J88PT continues to rock the Korean market with back to back festivals; Seung Yeol Kim wins the Main Event

With South Korea having kept their Covd-19 numbers fairly low since last year, live events have been allowed to take place. Quickly jumping on the opportunity, homegrown poker operator J88 Poker Tour hosted an event in June 2020, which drew a combined 800 Main Event entries across five starting days. The success of the event led to a second one in October, this one attracting 1,500 Main Event entries over eight entry heats. Some of the most decorated locals were of course in the mix such as Jeho Lee who shipped the Main Event and Soo Jo Kim who won the Super High Rollers Freezeout.

This year, J88PT continued to make its presence felt. The brand kicked off its calendar season with four smaller festivals at various pubs around the country followed by a big one on April 30 to May 2 that drew 992 Main Event entries. One month later, running from May 29 to June 3, a second festival was held, pulling in an even larger 1,080 Main Event entries. Here’s a look at the biggest winners.

Main Event: SEUNG YEOL KIM – KR₩ 150,000,000 (~US$ 134,750)

The Main Event piled in 1,080 entries across ten starting days held at various pubs over several weekends. The prize pool was a guaranteed KR₩ 500,000,000 ~(US$ 449,618). Champion Seung Yeol Kim shipped it for his first ever career Main Event title. The KR₩ 150,000,000 (~US$ 134,750) first prize was also his largest career takedown, which was nearly double his recorded earnings of US$ 79,820 on The Hendon Mob. This win comes a few months after Kim nearly won the World Class of Poker (WCOP) Main Event, falling in 2nd place for KR₩ 30,000,000 (~US$ 26,580).

Other Winners

Mega High Roller

Entries: 54
Prize pool: – KR₩ 100,000,000 (~US$ 89,800)
Winner: : CHUN HYON SEOK – KR₩ 40,000,000 (~US$ 35,900)

On just his third ever live cashout, Chun Hyon Seok overcame the 54 entry field of the Mega High Roller event to claim a first ever victory and a career high score of KR₩ 40,000,000 (~US$ 35,900). This was another great result for Chun who finished 2nd at the J88PT Korea Super High Roller event last month for KR₩ 36,000,000 (~US$ 32,300).

High Roller

Entries: 140
Prize pool: KR₩ 100,000,000 (~US$ 89,800)
Winner: NOH EUN DONG – KR₩ 30,000,000 (~US$ 26,900)

A few weeks ago, Noh Eun Dong reached the final table of the WCOP Championship Main Event #2, falling in 5th place for KR₩ 11,400,000 (~US$ 10,100). Last week, he brought the same fire to the J88PT Korea High Roller event and came out as the man on top. Noh overcame an impressive 140 entry field to bank a first ever win and a career high KR₩ 30,000,000 (~US$ 26,900).

Single Day High Roller

Entries: 88
Prize pool: KR₩ 50,000,000 (~US$ 44,900)
Winner: SIM KYU WAN – KR₩ 20,000,000 (~US$ 18,000)

Another player pocketing his first win and largest live score was Sim Kyu Wan after taking down the Single Day High Roller event. Sim topped the 88 entry field for a prize of KR₩ 20,000,000 (~US$ 18,000). Last month, Sim also ran well at the J88PT Korea Mega High Roller event, finishing in 4th place for KR₩ 8,000,000 (~US$ 7,200)

Up next for J88PT

At this time, no new events have been announced by J88PT, however, with consistent events being held in Korea, it is safe to say that more are on the burner.

Stick with us at Somuchpoker for all the updates.