Yan Wen Yee Wins KPC King's Debut for USD 247,600 After Heads-Up Comeback

The KPC Poker October Series completed its first USD 1,000,000 guaranteed event on Monday, October 12, as the action continued at LES A Casino in Jeju, South Korea.

Yan Wen Yee came from well behind heads-up against Michel Molenaar to win the 214-entry King's Debut and USD 247,600, while Weiyong Zeng bagged the Day 1 chip lead in the 5M High Roller.

Elsewhere on the KPC schedule, Wei Ting Chen topped Day 1B of the KPC Main Event and Vladas Tamasauskas won the USD 10,000 NLH/PLO Mixed for USD 56,600.

Yan Wen Yee Wins King's Debut

Yee was among the early winners on Day 1A, doubling with pocket tens against Hugues Girard's pocket kings, but needed five entries in total before finally bagging in the turbo Day 1C. He went on to claim the title the following day.

The final table belonged to Molenaar for most of the day. Wei Lin fell first with king-eight against Jian Zhu's ace-king, before Zhu's pocket queens were cracked by ace-queen in eighth. Molenaar then picked up pocket kings in the small blind and won a big pot against pocket queens to climb to 25 million.

Final table chip leader Biao Ding was next to fall to Molenaar, with pocket jacks against kings, and a king on the flop ended it in sixth.

Weidong Guo followed in fifth when his ace-ten lost to Molenaar's queen-jack, and Wai Kiat Lee went out in fourth after Molenaar's nine-four made a full house against king-five suited.

Molenaar held 45 million three-handed, and Tung Wing Wong fell in third when his ace-ten all in was called by both opponents and Yee paired a four to take the knockout.

That left Yee heads-up with 14 million against Molenaar's 38 million. Yee evened things up with a king-high call in the first big pot, then moved all in with ace-jack of hearts and held against Molenaar's king-nine of hearts to lead 42 million to 11 million.

Molenaar doubled back with ace-king against ace-three, but the next hand was the last. Molenaar moved in with seven-five of diamonds, Yee called with pocket eights, and the eights held through a two-diamond flop.

"I actually fired five entries into this tournament," said Yee, who has been playing for three or four years. "I didn't enter Day 2 with a huge stack, nor was I the chip leader at the final table, so I didn't hold high expectations. But once we reached heads-up, there was a key hand where my ace-jack held against king-nine. After doubling up there, I suddenly felt, 'Hey, I actually have a shot at this!'"

The victory was the Malaysian's first at KPC, and it ended a long wait for a title.

"It's been a long time since I last won a tournament, and over the past year or two, results haven't been coming, which weighed on my mindset a bit," he said. "Winning a trophy so suddenly now, it's a very mixed and complex feeling."

Asked to sum up his day, Yee kept it simple: "I love KPC!"

Molenaar, who bagged the Day 1A chip lead, earned USD 150,000 as runner-up. Matas Cimbolas (11th), Tom Verbruggen (14th), Thi Xoa Nguyen (23rd), Girard (24th) and Toby Joyce (29th) were among the other notable names to cash.

King's Debut Final Table Results

Weiyong Zeng Leads 5M High Roller

The 5,000,000 KRW (~USD 3,726) 5M High Roller attracted 117 entries on Day 1, with registration remaining open until 3:15 p.m. on Day 2.

Bankroll Builder sixth-place finisher Zeng bagged the lead with 1,246,000 from the 300,000 starting stack, just ahead of Xintong Li on 1,220,000 and Sean Ooi on 1,007,000.

Nguyen (920,000), Joyce (820,000) and Girard (656,000) are all well placed, while Joseph Cheong (375,000), Cimbolas (368,000), Punnat Punsri (187,000) and Verbruggen (143,000) also advanced. Day 2 resumes at 1:00 p.m. and plays down to the final table.

5M High Roller Day 1 Top 10 Counts

Wei Ting Chen Leads KPC Main Event Day 1B

The 1,300,000 KRW (~USD 969) KPC Main Event drew 178 entries on Day 1B, with 23 players advancing. Chen bagged the lead with 614,000, ahead of Hongjun Zhao (586,000) and Maxim Lykov (558,000).

The turbo Day 1C added 94 entries, with Bankroll Builder fourth-place finisher Yuwen Pan leading the way on 437,000. Molenaar also bagged 101,000 after his King's Debut run. Day 1D begins at 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday.

Vladas Tamasauskas Wins USD 10,000 NLH/PLO Mixed

Lithuania's Tamasauskas topped the 10-entry USD 10,000 NLH/PLO Mixed to collect USD 56,600, with Junjie Xu taking USD 37,000 as runner-up.

Tuesday, October 13 Schedule

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for the latest results as the KPC Poker October Series continues.