Marc Rivera Makes GOP History With Second Gauntlet at GOP Incheon Day 6

Gods of Poker has its first two-time Gauntlet winner. Marc Rivera topped the Titan Stack High Roller at GOP Incheon: The Prophecy Unfolds to claim the Rose Gauntlet and pocket KRW 33,600,000 (~USD 22,300) — becoming the first player in the brand’s history to hold multiple Gauntlet trophies.

Rivera already had the Black Gauntlet from the Demigods Challenge at GOP Taipei sitting at home. The Rose Gauntlet now joins it. Day 6 at Paradise City Casino in South Korea produced eight champions in total, with Hanh Tran and Lester Edoc each adding a second trophy of the series to keep the Player of the Series race lively heading into the final stretch.

Rivera Grinds Out the Rose Gauntlet

The Titan Stack High Roller drew 16 entries at KRW 5,500,000 (~USD 3,700) apiece, building a prize pool of KRW 76,800,000 (~USD 51,000) with four players reaching the money. Rivera did not have it easy, he spent a significant portion of the final day in survival mode before engineering one of the more impressive comebacks of the festival.

Rivera entered the final day third in chips, with Daqiao Jiang leading and Wenchao Liu in close pursuit. Liu quickly took control, grinding into the chip lead while Rudy Edenata came out firing early. Rivera, meanwhile, found himself in serious trouble — bleeding chips until he had just 13 big blinds and his tournament life was on the line.

The turning point came when Rivera shoved with king-six and ran into Edenata’s ace-ten. A six on the flop gave Rivera the lifeline he needed, doubling him back to 28 big blinds. He rebuilt steadily from there as Jiang’s stack moved in the opposite direction, eventually sending the Chinese player to the rail in fourth when Rivera’s pocket sevens held against ace-eight.

Three-Handed and Heads-Up

Three-handed, Liu was dominant — at one point holding close to half the chips in play. Edenata found himself on the wrong end of several key pots, including a costly hand where he paid off Rivera’s straight with only top pair. Short-stacked, he made his stand with pocket fives and lost a flip against Liu’s ace-ten when an ace hit the river.

Heads-up, Liu started with roughly a 2:1 chip advantage. Rivera immediately chipped away, picking up the first pot with an uncalled river raise, then doubled through with pocket nines against Liu’s ace-seven to take control. The final hand arrived with the players’ stacks level after their back-and-forth: Rivera limped, Liu checked, then Liu led both the flop and turn before Rivera raised. Liu three-bet shoved and was snap-called. Rivera had a made straight with ten-seven; Liu held bottom pair with seven-two. The river changed nothing, and Rivera had his second Gauntlet.

Eight Trophies, More Familiar Names

Beyond the headline result, Day 6 saw several familiar names add to their Incheon tallies. Hanh Tran — the two-time WSOP champion and GOP’s own Mix Game Advisor — claimed his second trophy of the series at Event #46: 10-Game Mix to extend his lead at the top of the Player of the Series standings. Edoc shipped Event #52: Hyper Turbo High Roller for his second title of the festival, while Ming Luen Fabian Thang also collected a second trophy with the Gold Spartan at the Single Day High Roller.

Jiang, who finished fourth in the Titan Stack High Roller, wasted no time getting back on the felt and shipped the very next event — Event #49: PL Omaha Turbo — to end the day with a trophy of his own.

Player of the Series: Tran Leads, Edoc Moves to Second

Hanh Tran is the first player to record a hat-trick of trophies at GOP Incheon, and his Day 6 win kept him clear at the top of the Player of the Series standings. Edoc’s Hyper Turbo High Roller victory catapulted him into second place, with the pair now holding a significant lead over the chasing pack. Yuri Ishida sits third, while Kenji Hata is not far behind and is guaranteed a points bump from his Main Event run — where he finishes will determine how much ground he closes.

Main Event – Two Flights Left, Overlay on the Table

Three starting flights are in the books with 135 cumulative entries and 20 players already locked into Day 2. Yi Cheng Lo topped Day 1C and has slid into second in the Day 2 chip counts. The KRW 700,000,000 (~USD 480,000) guarantee requires a minimum of 350 entries — with two flights still to run, an overlay is currently on the table and the prize pool is guaranteed regardless. Players yet to jump in are looking at real value.

Buy-in is KRW 2,200,000 (~USD 1,500). Players receive 120,000 in chips — 120 big blinds at the opening level, 60 big blinds from Level 2, and still a playable 30 big blinds at max registration before Level 3.

Images and data courtesy of Gods of Poker.