USOP Grand Finale: Choi Jae Hyun, Yankai Zhang Top Main Event Day 1B; Edgaras Kausinis Wins SHR

last Saturday at 8:37 AM

The excitement of the USOP Grand Finale Main Event continued to build as Day 1B came to an end in the stunning Grand Ballroom of the Pullman Grand Hotel. With a massive turnout of 473 entries and a VND 40,000,000,000 (~US$ 1.577 Million) guaranteed prize pool, the action is far from over, with more players expected to join the fray in the remaining Day 1C and Day 1D flights. Here are the highlights.

USOP Grand Finale Main Event

Choi Jae Hyun and Yankai Zhang Lead Bag Top Stacks

Leading the charge at the end of Day 1B were Choi Jae Hyun from Korea, who has amassed a formidable stack of 1,228,000 (102 bb) chips, and China’s Zhang Yankai with 1,214,000 (101 bb) chips. A total of 59 players have secured their spot in the next round from Day 1B.

Notable players making their mark include Henri Hinds, the recent champion of the Won Poker Cup II Main Event in Cambodia, and Martin Gonzales from the Philippines, who claimed victory in the Manila Megastack 2024 Mystery Bounty.

One of the most unforgettable moments came during an epic showdown between Hoang Khien and Nguyen Trung Quan, where Hoang sealed a rare straight flush in a thrilling hand. Another dramatic moment unfolded when Nguyen Van Tung knocked out Yunsheng Sun with a jaw-dropping quads Queen on the river.

Day 1B – Top 10 In Chips

Rank	Player	Stack
1	Choi Hun Tae	1,228,000
2	Yankai Zhang	1,214,000
3	Pham Tien Dung	1,151,000
4	Zhao Jiaming	847,000
5	Nguyen Van Hien	801,000
6	Zhang Xun	735,500
7	Nguyen Hoang Nam	735,000
8	Arya Aayush	600,000
9	Ferdinand Lu	577,000
10	Milos Skrbic	557,000

Edgaras Kausinis Wins The Super High Roller

Edgaras Kausinis overcame a three-to-one chip disadvantage while heads-up with Azizjon Rakhimov to bounce back and win the Super High Roller title. As one of the most anticipated High Roller events on the USOP Grand Finale lineup, it pulled in an impressive field of 160 entries. And with each one ponying up VND 88,000,000 (~USD 3,465), it generated a prize pool of VND 12,032,000,000 (~USD 457,000), to utterly smash its initial offering of VND 2.48 Billion (~97,000).

The turning point for Kausinis was when his flush doubled him up against the two-pair or Rakhimov. The final blow was to see his pocket tens hold up against ace-rag to win the coveted title and cash prize of VND 2,770,000,000 (~USD 110,000).

“This is poker, you never know and you have to get lucky and he [Rakhimov] is very good. You really have to be in a position to be lucky.”

This was Kausinis first ever title on Asian soil and career second six figure payout.

Read up on the action via the SMP Live Updates.

Super High Roller Review

Date: December 5 to 6, 2024
Guarantee: VND 2,400,000,000 (~US$ 94,600)
Entries: 160
Prize pool: VND 12,032,000,000 (~USD 457,000)
ITM: 24 places

Place	Player	Payout in PHP	Payout in USD
1	Edgaras Kausinis	2,770,000,000	109,206
2	Azizjon Rakhimov	1,863,000,000	73,448
3	Yee Lee	1,373,000,000	54,130
4	Xinyin Xu	1,010,000,000	39,819
5	Yuxiang Yu	760,000,000	29,963
6	Hari Varma	575,000,000	22,669
7	Ryan Hong	445,000,000	17,544
8	Kilian Kramer	350,000,000	13,799
9	Jianfeng Sun	277,000,000	10,921