First Major Title For Hai Ha Tran At 2025 APPT Cambodia Main Event

Vietnam’s Hai Ha Tran entered the final 6 lineup as one of the hopefuls still in pursuit of a major title. That dream became a reality after he bulldozed through the final day, winning four crucial showdowns to clinch the 2025 APPT Cambodia Main Event title and hoist the PokerStars shard trophy. Along with the glorious merch, Tran pocketed a payout deal of $155,225 and a package worth $3,500 to the APPT Championship.

#40 APPT Main Event ($1,750)

Hai Ha Tran Wins First Major At APPT Cambodia Main Event

After six hours of intense action, Hai Ha Tran emerged as the newest APPT Cambodia Main Event champion, securing the PokerStars shard trophy, a payout deal of $155,225, and the APPT Championship Package valued at $3,500. This was Tran's first major international poker title, reaching the pinnacle after defeating Somashekar Kurkhepally Nahadeva in dominating fashion.

“I feel very happy and excited to have won the APPT Cambodia Main Event!”

Reflecting on the key hand where he took the chip lead early in the day against Nahadeva with a set on the flop, Tran noted,

“I expected that Nahadeva was going to call on the flop because he was an active player. After that hand, I felt my strategy for the final table should be to aim for first place, and I was very confident I could take it down.”

Read up on all the action via the Live Updates.

Total Prize

$1,000,000

Guaranteed

1,000,000

Entries

643

ITM

95

#	Payout	Player
1	$155,225	HH Hai Ha Tran Viet Nam
2	$155,225	SK Somashekar Kurkhepally Nahadeva India
3	$85,300	NM Ngoc Minh Le Viet Nam
4	$65,620	TM Tran Minh Thang Viet Nam
5	$50,480	YW Yuanning Wu China
6	$38,840	BS Bo Su Taiwan
7	$29,970	XZ Xiaosheng Zheng China
8	$22,970	AP Abhishek Paul India
9	$17,670	SL Shankui Li China

Check the 95 Payouts & Results ...

APPT Cambodia Main Event – Review

The 2025 APPT Cambodia Main Event ran from May 8 to 13 featuring a one million USD prize pool. This was a first for the brand in the country which instantly set a record on its own. In partnership with Connaissance and NagaWorld Integrated Resorts, all the action took place at the Grand Ballroom where 643 entered across four flights. However, despite the strong turnout, it came up just shy of its guarantee, resulting in a small overlay that added more value for those who reached the money.

Among those that missed the mark in Day 2 were inaugural champion Alexander Puchalski, Daniel Neilson, Jinlong Hu, Erik Rozhynskyi, Bien Mai, and Yuan Yu who bubbled.

Hai Ha Tran’s Path To Success

On the brighter side, the champion Hai Ha Tran was already running strong when he bagged up the third largest stack at Flight B which was overall fourth in the opening Day 2 lineup. He proceeded to eliminate several players, including Cheng Zhang to maintain a big stack by the close of day ranked 5th in chips.

Day 3 was a more cautious day for Tran who watched the chip lead change hands multiple times. Barely getting involved in major pots, he finished off Yunsheng Sun in 17th place with a higher pocket pair. Upon reaching the final table, Tran was third in the pecking order which he maintained when the last 6 players was finally formed.

Race To The Title

Early in the final day, Tran catapulted to the top spot after banking a double up with 6♦6♣ set over then leader Somashekhar Nahadeva‘s A♦9♣ all in at the flop on a board completing 9♥8♦6♠J♠4♦.

I expected that Nahadeva was going to call on the flop because he was an active player. After that hand, I felt my strategy for the final table should be to aim for first place, and I was very confident I could take it down.

Backed by a massive lead, Tran never looked back. He surged further ahead by eliminating Yuanning Wu in 5th place, crushing his hopes of a second APPT major title.

The bombardment continued with Tran eliminating Le Ngoc Minh to face Nahadeva at heads up. After a deal was struck to split the cash evenly, they played for the glory. Despite Nahadeva’s attempts, he still could not crack Tran’s big stack to eventually fall on a bad beat with 7♠7♥ downed by J♦7♦ straight on the river 10♥5♦8♦2♥9♣.

It’s more important to see who I’m playing against and understand their playing style… Everyone has their own approach, and when I reached the final table, I wasn’t intimidated by any one player. I simply observed how they played, relied on my experience, and approached each hand by exploiting their individual styles. I just did my best.

Read up on the action via the Live Updates.