Kyungmin Lee

Kyungmin Lee or Kyung Min Lee is a poker professional born in South Korea but resides in Los Angeles, California. For Lee’s career, persistence is key, and the door opens to volumes of tournaments, no matter how low level they may seem. The United States is both Kyungmin Lee’s home as it is his most favored playing field. Lee has participated mainly in the American tournaments and a smattering of Asian tournaments in Macau, Manila and South Korea. He has so far been successful with the strategy as Lee is ranked 21st in the South Korea All Time Money List amassing a total career earnings of $897,303.

Kyungmin Lee’s first 4 years of his career was played exclusively in the Unites States at tournaments that understandably were located around the Los Angeles County. His first recorded cash was in 2013 at Big Poker Oktober, Los Angeles (Bell Gardens) already with a runner-up finish and five-figure cash of $10,180. Lee was also a regular participant at a tournament staged in the Hustler Casino in Gardena. As referenced by the name, the casino was built by Larry Flynt, publisher of the controversial Hustler Magazine. Flynt, also a poker afficionado, sponsored tournaments and named them after him and his wife Liz (Larry Flynt died in 2021). Kyungmin Lee performed well in these tournaments banking his first big cash of $78,500 in April 2014, finishing second in the NLH of the Liz Flynt Spring Poker Classic, Gardena. A year later at the same tournament, Lee shipped the NLH Heads-Up Event for his first ever poker title and a cash of $8,000. A few months later, the South Korean would clinch another title this time at the Larry Flynt Grand Slam of Poker, bagging the NLH Bounty Survivor. A month earlier, Lee picked up a side event win at the WPTDeepStacks – WPTDS Los Angeles. The following year in February 2016, he maintained his tournament orbit within the Los Angeles county this time finishing second in the NLH Event of the World Poker Tour L.A Poker Classic, cashing $18,620.

In December 2017, Kyungmin Lee made a diversion from his usual poker tournament sphere by entering the Asian Poker Tour Macau Championships with not much success. The following year, Lee quickly returned to his comfort zone in the U.S., competing for the first time outside the L.A. County with a stint at the 49th World Series of Poker -2018, Las Vegas. He made a deep run at the Super Turbo Bounty Event winning $17,458. In August, Lee would try his luck a second time in Asia, playing in the Asian Poker Tours Incheon and Manila, still with not much success. He fell back again to his tournament of choice in Gardena, making a final table finish at the NLH Event of the Larry Flynt’s Holiday Poker Classic, banking $20,230 to close the year.

Kyungmin Lee began 2019 thinking third time lucky, with a season start in Asia. It paid off with a second-place finish at the PLO Event of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Korea, Incheon then claiming his 3rd title at the WPT Korea High Roller Event of the World Poker Tour Incheon, cashing big at $78,162. Lee finished 2019 back in the U.S.A. with a side event win in the Superstack Event of the DeepStack Extravaganza NYE, Las Vegas. Another trip to Asia in 2020 yielded more success at the Red Dragon Manila with deep runs at the Red Dragon High Roller, 6 Max and Red Dragon Main Events to collect a combined cash of nearly $40,000.

Kyungmin Lee returned to tournament play after the pandemic in March 2021, going deep at the Wynn Spring Classic, Las Vegas NLH Championship, for a significant cash of $42,366. This was a prelude to a career milestone at the DeepStack Championship Poker Series (MSPT, WPT, WPTDS, PokerGO Tour), Las Vegas, making the final table of the Venetian High Roller 01 Event, banking a career best cash of $100,100. Other career highlights were a runner-up finish in August 2022 at the High Roller Event of the World Poker Championship – WPC SESSION3, Gyeonggi-do, cashing $44,514. Lee then made another deep run at the Main Event of the 2022 LA Poker Open (LAPO), Los Angeles collecting a $90,000 payoff. 2024 saw Lee with decent runs at the Asian Poker Tour Jeju,-APT Main Event and 55th World Series of Poker, Las Vegas – Super Turbo 8-Handed Freezout Event combining a total cash of $42,552.

*Profile by Mike Alcazaren