WPT Prime Vietnam: opener nearly cracks guarantee on Day 1B; Terry Nguyen bags a monster; one flight remaining; Ngo Minh Tien and Ta Khanh Linh win trophies

The inaugural WPT Prime Vietnamis just two days in and already the numbers are worth bragging about. Day 1A of the WPT Opener attracted 123 entries which was then followed by a storm of 185 runners at Day 1B for a combined 308 entries. With buy in of VN₫ 8,800,000 each, the VN₫ 2.5 Billion guarantee was nearly breached, just missing it by five heads. News of the turnout quickly created a buzz that coming tomorrow’s Day 1C, the question will not be of when the guarantee will be broken but by how much. It will be a massive final flight with a crowd well over 200 entries expected.

Full WPT Prime Vietnam schedule

Recapping Day 1B, the 185-entry field trimmed to ITM of 23 players in under nine hours. Well known local pro Terry Nguyen topped the charts with an enormous 556,000 stack, which was equivalent to an overwhelming 22 starting stacks. One of the hands that helped Nguyen get there was dusting a player’s . Nguyen is now the event’s overall chip leader and has set the bar very high for the final entry day. For those jumping in, cards start flying at 11am at host venue Crown Poker Club in Hanoi. Registration closes at 320pm.

Also advancing were Teddy Pham, WSOP bracelet winner Kartik Ved, and Pham Duc Hanh who delivered the bubble. The Day 2 list has grown to 38 players. They have a day off before returning for Day 2 on Sunday, May 22.

Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 380)

Guarantee: VN₫ 2,500,000,000 (~US$ 107,933)

Day 1A : 15 advanced out of 123 entries

Day 1B: 23 advanced out of 185 entries

Day 1C: Saturday, May 21 at 11am – play to ITM

Day 1A and Day 1B qualifiers = 38 players

Super Stars Challenge Invitational

Aside from the opener, on Saturday May 21 high rollers have a special event to look forward to, the Super Stars Challenge Invitational which hits the felt at 1pm. The event is open to anyone willing to cough up the pricey VN₫ 210,000,000 (~US$ 9,100) entry fee. This is the most expensive tournament in the lineup and the highest buy in ever offered in the country. Among the list of powerhouse players confirming their participation are Huy Pham, Quang Nguyen, Florencio Campomanes, and WSOP bracelet winner Mike Takayama.

Event 4: Deepstack Cheap Freeze – NGO MINH TIEN – VN₫ 62,250,000 (~US$ 2,687)

The Deepstack Cheap Freeze was the first of three tournaments presenting a freezeout format. 80 players signed on for a prize pool of VN₫ 232,800,000 (~US$ 10,048). Midway past the sixth hour, Malaysia’s Ng Chow Han busted on the bubble to Pham Ngoc Tu with unable to improve against . Pham went on to reach the final three. After Ngo Minh Tien eliminated Nguyen Gia Trung in 3rd place with dominating , Ngo and Pham immediately chopped the remaining payouts down the middle. The big stackedNgo was credited the win and was awarded the WPT trophy.

Buy in: VN₫ 3,300,000 (~US$ 143)
Players: 80
Prize pool: VN₫ 232,800,000 (~US$ 10,048)
ITM: 10 places

Payouts

1st Ngo Minh Tien – Vietnam – VN₫ 62,250,000*

2nd Pham Ngoc Tu – Vietnam – VN₫ 62,250,000*

3rd Nguyen Gia Trung – Vietnam – VN₫ 28,500,000

4th Nguyen Ba Hung – Vietnam – VN₫ 19,000,000

5th Lim June Ho – Korea – VN₫ 14,500,000

6th Steven Ho – USA – VN₫ 12,000,000

7th Kei Nakajima – Japan – VN₫ 10,300,000

8th Le Van Duc – Vietnam – VN₫ 9,000,000

9th Boris Kramaruk – Russia – VN₫ 8,000,000

10th Trinh Van Quan – Vietnam – VN₫ 7,000,000

*Heads up chop

Event 5: Turbo Event – TA KHANH LINH – VN₫ 62,000,000 (~US$ 2,676)

The evening Turbo Event clocked in at under five hours with Vietnam’s Ta Khanh Linh claiming the victory and a cool VN₫ 62,000,000 payout. Prior to Ta‘s win, he amassed an overwhelming chip advantage after railing Bui Duc Tu aka Tobias in 4th place with improving to trips Jacks on the flop to beat . Short stacked Nguyen Manh Tuan fell to Tomokazu Hattanda in 3rd place to bring about heads up. It took one quick flip to end it with a straight beating two pairs.

Buy in: VN₫ 4,400,000 (~US$ 190)
Entries: 41 (32 unique, 9 re-entry)
Prize pool: VN₫ 159,080,000 (~US$ 6,865)
ITM: 6 places

Payouts

1st Ta Khanh Linh – Vietnam – VN₫ 62,000,000

2nd Tomokazu Hattanda – Japan – VN₫ 36,500,000

3rd Nguyen Manh Tuan – Vietnam – VN₫ 22,300,000

4th Bui Duc Tu (Tobias) – Vietnam – VN₫ 15,900,000

5th Yoshihito Komitsuki – Japan – VN₫ 12,700,000

6th Prommin Talordpong – Thailand – VN₫ 9,680,000

Player of the Festival

With two more events in the books, the Player of the Festival added more names to the leaderboard. Event 3: Hyper Turbo champion Nguyen Manh Tuanaccrued another 175 points for placing 3rd at Event 5: Turbo Event. So far, he is the only player to cash twice. We will have the updated list so stand by for that later today.

The launch of WPT Prime marks a new chapter for the World Poker Tour as the brand celebrates its 20th year in business. The new series got underway on May 19 at the Crown Poker Club in Hanoi and will run through May 30. Out the 24 game schedule, the Main Event is the one not to miss. It features an VN₫ 8,000,000,000 (~US$ 346,477) guarantee and the winner will earn points towards the WPT Season XX Player of the Year leaderboard. Event runs from May 26 to 30 kicked off by three starting days. Buy in is VN₫ 25,000,000 (~US$ 1,083). The final table will be streamed live by premier video production ShareHand.

Main Event details and structure

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker as we bring you daily recaps and highlights of WPT Prime Vietnam from start to finish.

Event articles:

WPT Prime debuts in Hanoi
Launch day of WPT Prime Vietnam
WPT Prime Vietnam – Day 1 results