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China’s Zhang Mai conquers Red Dragon Championship Event for KRW 392 Million (~USD 287K)

SMP Editor
SMP EditorEditor-in-Chief
Photo Credit – Chris Librojo
Photo Credit – Chris Librojo

The final day of the esteemed Red Dragon Poker Tour held at Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, South Korea, arrived with the last set of trophies awarded across six events. On the schedule’s highlight was the Final Day of the Red Dragon Championship Event where nine players remained in contention for the title. In just under three hours of play, the Main Event festivities came to a close with China’s Zhang Mai locking in the victory. Zhang takes with him KRW 392,403,000 (~USD 288,920) in winnings, the RDPT Main Event trophy, and an exclusive RDPT Main Event Winner’s Jacket for his incredible run.

Red Dragon Poker Tour Jeju – Festival Results

Championship Event Final Table Recap

The final table action picked up fairly quickly with chip leader Nana Nakamura delivering the first three eliminations within the initial hour. Nakamura came into the Final Day already towering over the pack and set the tone early on. By this time, the aggressive Japanese runner has amassed more than half the chips in play, leaving the rest treading more carefully in an attempt to ladder up the payouts. One by one fell in quick fashion with none of her opponents coming close to inching the gap.

Zhang Mai
Zhang Mai

Running table captain, Nakamura only lost her advantage when Zhang Mai rose to the lead after delivering two back to back eliminations – Kozo Yamada and Saito Go, in 3rd and 4th place respectively. With ammo to take on his opponent, Zhang kicked off heads up play at par with Nakamura and ready to take on the challenge. Although both contenders stacked over 80 big blinds deep, the battle only lasted less than an hour before a winner was crowned. It took a few deals before the most crucial pot of the day was seen on the felt, beginning with a three bet from Nakamura. Nakamura went on to triple barrel board AdKhJdAs with a final all-in by the river. Zhang called down each street and caught Nakamura with a huge bluff . Zhang tabled Ah and scooped up the massive 152 big blind pot, leaving his opponent shooting down.

Nana Nakamura
Nana Nakamura

Left with 16 big blinds, Nakamura managed to double up soon after but eventually crashed as the final hand came into play. Zhang open shoved from the button with Ad and saw his opponent snap call for her tournament life with Ac. Though slightly ahead, Nakamura found her luck come to an end as the board Jc ran on the felt, giving Zhang a pair of sixes to knock her out entirely. Nakamura settled for a runner up finish along with KRW 263,200,000 (~USD 192,770) in prizes for her efforts.

Backtrack on the concluded action via SMP Live Updates or Red Dragon Poker Tour’s official livestream channels:

https://www.youtube.com/@reddragonpokertour
https://www.twitch.tv/playreddragon

Dates: July 30 – August 4, 2024
Buy in: KRW 2,200,000 (~USD 1,620)

Guarantee: KRW 1,680,000,000 (~USD 1,236,390)

Prize pool: KRW 2,567,843,000 (~USD 1,875,480)

Entries: 1,337 (700 unique)

ITM: 201 places

Day 1A: 332 entries / 103 qualified
Day 1B: 395 entries / 138 qualified

Day 1C: 421 entries / 144 qualified

Day 1D: 190 entries / 74 qualified

Day 2: 456 players / 60 qualified
Day 3: 60 players

Red Dragon Championship Event Final Table Results

Rank

First Name

Last Name

Flag

Prize (KRW)

Prize (~USD)

1

MAI

ZHANG

China

₩392,403,000

$287,400

2

NANA

NAKAMURA

Japan

₩263,200,000

$192,770

3

KOZO

YAMADA

Japan

₩186,940,000

$136,920

4

GO

SAITO

Japan

₩134,300,000

$98,360

5

CHUANSHU

CHEN

China

₩98,090,000

$71,840

6

XIAO

LIU

China

₩72,670,000

$53,220

7

JUN

LIU

China

₩54,440,000

$39,870

8

QIAO

CHI

China

₩41,600,000

$30,460

9

HAOYUN

MA

China

₩32,100,000

$23,510

Side Event Results

Event #30: Red Dragon High Roller: Zhou Quan – KRW 149,850,000 (~USD 110,330)

Zhou Quan
Zhou Quan

The two-day Red Dragon High Roller event attracted a smaller 25 entry field with only four players guaranteed a share of the KRW 368,600,000 (~USD 271,395) prize pool. With the minimum payout listed at KRW 52,650,000 (~USD 38,765), it took four levels of 40 minute gameplay before the money bubble burst. Stacks flew back and forth, and saw player after player stand at risk, up until the fall of Zhang Chenxu. Zhang lost a pot to Zhou Quan just prior, having ran Js on board Jc against Quan’sKs, and was down short. In search of a double up, Zhang went with AdQs for her remaining chips only to run into Zhou Lin’sAs right behind. Zhang exited the following hand, and left everyone else well in the green.

Shortest stacked Nagami Kyosuke was the first to crash after his failed to hold up against Quan’sAdQc. Quan remaining in the lead, went on to grind down both opponents until Luo Xi Xiang found himself in a blind vs blind race, to eventually fall in 3rd place. With 90% of the chips in play now stacked by Quan, the heads up battle only lasted two deals, withLin calling off for his last 13 big blinds with Ad against Quan’sKd. The board QcJc ran in favor of Quan, earning him his maiden Red Dragon trophy along with KRW 149,850,000 (~USD 110,330) in prizes.

Date/s: August 3-4, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 16,000,000 (~USD 11,780)

Prize pool: KRW 368,600,000 (~USD 271,395)

Entries: 25 (19 unique)

ITM: 4 players

Event #30: Red Dragon High Roller Full Payouts

Rank

First Name

Last Name

Flag

Prize (KRW)

1

QUAN

ZHOU

China

149,850,000

2

LIN

ZHOU

China

99,950,000

3

XI XIANG

LUO

China

66,150,000

4

KYOSUKE

NAGAMI

Japan

52,650,000

Event #31: Superstack Classic: Li Jun – KRW 41,743,000 (~USD 30,730)

Li Jun
Li Jun

Date/s: August 3-4, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 720)

Prize pool: KRW 175,473,000 (~USD 129,190)

Entries: 201 (158 unique)

ITM: 31 players

Event #31: Superstack Classic Final Table Results

Rank

First Name

Last Name

Flag

Prize (KRW)

1

JUN

LI

United Kingdom

41,743,000

2

ALEKSEI

SEI

Russia

26,990,000

3

RONG

XIA

China

18,040,000

4

YEN-HAN

CHEN

China

12,440,000

5

WEN WEN

CHEN

China

8,860,000

6

KUAN HAN

CHEN

Taiwan

6,530,000

7

ZHICHEN

YU

China

4,980,000

8

QINGBO

GAO

China

3,930,000

9

HSUEH-YI

CHEN

Taiwan

3,230,000

About the Editor

SMP Editor

The SMP Editor covers international poker and iGaming for SoMuchPoker, providing news, tournament coverage, and industry insights. With a focus on accuracy, clarity, and relevance, the editor helps readers stay informed about developments across the global poker community.