Record breaking WPT Prime Cambodia pays out over $2.9M; David Erquiaga hailed Player of the Festival; Mike Takayama wins two events

The record breaking WPT Prime Cambodia may be in the history books but the confetti continues to fly with winners yet to be celebrated and moments to relive. Running from August 11 to 23 at NagaWorld Phnom Penh,players gathered from around the world to create the biggest WPT event in Asia of 4,309 entries and a festival prize pool over $2.9 Million. The bulk of 1,050 entries was seen at the Main Event and a record US$ 1,018,500 pot.

The final day witnessed Mike Takayama emerge as the first player to capture two events, Main Event champion David Erquiaga was hailed WPT Player of the Festival, and India walked away with two more trophies for a whopping 8 in total. We’ve got those stories, festival highlights, and final side events winners for you.

Festival review

Grand prize pool: US$ 2,951,395 (24 events)
Entries: 4,309
Record breaker: Main Event – 1,050 entries, US$ 1,018,500 prize pool
Main Event champion: David Erquiaga
Player of the Festival: David Erquiaga
Multi-winner: Mike Takayama – 10K SHR Single Day Challenge & $HR 3K
Biggest earner:Mike Takayama – US$ 200,100
Most final tables: Kunal Patni (4) Jasven Saigal (4)
Trophies by flag: India (8), Philippines (3), Malaysia (3), Vietnam (2), Russia (1), Korea (1), South Africa (1), United Kingdom (1), Indonesia (1), Netherlands (1), USA (1), Taiwan (1)

Philippines’ David Erquiaga hailed WPT Player of the Festival

Philippines’ David Erquiaga was supposed to fly home after winning the Main Event but postponed it in an attempt to secure his lead in the WPT Player of the Festival race. With three events yet to complete on closing day, Erquiaga wasn’t safe with only 100 points ahead of Kunal Patni. Five others down the rung were also in contention, Trong Hieu Ngo, Mike Takayama, Martijn Gerrits, Christopher Mateo, and WPT Prime Vietnam Player of the Festival winner Duy Ho. WPT Live Events Specialist, Danny McDonagh, documented the tight race in his Facebook page:

The Player of the Festival for WPT Prime Cambodia went literally right down to the wire! I was fortunate to have a front seat to watch the action. Coming into the final three events the top 7 were live.

Christopher Mateo was actually on 375 points and a 2nd in the SuperStack Classic moved him up to 675 points. He declined to play the Turbo Closer given his flight that night and Mike Takayama also passed on the last two events for the same reason.

However, the other 5 in the top 7 all played Event 23, the $300 6 Max. Both Kunal and Martijn Gerrits busted and jumped into the Turbo Closer but both ultimately fell short in that event also.

That left the start of day leader David Erquiaga with 900 points, Trong Hieu Ngo on 825 points and Duy Ho on 650 points to fight for the trophy and 5K Main Tour entry in the 6 Max. The winner would receive 300 points, going down to 50 points for 9th.

All three were live with 11 remaining and David was seriously short stacked down to 53k. And then in the matter of three hands this happened.

David went all in a slight underdog and doubled up. Next hand on same table Duy Ho was all in with Aces against a shove of 6’s for a 500k plus pot only to see a 6 fall on the flop and eliminate him in 11th.

And on the other table just after Duy busted Hieu Ngo was all in and busted in 10th to guarantee David the POF win.

Erquiaga earned 750 points for his Main Event victory. 150 points for 6th place at the $5.3K Super High Roller, and 50 points for 9th place at the SuperStack 6-Max Finale for a combined 950 points. With the most points accrued, he won the WPT Passport worth $5,000 to any WPT Main Tour of choice.

Record breaking Main Event

The WPT Prime Cambodia broke bounds with players from around the globe pouring in packs for a record breaking 1,050 Main Event entries and a prize pool of US$ 1,018,500. This was the largest turnout and pot for an open event by the brand in Asia.

Emerging triumphant was Philippine pro David Erquiaga for his first ever major title.In addition to a career high payout of US$ 137,008, Erquiaga won a seat worth US$ 10,400 to the WPT World Championship $15M guaranteed. The event takes place in December at the Wynn Las Vegas.

David Erquiaga clinches the record breaking WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event

Philippines’ Mike Takayama captures second high roller title, closes as biggest earner

Highly decorated Filipino pro Mike Takayama impressed at the festival, becoming the only player to bag two events. Takayama‘s first win was at the 10K Super High Roller Single Day Challenge for a substantial US$ 94,100 payout, then on penultimate day, he outlasted the 140 entry field of the High Roller 3K event for a larger US$ 106,000 paycheck. With a combined US$ 200,100 in winnings, he was also the festival’s biggest earner.

The HR 3K event was a two-day affair, and being that it was the last high roller event scheduled, it drew a 140 entry field for a bulky US$ 380,240 prize pool. Among the players in attendance were Tzai Wei Phua, Cao Ngoc Anh, GACKT, James Mendoza, Punnat Punsri to mention a few. Day 1 closed with Philippines’ Alfie Poetra leading the hunt while Takayama was ranked 8th. Also in the top 10 lineup were WSOP champion Leo Soma, France’s Clement Van Driessche, Russia’s Vladimir Mefodichev, and Filipino Vamerdino Magsakay.

At seven-handed, Takayama amassed a monstrous stack after delivering a double elimination with a nutty nut flush against Magsakay‘s and Mefodichev’s on a board . From there he cruised to heads up backed by a massive lead against Dutch pro Martijn Gerrits. Both players were seeking their second festival title with Gerrits having won the Short Deck High Roller.Despite Takayama‘s big lead, it wasn’t an easy close. Gerrits battled to steal the lead. Once Takayama grabbed it back, he nailed it shut with pocket Tens over King-Five.

Buy in: US$ 3,000

Entries: 140

Prize pool: US$ 380,240

ITM: 18 places

Kunal Patni and Jasven Saigal reach four final tables

While several players reached multiple final tables, Indian players Kunal Patni and Jasven Saigal topped the counts with four each. Both players also won one event. Here’s a look at their achievements:

Kunal Patni

3rd place – Event 3: Deepstack NLH Freezeout

1st place – Event 5: Deepstack NLH

5th place – Event 7: Mystery Bounty

6th place – Main Event

Jasven Saigal

6th place – Event 7: Mystery Bounty

7th place – Event 11: Bounty Event $250 Bounty

8th place – Event 16: Pot Limit Omaha

1st place – Event 23: SuperStack 6-Max Finale

WPT World Championship package winner: DINH QUOC NGUYEN

Vietnam’s Dinh Quoc Nguyen won a package worth US$ 12,500 to the WPT World Championship after outlasting seven other runners at the WPT WC Satellite.

India lifts eight trophies

Throughout the 13-day festival, players from all over the globe were in participation. Coming in packs were players from Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, Australia, South Africa, France, and India who lifted 8 trophies, the most by any nation.

Winners: Ashish Munot (NagaWorld SuperStack), Kunal Patni (Deepstack NLH), Akshay Kapoor (NLH Single Day), Zarvan Tumboli (Pot Limit Omaha), Shardul Parthasarathi (SHR), Somashekar Kurkhepally (Bounty Event), Jasven Saigal (SuperStack 6-Max Finale), and Gurpal Singh (Closer Turbo).

Final side event winners

Event 18: NLH Freezeout – DUY MANH HO – US$ 6,460

Buy in: US$ 300

Entries: 119

Prize pool: US$ 31,166

ITM: 15 places

*Three-way deal

Event 19: NLH Turbo Freezeout – VICTOR CHONG – US$ 8,000

Buy in: US$ 300

Entries: 115

Prize pool: US$ 30,119

ITM: 15 places

*Heads up deal

Event 20: Bounty Event $150 Bounty – VAN TRUNG NGUYEN – US$ 12,100

Buy in: US$ 500

Entries: 194

Prize pool: US$ 84,681

Bounty pool: US$ 29,100

ITM: 25 places

*Heads up deal

Event 22: SuperStack Classic Freezeout – CHAO TING CHENG – US$ 14,271

Buy in: US$ 400

Entries: 148

Prize pool: US$ 51,682

ITM: 19 places

Event 23: SuperStack 6-Max Finale – JASVEN SAIGAL – US$ 6,255

Buy in: US$ 300

Entries: 90

Prize pool: US$ 23,571

ITM: 12 places

*Heads up deal

Event 24: Closer Turbo – GURPAL SINGH NANDA – US$ 11,713

Buy in: US$ 550

Entries: 69

Prize pool: US$ 33,465

ITM: 9 places

Up next is WPT Australia

For the first time, the World Poker Tour will bring its main tour to Australia with games taking place from September 15 to 27 at The Star Gold Coast. The festival features a full schedule of 13 events with buy ins from A$ 440 to A$ 10,000. The highlight is the A$ 5,400 Main Event which runs from September 23 to 27. Two starting days are available to join the action. With the past WPT festivals drawing massive crowds, players can expect this event to surpass all others. Head to the WPT website for all the info.

That’s it for our coverage of WPT Prime Cambodia at NagaWorld Phnom Penh. For pics, head to the Somuchpoker FB page.

David Erquiaga clinches the record breaking WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event

WPT Prime Cambodia – Main Event Day 1A; Mike Takayama wins the SHR Single Day
WPT Prime Cambodia – Main Event shatters $500K guarantee at Day 1B; Somashekar Kurkhepally, Aun Jian Wong, Martijn Gerrtis win events
WPT Prime Cambodia – Main Event breaks barriers! Record turnout 1,050 entries and $1M+ prize pool

WPT Prime Cambodia schedule
WPT Prime Cambodia structures
A Quick Guide to WPT Prime Cambodia
Road to WPT Prime Cambodia
Experience WPT Prime Cambodia
WPT Prime Cambodia – Shuffle up and Deal`
WPT Prime Cambodia – Day 1 recap
WPT Prime Cambodia – Ashish Munot wins the SuperStack
WPT Prime Cambodia – Opener Day 1B and Deepstack Freezeout
WPT Prime Cambodia – Younghoon Joo and JK Sorn triumph
WPT Prime Cambodia – Semen Kapitonov wins the Opener for $35K
WPT Prime Cambodia – Anand Kumar and Kunal Patni win trophies
WPT Prime Cambodia – Trong Hieu Ngo, Akshay Kapoor, Zarvan Tumboli win trophies
WPT Prime Cambodia – Shardul Parthasarathi, Richard Mari, and Ms. Asmiati win trophies