Asian Deep Runs During the 2024 WPT World Championship in Las Vegas

The third installment of the World Poker Tour – WPT World Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas brought poker enthusiasts from all over the world to Sin City, all with the hopes of competing for millions of dollars in prize pools. While all eyes were set on the three flagship tournaments, there was also a vast variety of side events available as of December 3. The festival is set to conclude on December 22, 2024, with the final table of the $10,400 Championship Event. Here is a current rundown of Asian player deep runs.

Asian Players Run Deep At WPT World Championship

On the opening day of the WPT World Championship, the $800 NLH $1M GTD kicked off and ultimately attracted a massive field of 3,006 entries to generate a prize pool of $2,089,170. A total of 371 players were paid at least $1,600 and the final nine locked up $29,606 for their efforts. Second to fall from there was Ping Lin from China, who finished in eighth place for $41,376. Joon Kim (fifth for $97,375) may have a very South Korean name but hails from the United States.

The $600 H.O.R.S.E. $50K GTD attracted a field of 154 entries and the top 20 finishers earned a portion of $79,310 in prize money. Japan’s Ruiko Mamiya made it to eighth place as well and that came with a payday of $2,394.

Also doubling the guarantee was one of the $1,100 NLH Turbo Events on December 6 thanks to 215 entries, resulting in $210,700 in prize money. India’s Tarun Goyal earned $2,459 for 21st place while Joonhee “Steve” Yea made it to 13th place worth $3,603, China’s Tianhang Zhang earned the pay jump to $4,150 for 11th place. The 2024 WPT Prime Taiwan champion Jereld Sam reached the final table in ninth place for $4,872, followed by Japan’s rising star Shiina Okamoto in eighth place for $5,885.

The gargantuan field of 933 entries in the $1,600 Mystery Bounty $500K GTD saw a huge $1,343,520 prize pool up for grabs. Furthest Asian player in the field was China’s Ping Lin in 16th place for $5,336.

On December 10, the $600 NLH Turbo $50K GTD tripled the prize pool to $150,380 with 292 entries. Kyosuke Nagami, who finished 21st in the 2024 WSOP Main Event, ran deep in this tournament and cashed for $1,529 in 19th place.

The highly anticipated $1,100 WPT World Prime Championship attracted a huge 9,670 entries across four starting days and nearly doubled the guarantee to generate a prize pool worth $9,350,120. Aforementioned Okamoto, winner of the 2024 WSOP Ladies Event, was the chip leader after all starting flights. However, her run-good fizzled out on Day 2 and she busted in 435th place for $3,500.

Only 99 players returned for the penultimate tournament day with a few Asian hopefuls still in the mix. Shanghai based Yuan Yu made it to 53rd place for $16,000. On the final two tables, Alfie Poetra from Indonesia and Ralph Marquez, who was born in the Philippines and moved to Canada when he was five years old, were still in contention. Poetra ended up bubbling the final table with a consolation prize of $114,000.

Marquez was the second casualty on the final table following the elimination of high-stakes cash game player Justin Young, and he collected a handsome payout of $145,000. After a dominating performance, 2024 WSOP bracelet winner Zak VanKeuren was crowned the champion in heads-up against James Casement for a huge prize worth $1,151,950.

Nagami made it to the final two tables in a $600 NLH Turbo $50K GTD on December 13 but bowed out in 16th place for $2,154, joined by Congya Zhang. Vietnam’s Thanh Duong walked away with $14,504 for fifth place.

In the 485-entry strong $1,100 WPT Ladies Championship $250K GTD, the top 60 finishers earned a slice of $470,450 in prize money. Seina Asagiri from Japan collected $1,468 in 35th place, fellow flagbearer Tamao Kobayashi was the last Asian contender in 20th place for $1,915.

Hopefully, further deep runs can be confirmed in the ongoing $10,400 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas, which will enter Day 2 on Tuesday, December 17. The third edition of this annual spectacle just before Christmas has attracted 2,392 entries and several Asian notables will have a shot at $23,441,600 in prize money.