Jeju Poker Festival: Joseph Cheong Stands Tall Over Red Dragon Championship Day 3; Kim Sergei Leads Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty 

The Red Dragon Poker Tour leg is close to wrapping up its games with the 17-day Jeju Poker Festival grind down to its tail end. Only two days of play remain on the agenda with all eyes laser focused on the Red Dragon Championship festivities. Its 642-entry field has whittled down to 24 players holding on to their seats, with bracelet winner Joseph Cheong leading the Day 3 action. Each remaining contender is now guaranteed an KRW 8 million (~USD 5,725) payday along with a fighting chance to claim the KRW 243,800,000 (~USD 174,470) top prize. 

Over at the side events, Kim Sergei shined across the Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty Day 1 games, leading the remaining 20 players onto the Final Day. China’s Haonan Tian likewise booked a thrilling day, having captured a second series victory, with John Joseph Panish and Yan Zhao sharing winners’ glory.

Stay tuned to SMP Live Updates as the games unfold, and catch the latest action directly off the floor.

Jeju Poker Festival 2024 - Player Guide
Jeju Poker Festival 2024 - RDPT Festival Results
Jeju Poker Festival 2024 - RDPT Live Updates

Joseph Cheong Leads Red Dragon Championship Day 3

A thrilling Red Dragon Championship Day 2 battle laid out on the tournament floor with 147 runners back on the scene, gunning for a share of the KRW 1,380,000,000 (~USD 990,995) prize pool. The money bubble burst right before the first break of the day, leaving Zuyou Wang empty handed after running his top pair against Jianting Cai's flopped two pair. 119 players cracked a payday, with several notables falling across the Day 2 fray.

Nine hours of action coursed through before the last three tables were reached,  seeing USA's Joseph Cheong on top of the field. Cheong was at the brink of elimination early in the evening, and was down to 11 big blinds at one point. Following the dinner break, Cheong turned his momentum upside, and dominated the last four levels to end with a commanding chip count of 3,605,000 (90 BB) onto Day 3. Cheong delivered at least five eliminations at the last hour of play, ending the day in style with his aces crushing Xiaoyun Li entirely to cap the action. The heavily decorated pro stands to be the sole runner above the 3 million mark, with second in rank Chao Li over a million behind.

Also advancing through are Red Dragon Team’s Lei Yu 2,245,000 (56 BB), Taiwan’s Chi Jen Chen 2,190,000 (55 BB), CTP’s David Tai 1,535,000 (38 BB), Day 1C chip leader Qidong He 1,280,000 (32 BB), and Mongolia’s Bayar Saran 735,000 (20 BB). While other notables Chiayun Wu (34th), Valeriy Pak (38th), Celina Lin (45th), Tae Hoon Han (49th), Wenwen Chen (53rd), Ying Song (67th), Xixiang Luo (76th), William Teoh (81st), Yong Li (85th), Dong Li (92nd), Boxin Jin (103rd), and Kun Han Lee (111th), all collected a payday yet missed to make the Day 3 cut.

Action resumes on Saturday, November 30th, 12 noon where the 24 Day 2 survivors will battle for a spot into the Final Day's eight.

Red Dragon Championship Day 3 Top Ten Qualifiers

Level 23: 20,000 / 40,000 ante 40,000
Total chips in play: 32,100,000
Average stack: 1,337,500 (33 BB)

Red Dragon Championship Review

• Dates: November 27 – December 1, 2024

• Buy-in: KRW 2,000,000 (~USD 1,435)

• Guarantee: KRW 1,380,000,000 (~USD 990,995)

• Entries: 642 (285 unique)

• Prize pool: KRW 1,380,000,000 (~USD 990,995)

• ITM: 119 places

By the Numbers

• Day 1A: 184 entries, 38 qualified

• Day 1B: 104 entries, 31 qualified

• Day 1C: 214 entries, 47 qualified

• Day 1D: 140 entries, 31 qualified

• Day 2: 147 players, 24 qualified

• Day 3: Saturday, November 30

• Day 4 /Final: Sunday, December 1

Backtrack on the day’s action via SMP Live Updates

Kim Sergei Tops Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty Day 1

The two-day highlight, Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty, ran through the first fifteen levels of play with its 110-entry field down to 20 runners. Three more eliminations are due before a cash is guaranteed with all eyes set on the KRW 66,120,000 (~USD 47,300) top prize. Knockout tokens will also come into play once ITM is reached, seeing an attractive KRW 35,000,000 (~USD 25,040) as the biggest listed bounty. Russia’s Kim Sergei topped the list once the action wrapped up, bringing in a mighty 582,000 stack to start the Final Day rounds.

• Date/s: November 29-30, 2024

• Buy-in: KRW 4,000,000 (~USD 2,860)

• Entries: 110 (76 unique)

• Prize pool: KRW 252,120,000 (~USD 180,365)

• Bounty prize pool: KRW 132,000,000 (~USD 94,430)

• ITM: 17 places

Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty Top Ten Day 2 Qualifiers

Side Event Winners

Haonan Tian Bags Second Series Trophy at Survivor Bounty NLH

China’s Haonan Tian captured a second series victory at the Survivor Bounty NLH games, following his win at the previous day’s Win the Button Hyper Turbo side event with another worthy score. Tian outlasted the 24-entry field and captured a larger payday of KRW 8,868,000 (~USD 6,335), more than double of his earlier profits to shoot up further into the green.

• Date/s: November 29, 2024

• Buy-in: KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,070)

• Entries: 24 (22 unique)

• Total prize pool: KRW 31,428,000 (~USD 22,480)

• ITM: 4 places

*Excluding bounty prizes

John Joseph Panish Captures Big Bounty Turbo Victory

• Date/s: November 29, 2024

• Buy-in: KRW 3,000,000 (~USD 2,145)

• Entries: 11 (10 unique)

• Total prize pool: KRW 28,809,000 (~USD 20,610)

• ITM: 2 places

*Excluding bounty prizes

Yan Zhao Takes Down Hyper Turbo Bounty

• Date/s: November 29, 2024

• Buy-in: KRW 600,000 (~USD 430)

• Entries: 74 (65 unique)

• Total prize pool: KRW 38,762,000 (~USD 27,730)

• ITM: 12 places

*Excluding bounty prizes