WPT Cambodia Day 13: Ari Engel Claims Championship Event

The WPT Cambodia Passport to the World Championship 2026 reached its conclusion on Day 13 at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh, Cambodia , headlined by Ari Engel taking down the Championship Event as eight individual champions were crowned on the final day of the festival.

Ari Engel Claims Championship Event Title After Heads-Up Deal

The main focus of the day was the final table of Event #39 Championship Event ($1,300 Buy-In) . Only nine players returned from the 391-entry field for the final day, taking around six hours to crown a winner. Canadian poker legend Ari Engel completed an impressive short-stack comeback to claim the title , turning his single $1,300 buy-in into $91,444, the festival’s flagship trophy, and a $10,400 seat to the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas .

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Recap

Ari Engel’s First NagaWorld Trip Ends in Gold, Bags Championship Event Trophy

Ari Engel wins the WPT Cambodia Championship Event on his first NagaWorld visit, taking $91,444 and a $10,400 WPT World Championship seat.

2026.08.24

Engel started Day 2 with a modest 18 big blinds after bagging through Day 1A. Holding double the starting stack, he opted against firing another bullet:

“Math-wise, re-entering after you bag your stack is almost never a good idea. I had 18 blinds, but more than two times the starting stack. That’s worth quite a bit of money to throw away if you have a stack.”

That decision proved to be the right one. The international final table brought together contenders representing nine distinct nations. Engel eventually reached heads-up play against Indian poker icon Aditya Agarwal , where the two agreed to an ICM deal before flipping for the trophy. Agarwal secured $81,610 for his runner-up finish, while Day 2 chip leader Micheal O’Neill from Ireland placed third for $43,811.

Michael Norman Wood Wins Early Bird Megastack

The morning action kicked off with Event #M12 Early Bird Megastack 30 Sec ($250) . American player Michael Norman Wood outlasted a 25-entry field to take home the trophy and the top prize of $1,838 out of the $5,280 prize pool, topping fellow countryman Randolph Schain ($1,541) heads-up.

#M12 EARLY BIRD MEGASTACK 30 SEC ($250)

Total Prize USD

$5,280

Total Prize

5.3K USD

Entries

25

ITM

5

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$1,838	MN Michael Norman Wood United States of America	297.76
2	$1,541	RS Randolph Schain United States of America	210.55
3	$792	ET Erwann Troncay France	171.91
4	$634	QL Qi Li China	148.88
5	$475	TS Thomas Scheld Germany	133.16

Hyunkyou Park Wins His Fourth Trophy

The multi-flight Event #50 Mini Championship ($550) concluded its final day, surpassing its $75,000 guarantee to build a $75,220 prize pool. South Korea ‘s Hyunkyou Park emerged victorious to lock up the trophy and the $16,520 first-place payout, defeating three-time series winner Dakota Anderson ($11,700) in second place. Park now has 4 trophies at this festival.

#50 MINI CHAMPIONSHIP ($550)

Total Prize USD

$75,220

Total Prize

75.2K USD

Guaranteed

75K USD

Entries

164

ITM

21

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$16,520	HP Hyunkyou Park South Korea	987.61
2	$11,700	DA Dakota Anderson United States of America	698.35
3	$8,100	MT Mickael Taillepierre Switzerland	570.20
4	$6,200	RA Roman Altynikov Russia	493.80
5	$4,700	AA Amir Abbas Australia	441.67
6	$3,800	VZ Viacheslav Zotov Russia	403.19
7	$3,100	JS Jatin Sablani India	373.28
8	$2,600	LZ Lei Zhang China	349.17
9	$2,200	JM Jack Maris Australia	329.20

Check the 21 Payouts & Results ...

Artur Akhmetzianov Tops The Closer 6 Max

Six-handed specialists battled in Event #55 The Closer 6 Max ($500) , where 54 entries generated a $23,328 prize pool. Russia ‘s Artur Akhmetzianov conquered the final table to secure the title along with $6,431, beating France ‘s Damien Kerneis ($5,000) heads-up.

#55 THE CLOSER 6 MAX ($500)

Total Prize USD

$23,328

Total Prize

23.3K USD

Entries

54

ITM

9

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$6,431	AA Artur Akhmetzianov Russia	555.51
2	$5,000	DK Damien Kerneis France	392.80
3	$2,916	MH Min Ho Cho South Korea	320.72
4	$2,216	ZS Zeyu Sun China	277.75
5	$1,808	YW Yoke Wei Woon Malaysia	248.43
6	$1,575	AK Andrei Kostitsyn Russia	226.79
7	$1,341	LZ Lei Zhang China	209.96
8	$1,108	DC Dhanesh Chainani Singapore	196.40
9	$933	MF Michael Falcon Denmark	185.17

Chengcai Pan Claims High Roller Victory

The final day of high-stakes competition featured Event #51 High Roller ($2,750) , meeting its $100,000 guarantee across 38 entries. China ‘s Chengcai Pan walked away with the title and the top payout of $30,004 after outlasting Singapore ‘s Koon Leong Ho ($19,616).

#51 HIGH ROLLER ($2,750)

Total Prize USD

$100,000

Total Prize

100K USD

Guaranteed

100K USD

Entries

38

ITM

7

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$30,004	CP Chengcai Pan China	851.07
2	$19,616	KL Koon Leong Ho Singapore	601.80
3	$13,511	NU Nikita Ustiuzhanin Russia	491.36
4	$10,652	SN Sreekanth Narayanan India	425.53
5	$8,592	WT William Tjokroprawiro Indonesia	380.61
6	$7,506	QQ Qilong Qiu China	347.45
7	$6,619	NG Nathan Gathercole Australia	321.67

Kai Perng Heng Scores Championship Turbo Payout

High-speed action continued in Event #56 Championship Turbo 20 Sec ($1,650) . Malaysia ‘s Kai Perng Heng came out on top of the 5-entry field, taking down the entire $7,275 prize pool in winner-take-all fashion.

#56 CHAMPIONSHIP TURBO 20 SEC ($1,650)

Total Prize USD

$7,275

Total Prize

7.3K USD

Entries

5

ITM

1

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$7,275	KP Kai Perng Heng Malaysia	253.38

Roman Altynikov Triumphs in Turbo Freezeout

In Event #57 Turbo Freezeout 20 Sec ($300) , 40 entries built a $10,176 prize pool. Roman Altynikov claimed victory to take home the $3,358 top prize ahead of South Korea’s Jeonggyu Cho ($2,137).

#57 TURBO FREEZEOUT 20 SEC ($300)

Total Prize USD

$10,176

Total Prize

10.2K USD

Entries

40

ITM

7

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$3,358	RA Roman Altynikov Russia	400.75
2	$2,137	JC Jeonggyu Cho South Korea	283.37
3	$1,425	AJ Agorreta Javier Spain	231.37
4	$1,119	NA Nail Aberkhaev Russia	200.37
5	$814	IY Ihor Yerofieiev Ukraine	179.22
6	$712	KP Kai Perng Heng Malaysia	163.60
7	$611	KG Kexin Gu China	151.47

Dakota Anderson Collects His Third Trophy

The festival concluded late into the night with Event #58 10/10/10 10 Sec ($250) . American player Dakota Anderson captured his third title of the series, outlasting a 28-entry field under the rapid decision clock to claim the trophy and $2,366 top payout from the $5,914 prize pool.

#58 10/10/10 10 SEC ($250)

Total Prize USD

$5,914

Total Prize

5.9K USD

Entries

28

ITM

5

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	$2,366	DA Dakota Anderson United States of America	315.13
2	$1,419	RN Rindra Norodom France	222.83
3	$887	FN Frank Njau Tanzania, United Republic of	181.94
4	$710	TS Tetsunori Saito Japan	157.56
5	$532	LW Louis Wong Singapore	140.93

That concludes Somuchpoker’s live coverage of the WPT Cambodia: Passport to the World Championship 2026 at NagaWorld . Stay tuned for our full festival recap coming in the next few days!

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