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Second SHR title! Josh McCully takes down the Billionaire Club Challenge!
Well past the crack of dawn, Aussie sensation Josh McCully clinched the Billionaire Club Challenge for his second USOP Danang win. McCully denied Korea’s Soo Jo Kim at heads up to capture the jaw dropping VN₫ 6.55 Billion (~USD 264K) top prize.
Coming into this event, McCully was already the richest earner at the series with a victory at the Superstar Challenge and runner-up at the Super High Roller for a combined VN₫ 5.3 Billion (~USD 200K). McCully now joins Vietnam’s Hoang Hai Nam in taking down two Super High Roller events at the same series.
Watch the livestream via the link provided:
Date: March 29, 2024
Buy in: VN₫ 250,000,000 (~$10,288)
Guarantee: VN₫ 4,000,000,000 (~$164,840)
Prize pool: VN₫ 25,142,400,000 (~USD 1,013,741)
Entries: 108 (67 unique)
ITM: 16 places
| Place | Player | Flag | Payout in VND | ~USD |
| 1 | Josh Mccully | Australia | 6,550,000,000 | 264,219 |
| 2 | Soo Jo Kim | Korea | 4,373,600,000 | 176,426 |
| 3 | Shylko Aliaksandr | Belarus | 3,035,800,000 | 122,461 |
| 4 | Christian Harder | USA | 2,170,200,000 | 87,543 |
| 5 | Yohwan Lim | Korea | 1,600,100,000 | 64,546 |
| 6 | Qiao Chi | China | 1,217,400,000 | 49,109 |
| 7 | Joey Weissman | USA | 957,100,000 | 38,608 |
| 8 | Kim Yong | Korea | 778,400,000 | 31,400 |
| 9 | Lyu Junqiang | China | 655,600,000 | 26,446 |
Chips in play: 27,000,000
Final 9 players
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
| Seat | Player | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Josh McCuly | 2,460,000 | 31 |
| 2 | Joey Weissman | 910,000 | 11 |
| 3 | Christian Harder | 6,635,000 | 83 |
| 4 | Qiao Chi | 3,515,000 | 44 |
| 5 | Shylko Aliaksandr | 1,325,000 | 17 |
| 6 | Soo Jo Kim | 7,275,000 | 91 |
| 7 | Kim Yong | 2,295,000 | 29 |
| 8 | Lyu Junqiang | 1,095,000 | 14 |
| 9 | Yohwan Lim | 1,490,000 | 19 |
03:27: Jaesung Lee eliminated in 10th place – VN₫ 655,600,000 (~USD 26,446)
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
Utg Jaesung Lee raises 1,060,000, Christian Harder calls. At the flop 
, Harder shoves, Lee calls for his tournament life and shows 
way behind Harder’s 
. The turn 
and river 
further improve Harder to a full house. Lee is eliminated.
Chrisitan Harder – 6,600,000 (82 bb)
Jaesung Lee – eliminated in 10th place
03:23: Josh McCully doubles up
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
Josh McCully all in with 
, Christian Harder attempts to eliminate with 
, board runs 
.
Josh McCully – 2,500,000 (31 bb)
Christian Harder – 5,300,000 (66 bb)
03:20: Anton Lu eliminated 12th, Xiao Shizi eliminated 11th
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
Christian Harder sends Anton Lu and Xiao Shizi packing simultaneously with standing against 
and 
on a board 
.
Christian Harder – 6,400,000 (80 bb)
Anton Lu – eliminated in 12th place – VN₫ 527,900,000 (~USD 21,295)
Xiao Shizi – eliminated in 11th place – VN₫ 527,900,000 (~USD 21,295)
03:14: Anton Lu plunges
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
Button Josh McCully open shoves, small blind Anton Lu three-bets all in to successfully isolate. McCully has 
, Lu 
, the board runs 
. McCully doubles up while Lu plunges to 1 bb.
Josh McCully – 1,070,000 (13 bb)
Anton Lu – 140,000 (1 bb)
03:12: Max Bauer eliminated 14th, Jon Borenstein eliminated 13th
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
Qiao Chi delivers a double bust with beating out Max Bauer’s 
and Jon Borenstein’s on a board 
.
Qiao Chi – 6,100,000 (76 bb)
Max Bauer – eliminated in 14th place – VN₫ 517,500,000 (~USD 20,875_
Jon Borenstein – eliminated in 13th place – VN₫ 517,500,000 (~USD 20,875)
03:06: Yita Choong eliminated in 15th place – VN₫ 483,900,00 (~USD 19,520)
Level 21: 40,000-80,000 ante 80,000
Xiao Shizi’s 
hold on a board 
to rail Yita Choong 
in 15th place.
Xiao Shizi – 1,800,000 (22 bb)
Yita Choong – eliminated in 15th place
02:46: Tobias Bui eliminated in 16th place – VN₫ 483,900,000 (~USD 19,520)
Level 20: 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000
Tobias Bui calls Qiao Chi’s raise then calls down the board 
– 170,000, 425,000, and all in on the river. Chi has 
trips Bui eliminated with 
.
Qiao Chi – 4,200,000 (70 bb)
Tobias Bui – eliminated in 16th place
02:22: Final 16 players
Level 20: 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000
| Seat | Player | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Yohwan Lim | 1,150,000 | 19 |
| 2 | Xiao Shizi | 600,000 | 10 |
| 3 | Jaesung Lee | 1,100,000 | 18 |
| 4 | Christian Harder | 3,800,000 | 63 |
| 5 | Joey Weissman | 1,750,000 | 29 |
| 6 | Josh McCuly | 650,000 | 11 |
| 7 | Yita Choong | 750,000 | 13 |
| 8 | Anton Lu | 1300000 | 22 |
| 1 | Shylko Aliaksandr | 1,200,000 | 20 |
| 2 | Tobias Bui | 1,300,000 | 22 |
| 3 | Jon Borenstein | 700,000 | 12 |
| 4 | Soo Jo Kim | 3,100,000 | 52 |
| 5 | Kim Yong | 2,300,000 | 38 |
| 6 | Qiao Chi | 3,100,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Lyu Junqiang | 800000 | 13 |
| 8 | Max Bauer | 2,600,000 | 43 |
02:21: Adam Martinsson bubbles!
Level 20: 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000
Adam Martinsson all in for his last 5 bb with 
then is outdrawn by Christian Harder’s on a board 
to fall on the stone cold bubble.
Christian Harder – 3,800,000 (63 bb)
Adam Martinson – eliminated on the bubble
02:20: Kim Yong shaves a chunk off Tobias Bui
Level 20: 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000
Action folds to the small blind Tobias Bui who raises 140,000, big blind Kim Yong defends, flop is . Bui c-bets 90,000, Kim calls. Bui bets 250,000 on the turn and Kim calls again. The river , Bui sends out 450,000, Kim raises 1,100,000, Bui folds.
Kim Yong – 3,100,000 (51 bb)
Tobias Bui – 1,300,000 (21 bb)
02:08: Nguyen Man Hao eliminated
Level 19: 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000
Nguyen Manh Hao three-bet shoves with and runs into Tobias Bui’s . No magic arrives on the board, Nguyen is out before the money.
Tobias Bui – 1,700,000 (34 bb)
Nguyen Manh Hao – eliminated
02:00: Jaesung Lee’s Queens earn the max
Level 19: 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000
Button raises, small blind Jaesung lee three-bets 630,000 leaving 5,000 behind, button calls. At the flop , Lee tosses the last chip in, button calls. Button opens , Lee with . The turn and river is good to Lee for a double up.
Jaesung Lee – 1,360,000 (27 bb)
01:54: Soo Jo Kim sends Pham Thanh Hai to the exit
Level 19: 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000
Pham Thanh Hai three-bets all in for his last 3 bb with to battle with, he is called by initial raiser Soo Jo Kim with 
. Kim rivers a pair to send Pham out of the tournament floor.
Soo Jo Kim – 2,000,000 (40 bb)
Pham Thanh Hai – eliminated
01:45: Kim Yong takes a chunk from Tobias Bui
Level 19: 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000
Cutoff Tobias Bui opens, big blind Kim Yong defends, flop is 
. Bui bets 125,000, Yong check-calls. Same action on the turn with Kim check-calling a 175,000 bet. On the river 
, Kim leads out 300,000, Bui calls, Kim takes the pot with 
.
Kim Yong – 3,000,000 (60 bb)
Tobias Bui – 600,000 (5 bb)
01:39: Nguyen Manh Hai triples up
Level 19: 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000
Utg+1 Pham Thanh Hai opens 100,000, button Tobias Bui calls, small blind Nguyen Manh Hao three-bets all in for a short 230,000, and is called by both Pham and Bui. At the flop , Pham bets 60,000, Bui folds to deny a side pot. Pham shows , Nguyen . The turn and river 
are good to Nguyen for a triple up.
Nguyen Manh Hao – 790,000 (16 bb)
Pham Thanh Hai – 300,000 (6 bb)
Tobias Bui – 1,600,000 (32 bb)
01:35: Final 19 players
Level 19: 25,000-50,000 ante 50,000
| Seat | Player | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Yohwan Lim | 1,500,000 | 30 |
| 2 | Xiao Shizi | 1,300,000 | 26 |
| 3 | Jaesung Lee | 400,000 | 8 |
| 4 | Qiao Chi | 3,500,000 | 70 |
| 5 | Joey Weissman | 1,200,000 | 24 |
| 6 | Josh McCully | 950,000 | 19 |
| 7 | Yita Choong | 1,000,000 | 20 |
| Seat | Player | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Tobias Bui | 1,800,000 | 36 |
| 2 | Nguyen Manh Hao | 250,000 | 5 |
| 3 | SJ Kim | 2,100,000 | 42 |
| 4 | Kim Yong | 2,050,000 | 41 |
| 5 | Pham Thanh Hai | 500,000 | 10 |
| 6 | Max Bauer | 240,000 | 5 |
| Seat | Player | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Adam Martinsson | 500,000 | 10 |
| 2 | Anton Lu | 1,400,000 | 28 |
| 3 | Lyu Junqiang | 1,000,000 | 20 |
| 4 | Shylko Aliaksandr | 1,050,000 | 21 |
| 5 | Jon Borenstein | 850,000 | 17 |
| 6 | Christian Harder | 2,700,000 | 54 |
01:18: Christian Harder rails Jin Hoon Lee
Level 18: 20,000-40,000 ante 40,000
Action folds to the small blind Christian Harder who shoves with , big blind Jin Hoon Lee is covered and calls with. Both improve on the board , Harder is ahead and rails Lee.
Christian Harder – 2,800,000 (93 bb)
Jin Hoon Lee – eliminated
01:08: Anton Lu finishes off Nguyen Duc Anh
Level 18: 20,000-40,000 ante 40,000
Short stacked Nguyen Duc Anh shoves with , button Anton Lu calls , no other takers. The board runs 
.
Anton Lu – 1,200,000 (40 bb)
Nguyen Duc Anh – eliminated
01:01: Jon Borenstein gets a boost
Level 18: 20,000-40,000 ante 40,000
Cutoff Jon Borenstein shoves 370,000, button Nguyen Duc Anh jams no other callers for a showdown. Borenstein , Nguyen , board runs 
, Borenstein doubles through.
Jon Borenstein – 840,000 (28 bb)
Nguyen Duc Anh – 165,000 (5 bb)
00:54: High Roller champions go head to head
Level 18: 20,000-40,000 ante 40,000
Down to 13 bb, High Roller Deepstack winner Joseph Cheong goes all in and is challenged by High Roller Warm Up champion Anton Lu. Cheong has , Lu with . The board runs low until the ace on the river 
to dust Cheong.
Anton Lu – 1,400,000 (46 bb)
Joseph Cheong – eliminated
00:52: Soo Jo Kim rails Sean Ooi
Level 17: 15,000-30,000 ante 30,000
Soo Jo Kim raises then calls Sean Ooi’s three-bet jam. It’s fifty-fifty with Kim and Ooi . No hits for Ooi on board 
.
Soo Jo Kim – 2,650,000 (88 bb)
Sean Ooi – eliminated
00:44: Tobias Bui cleans out Nguyen Quang Huy
Level 17: 15,000-30,000 ante 30,000
Nguyen Quang Huy shoves his 16 bb stack with and falls to Tobias Bui on board 
.
Tobias Bui – 1,800,000 (60 bb)
Nguyen Quang Huy – eliminated
00:20: Sean Ooi depletes Nguyen Quang Huy
Level 17: 15,000-30,000 ante 30,000
Sean Ooi all in for 245,000, cutoff Nguyen Quang Huy obliges. The board runs .
Sean Ooi – 565,000 (18 bb)
Nguyen Quang Huy – 470,000 (15 bb)
00:07: Tobias Bui unhappy at the shove; Kim Yong banks it
Level 16: 10,000-25,000 ante 25,000
Heavy betting action kicks off with a min-raise by Kim Yong from utg+2, blinds call, flop is . Blinds check Kim Yong fires 35,000, small blind Nguyen Quang Huy raises 100,000, big blind Tobias Bui re-raises 310,000, back to Kim who fires a four-bet shove of 605,000, Nguyen five-bets all in with 1,500,000 total, Bui folds.
Kim Yong flush
Nguyen Quang Huy top pair / nut flush draw
The turn and river is good for a double up to Kim. Bui seemingly very upset at Nguyen’s push says he had a queen high flush but didn’t show.
Kim Yong – 2,585,000 (103 bb)
Nguyen Quang Huy – 900,000 (36 bb)
Tobias Bui – 800,000 (32 bb)
00:00 Soo Jo Kim survives the flip against Sean Ooi
Level 16: 10,000-25,000 ante 25,000
Soo Jo Kim raises 55,000, cutoff Sean Ooi re-raises 250,000, Kim four-bets all in for 780,000, Ooi calls to put Kim at risk. Kim is flipping with against Ooi’s . The flop quickly grants Kim the set then completes for a double up.
Soo Jo Kim – 1,620,000 (64 bb)
Sean Ooi – 300,000 (12 bb)
23:44: Max Bauer give Jack Salter the boot
Level 16: 10,000-25,000 ante 25,000
Max Bauer min-raises from the button, small blind Jack Salter bumps it up to 400,000, Bauer four-bets all in, Salter calls for the rest of his chips and turns over . Bauer is ahead , no help comes for Salter on a board . Salter goes bust.
Max Bauer – 1,600,000 (64 bb)
Jack Salter – eliminated
23:24: Sean Ooi doubles up with queens
Level 16: 10,000-25,000 ante 25,000
Cutoff opens 60,000, small blind three-bets 185,000, big blind Sean Ooi four-bet shoves for 405,000, back to cutoff with a five-bet jam, small blind folds.
Sean Ooi –
Cutoff –
Board runs , Ooi ships it for a double up and more.
Sean Ooi – 1,020,000 (40 bb)
23:15: Chip leaders at the new level
Level 16: 10,000-25,000 ante 25,000
Qiao Chi – 2,000,000 (80 bb)
Nguyen Quang Huy – 2,400,000 (96 bb)
Christian Harder – 2,200,000 (88 bb)
23:01: Alan Pham goes down
Level 15: 10,000-20,000 ante 20,000
Down to 5 bb, Alan Pham is all in holding , his nemesis Lyu Junqiang calls with , board runs 7S}. Lyu lands the higher straight to end Pham.
Lyu Junqiang – 1,300,000 (65 bb)
Alan Pham – eliminated
23:00: Qiao Chi outkicks Ryan Plant
Level 15: 10,000-20,000 ante 20,000
Ryan Plant three-bet all in with , initial raiser Qiao Chi calls and has better . The board keeeps it that way as it runs .
Qiao Chi – 2,000,000 (100 bb)
Ryan Plant – eliminated
22:50: Lyu Junqiang’s rockets deny Alan Pham’s queens
Level 15: 10,000-20,000 ante 20,000
Heavy preflop bets lead to shoves. Lyu Junqiang , Alan Pham the board runs .
Lyu Junqiang – 1,040,000 (52 bb)
Alan Pham – 100,000 (5 bb)
22:47: Christian Harder outkicks Dao Minh Phu
Level 15: 10,000-20,000 ante 20,000
Utg+1 Dao Minh Phu min-raises, next to act Dao Minh Phu calls, with no other takers, they go see a flop . Harder c-bets 65,000, Phu calls. Same as well on the turn with a 150,000 bet called by Phu. The river , Harder shoves, Phu tanks then calls for his tournament life. Harder has , Phu eliminated with lower kicker.
Christian Harder – 2,100,000 (105 bb)
Dao Minh Phu – eliminated
22:36: Qiao Chi drives the pot and claims it
Level 15: 10,000-20,000 ante 20,000
Action folds to the button Qiao Chi who bumps it up to 50,000, big blind Aliaksanr Shylko defends, then both players check the flop . On the turn, Chi fires 100,000 and Shylko check-calls. Same action on the river with Chi betting 300,000, Shylko calls and shows , then mucks to Chi’s higher kicker.
Qiao Chi – 1,600,000 (80 bb)
Aliaksandr Shylko – 200,000 (10 bb)
22:17: Joey Weissman puts the pressure on Soo Jo Kim
Level 14: 10,000-15,000 ante 15,000
Cutoff Joey Weissman raises 35,000, big blind Soo Jo Kim calls. Kim proceeds to check-call bets 75,000 and 160,000 to the turn . On the river , Weissman fires 500,000, Kim check-folds.
Joey Weissman – 1,350,000 (90 bb)
Soo Jo Kim – 1,000,000 (66 bb)
22:00: Yita Choong rails Yeh Hung Wei
Level 14: 10,000-15,000 ante 15,000
From utg, Yeh Hung Wei raises then calls button Yita Choong’s three-bet to 75,000. Flop comes , Choong c-bets 60,000, Wei check-raises all in for 200,000, Choong calls and shows . Wei has . The turn and river are no help to Wei to bump the rail.
Yita Choong – 800,000 (53 bb)
Yeh Hung Wei – eliminated
21:40: Nguyen Ngoc Dai jumps in the Billionaire Club Challenge
Level 13: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000
USOP Main Event champion Nguyen Ngoc Dai didn’t fare well at Main Event Day 1B and has jumped in the much higher buy in tournament, the Billionaire Club Challenge. He recently won a pot against utg+1 Joey Weissman who opened 26,000, and small blind Nguyen three-bet all in for 101,000, Weissman called and was behind to Nguyen’s . The board ran for a double up.
Nguyen Ngoc Dai – 220,000 (18 bb)
Joey Weissman – 650,000 (54 bb)
21:20: Big stacks
Level 13: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000
| Qiao Chi | 1,850,000 | 154 bb |
| Adam Martinsson | 950,000 | 79 bb |
| Christian Harder | 1,200,000 | 100 bb |
| Max Bauer | 1,100,000 | 92 bb |
| Dao Minh Phu | 1,000,000 | 83 bb |
Prize pool is in… USD 1 Million – VN₫ 25,142,400,000!
A million USD prize pool amassed at the Billionaire Club Challenge! That is the largest side event prize pool in USOP history. The eventual champion is poised to take home a hefty VN₫ 6,550,000,000 (~USD 264,000)!
| Place | Payout in VN₫ | ~USD |
| 1 | 6,550,000,000 | 264,219 |
| 2 | 4,373,600,000 | 176,426 |
| 3 | 3,035,800,000 | 122,461 |
| 4 | 2,170,200,000 | 87,543 |
| 5 | 1,600,100,000 | 64,546 |
| 6 | 1,217,400,000 | 49,109 |
| 7 | 957,100,000 | 38,608 |
| 8 | 778,400,000 | 31,400 |
| 9-10 | 655,600,000 | 26,446 |
| 11-12 | 527,900,000 | 21,295 |
| 13-14 | 517,500,000 | 20,875 |
| 15-16 | 483,900,000 | 19,520 |
21:08: Billionaire Club Challenge closes at record 108 entries!
Level 13: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000
Record entries at the Billionaire Club Challenge with 108 on record! This should see a pot of VN₫ 25 Billion. We will have the official numbers once it has been released.
44 players remaining.
17:45: Joshua McCully in the house
Level 8: 3000-5000 ante 5000
Hot running Josh McCully has arrived. If you are just catching up with the action, McCully championed the Superstar Challenge and placed 2nd at the High Roller Championship. At the inaugural Billionaire Club Challenge, McCully finished 4th.
17:00: Billionaire Club Challenge setting new record attendance
Level 8: 3000-5000 ante 5000
Coming into today, the target was to crack the inaugural Billionaire Club Challenge turnout and five hours into registration, the deed was done! The event now has 79 entries with time still left to jump in. Not for the light-hearted though as the buy in is a jaw dropping 250 Milliong Vietnamese Dong, equivalent to USD 10.2K.
16:15: Michael Andersson chipleading
Level 6: 1500-3000 ante 3000
Currently sitting on the biggest stack is Michael Andersson with around 1,100,000. Dao Minh Phu also with a hefty 850,000.
16:10: Check out the lineup, 54 entries
Level 6: 1500-3000 ante 3000
More players have joined the action. 54 at the moment. Among them are inaugural runner-up Nam Hyung Kim, Yita Choong, Hoang Hai Nam, Dao Minh Phu, Anton Lu, Seung Mook Jung, Jaesung Lee, Mike Takayama, Thomas Ward, Martin Sedlak, Yohwan Lim, Xiao Sheng Zheng, Nguyen Quang Huy, Joseph Cheong, Quan Qiu, Dinh Tien Thanh, and Jack Salter.
15:20: 42 entries
Level 5: 1000-25000 ante 2500
The largest buy in event of USOP Danang 2024 is the Billionaire Club Challenge coming in at a mighty VN₫ 250,000,000 (~$10,288) with a VN₫ 4,000,000,000 (~$164,840) guarantee. This event attracts the most fearless players. On its inaugural run, the event attracted 72 entries with Korea’s Jinho Hong taking the crown and Nam Hyung Kim as runner up.
For this edition, registration closes at the start of Level 13 at approximately 8:40pm. This is a one day event. Starting stack is 250,000 with blinds escalating every 40 minutes.
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
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