Days: Day 1A / Day 1B / Day 1C / Day 2
More info: Chip counts / Payouts & Results / Tournament Info
Le Giang Nam bags the chip lead at Kickoff Event Day 1A
After Vietnam’s Le Giang Nam cracked pocket Kings, he continued to ascend to wrap up Kickoff Event Day 1A as chip leader with 494,000 (33 bb). The opening heat attracted 141 entries (107 unique) with 18 advancing to the next round. When they return, each one is guaranteed to cash. Up next is Day 1B which runs on Wednesday, March 20, 2024 starting at 12pm local time.
Kickoff Event – Day 1A
Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~USD 362)
Guarantee: VN₫ 2,000,000,000 (~USD 81,930)
Entries: 141 (107 unique)
ITM: 18 players
Chips in play: 4,230,000
| Player | Flag | Stacxk | BB |
| Le Giang Nam | Viet Nam | 494,000 | 33 |
| Chris Wang | China | 414,000 | 28 |
| Juan Gelez | USA | 380,000 | 25 |
| Armon Van Wijk | Australia | 338,000 | 23 |
| Li Xialin | China | 334,000 | 22 |
| Iurii Vorotnikov | Russia | 286,000 | 19 |
| Nguyen Tien Thanh | Viet Nam | 279,000 | 19 |
| Tran Duc Kien (Keni Tran) | Viet Nam | 262,000 | 17 |
| Yankai Zhang | China | 245,000 | 16 |
| Allen Zheng Zhong Zhou | China | 219,000 | 15 |
| Evgenii Chernyi | Russia | 211,000 | 14 |
| Yechi Palach | Panama | 209,000 | 14 |
| Yong Whan Bae | Korea | 160,000 | 11 |
| Daniel Hoadley | UK | 100,000 | 7 |
| Mengran Wang | China | 98,000 | 7 |
| Erik Rozhynskyi | Ukraine | 81,000 | 5 |
| Hyungtaek Jo | Korea | 79,000 | 5 |
| Sergei Iablokov | Russia | 42,000 | 3 |
21:18: Bubble bursts! Day 1A ends
Level 21: 10,000-15,000 ante 15,000
On just the third hand for hand deal, the bubble burst with Chris Wang cleaning out a short stack. Wang pushed on the button with 
, small blind called with 
, the board 
.
Chris Wang – 414,000
21:08: Lai Zhijian eliminated, money bubble round begins
Level 21: 10,000-15,000 ante 15,000
Short stacked Lai Zhijian all in for his last 3 bb holding 
and is sent packing by two callers, both with King-Queen that landed the straight on board 
.
Le Giang Nam – 470,000
Armon Van Wijk – 340,000
Lai Zhijian – eliminated
21:00: On the cusp of the bubble
Level 21: 10,000-15,000 ante 15,000
20 players remaining out of the 141 entry field. Bubble is near with just two spots to the money.
20:51: Break time, 20 players remaining
Level 20: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000
Two spots to the money here with 20 players remaining and ITM at 18. Le Giang Nam maintains his top spot with 450,000 in chips.
20:32: Le Giang Nam outdraws Young Hun
Level 20: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000
Another shorty goes bust with Young Hun’s 
outdrawn by Le Giang Nam’s 
on a board 
.
Le Giang Nam – 450,000
Young Hun – eliminated
20:27: Tien Thanh dusts Cao Kai Lin
Level 19: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000
Down to just 7.5 bb, Cao Kai Lin pushes all in on the button holding 
but is denied the blinds and antes. Big blind Tien Thanh calls with and proceeds to send Lin to the ground.
Tien Thanh – 220,000
Cao Kai Lin – eliminated
20:16: Chernyi Evgenii crushes Kyle Bao Diep’s hopes
Level 19: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000
Facing a three-bet by button Chernyi Evegenii, USOP Ambassador Kyle Bao Diep calls for all of his chips with , initial raiser Li Xialin folds, Evgenii turns over 
for a flip. The flop further improves Evegnii while giving Diep some hope for the nut flush, but as it completes 
, Diep misses and goes bust.
Chernyi Evgenii – 211,000
Li Xialin – 350,000
Kyle Bao Diep – eliminated
20:10: No chop as Young Hun’s edge proves a winner
Level 19: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000
All in preflop with Young Hun’s 
slightly ahead of Armon Van Wijk’s . The slight edge made all the difference on board 
.
Young Hun – 106,000
Armon Van Wijk – 300,000
20:01: 25 players remaining
Level 19: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000
Blinds are up as the number of players go down. 25 remaining with only 18 advancing to the next round. Li Xialin leads with 470,000 in chips.
20:00: Ace high is good for Li Xialin to take control
Level 18: 4000-8000 ante 8000
Utg Li Xialin opens 16,000 and finds two callers to the flop 
. All check to the turn . Action checks to cutoff Kyle Bao Diep who bets 28,000, big blind Bjorn Vuilliomenet shoves, utg Li Xialin shoves, Diep gets out of the way.
Vuilliomenet 
Li
Vuilliomenet misses on the river to lose it all to Li who catapults to the top.
Li Xialin – 470,000
Kyle Bao Diep – 90,000
Bjorn Vuilliomenet – eliminated
19:37: Armon Van Wijk defends his small pair
Level 17: 3000-6000 ante 6000
Button Armon Van Wijk bumps it up to 15,000, small blind Young Hun shoves, Armon calls for everything and opens up which is still a flip against Young’s . The board favors Armon as it runs 
. Armon zooms to the top of the counts.
Armon Van Wijk – 330,000
Young Hun – 40,000
19:27: Hyungtaek Jo’s survives with cracker jacks
Level 17: 3000-6000 ante 6000
Heavy preflop betting war leads to Hyungtaek Jo at risk with against Kyle Bao Diep’s 
. Luck finds Hyungtaek with the turn spiking 
to avoid elimination.
Hyungtaek Jo – 163,000
Kyle Bao Diep – 130,000
19:18: Battle of the blinds gives Bopothukob Vorotnikov the boost
Level 17: 3000-6000 ante 6000
Action folds to the small blind Chenxin Yu who shoves 
, Bopothukob Vorotnikov calls off his last 9 bb with 
and is rewarded on a board 
.
Bopothukob Vorotnikov – 118,000
Chenxin Yu – 100,000
19:10: 29 players remaining
Level 17: 3000-6000 ante 6000
The field is down to 29 players. Bagging time is at ITM of 18 players. Le Giang Nam maintains his lead with 300,000 in chips.
18:58: Cooler! Cao Kai Lin cleans out Chen Dong
Level 16: 3000-5000 ante 5000
Chen Dong’s swingy day ends on a cooler with running into Cao Kai Lin’s .
Cao Kai Lin – 105,000
Chen Dong – eliminated
18:30: Flush on the river grants Nguyen Manh Hung the max
Level 15: 2000-4000 ante 4000
Three players on a raised pot, flop comes . Button Nguyen Manh Hung shoves, gets one fold and one caller in Li Chih Feng. Nguyen shows flush draw, Li with , turn is blank but the river is one of Nguyen’s outs to double up.
Nguye Manh Hung – 73,000
Li Chih Feng – 85,000
18:20: Bjorn Vuilliomenet gets lucky
Level 15: 2000-4000 ante 4000
Bjorn Vuilliomenet calls a 52,000 three bet and is behind to the at-risk player’s . Not for long though with the board 
to ship it.
Bjorn Vuilliomenet – 120,000
18:11: Le Giang Nam lands it and burns the set
Level 14: 1500-3000 ante 3000
Le Giang Nam calls Brenton Buttigieg’s 15,000 three-bet to see the flop 
. Le check-calls another 15,000 bet then both head to the turn . Le switches up with a 35,000 bet, Buttigieg shoves (85,000), Le calls and shows straight ahead of Buttigieg’s set. The river finishes off Buttigieg in brutal fashion.
Le Giang Nam – 300,000 – chip leader
Brenton Buttigieg – eliminated
17:50: 49 players remaining
Level 14: 1500-3000 ante 3000
Blinds up, 49 players remaining. Still a way’s to go with only 18 players advancing to the next round.
17:48: Jun Li saved by the river
Level 13: 1000-1500 ante 1500
Following a 5,000 raise, Jun Li three-bets all in for 26,500, small blind Brenton Buttiegieg calls and goes head to head with Li after initial raiser folds. Li turns over and is looking good for an easy double up against Buttigieg’s 
, but when the flop runs , Buttigieg improves to a full house leaving Li to hunt for his own bad beat card. The turn is no help but the river is the money card. Li banks the higher full house to deny Buttigieg his early suck out.
Jun Li – 63,000
Brenton Buttigieg – 75,000
17:46: Kyle Bao Diep sends one tumbling
Level 13: 1000-1500 ante 1500
All in player shoves 20 bb with then falls to Kyle Bao Diep’s on a board .
Kyle Bao Diep – 88,500
17:29: Tien Thanh’s cowboys take one down
Level 13: 1000-1500 ante 1500
All in preflop, Tien Thanh way ahead with against a short stack’s . No help comes for the at risk player to join the railbirds.
Tien Thanh – 82,000
17:22: Field down to 58 players
Level 13: 1000-1500 ante 1500
Another batch of players met the rail to bring the field down to 58 players. Action continues until 18 players is reached.
17:21: Keni Tran’s ladies hold
Level 12: 1000-2000 ante 2000
Tran Duc Kien (Keni Tran) min-raises then snap calls Sergei Poltavets’shove. Tran is ahead to Poltavets’ . With the flop quickly 
, Tran moves further ahead then ships it with turn and river. Poltavets is eliminted.
Tran Duc Kien – 160,000
17:13: Li Chih Feng helps trim the field
Level 12: 1000-2000 ante 2000
Li Chih Feng three-bets from lojack and is called by the initial raiser for a flop 
. Li c-bets a huge 30,000 then faces a check-call all in. Li calls and both show overpairs. Li is ahead of . The turn and river secures the win and the bust out.
Li Chih Feng – 105,000
16:58: 67 players remaining
Level 12: 1000-2000 ante 2000
Blinds up, 67 players left out of 141 entries. They play down to ITM of 18 players (12.5% of the field).
16:54: Chen Dong Yol runs into Tommy’s Aces
Level 11: 1000-1500 ante 1500
Chen Dong Yol opens 4,000 from utg, big blind Tommy W. three-bets all in for 18,500. Chen calls and sees his is behind Tommy’s . Chen proceeds to pay up after the board .
Tommy W – 33,500
Chen Dong Yol – 190,000
16:46: Short stack Bjorn Vuilliomenet triples up
Level 11: 1000-1500 ante 1500
Bjorn Vuilliomenet shoves his last 6 bb and finds two callers. At the flop , Chenxin Yu bets for a side pot but no taker. Yu opens up top pair, Vuilliomenet is ahead better kicker. Drama lands on the turn as Yu improves, but not for long with the river for a winning straight to Vuilliomenet.
Bjorn Vuilliomenet – 30,000
Chenxin Yu – 155,000
16:40: Kickoff Day 1A draws 141 entries, race to ITM begins
Level 11: 1000-1500 ante 1500
Registration for Kickoff Day 1A closes at 141 entries. 81 players remaining. They will play down to ITM (12.5% of the field) of 18 players. Chenxin Yu maintains his lead and widens it to 170,000 (113 bb).
16:00: Last level to register for Day 1A
Level 10: 600-1200 ante 1200
Kickoff Event Day 1A now enters its last level of registration. There are currently 130 entries with 88 seated. Buy in is VN₫ 8,800,000 (~USD 362). Starting stack is 30,000.
15:40: Chenxin Yu takes down a huge pot to take the lead
Level 8: 400-800 ante 800
Heavy preflop action sees lojack limp, button three-bets, small blind Chenxin Yu four-bets, big blind five-bet jams wiht , two folds follow, then Yu calls with . Board runs clean for a huge scoop and a bust. Yu takes the lead.
Chenxin Yu – 130,000
15:10: New level begins, 111 entries
Level 8: 400-800 ante 800
Another ten entries picked up to bring the tally to 111. Level 11 at approximately 16:40. Blinds increase every 25 minutes. Buy in is VN₫ 8,800,000 (~USD 362). Starting stack is 30,000.
14:37: 100 marker breached
Level 7: 300-600 ante 600
We have now reached triple digits with 101 entries on record. Registration closes at the start of Level 11 at approximately 16:40. Among the sluggers are Anatolii Gorbushin, Michael Kim Falcon, Tran Duc Kien (Keni), and USOP Ambasador Kyle Bao Diep.
13:45: Baatar Munkhsukh leads, 86 entries
Level 5: 200-400 ante 400
Besides the cards, time is flying with four levels in the bag. Players are now entering level 5 with 78 seated out of 86 total entries. Currently in the lead is Baatar Munkhsukh with 85,000 (212 bb). Still time for latecomers to jump in with registration closing at the start of Level 11 at approximately 16:40.
12:00: Cards in the air!
Level 1: 100-100
Cards are in the air for the first event of USOP Danang Part 1, taking place here at Pullman Danang Beach Resort. Opening the games is the USOP Danang Kickoff featuring a VN₫ 2,000,000,000 (~USD 81,930) guarantee. Players have three flights to try to reach the money round as each heat bags up at ITM.
24 players already battling it out. Registration closes at the start of Level 11 at approximately 16:40. Blinds increase every 25 minutes. Buy in is VN₫ 8,800,000 (~USD 362). Starting stack is 30,000.
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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