Poker Dream Vietnam: Hojin Kim bags the lead at Main Event Day 1A; 72 players advance out of 293 entries

SMP Editor
SMP EditorEditor-in-Chief

Off to a flying start at the inaugural Poker Dream Vietnam – MAIN EVENT – with 293 entries lighting up the Grand Hall of Hoiana Hotel & Suites. The highlight event is on pace to surpass its ₫10 Billion guarantee with two more starting heats to complete.

Hojin Kim
Hojin Kim

Day 1A wrapped up with 72 players remaining led by Korea’s Hojin Kim with an equivalent of a 103 BB stack. Trailing Kim are Philippines’ Jeffrey Pamplonaand another Korean player Jenam Yu, both players bagging up a 93 BB stack. Listed below are the top 10 in chips. The full list can be found in the Live Updates page.

Hojin Kim

Korea

310,500

Jeffrey Tan Pamplona

Philippines

280,500

Jenam Yu

Korea

280,500

Dinh Xuan Dinh

Vietnam

262,500

Shyh Chyn Lim

Malaysia

242,000

Dhaval Mudgal

India

231,500

Ta Khanh Linh

Vietnam

221,000

Jiwon Yoon

Korea

220,500

Moses Calma Saquing

USA

200,000

Aigars Plivcs

Latvia

197,000

The event ran a scheduled 12 rounds of 40-minute levels with registration closing at the start of Level 10. Among the early movers was Jenam Yu who was one of the first players to cross the 100K marker. Midway through, Malaysia’s Shyh Chyn Lim held court up top having railed numerous players that included Kyle Bao Diep on a flip.

Jeffrey Pamplona
Jeffrey Pamplona

Towards the later part of the day, Jeffrey Pamplona was seen chipping up when he landed a monster takedown that awarded him all of Kannapong Thanarattrakul’s stack. Pamplona claimed the top rank until near the close of day when Hojin Kim usurped after sending Kim Hyung Sup crashing to the rails. Another player bagging a big stack was India’s Dhaval Mudgal who started off the day swinging wildly then found stability to rack up 77 BB.

Ming San Chung
Ming San Chung

On the flip side, many of the fallen included Tiger Lee and Abhinav Iyer – both players busting on a three way against Ming San Chung, Super High Roller 3rd placer Hamish Crawshaw also got the boot on a three way, while Taiwanese players Jack Wu and Fu Bang Huang could not survive the last hands of the day. Good news for them, there are still two starters left to get back in the game.

Main Event continues on Friday, October 21 with cards in the air for Day 1B at 1pm followed by Day 1C (Turbo) at 8pm. Buy in is ₫25,000,000 (~$1,020). Somuchpoker will be onsite to bring you updates on the action.

Poker Dream Vietnam has been ongoing since October 14 and will run through October 23 at the Grand Hall of Hoiana Hotel & Suites.

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Live Updates page
Poker Dream Player Guide
Daily event pics – Somuchpoker fb page
Main Event info

Article links:

Poker Dream releases Hoi An full schedule
Poker Dream makes landfall in Hoi An, Vietnam
Poker Dream kicks off
Poker Dream: Day 1 recap
Poker Dream: First four trophies awarded
Poker Dream: Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand lift trophies

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.