Asia Poker League Online series heats up Natural8-GGNet; sttephenl, ssscg, Mr_Vaz, surov1, zhongshanbei early winners; over US$ 12M guaranteed throughout

Here we go with another Asia Poker League Online Series on Natural8 – GG Network! Now on its fifth run, the event once again offers low to mid-ranged buy in tournaments and rich returns with a thumping CN¥ 80,000,000 (~US$ 12,040,000) in guaranteed prize pools. If the past is an indication of what lies ahead, then expect much more flowing with the previous series paying out over US$ 19.7 Million.

The excitement is already underway. Satellites and entry heats kicked off on May 28 with the first trophies awarded these past few days. Walking away victorious were Poland’s “sttephenl”, Brazil’s “Mr_Vaz”, Montenegro’s “surov1”, and two for China “ssscg” and “zhongshanbei”.

Plenty of cash and trophies yet to be won with 15 events to go. Headlining the festival is the Main Event featuring a CN¥ 10,000,000 (~US$ 1,502,878) guarantee. Last edition, the event paid out well over US$ 2M with Austria’s “nettley” locking up nearly CN¥ 1.6M, roughly US$ 251,565. The final crowning takes place on June 19. In addition to trophy events are numerous side events covering every type of bankroll. Be on the lookout for Natural8 ambassador Pete Chen as he goes after the APL Jade Trophies. Also to watch for are the world’s elite as they take on the biggest games this festival has to offer.

Now here’s a brief review of the completed events.

Festival update (up to June 5)

Event 1 – 5 prize pool: CN¥ 2,443,031 (~US$ 366,310)
Entries: 20,571
Richest event pot: Zodiac Bounty MILLIONS – CN¥ 2,409,600 (~US$ 362,673)
Biggest event winner: “surov1” – VN₫ 603,331,286 (~US$ 26,022)
Side Event prize pool: CN¥ 18,030,751 (~US$ 2,703,545)
Richest side event pot: Sunday SHR – CN¥ 1,259,700 (~US$ 188,880)
Biggest side event winner: Dalton “morgota” Hobold – CN¥ 314,867 (~US$ 47,211)

Event 1: Zodiac Bounty MILLIONS – STTEPHENL – CN¥155,984 (~US$ 23,477)

The Zodiac Bounty MILLIONS drew a massive 12,048 entries across 38 entry flights. Although it was significantly less than previous by a fourth it still broke past the guarantee for a richer CN¥ 2,409,600 (~US$ 362,673) prize pool. Out of the 1,497 final day qualifiers, 1,300 departed with a slice of the pot. After a six hour battle, Poland’s “sttephenl” survived the masses, defeating Vietnam’s “DH_Pegasus” at heads up. This was the Pole’s first ever APL title and it came with a CN¥ 92,142 first prize. Combined with the CN¥ 63,842 collected in bounties, “sttephenl” pocketed a network career high CN¥ 155,984 (~US$ 23,477) payout. This bumped up the champion’s tournament earnings to US$ 45,494.

Date: May 28 to June 5
Buy in: CN¥ 210 (~US$ 31.60)
Guarantee: CN¥ 2,022,000 (~US$ 304,335)
Cumulative entries: 12,048
Final day: 1,497 players
Prize pool: CN¥ 2,409,600 (~US$ 362,673)
ITM: 1,300 places

Final table payouts

Event 2: Dragon Boat Festival Tip-Off – SSSCG – CN¥ 159,266 (~US$ 23,936)

With a final table lineup dominated by China, it was almost no surprise to see the Dragon Boat Festival Tip-Off title claimed by one of the flag-bearers. Anonymous player “ssscg” outlasted the 2,601 entry field that included multi network champion “rui911” (7th), and Italian player Alessandro Giannelli at heads up. Ssscg scooped up a network career high CN¥ 159,266 (~US$ 23,936). Since signing up to the GG-Net over a year ago, ssscg has been treading in and out of the black until this big win.

Date: June 3, 2022
Buy in: CN¥ 555 (~US$ 83.40)
Guarantee: CN¥ 1,000,000 (~US$ 150,288)
Entries: 2,601
Prize pool: CN¥ 1,328,070 (~US$ 199,593)
ITM: 431 places

Final table payouts

Event 3: Da Nang River’s Bounty – MR_VAZ – VN₫ 269,183,122 (~US$ 11,610)

High demand for the Da Nang River’s Bounty as it drew the biggest crowd out of all the opening weekend’s single day entry events. The 2,918 field built a a prize pool of VN₫ 2,918,000,000 (~US$ 125,830) with 368 earning a piece. Among the players at the final table were network regular “LargePoodle” in 8th place and Georgia’s “yx0o” who nearly added another network victory to its consistently rising stats finishing in 3rd place. Grabbing the win was Brazil’s “Mr_Vaz” after denying the hard-hunting Chinese player “AH-GaoJin” at victory’s step. Mr_Vaz collected a cool VN₫ 118,070,809 for the win and an added VN₫ 151,112,313 in bounties for a combined VN₫ 269,183,122 (~US$ 11,610) payday. That was quite a jump from the single VN₫ 1,050,000 (~US$ 45.30) buy in spent. This increased Mr_Vaz‘s collective network earnings to over US$ 41.4K.

Date: June 4, 2022
Buy in: VN₫ 1,050,000 (~US$ 45.30)
Guarantee: VN₫ 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 86,244)
Entries: 2,918
Prize pool: VN₫ 2,918,000,000 (~US$ 125,830)
ITM: 368 places

Final table payouts

Event 4: Ho Chi Minh Championship – SUROV1 – VN₫ 603,331,286 (~US$ 26,022)

The biggest buy in event of the weekend was the Ho Chi Minh Championship with entry of VN₫ 3,300,000 (~US$ 142). This found 1,705 runners for a prize pool of VN₫ 5,176,380,000 (~US$ 223,264). The final table was graced by a few favorites, high roller / WSOPC ring winner Sihao “Mr_3rdBullet” Zhang who finished 7th, South Africa’s Jarred “Solosalt” Solomon who dropped out 4th, and Singapore’s Shan Hui “OolonggZai” Chua who finished 2nd after a heads up ICM deal with Montenegro’s “surov1″.

This was another strong performance by surov1 who persevered throughout the nearly nine hour event to increase in network earnings to US$ 161.7K. Among surov1’s other wins was a victory at the Bounty Hunters Sunday Special in December 2021 for US$ 22,053, and at the Zodiac Festival Sunday Main Event last month for US$ 12,883.

Date: June 5, 2022
Buy in: VN₫ 3,300,000 (~US$ 142)
Guarantee: VN₫ 3,000,000,000 (~US$ 129,394)
Entries: 1,705
Prize pool: VN₫ 5,176,380,000 (~US$ 223,264)
ITM: 287 places

Final table payouts

Event 5: Hanoi Enter the Dragon [6-Max] – ZHONGSHANBEI – VN₫ 380,549,820 (~US$ 16,410)

After opening weekend, Monday night was calmer with the first short handed event under the spotlight. The Hanoi Enter the Dragon [6-Max] saw a 1,299 turnout for another guarantee crushing prize pool of VN₫ 2,629,176,000 (~US$ 113,375). The top 188 players locked up a portion with China’s “Zhongshanbei” banking a personal network high VN₫ 380,549,820 (~US$ 16,410) payout. Zhongshanbei defeated hot running Ukranian player “Kostya_Jock” who recently banked over US$ 225K for winning two network bounty events and running deep at another.

Also at the final table was Russian player “BaNkRoLISuX” who was the only player seeking a second APL Online Series title. Back in September, BaNkRoLISuX shipped the Jeju Jade Dragon. Another notable player needing mention was WSOP bracelet winner Wei Guo Liang from China who ran aground in 8th place, just missing the final table. Liang’s pocket Tens were outdrawn by BaNkRoLISuX Ace-Jack that rivered a jack.

Buy in: VN₫ 2,200,000 (~US$ 95)
Guarantee: VN₫ 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 86,244)
Entries: 1,299
Prize pool: VN₫ 2,629,176,000 (~US$ 113,375)
ITM: 188 places

Final table payouts

Stay tuned for more APL Online Series reviews here at Somuchpoker.