in Vietnam – APL Vietnam Main Event 2018, National Poker Championship Main Event 2017 and 2018 – and a runner-up finish at the APT Vietnam Main Event 2018.

Payouts

Prize pool: VN₫ 1,037,000,000 (~US$ 44,700)

1st Nang Quang Nguyen – Vietnam – VN₫ 407,500,000

2nd Soo Jo Kim – Korea – VN₫ 266,800,000

3rd Hoang Ngoc Tai – Vietnam – VN₫ 160,000,000

4th Nguyen Bao Trung – Vietnam – VN₫ 117,400,000

5th Dang Duy Thanh – Vietnam – VN₫ 85,300,000

Other results

VN₫ 7,700,000 Deepstack

Entries: 79

Prize pool: VN₫ 536,410,000 (~US$ 23,000)

ITM: 10 places

Winner: Vu Trung Thanh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 182,410,000 (~US$ 7,900)

VN₫ 7,700,000 No Limit Hold’em 1

Entries: 49

Prize pool: VN₫ 332,710,000 (~US$ 14,300)

ITM: 7 places

Winner: Dang Duy Thanh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 123,103,000 (~US$ 5,300)

VN₫ 5,500,000 Deepstack Turbo

Entries: 52

Prize pool: VN₫ 252,200,000 (~US$ 10,800)

ITM: 7 places

Winner: Tien Quyet Pham (~US$ 4,000)

VN₫ 6,600,000 No Limit Hold’em Turbo 2

Entries: 43

Prize pool: VN₫ 250,260,000 (~US$ 10,800)

ITM: 6 places

Winner: Dang Duy Thanh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 97,660,000 (~US$ 4,200)

*This was Dang Duy Thanh’s second series victory

VN₫ 6,600,000 KO Bounty 1

Entries: 68

Prize pool: VN₫ 391,680,000 (~US$ 17,000)

ITM: 8 places

Winner: Vu Quang Hung (Vietnam) – VN₫ 141,080,000 (~US$ 6,000)

VN₫ 4,400,000 Hyper Turbo 2

Entries: 35

Prize pool: VN₫ 135,800,000 (~US$ 5,900)

ITM: 5 places

Winner: Sangjun Park (Korea) – VN₫ 55,700,000 (~US$ 2,400)

Article by Tricia David