GOP Incheon Wraps Up as Hanh Tran Wins Player of the Series Crown

The inaugural Gods of Poker (GOP) Incheon festival officially came to a close at Paradise City Casino after ten days of action, 79 trophies awarded, and five coveted Gauntlets finding their champions.

Running from May 15 to 24, the series brought players from across Asia and beyond to South Korea for the debut GOP stop in Incheon, producing packed fields, dramatic Main Event moments, and a fiercely contested Player of the Series race.

When the final cards were dealt, Austria’s Hanh Tran stood atop the leaderboard as the official Player of the Series champion after one of the most consistent campaigns of the festival.

Hanh Tran Wins GOP Incheon Player of the Series

Tran climbed into the lead on Day 4 and never looked back.

By the end of the series, Tran accumulated an unmatched nine cashes, along with three victories for a total of 18,907 points. His final title came on closing day in Event #79: 5-Card PL Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot, sealing the race before anyone could catch him.

Tran’s festival victories included Event #28: Badugi Mix, Event #46: 10-Game Mix, and Event #79: 5-Card PL Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot.

The race for the remaining podium spots stayed alive until the final hours.

Lester Edoc entered the final day still within striking distance after winning the GOP Super High Roller Gold Gauntlet, another side event title, and making a deep Main Event run that ended in 10th place.

However, a late surge from Alfie Adam changed the standings one final time after his runner-up finish in the last Turbo High Roller pushed him into second overall.

GOP Incheon Player of the Series Final Standings

Alfie Adam Continues Trophy Rampage

No player collected more trophies in Incheon than Adam.

The mixed-game specialist captured four titles across the festival, matching his trophy haul from GOP Phnom Penh and bringing his career total to a remarkable 13 GOP trophies across four festivals.

Adam began the series with victories in Event #7: 6-Card PL Omaha Hyper Turbo and Event #9: Omaha Dealer’s Choice. He later added Event #59: 5-Card PL Omaha Double Board Bomb Pot before surprising many by taking down the No Limit Hold’em Event #63: Single Day High Roller.

His late Player of the Series charge eventually secured second place overall.

Five Gauntlets Claimed at GOP Incheon

The Gauntlets once again stood as the crown jewels of the festival, with five major championship events awarding the prestigious hardware.

The final Gauntlet of the series was claimed on closing day when Konosuke Nakajima conquered the GOP High Roller to win the Silver Gauntlet.

At heads-up, Nakajima denied Wenchao Liu, who endured another near miss after finishing runner-up once again following previous deep runs earlier in the festival.

GOP Incheon Gauntlet Winners

Kyung Min Lee Headlines Main Event Victory

The GOP Incheon Main Event attracted 356 entries, with 51 players earning a share of the KRW 700,000,000 prize pool.

Lee ultimately emerged victorious after defeating Chien Te Lee heads-up to claim the Black-and-Gold Gauntlet and the festival’s largest first-place prize.

One of the defining moments of the tournament came three-handed when Lee delivered Yi Cheng Lo a crushing river blow after spiking a straight to eliminate Lo in third place.

Lee later closed out the tournament in quick fashion during heads-up play, sealing the title on his birthday.

Japan Dominates the Trophy Race

Japan once again proved to be the dominant force at a GOP festival.

Of the 79 trophies awarded throughout the series, Japanese players claimed an incredible 34 titles, comfortably more than any other country.

Among the standout performers was Ryoma Yamamoto, who captured the GOP Olympians title before later winning the Hyper Turbo High Roller to become Japan’s lone two-time champion of the festival.

Yamamoto also made a deep Main Event run, eventually finishing ninth.

Closing day also saw the lone Kraken trophy awarded to Kyota Henzan , who conquered the Kraken Stack after outlasting a 53-entry field.

Cronus Structure Creates Deep Main Event Battles

GOP Incheon also marked the debut of the festival’s signature Cronus Structure in South Korea.

The structure created dramatically different Day 1 experiences across the Main Event schedule. Day 1A featured nine total hours of registration and concluded with blinds at just 6,000-12,000, leaving survivors with deep stacks entering Day 2.

At the opposite end, the turbo-style Day 1E finished with an average stack of just 10 big blinds before Day 2 rolled all the way back to 6,000-12,000 blinds and 60-minute levels.

One player who perfectly demonstrated the structure’s flexibility was Yoshiki Shibata, who bagged only five big blinds at the end of Day 1D before spinning it all the way into an 11th-place finish.

Next Stop: GOP Manila

With GOP Incheon complete, the Gods of Poker now head to the Philippines for GOP Manila: The Arena of Champions .

The festival takes place from August 21 to 30 at City of Dreams Manila and will feature 82 scheduled events alongside PHP 60 million (~USD 1,000,000) in guaranteed prize pools.