APL Da Nang Main Event: Meet the Final 9 players

It was another fast elimination day at the inaugural Asia Poker League Da Nang Main Event with 33 players returning to action for Day 3 at host venue Risemount Premier Resort. In just under five hours, the final 9 was formed. We’ve got a short recap below and a brief look at the finalists.

Final 9 players by seat

Seat 1: Sumit Sapra – 970,000
Seat 2: Lin Jian – 2,145,000
Seat 3: Anton Widjaya – 3,545,000 (chip leader)
Seat 4: Zhang Chi – 1,465,000
Seat 5: Young Hwan Sun (KMGM) – 685,000
Seat 6: Lee Jong Wook (KMGM) – 825,000
Seat 7: Tiger Lee Seok Young (KMGM) – 2,180,000
Seat 8: Song Daewoong (KMGM) – 1,160,000
Seat 9: Nguyen Minh Tuan – 2,700,000

Final 9 players by rank

Anton Widjaya – Indonesia – 3,545,000
Nguyen Minh Tuan – Vietnam – 2,700,000
Tiger Lee Seok Young (KMGM) – Korea – 2,180,000
Liu Jian – China – 2,145,000
Zhang Chi – China – 1,465,000
Song Daewoong (KMGM) – Korea – 1,160,000
Sumit Sapra – India – 970,000
Lee Jong Wook (KMGM) – Korea – 825,000
Young Hwan Sun (KMGM) – Korea – 685,000

Final Day info

Total chips in play: 15,678,500
Average stack: 1,742,055
Final Day opening blinds: 15k – 30k ante 30k
Clock: countdown from 19:14
Start time: 1pm

Final 9 payouts

1st VND 2,026,500,000 (~US$ 87,400)
2nd VND 1,383,400,000 (~US$ 59,700)
3rd VND 889,700,000 (~US$ 38,400)
4th VND 622,300,000 (~US$ 26,800)
5th VND 477,900,000 (~US$ 20,600)
6th VND 397,200,000 (~US$ 17,100)
7th VND 329,500,000 (~US$ 14,200)
8th VND 262,800,000 (~US$ 11,300)
9th VND 197,400,000 (~US$ 8,500)

Finalist presentation

Anton Widjaya – Indonesia – 3,545,000 (118 bbs)

The lone Indonesian player in the lineup –Anton Widjaya– leads the final 9 with his towering 3,545,000 stack. Widjayahas cashed in numerous events in Asia however he is still on the hunt for his first major victory. His largest score was at the PokerStars Super Deep event in Manila, Philippines back in 2017 finishing in 3rd place for US$ 9,301. With Widjaya’s commanding stack, he is well on his way to a new personal record. Widjayadenied Dang Duy Thanh in 10th place to drive his stack to where he ended the day.

Nguyen Minh Tuan – Vietnam – 2,700,000 (90 bbs)

Out of all the Vietnamese players that found their way to Day 3, only Nguyen Minh Tuan will raise the flag coming final day. Nguyen has been consistent throughout, closing each elimination round within the top five. This is a strong showing for someone who only has two prior live tournament cashes. Wherever Nguyen places, he will have earned his largest live tournament cash.

Tiger Lee Seok Young (KMGM) – Korea – 2,180,000 (73 bbs)

Four Korean players representing KMGM made the cut to the final day. The largest stack of the bunch is Tiger Lee Seok Young with 2,180,000. Lee is a young live tournament player with just seven cashes under his belt. While he is already guaranteed to earn his largest live payday, he is looking to ship his first major title. One of Tiger’s biggest pots of Day 3 was the elimination of Quang Nguyen in 13th place.

Liu Jian – China – 2,145,000 (71 bbs)

China’s Liu Jian continued to make his presence felt. He entered Day 2 as the overall chip leader from the starting heats, closed Day 2 in second rank, then ensured his spot to the final table running fourth with a solid 2,145,000. Among the players he eliminated was Tae Joon Cho in 10th place to form the final 9. This is Jian‘s first-ever live Main Event final table appearance. His largest cash was at APPT Manila 2018 finishing 3rd at the Saturday Superstack for US$ 21,835.

Zhang Chi – China – 1,465,000 (49 bbs)

In August 2015, Zhang Chi finished 10th out of 1075 entries at the CPG Main Event in Sanya, China to claim his largest live score to date of U$$ 18,745.Since then, not much action was seen from Zhang until this year with four ITMs which included another cash at the CPG Main Event. Zhang enters the final 9 with a healthy 1,465,000.

Song Daewoong (KMGM) – Korea – 1,160,000 (39 bbs)

Song Daewoong is another new player in the Asian live circuit with only 5 cashes all earned this year. Wherever he finishes it will be his deepest Main Event finish. Song will also pocket his largest live score. At Day 3, Song spiked up, u-turned downward, then back up again. His two double ups took him out of the danger zone to bag up a decent 1,160,000.

Sumit Sapra – India – 970,000 (32 bbs)

Sumit Sapra is the lone player from India in the list and is a newly signed APL Ambassador. He is the most decorated and experienced live tournament player of the final 9 with achievements dating back to 2011. His stats include cashes all over Asia and Europe, and at the WSOP. The largest payday of his career was at the APL Vietnam in HCMC on November 2018 where he pocketed US$ 36,511 at the High Roller event for 3rd at the High Roller. Alike all the players in this list, Sapra is hunting down his first major win.

Lee Jong Wook (KMGM) – Korea – 825,000 (27 bbs)

Not much is known of Lee Jong Wook other than he is a new player in the Asian live circuit. Lee entered Day 2 low in the pecking order but managed to grind upwards and eliminate Yong Deok Kim with kings set over top two pair. Wherever Lee places, it will be his largest score and deepest finish at a major Main Event.

Young Hwan Sun (KMGM) – Korea – 685,000 (23 bbs)

The fourth Korean to earn his seat was Young Hwan Sunwith 685,000 in chips. Sun has several small cashes earned the past two years and once this year. No matter where he places here, it will be his largest live tournament cash and first ITM at an APL event.

Day 3 recap and results

Day 3 kicked off with a crazy one-outer sending Nguyen Quang Minh first to the rail. It was all in on the turn with Nguyen holding the higher full house but got rivered by quads. From there, players tumbled fast until the final two tables where it began to ease up.

The day’s entering massive chip leader Dao Minh Phu suffered three hits to bring him to half his starting stack then built it up again to become one of the chip leaders of the final two tables. He eventually fell in 16th place, paying a couple of costly double ups before doing so. The unofficial final table of 10 was formed at the fall of Dang Duy Thanh in 11th place. To close out the day, Tae Joon Cho met the rail at the hands of Liu Jian with pocket jacks staying ahead of pocket fives.

You can read up on the action via our live posts.

APL Main Event – Live Updates

Payouts

10th Tae Joon Cho – Korea – VND 164,000,000 (~US$ 7,100)
11th Dang Duy Thanh – Vietnam –VND 164,000,000
12th Huy Pham – Vietnam –VND 164,000,000

13th Quang Nguyen – Vietnam – VND 131,000,000 (~US$ 5,600)
14th Shingo Endo – Japan – VND 131,000,000
15th Hojin Kim – Korea – VND 131,000,000
16th Dao Minh Phu – Vietnam – VND 109,800,000 (~US$ 4,700)
17th Yong Deok Kim – Korea – VND 109,800,000
18th Frederick Lee – USA – VND 109,800,000

19th Ok Dong Yoon – Korea –VND 92,700,000 (~US$ 4,000)
20th Zhou Jiaping – China – VND 92,700,000

21st Dhanesh Chainani – Singapore – VND 77,500,000 (~US$ 3,300)
22ndNguyen Huu Duc – Vietnam – VND 77,500,000
23rd Song Byunghwa – Korea – VND 77,500,000
24th Lin Yu Sheng – Taiwan – VND 77,500,000

25th Im Hee Soo – Korea – VND 66,600,000 (~US$ 2,800)
26th Luong Anh Tuan – Vietnam – VND 66,600,000
27th Woo Sung Kang – Korea – VND 66,600,000

28th Hieu Ngo – Vietnam – VND 56,700,000 (~US$ 2,400)
29th Nguyen Trung Kien – Vietnam – VND 56,700,000
30th Nam Yunho – Korea – VND 56,700,000
31st Tran Trung Hieu – Vietnam – VND 56,700,000
32nd Dang Thi Hue – Vietnam – VND 56,700,000
33rd Nguyen Quang Minh – Vietnam – VND 56,700,000