Jeju Poker Festival 2024: Xiajing Ji Sits Atop WPT Main Event Day 1B Counts; Meng Ling Lin Secures WPT High Roller Title

Three days of whirlwind action has come and gone at the luxurious Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, as the grand debut of three-brand tie up, Jeju Poker Festival continues to run its course. Today’s attention was centered around the ongoing WPT Main Event, where China’s Xiajing Ji capped the lead by the end of the Day 1B heat. Four runners – Meng Ling Lin, Jiaqi He, Xiaochuan Zhang, and Jianfeng Sun, likewise basked in the limelight, having topped the side event fields, with Lin shipping the biggest win of the day at the WPT High Roller.

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 – Festival Results
Jeju Poker Festival 2024 – Live Updates

WPT Main Event Day 1B Recap

WPT Main Event Day 1B officially wrapped up with another 70 survivors advancing through to Day 2. The second flight on schedule drew in a much bigger 207-entry field with only a third remaining in contention following ten levels of play. The day’s turnout remained to be dominated by runners hailing from Mainland China, with all top ten survivors listed below, of Chinese descent.

China’s Xiajing Ji towers over the pack with a final chip count of 366,500 to start the Day 2 rounds, having shipped two pots by the last few hands to inch over the lead. Russia’s Evgenii Chzhen ranks just three big blinds behind, followed by Xinxin Jiang with 348,500, to round up the top three spots. Initial flight’s chip leader Zhiyuan Zhang remains at the summit across the overall order, stacking just slightly above Ji.

Other notables advancing through include South Korea’s Jinwoo Kim (249,500), China’s Yayun Ding (231,000), Lord Poker Tour’s Lirui Zhang (140,500), WPT Ambassador Pete Chen (103,500), and USA’s Joseph Cheong (40,000).

One more flight is set on schedule, with all survivors geared to make their return on Tuesday, November 19th, for another eight levels across Day 2.

WPT Main Event Review

• Dates: November 16-22, 2024
• Buy-in: KRW 2,500,000 (~USD 1,795)
• Guarantee: KRW 1,680,000,000 (~USD 1,206,430)

By the Numbers

• Day 1A: 120 entries, 42 qualified
• Day 1B: 207 entries, 70 qualified
• Day 1C: Monday, November 18
• Day 2: Tuesday, November 19
• Day 3: Wednesday, November 20
• Day 4: Thursday, November 21
• Day 5 /Final: Friday, November 22

WPT Main Event Day 1B Top Ten Survivors

Backtrack on the day’s action via SMP Live Updates

Meng Ling Lin Captures WPT High Roller Victory

Taiwan’s Meng Ling Lin emerged triumphant over the WPT High Roller two-day highlight and captured her second career WPT title across the Jeju games. Lin came up short on the WPT Opener, finishing 4th, and jumped straight away over the Day 1 games. The last standing female contender built up a stack and came into the Final Day amongst the top ranks.

It took an eleven hour grind before Lin closed out the win after cutting an ICM deal with runner up Yunchao Yu, who banked a larger cut off the KRW 323,010,000 (~USD 231,015) prize pool. Lin’s victory however, earned her her second largest cash of KRW 80,910,000 (~USD 57,865) along with the coveted WPT High Roller Ring, and WPT Trophy.

• Date/s: November 16-17, 2024
• Buy-in: KRW 8,000,000 (~USD 5,720)
• Entries: 45 (37 unique)
• Prize pool: KRW 323,010,000 (~USD 231,015)
• ITM: 7 places

WPT High Roller Full Payouts

*Denotes deal was made

Side Event Winners

Jiaqi He Triumphs Over Deepstack NLH

Japan’s Jiaqi He impressively secured his career first WPT trophy at today’s Deepstack NLH games after coming out on top of the 57-entry field. He has booked a great month so far, having recorded his best live cash just two weeks ago at APT Manila. Fresh off his biggest triumph, He adds another collectible to his trophy display, along with KRW 15,731,000 (~USD 11,250) in prizes to start the long grind ahead.

• Date/s: November 17, 2024
• Buy-in: KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 715)
• Entries: 57 (53 unique)
• Prize pool: KRW 49,761,000 (~USD 35,590)
• ITM: 9 places

Deepstack NLH Full Payouts

Xiaochuan Zhang Makes Comeback at 5 Card Pot Limit Omaha

The first champion to rise to the podium over the day’s schedule was none other than Xiaochuan Zhang, having topped the 5 Card Pot Limit Omaha 16-entry field. Interestingly, Zhang lost yesterday’s PLO title to Dong Li, and finally closed it out this time, denying his final opponent a second series win. For his victory, Zhang cashed the biggest cut off the KRW 13,968,000 (~USD 9,990) prize pool at KRW 7,678,000 (~USD 5,490) in winnings.

• Date/s: November 17, 2024
• Buy-in: KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 715)
• Entries: 16 (11 unique)
• Prize pool: KRW 13,968,000 (~USD 9,990)
• ITM: 3 places

5 Card Pot Limit Omaha Full Payouts

Fabrizio Falzei Scoops Short Deck NLH Title

A favorite across the Asian region, today’s Short Deck NLH found 14 entries vying for its title, lighting up a prize pool of KRW 24,444,000 (~USD 17,480). Three players cracked a profit over the games with Italy’s Fabrizio Falzei walking away with the largest payday at KRW 13,444,000 (~USD 9,615). This recent feat looks to be Falzei’s first career win, marking his journey to the picturesque island definitely a worthwhile visit.

• Date/s: November 17, 2024
• Buy-in: KRW 2,000,000 (~USD 1,430)
• Entries: 14 (13 unique)
• Prize pool: KRW 24,444,000 (~USD 17,480)
• ITM: 3 places

Short Deck NLH Full Payouts

Jianfeng Sun Overcomes Win the Button Hyper Turbo

The final side event to complete, Win the Button Hyper Turbo, saw China’s Jianfeng Sun reign victorious over the 57-entry field, earning him his career second WPT title. The fast-paced games ran just under four hours of play before Sun secured the victory, having defeated Dongdong Sun across the final duel. For his triumph, Sun adds KRW 9,437,000 (~USD 6,750) in cashes to his already impressive $650,000 record of live tournament winnings.

• Date/s: November 18, 2024
• Buy-in: KRW 600,000 (~USD 430)
• Entries: 57 (48 unique)
• Prize pool: KRW 29,857,000 (~USD 21,350)
• ITM: 9 places

Win the Button Hyper Turbo Full Payouts