WPT Prime Vietnam: Overjoyed champions on opening day: Quan Trung Nguyen, Vinh Nguyen, Thanh Hung Tran; Opener Day 1A sees 14 advance

Opening day of World Poker Tour (WPT) Prime Vietnam kicked off with a bang as three players were minted and Day 1A of the WPT Opener 2BN guaranteed concluded with 14 players reaching ITM. Taking place at the Crown Poker Club, the largest poker room in Hanoi, this marked the beginning of a thrilling fourteen-day series scheduled from May 16 to 29, 2023. Here are the results of Day 1 including the first update of the WPT Player of the Festival race.

Newbie Quan Trung Nguyen wins Single Day High Roller

Poker gods were rooting for Quan Trung Nguyen as he emerged victorious at the Single Day High Roller to claim his first-ever WPT trophy. In a brief interview with the champ, he shared,

"I have only been playing poker for three months and I've already won three high trophies! I am so happy."

Nguyen overpowered his final table competitors to amass a monstrous stack well before heads up. To capture the win, he easily defeated Luu Danh Tuan with {ks}{kd} set over 3♦6♠ pair, all in on the river 6♣{kh}5♥4♥{as}. For topping the 28 entry field, Nguyen pocketed a whopping VN₫ 611,000,000 (~US$ 26,000). 

Buy in: VN₫ 55,000,000 (~US$ 2,345)Entries: 28 (21 unique, 7 re-entry)Prize pool: VN₫ 1,358,000,000 (~US$ 57,900)ITM: 4 places

Vinh Nguyen back in the game, outkicks Mudgal at heads up of Deepstack NLH

Vietnam's Vinh Nguyen was another ecstatic winner who confessed "I haven't played much poker lately so I am very happy to win this event." Nguyen outlasted the 60 entry field of the Deepstack NLH, defeating India's Dhaval Mudgal at heads up. The final hand was {kx}{8x} top pair over {kx}{4x} top pair on a board {kx}{3x}{2x}{jx}{9x} all in on the turn. Nguyen's kicker played. For his victory, Nguyen earned his first WPT trophy and a cool VN₫ 83,800,000 (~US$ 3,570).

Buy in: VN₫ 4,400,000 (~US$ 188)Entries: 60 (52 unique, 8 re-entry)Prize pool: VN₫ 232,800,000 (~US$ 9,925)ITM: 8 places

Thanh Hung Tran outdraws Fechter for the Hyper Turbo NLH title

The Hyper Turbo NLH clocked in just under four hours with Vietnam's Thanh Hung Tran cleaning out his last three opponents to clinch it. With a massive stack at heads up, USA's Trent Fechter hoped for a double up with {ac}9♠ however, Tran's {kc}{qs} prevailed with the board running 8♥{qd}9♦{kd}7♥. This was Tran's first ever WPT victory.

Buy in: VN₫ 3,300,000 (~US$ 140)Entries: 28 (20 unique, 8 re-entry)Prize pool: VN₫ 81,480,000 (~US$ 3,475)ITM: 4 places

Opener Day 1A results

On its first flight, the featured WPT Opener 2BN guaranteed event drew 112 entries with 14 reaching the ITM round. Tran Van Phuc bagged up the largest stack of 333,000 (55 bb). He sets the standard for the next two flights.

Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 375)
Guarantee: VN₫ 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 85,280)

Day 1A results: 112 entries / 14 ITM
Day 1B: Wednesday, May 17 at 11am; registration closes at 3:20pm
Day 1C: Wednesday, May 17 at 4pm; registration closes at 8:20pm

End of Day 1A - 14 players

WPT Player of the Festival update

With three events in the books, the WPT Player of the Festival race is on. The three side event winners all share the top spot with 300 points. Plenty of chances to earn points with 35 events yet to be played out. The player with the most points accrued at the end of the festival will be awarded a $5,000 WPT Main Tour entry for 2023.

Live coverage by Somuchpoker from start to finish.