WPT Vietnam: Powerhouse field at Main Event Day 1B; 53 survive; Neil Raine wins second trophy

Action-packed day at WPT Vietnam with the prime attraction, the Main Event VN₫ 15 billion (~US$ 644,000) guaranteed, dragging in players from all over the globe. For those just tuning in, this is the largest prize pool put forward by the World Poker Tour in the country. The host venue was the highly popular Pro Poker Club in Ho Chi Minh City, the stage of previous WPT events in the country.

By the end of the scheduled nine (9) rounds of play, 103 players signed up with 18 of them re-entering for a total of 121 entries in Day 1B.

Pros in the field

Halfway through the day, the field was loaded with powerhouse players, some on their first appearance at a WPT Main Event in Vietnam.

Among the attendees were Mike Takayama (WSOP 2018 Super Turbo Bounty), Abhinav Iyer (WSOP 2019 The Closer), Benjamin Gonzva (WPT Cambodia 2017), Florencio Campomanes (APPT Manila 2019), Aaron Lim (APPT Manila 2015), Tom Alner (Red Dragon 2013 & 2016), Andre Lettau (EPT Barcelona 2014), and Linh Tran (APPT Manila 2016). Also seen were Aditya Agarwal, Soo Jo Kim, Phachara Wongwichit, Bobby Zhang, and Ping Liu.

Chip leaders

Despite the number of heavyweights scattered around the room, rising to the top were Vietnam’s Minh Tuan Pham and Korea’s Sang In Lee. Both players catapulted during the last level of play. For Lee, he spiked a two-outer on the river to end the day with 217,600 while Pham called a big shove preflop that eventually ballooned his stack to 244,500. Overall, Philippine’s Christopher Mateo is still the player to measure up to. He amassed 272,000 in Day 1A.

Chip counts Day 1B & Day 1A

You can read up on the Day 1A and Day 1B action via our Live Updates

Live Updates

Up next: Main Event Day 1C

The Main Event resumes on Sunday, September 8th for Day 1C which is the third and final flight. First deal is at 1pm local time. Buy-in is VN₫ 55 million (~US$ 2,400). Entering players can expect a very large field and the VN₫ 15 billion (~US$ 644,000) to be surpassed.

Day 1A: 93 entries, 41 advanced

Day 1B: 121 entries, 53 advanced

Total: 214 entries, 94 advanced

This is a special Main Event. For the first time in Vietnam, players experience a structure reserved only for the main tour.

Starting stack: 40,000

Opening blinds: 100-100 (Level 1)

Level intervals: 60 minutes

Bagging time: end of Level 9

Entry policy: one re-entry allowed per day

Registration: closes in Day 2 at the start of Level 11

Event #6: Short Deck – Edgar Antezana – VN₫ 86,240,000 (~US$ 3,700)

Buy-in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 380)

Entries: 23 (18 uniques, 5 re-entries)

Prize pool: VN₫ 178,480,000 (~US$ 7,700)

ITM: 4 places

Payouts

1st Edgar Antezana (South Africa) – VN₫ 86,240,000

2nd Luen Hei Kwok (Hong Kong) – VN₫ 50,544,000

3rd Nguyen Bao Trung (Vietnam) – VN₫ 32,696,000

4th Joseph Cona (France) – VN₫ 9,000,000

Event #7: Deepstack Turbo – Neil Raine – VN₫ 213,307,000 (~US$ 9,000)

Running very hot at the side games isUK’s Neil Raine. Yesterday hewon the VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 380) Bounty Event for VN₫ 179,321,000 (~US$ 7,500). After his victory, he jumped in the Deepstack Turbo and shipped it as well for his second title.

Buy-in: VN₫ 7,700,000 (~US$ 330)

Entries: 103 (85 uniques, 18 re-entries)

Prize pool: VN₫ 699,370,000 (~US$ 30,000)

ITM: 13 places

Final 9 payouts

1st Neil Raine (UK) – VN₫ 213,307,000 (~US$ 9,000)

2nd Dang Cao Thang (Vietnam) – VN₫ 131,156,000

3rd Alex Lindop (UK) – VN₫ 80,427,000

4th Lok Tin Chan (China) – VN₫ 52,453,000

5th Nguyen Quang Huy (Vietnam) – VN₫ 40,913,000

6th Au Viet Hong (Vietnam) – VN₫ 32,695,000

7th Jiaping Zhou (China) – VN₫ 27,780,000

8th En-Ching Wu (China) – VN₫ 24,128,000

9th Magnus Karlsson (Sweden) – VN₫ 21,331,000

WPT Vietnam Full Coverage