The King Poker Cup Main Event got underway at LES A Casino as Day 1a wrapped up late into the night, opening the next chapter of the festival with another long grind on the tournament floor.

King Poker Cup King’s Main Event

A total of 94 entries were recorded for the first flight of the King’s Main Event. After more than 12 hours of play, just 24 players remained to secure a bag and advance to Day 2.

Estonia’s Ranno Sootla finished the day out in front, closing with 3,870,000 chips to claim the Day 1a chip lead. The European regular brings more than USD 1.3 million in live earnings into the event and sits seventh on Estonia’s All-Time Money List. With multiple titles across the European circuit already to his name, Sootla is well-positioned to make a deep run as the Main Event unfolds.

Close behind is Jason Wong of the United Kingdom, who quietly built his stack throughout the day to finish with 3,010,000. Wong stayed out of trouble, applied pressure in the right spots, and ended comfortably inside the top tier of the leaderboard.

Australia’s Alan Zheng rounded out the top three with 2,980,000 after another steady performance, keeping pace with the leaders through the later levels.

Vietnamese standout Khoa Anh Ngo finished fourth with 2,875,000. Ngo briefly looked set to end the night as chip leader after climbing past the four-million mark, but a difficult final stretch cost him some momentum. Even so, his stack leaves him firmly in contention moving forward.

Ngo continues an impressive run at the series after winning the KRW 5,000,000 High Roller earlier in the festival for KRW 181,700,000 and adding a third-place finish in the KRW 6,000,000 High Roller for KRW 113,000,000. With chips in front of him once again, he remains one of the most dangerous players in the field.

Day 1a Highlights

Late in the evening, Ngo picked up a key pot against Meng Ling Lin. Holding jack-ten suited, Ngo fired two barrels before completing a straight on the river, cracking Lin’s flopped trip fours. The hand pushed Ngo beyond four million chips before his stack cooled off toward the close of play.

Romania’s Iulian Blebea also made noise late. He eliminated Defeng Chen after calling a queen-high shove with ace-high, improving to quad aces to send Chen to the rail in decisive fashion.

Blebea followed that up with another notable pot against King’s Debut Opener champion Yang Zhang , flopping trip aces with ace-three and leaving Zhang drawing thin.

Other notable stacks advancing from Day 1a include Quan Zhou (2,840,000), who brings more than USD 14 million in live earnings, Abraham Ceesvin (2,345,000), and Lei Yu (2,235,000), with both Ceesvin and Yu also holding seven-figure career totals.

With Day 1A complete, attention now turns to Day 1B of the King’s Main Event, where another long session awaits as the field continues to build.

Crown Hunt Mystery Bounty Crowns Its Champion

The Crown Hunt Mystery Bounty delivered another busy day on the schedule of the King Poker Cup, attracting 109 total entries and generating a net prize pool of USD 693,300 alongside a USD 327,000 bounty pool.

Lithuania’s Matas Cimbolas emerged victorious, collecting USD 156,500 in prize money along with USD 86,000 in bounties. Cimbolas navigated a deep field packed with regulars to secure the title and add another strong result to his resume.

China’s Yayun Liu finished runner-up, earning USD 138,700 plus a hefty USD 165,000 in bounties, while Jianfeng Sun completed the podium with USD 82,600 and additional bounty rewards.

Several familiar faces made deep runs, including Calvin Lee, Xiaqing Ji, Xiaosheng Zheng, and Blebea, as the Mystery Bounty format once again produced volatile swings and high-value knockouts throughout the day.

Today’s action continues at LES A Casino and the King Poker Cup with Day 1b of the King’s Main Event getting underway at 13:00, offering another chance to build a stack ahead of Day 2. Later in the afternoon, the NLH/PLO Mix kicks off at 15:00, adding a faster-paced mixed-game option to the schedule. Another full day awaits as the King Poker Cup rolls on.

Live coverage from the King Poker Cup continues on the official KPC YouTube channel, with featured tables and key hands streamed throughout the series. For full schedules, live updates, and tournament details, visit the official King Poker Cup website.