Poker Dream 17 Malaysia In Full Swing; Halfway Highlights

Asia-Pacific
Live Poker
News
04/16/2025

Asia’s premier poker brand, Poker Dream, is back in Malaysia for its 17th edition, and true to form, it has been wall to wall action from the very first day. Currently in full swing since April 10 and running until April 21 at Genting Highlands just outside of Kuala Lumpur, the event has already generated large turnouts and record prize pools, all gearing up for the big one. While Malaysians certainly dominate in numbers, international attendance from Singapore, India, and China are also well represented.

Poker Dream 17 Malaysia

Poker Dream 17 Malaysia – Halfway Highlights

With Poker Dream 17 Malaysia now six days in, several key events have already wrapped up with Lee Duhan and Tianhao Zheng each scoring victories worth over US$ 60,000. At the side events, Dong Li, has already claimed two titles, and fan-favorite Mystery Bounty Turbo events have consistently pulled in well over 100 entries each,  with the third one drawing 257 entries. We have all those highlights down below.

Poker Dream Trophies

On April 15, the flagship tournament, Main Event, kicked off with a juicy MYR 5 million (~US$ 1.1 million) in tow. Based on past results, that figure is expected to be easily breached. But how high it will go will only determined after the 13 flights have completed. As always, the Main Event offers three different buy-ins MYR 2,400, MYR 3,200, MYR 4,800. The last flights run April 19.

Be sure to browse the schedule for all the details.

Poker Dream 17 Malaysia – Full Schedule

Now let’s have a look at what has transpired during the first half of the festival.

Malaysia Open

#2 Malaysia Open (1,500 MYR)
Malaysia Open

Lee Duhan Claim Malaysia Open Title

The Malaysia Open opening event set the tone of the festival drawing an enormous 1,596 entries across seven flights. With buy in at MTR 1,500 each, it sailed past the guarantee for a prize pool MYR 1,650,898 (~US$ 372,065). A lineup of 208 players earned a cut with South Korea's Lee Duhan claiming the biggest share for his victory.


The title was a special one for Lee who was on his first trip to Poker Dream Malaysia. Not only did it turn a huge profit, Lee binked a career high score of MYR 291,000 (~US$ 65,585). To capture the win, Lee outlasted a local dominated final table, denying Tan Wen Shen at heads up.

Total Prize USD
$372,065
Total Prize
MYR 1,650,898
Guaranteed
MYR 1,500,000
Entries
1,596
ITM
208
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 291,000
$65,585
LD
Lee Duhan
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
2MYR 166,298
$37,480
TW
Tan Wen Shen
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
3MYR 117,500
$26,480
YF
4MYR 86,700
$19,540
CC
5MYR 67,900
$15,305
LW
6MYR 51,500
$11,605
7MYR 39,400
$8,880
PC
8MYR 27,900
$6,290
LC
9MYR 21,400
$4,825
Check the 208 Payouts & Results ...

Mystery Big Bounty

#8 Mystery Big Bounty (2,100 MYR)
Mystery Big Bounty

Lian Herry Scores Big At Mystery Big Bounty

Up until this event, Germany's Lian Herry's highest score was a four-figure payout, but that all changed at the Mystery Big Bounty where 541 runners turned up for MYR 2,100 each to build a crushing prize pool of MYR 793,327 (~US$ 178,795). After defeating India's Siddharth Arya Jolly at heads up, Herry was awarded a new career high score of MYR 99,927 (~US$ 22,250). Prior to this win, Herry only had one side event victory, making this takedown even more special.

Total Prize USD
$178,795
Total Prize
MYR 793,327
Guaranteed
MYR 500,000
Entries
541
ITM
79
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 99,927
$22,520
LH
Lian Herry
Germany [DEU]Germany
2MYR 153,800
$34,660
3MYR 76,900
$17,330
4MYR 41,600
$9,375
CH
5MYR 47,500
$10,705
WH
Wan Hung
Hong Kong [HKG]Hong Kong
6MYR 27,000
$6,085
ZY
7MYR 11,700
$2,635
QX
8MYR 9,800
$2,210
KW
9MYR 9,800
$2,210
MK
Check the 79 Payouts & Results ...

Deepstack

#12 Deepstack (2,100 MYR)
Deepstack

Juns Leong Wins Deepstack Title

Another popular event was the Deepstack with 285 pouring in for a piece of the MYR 400K prize pool. In the end, the top 44 players got more than they bargained for with the prize pool escalating to a larger MYR 475,175 (~US$ 107,090). The lion's cut was claimed by Poker Dream regular Juns Leong after defeating Matthew Belcher at heads up for his first live tournament title. Leong pocketed MYR 94,000 (~US$ 21,185).

Total Prize USD
$107,090
Total Prize
MYR 475,175
Guaranteed
MYR 400,000
Entries
285
ITM
44
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 94,000
$21,185
JL
Juns Leong
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
2MYR 60,275
$13,585
MP
Matthew Paul Belcher
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [GBR]United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
3MYR 45,500
$10,255
YP
4MYR 36,900
$8,315
AC
Alexander Charron
United States of America [USA]United States of America
5MYR 29,300
$6,605
6MYR 22,100
$4,980
WH
Wan Hung
Hong Kong [HKG]Hong Kong
7MYR 16,400
$3,695
8MYR 12,200
$2,750
JS
Jo Seng Mok
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
9MYR 10,100
$2,275
Check the 44 Payouts & Results ...

High Roller

#17 High Roller (15,000 MYR)
High Roller

Tianhao Zheng Captures Poker Dream High Roller Title

China's Tianghao Zheng added another branded merch to his awards shelf after hoisting his first-ever Poker Dream title at the High Roller event. Running for two days, a total of 88 entries coughed up the MYR 15,000 (~US$ 3,400) buy-in to amass a prize pool of MYR 1,022,228 (~US$ 230,380) of which 11 earned a share. Among the finalists were Triton winner Wai Kiat Lee and Malaysia Open winner Lee Duhan, however they were no match for Zheng who claimed his first ever Poker Dream title.


Zheng is no stranger to the Asian circuit with numerous titles and cashes earned at prominent festivals such as WPT, USOP, VSOP, APT, and at festivals in China. His latest win was for MYR 281,000 (~US$ 63,330).

Total Prize USD
$230,380
Total Prize
MYR 1,022,228
Entries
83
ITM
11
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 281,000
$63,330
2MYR 199,228
$44,900
LH
Lai Heng Foo
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
3MYR 131,000
$29,525
WK
Wai Kiat Lee
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
4MYR 101,000
$22,760
HM
5MYR 80,000
$18,030
6MYR 62,000
$13,975
DL
7MYR 49,000
$11,045
DL
Duhan Lee
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
8MYR 38,000
$8,565
KC
9MYR 29,000
$6,535
TL
Check the 11 Payouts & Results ...

Dong Li Takes Down Two Side Events

#22 Pot Limit Omaha (2,000 MYR)
Pot Limit Omaha
Total Prize USD
$14,850
Total Prize
MYR 65,887
Entries
41
ITM
6
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 22,400
$5,050
DL
Dong Li
China [CHN]China
2MYR 15,487
$3,490
3MYR 9,900
$2,230
SF
4MYR 7,600
$1,715
MR
Makhmud Ruslanovich Evloev
United States of America [USA]United States of America
5MYR 5,900
$1,330
JL
6MYR 4,600
$1,035

#26 Mystery Bounty - Turbo (1,000 MYR)
Mystery Bounty - Turbo
Total Prize USD
$22,900
Total Prize
MYR 101,612
Entries
142
ITM
20
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 24,060
$5,420
DL
Dong Li
China [CHN]China
2MYR 10,892
$2,455
TC
3MYR 18,000
$4,055
4MYR 19,920
$4,490
CH
Chuan Han Loh
Singapore [SGP]Singapore
5MYR 5,600
$1,260
6MYR 3,600
$810
7MYR 2,700
$610
KH
8MYR 3,680
$830
9MYR 1,600
$360
CC
Check the 20 Payouts & Results ...

Mystery Bounty Turbo Events

#4 Mystery Bounty - Turbo (1,000 MYR)
Mystery Bounty - Turbo
Total Prize USD
$24,320
Total Prize
MYR 107,900
Entries
150
ITM
20
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 32,100
$7,235
2MYR 22,500
$5,070
3MYR 12,400
$2,795
CH
4MYR 7,100
$1,600
5MYR 6,500
$1,465
6MYR 3,900
$880
7MYR 2,900
$655
ZL
8MYR 5,100
$1,150
9MYR 1,700
$385
Check the 20 Payouts & Results ...

#6 Mystery Bounty - Turbo (1,000 MYR)
Mystery Bounty - Turbo
Total Prize USD
$29,100
Total Prize
MYR 129,123
Entries
177
ITM
28
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 41,820
$9,425
2MYR 15,963
$3,600
CL
3MYR 14,720
$3,315
4MYR 9,120
$2,055
CH
5MYR 7,720
$1,740
6MYR 4,300
$970
TM
7MYR 3,100
$700
YS
Yow Sze Tien
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
8MYR 3,300
$745
CL
9MYR 9,020
$2,035
WK
Wye Kik Loo
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
Check the 28 Payouts & Results ...

#10 Mystery Bounty - Turbo (1,000 MYR)
Mystery Bounty - Turbo
Total Prize USD
$41,020
Total Prize
MYR 182,001
Entries
257
ITM
39
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 48,340
$5,205
2MYR 17,041
$3,490
WH
Wan Han Lee
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
3MYR 17,960
$2,525
TM
4MYR 11,100
$2,050
5MYR 8,660
$1,600
EC
6MYR 15,060
$1,215
CK
Chun Kit Bay
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
7MYR 5,100
$900
8MYR 2,900
$655
CC
9MYR 2,400
$540
WC
Check the 39 Payouts & Results ...

#14 Mystery Bounty - Turbo (1,000 MYR)
Mystery Bounty - Turbo
Total Prize USD
$30,165
Total Prize
MYR 133,838
Entries
183
ITM
27
#PayoutPlayer
1MYR 27,520
$6,200
SH
2MYR 18,438
$4,155
3MYR 17,400
$3,920
SH
4MYR 10,740
$2,420
5MYR 5,800
$1,305
KL
Kee Lim Lee
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
6MYR 8,540
$1,925
WC
7MYR 3,200
$720
8MYR 3,500
$790
9MYR 3,100
$700
ZH
Zhi Heng Yoo
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
Check the 27 Payouts & Results ...