APL Vietnam Main Event down to the final 23 players; Te Mai leads; Norbert Koh among the contenders
It was make or break at Asia Poker League Vietnam with 149 players returning to Pro Poker Club for Day 2 of the Main Event. For nearly half the field, it was to be a day of misfortune with only 78 places due to get paid. At the end of the scheduled 10 rounds, the money bubble was well breached and 23 players remained. Securing the chip leader status was China’s Te Mai with 1,870,000.
Entering Day 2, Te Mai was clearly in radar with a big stack accumulated at Day 1D. By the first hour, he brought his stack into the top three and continued to pile it in. One of his biggest pots came late in the day winning with a straight over Hien Hoa’s set of tens.
Te Mai wasn’t the only player to finish the day in the seven-digit range, in fact, seven other players found their way as well. Amassing 1,560,000 was Singapore’s Melvin Tay Yao Loon. Loon was shadowed all day by many of the heavy-hitting pros in the field however his elimination of Huu Tuan Nguyen during the last level of play earned him a huge pot and second-rank in the Day 3 rung.
Other millionaire stacks were Yi Won Lee (1,385,000), Chu Thai Thinh (1,260,000), Huy Pham (1,250,000), Feng Zhao (1,140,000), Thang Tran (1,095,000), and Hong Kong Nguyen (1,055,000). All of these players plus Tung Nguyen (945,000) will enter the next round with above average stacks. You can read up on the action via our Live Updates post.
Chip counts by rank
| Te Mai | China | 1,870,000 |
| Melvin Tay Yao Loon | Singapore | 1,560,000 |
| Yi Won Lee | Korea | 1,385,000 |
| Chu Thai Thinh | Vietnam | 1,260,000 |
| Huy Pham | Vietnam | 1,250,000 |
| Feng Zhao | Singapore | 1,140,000 |
| Thang Tran | Vietnam | 1,095,000 |
| Hong Kong Nguyen | Canada | 1,055,000 |
| Tung Nguyen | Vietnam | 945,000 |
| Li Min Jie | China | 785,000 |
| Zhu Yong | China | 750,000 |
| Seo Dong Kyoon | Korea | 695,000 |
| Huynh Vinh Quang | Vietnam | 675,000 |
| Norbert Koh | Singapore | 645,000 |
| Loo Jun Zhong | Malaysia | 585,000 |
| Vu Duc Trung | Vietnam | 520,000 |
| Qinyi Tong | China | 470,000 |
| King Maker | Vietnam | 385,000 |
| Leo Pham | Vietnam | 370,000 |
| Tran Xuan Truc | Vietnam | 330,000 |
| Vu Trung Thanh | Vietnam | 300,000 |
| Quan Nguyen | Vietnam | 290,000 |
| Tran Thanh Van | Vietnam | 250,000 |
Here’s a look at what’s in store for Day 3:
Opening blinds: 15K-30K ante 30K
Total chips in play: 18,610,000
Average stack: 809,130
Main Event rundown and Day 2 recap
The Main Event kicked off on May 12 boasting of an VND 8 Billion guarantee for a buy-in of just VND 16,500,000 (US$720). At the end of the four starting days, a thunderous 623 registered for a much richer prize pool of VND 9,064,650,000 (~US$ 388,000). The eventual winner will pocket a lion’s share VND 1,700,440,000 (~US$72,800) however that result won’t be known until two days time.
Main Event Day 2 saw 149 players back in action, each one looking to earn a piece of the pot with only 78 due to profit. The bubble burst on Tao Tien Manh with 
falling to Thang Tran’s 
. Tien Manh shoved on the flop and Thang tank-called. An ace was on the flop and held.
Manh wasn’t the only player to walk away empty-handed. Prior to his fall, several notable players bit the dust including decorated APL Vietnam Main Event champion Lew Yin How. Once the money flowed, it flowed very fast leaving only 23 players at bagging time.
Among the players that cashed were Huu Tuan Nguyen (25th), Andy Ying Kit Chan (36th), Julien Tran (40th), Jack En Ching Wu (41st), Tony Chung Fai Ngeow (48th), Steve Yea (49th), Matthew Mortensen (51st), Dhanesh Chainani (59th), Cao Ngoc Anh (71st), and Alex Lee Xiang Wei (75th).
Day 3 gets underway at 1pm on Friday, May 17. Somuchpoker will continue to bring you live updates on all the action.
Last Man Standing contest: HKPPA vs SPL
Players may have noticed HKPPA and SPL patch stickers on some of the players throughout the event. That’s because there is a Last Man Standing contest taking place between two clubs, HKPPA (Hong Kong Poker Players Association) and SPL (Singapore Poker League). The last man remaining at the Main Event from either club will win a seat to the next APL Main Event.
Looks like SPL has already won that with Co Chung Chuen as the last of HKPPA bowing out in 30th place. It is just a matter of who among the three SPL members remaining will outlast. Will it be Norbert Koh? Feng Zhao? Or Melvin Tay Yao Loon?
APL Vietnam 2019 – Full coverage
