The Past USOP Champions: An International Collection

 

It has been nearly five months since Malaysia’s Ian Lee survived a marathon heads-up finale against local sensation Quang Thai Phan to hoist his first-ever title in the U Series of Poker (USOP) Main Event in Danang, Vietnam. Today, we look back at the six USOP champions as USOP Hai Phong draws near.

USOP Champions

Edwin de la Cruz (PHI) – 2023 USOP Poker2U Taiwan Series

The USOP traces its humble beginnings to February 2023 in Taipei City, Taiwan. With modest buy-ins at its onset, the fledgling tour managed to capture a small international market and draw over one thousand entries into its Main Event—albeit for an investment of only about US$ 600+. Still, it was a feat for the time.

Amidst a phalanx of players from Malaysia and host Taiwan, it was a Filipino player Edwin de la Cruz who etched his name in poker lore as the first champion of the USOP Main Event.

Cruz, known as “Hit D’Heat” in the Philippine online scene, outlasted local bet Song Liu for his first-ever triumph. Cruz started out playing online with friends in Zynga Poker for play money and eventually developed his chops to see action in a multitude of big live events in the Philippines since 2019 where he finished 31st in the PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series 13 Warm-Up event for a modest US$ 217. 

Starting in 2022, Cruz began a hot streak that had him attain about 30 cashes in tournaments mostly in the Philippines but had never taken one down. That all changed in Taiwan when he bested a field of 1,043 entries for his first conquest and about US$ 98,340— representing his first career five-digit haul. Little did the diminutive shark know that it would serve as the springboard to what would be a memorable 2023.

De la Cruz went on to take down the Poker Dream Manila Main Event in a duel for the ages against Italian cash-game specialist Alessandro Taranto of Italy as well as Megastack event in USOP Hanoi and a runner-up finish in the APPT Manila Megastack Freezeout for two more five-digit scores.

He did have four cashes in the 2024 USOP Taiwan but failed in his quest to defend his Main Event title. Could he be poised for a comeback in Hai Phong?

Nguyen Ngoc Dai (VIE) – 2023 USOP Hanoi I

When the proceedings moved to the Crown Poker Club in Hanoi, Vietnam for its second sortie in April, the Vietnamese sharks came in full force. 22 of its 28 events were won by locals, including the Main Event where Nguyen Ngoc Dai was the last man standing in a field of 851 entries. 

Nguyen, an online grinder from Hanoi who began his live career in 2019, had his fifth win and first Main Event title for about US$ 127,975, which still is his biggest tournament win to date. His slow start to 2024 was halted by emerging victorious in the Superstack event of the Vietnam Poker League (VPL) Summer Series in Hanoi just last May. Nguyen is now priming himself for a deep run in Hai Phong. 

Vishal Ojha (IND) – 2023 USOP Hanoi II Main Event

Since the game’s re-emergence into the mainstream in 2022, the Indian contingent has been omnipresent in all of the major festivals in the region and with a field of 1,336 entries for the USOP Hanoi II Main Event (still held at the Crown Poker Club), Vishal Ojha took down his only title there last September.

Ojha cut an ICM deal with eventual runner-up Mai Bien before heads-up and brought home about US$ 239,000 also representing his biggest haul ever. Prior to that triumph, the Kolkata native’s biggest live score was for about US$ 3,500 in a High Roller event in the WPT Prime in Goa. 

The win catapulted Ojha to seven more cashes in 2023 but he has not yet come close to his magical run in Hanoi. His best finish in 2024 thus far has been fourth in a 6-Max event in the WPT Cambodia last July. 

The Naing (SGP) – 2023 USOP Danang Main Event

When one talks about a virtual wire-to-wire win, look no further than the domination displayed by The Naing as in the 2023 USOP Danang Main Event held at the Furama Resort in Vietnam, the Singaporean dealt knockout blow after knockout blow en route to what is still the biggest payout in his budding career for about US$ 205,676. 

By the time the Final Table was five-handed, The Naing had more than half the chips in play and ended defeating the host country’s Nguyen Trung Ha in a short heads-up battle. 

The Naing has still not come close to replicating his feat, but also made his mark on the USOP in the next Danang staging in 2024 by triumphing in the Mini High-Roller for about US$22,125. He is still among the most anticipated draws in the USOP and is looking to add to what has so far been a blistering 2024 with ten cashes in three countries already. 

Chen Yu “Sam” Hung (TWN/USA) – 2024 USOP Taiwan

Sam Hung has had an illustrious international since obtaining his first recorded cash at a WSOP Circuit event in 2016. The Taiwanese-American began frequenting his homeland in 2018 and quickly became among its most dominant personalities. 

But despite his vast experience playing in the WSOP and abroad, Hung’s previous three conquests have been in Taiwan. 

He got his breakthrough Main Event victory early this year by besting a field of 1,100 entries and having to grind against Korean pro Lee Gyeong Byeong in a two-hour duel for the crown and the about US$ 173,243 top prize – still Hung’s only six-figure haul in his long career. 

That served as the precursor to ten more cashes this year, including two in the WSOP last June.

Ian Lee (MAS) – 2024 USOP Danang I

Coming into the Final Table of the most recent USOP staging, Ian Lee had openly shared that he is the only one in his circle of friends who had not won an international poker title. 

The Malaysian businessman had come close before in USOP Hanoi II with a second-place finish against Vietnam’s hyperagro Hoang Hai Nam in the Superstar Challenge and against fellow Malaysian Zi Sheng Ong in the 2023 Poker Dream 6 Malaysia Mystery Bounty event. 

At Danang’s Pullman Resort last April, Lee faced a slew of international competitors and needed almost six hours to finally dispose of local bet Phan Quang Thai to cop that elusive first win and his first (and only) six-digit purse of about US$ 287,336. 

The win in Danang, however, was Lee’s last score of the year and he became the sixth nationality to take down the Main Event.

Coming into the Hai Phong leg, could the next Main Event titlist be YOU? Unleash your inner champion at the upcoming USOP Main Event! Event kicks off on the 19th of September featuring a VND 15 Billion (~US$ 603,700) guarantee. Buy-in is VND 30 Billion (~US$ 1,200). 

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*Article by Noel Zarate