Poker Dream 17 Malaysia Festival Highlights; Pays Out Over $5.4M In Prizes

Dingxiang Ong Wins PD 17 Main Event

Singapore's Dingxiang Ong became the newest Poker Dream Main Event champion after overcoming China's Zuyou Wang at heads up. Due to an ICM heads up deal, both players walked away with nearly the same cash prize with Ong securing a slightly larger MYR 771,781 (~$174,785).

A regular fixture on both the live and online circuits, Ong is one of Singapore’s most accomplished players. In 2019, he came close to making history by nearly delivering Singapore its first WSOP bracelet, finishing runner-up in the $1,500 6-Handed event. He followed that up with a deep run at the 2022 WSOP Main Event, placing 47th - the best finish among all Asian players that year - for his second six-figure cash. His recent victory in Malaysia now ranks as his third-largest career score, pushing his live tournament earnings past US$ 950,000.

Unstoppable Chun Keat Liu Clinches PD Super High Roller Title

Malaysian sensation Chun Keat Liu has clinched another big title winning the PD 17 Malaysia Super High Roller for a whopping MYR 731,000 (~US$ 165,550). With a buy-in of MYR 30,000 (~US$ 6,800), the event drew an impressive 118 field with some of Asia's biggest names earning a cut of the MYR 2,906,458 (~US$ 658,230) prize pool.

For the champion Liu, he continued his incredible run by defeating Australia's David Wang at heads up. Liu has been on a tear since returning to the live circuit in 2022, piling in deep runs and big scores both in Asia and Europe. A rush of successes came in August 2023 when he earned his biggest score of US$ 469K after a 5th-place finish at the Triton NLH 8-Handed in London. But it was his stunning triple victory at EPT Barcelona in 2024 that truly turned heads and cemented his place among the rising stars of the game.

Liu kept the momentum going with back-to-back six-figure scores at Poker Dream, including a title win in Jeju and a runner-up finish at the Poker Dream Malaysia Main Event. To kick off 2025, Liu cashed at two Triton Jeju events and now with this latest win, he has over US$ 1.7 Million in live earnings. It won't be a surprise to see him breach $2M before the year is up.

Ming Ken Thoo Wins Mystery Bounty High Roller

The 2024 Dream Player Of The Year winner Ming Ken Thoo finished strong at PD 17 Malaysia, cashing in four events that included a title at the Mystery Bounty High Roller for a total payout of MYR 195,000 (~US$ 44,160). Thoo outlasted the 122 entry field with 77 earning a portion of the MYR 1,202,066 (~US$ 272,235) prize pool. Third place finisher Nishant Sharma walked away as the largest earner due to his collection of bounties that pushed his payout to MYR 307,200 (~US$ 69,570).

This year, Thoo has already cashed at a total of 12 Poker Dream events across three stops, six of which were final table finishes.

Maiden Title For Chin Kah Jun At Mini Main Event

Closing day at PD 17 Malaysia turned into a memorable celebration for Malaysia's Chin Kah Jun who captured his first ever live title at the Mini Main Event. The tournament was the largest single day event of the festival with 333 entries for a prize pool of MYR 379,015 (~US$ 85,835) and 48 players earning a share. After a three-way ICM deal, Chin walked away with MYR 46,000 (~US$ 10,420), the largest score of his young career, while runner-up Jongbea Jang locked up the largest cut of the prize pool at MYR 58,315 (~US$ 13,205).

Haohui Ma Finds Success Again At PD High Roller For MYR 337K

Another Poker Dream title for China's Haohui Ma! At the start of the year, Ma took down the PD 15 Malaysia Super High Roller then picked up a 4th place finish at the PD 16 Jeju Mystery Bounty High Roller. Banking on his Poker Dream success, Ma returned to Malaysia and attended the High Roller that saw 105 pony up the MYR 15,000 (~US$ 3,400) buy-in. Among the 15 players that claimed a share of the MYR 1,305,496 (~US$ 295,660) prize pool were decorated players Chin Wei Lim, Nishant Sharma, and Jun Hao Wu. The title came down between Yan Wen Yee and Ma with the latter taking it down for a payout of MYR 337,000 (~US$ 76,320).

This impressive consistency has sent his total live earnings well past half a million USD with nearly 75% percent of it earned since December alone. Ma is undoubtedly one player to watch this year.

Sean Ooi Wins Largest Mystery Bounty Turnout

These days, Mystery Bounty tournaments tend to attract the largest crowds of all the side events. That was certainly the case at PD 17 Malaysia with a storm of 640 entering at MYR 3,000 (~US$ 680) a pop. This immense turnout built a guarantee-crushing prize pool of MYR 1,314,072 (~US$ 297,600) with 93 players dipping in the pot.

Finishing at the very top was well known Malaysian crusher Sean Ooi for a payout of MYR 187,600 (~US$ 42,485). Ooi has been tearing up the felt for the past few years with final table appearances and victories at numerous events in Asia and Australia.