USOP Danang 2024: Main Event – Day 1A (Live Updates)

You Hyun Kim sets the bar at Main Event Day 1A

The opening heat of the highly anticipated USOP Main Event pulled in 366 entries over 10 rounds of registration. After 13 hours of play, the bubble burst leaving 46 players advancing to the ITM round in Day 2. Korea’s You Hyun Kim bagged the chip lead of 926,000 (77 bb). At his tail was New Zealand’s Thomas Ward with 878,000 (73 bb), and to round out the top three was Vietnam’s Tien Nguyen with 809,000 (67 bb).

Date: March 28 to April 1, 2024
Buy in: VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235)
Guarantee: VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500)
Day 1A: 366 entries (282 unique)
Chips in play: 14,640,000

Rank	Player	Flag	Stack	BB
1	You Hyun Kim	Korea	926,000	77
2	Thomas Ward	New Zealand	878,000	73
3	Tien Nguyen	Vietnam	809,000	67
4	Seunghun Ko	Korea	739,000	62
5	Soo Jo Kim	Korea	738,000	62
6	Kim Yong	Korea	685,000	57
7	Sean Ooi	Malaysia	642,000	54
8	Jerome Win Meng Tan	Malaysia	569,000	47
9	Nguyen Hong Quan	Vietnam	548,000	46
10	Hyunsup Kim	Korea	480,000	40
11	Gu Xiao Chun	China	447,000	37
12	Sofia Lovgren Fullmer	Sweden	428,000	36
13	Phung Quang Tien	Vietnam	427,000	36
14	Mengran Wang	China	416,000	35
15	Andrei Budykin	Russia	410,000	34
16	Aleksei Ignatev	Russia	404,000	34
17	Sammy Teo Loong Hui	Singapore	382,000	32
18	Danny Huynh	Australia	373,000	31
19	Le Dong Zhou	China	333,000	28
20	Do Quang Trinh	Vietnam	316,000	26
21	Li Tong	China	313,000	26
22	Jacob Johnston	Canada	292,000	24
23	Jun Li	UK	238,000	20
24	Kyle Bao Diep	Vietnam	238,000	20
25	Le Manh Cuong	Vietnam	225,000	19
26	Zhang Zi Jun	China	222,000	19
27	Scott Shore	Canada	211,000	18
28	Tsang Dicky Siu Tsang	UK	201,000	17
29	Danh Minh Dat	Vietnam	193,000	16
30	Liu Dongxia	China	154,000	13
31	Teng Jiaqi	China	151,000	13
32	Sukhum Kiwanont	Thailand	122,000	10
33	Fan Ying Kun	China	120,000	10
34	Chi Zhaotian	China	104,000	9
35	Dao Xuan Khanh	Vietnam	101,000	8
36	Chang Xiang Guang	Malaysia	98,000	8
37	Nguyen Huu Soai	Vietnam	85,000	7
38	Zeyu Chen	China	85,000	7
39	Nguyen Minh Hoai An	Vietnam	84,000	7
40	Daniliants Valerii	Russia	82,000	7
41	Uten Ungchusak	Thailand	76,000	6
42	Vu Van Linh	Vietnam	64,000	5
43	Mangkone Sanaphanith	Laos	63,000	5
44	Tan Luan Le	UK	61,000	5
45	Tran Minh Thang	Vietnam	59,000	5
46	Pradeep N.	India	49,000	4

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01:29: Bubble bursts! Jacob Johnston delivers the bubble
Level 19: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000

Hijack jams 22,000, big blind Jacob Johnston calls, both players improve on the board , Johnston’s full house rules to end Day 1A.

Jacob Johnston – 292,000 (24 bb)

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01:20: Bubble round: Sean Ooi pays another double up
Level 19: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000

Button Zhang Zi Jun jams his last 7 bb with , big blind Sean Ooi calls with . The board is . Zhang doubles up.

Zhang Zi Jun – 186,000 (15 bb)
Sean Ooi – 510,000 (4 bb)

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01:15: Bubble round: Uten Ungchusak doubles through Soo Jo Kim
Level 19: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000

Button Uten Ungchusak all in for less than 4 bigs holding . Big blind Soo Jo Kim calls with . A queen finds the flop as the board completes .

Uten Ungchusak – 96,000 (8 bb)
Soo Jo Kim – 710,000 (59 bb)

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01:08: Bubble round: Fan Ying Kun doubles up
Level 19: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000

Cutoff Sean Ooi min-raises 24,000 then calls Fan Ying Kun’s 6 bb shove. Fan with , Ooi sheepishly shows , board runs . Ooi pays up.

Fan Ying Kun – 150,000 (12 bb)
Sean Ooi – 600,000 (50 bb)

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01:03: Andrei Budykin rails one to signal in the bubble
Level 19: 6000-12,000 ante 12,000

Cutoff raises 26,000, button three-bets all in 11 bb, small blind Andrei Budykin four-bets all in, no takers, for a head-to-head. Button , Budykin , board runs , kicker plays. One player goes bust. It’s bubble time.

Andrei Budykin – 400,000 (33 bb)

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00:44: Three way all in, Iz Tong cracks aces
Level 18: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000

Dao Xuan Khanh all in , Iz Tong joins and is at risk with , mid stack makes it a three way with . The board runs , Tong ships the main pot, Khanh takes the side pot, one player busts.

Iz Tong – 146,000 (14 bb)
Dao Xuan Khanh – 345,000 (34 bb)

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00:40: Three-way all with Ace-King
Level 18: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000

Three players shove preflop, short stacked player Dao Xuan Khanh, , mid stack Iz Tong with , and Hyunsup Kim with . The board runs , Khanh triples up, players are stunned.

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00:30: Thomas Ward goes over a mil
Level 18: 5000-10,000 ante 10,000

Thomas Ward three-bets from the button and initial raiser calls. Both players check the flop . Then on the turn, Ward calls a 60,000 bet. On the river , Ward leads out 110,000 and wins the pot.

Thomas Ward – 1,060,000 (106 bb)

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23:55: You Hyun Kim rails Rick Jason Ambata
Level 17: 4000-8000 ante 8000

Utg You Hyun Kim raises 20,000, next to act Rick Jason Ambata three-bets all in 70,000, Kim calls and shows Ambata is behind . The board offers little help and with the river , Ambata is eliminated.

You Hyun Kim – 750,000 (90 bb)
Rick Jason Ambata – elimianated

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23:10: Thomas Ward paid well for the flush
Level 16: 3000-6000 ante 6000

From cutoff, Thomas Ward opens and big blind defends. Both players check the flop to bring the turn . Ward bets 46,000, big blind check-calls. On the river Ward fires 140,000, he is snap-called. Ward shows and ships it.

Thomas Ward – 890,000 (148 bb)

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22:40: 67 players remaining
Level 16: 3000-6000 ante 6000

End of day is approaching fast with the field down to 67 players. Only 46 players are guaranteed to advance.

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22:00: 80 players remaining
Level 15: 3000-5000 ante 5000

End of day is approaching fast with the field down to 80 players. Only 46 players are guaranteed to advance.

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21:20: Blinds up, 97 players remaining
Level 14: 2000-4000 ante 4000

Chip leaders at the new level:

Phung Quang Tien – 424,000 (106 bb)
Mengran – 423,000 (105 bb)
SJ Kim – 420 (105 bb)
Thomas Ward – 390,000 (97 bb)
Le Manh Cuong – 360,000 (90 bb)
Kim Yong – 360,000 (90 bb)
Jerome Tan – 278,000 (69 bb)
Junho Kim – 260,000 (55 bb)

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21:15: Le Manh Cuong pushes for the pot
Level 13: 1500-3000 ante 3000

On a board showing and 120,000 in the pot, utg player bet 45,000, Le Manh Cuong shoves, utg tank-folds.

Le Manh Cuong – 360,000

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21:10: SJ Kim wins the flip 
Level 13: 1500-3000 ante 3000

All in preflop, SJ Kim with , all in player with . No hits on the board for big slick, Kim ships it. Kim proceeds to win another big pot to rise over 400K.

Soo Jo Kim – 420,000 (105 bb)

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21:00: Kim Yong burns a player on the river
Level 13: 1500-3000 ante 3000

All in preflop, Kim Yong behind to . The board runs clean until a 3 lands on the river for Kim to ship it.

Kim Yong – 360,000 (90 bb)

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20:30: Blinds up, 110 players remaining
Level 13: 1500-3000 ante 3000

Still a long way to go with 110 players remaining with only 46 advancing to the next round. Phung Quang Tien continues to lead with 434,000 (144 bb).

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19:40: 128 players remaining
Level 12: 1000-2500 ante 2500

128 players remaining with only 46 advancing to the next stage.

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19:20: Random big stacks
Level 11: 1000-2000 ante 2000

Phung Quang Tien – 395,000 (197 bb)
Tien Nguyen – 360,000 (180 bb)
Thomas Ward – 289,000 (144 bb)
Yoskorn Kulma – 270,000 (135 bb)
Jun Ho Kim – 278,000 (139 bb)
Andrei Budykin – 250,000 (125 bb)
Soo Jo Kim – 230,000 (115 bb)

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19:15: Tien Nguyen burns one on the river
Level 11: 1000-2000 ante 2000

Tien Nguyen is already sporting a towering stack then picks up a pot on a nasty river. The hand opens with a raise by utg, Nguyen three-bets 18,000, utg shoves and is quickly called by Nguyen. The at-risk player has , Nguyen with , the board runs for trips on the river to Nguyen.

Tien Nguyen – 360,000 (180 bb)

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19:10: Registration closes at 366 entries, 161 players remaining
Level 11: 1000-2000 ante 2000

Day 1A registration closed at 366 entries with 161 players still in the field. The next step is to reach the money round with only 46 guarnateed a spot in Day 2.

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18:20: Last level to enter Day 1A underway, 353 entries
Level 10: 1000-1500 ante 1500

The last level to enter Main Event Day 1A is underway. So far 353 entries with 203 seated. After this level there will be a 10-minute break then reg will close at the start of Level 11. For those signing up, buy in is VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235). Event guarantees VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500). Starting stack is 40,000. Day 1A with blinds increasing every 40 minutes.

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18:05: Quan Qiu crushes a players trips
Level 9: 600-1200 ante 1200

Walking by Quan Qiu’s table we see him ship in a pot as a player packs up. Quan’s flush on the flop cleaned out a player’s trips on a board .

Quan Qiu – 98,000

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18:00: Notables in action
Level 9: 600-1200 ante 1200

More notables have been spotted, among them are Wei Guo Liang, Dhaval Mudgal, Thomas Ward, Alan Pham, Gab Yong Kim, HyunsupKim, Siyang Phua, and Anthony Cierco.

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17:40: 339 entries
Level 9: 600-1200 ante 1200

Another batch of entries has brought the total to 339 with time left to sign up. Registration closes at the start of Level 11.

Starting stack is 40,000. Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C will see blinds increase every 40 minutes. Day 1D (Turbo) will see blinds go up every 25 minutes.

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17:00: Second break of the day, 309 entries
Level 8: 500-1000 ante 1000

Players are back from their second break. 309 entries so far with 211 players seated. Plenty of time to jump in with registration open until the start of Level 11.

Buy in: VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235)
Guarantee: VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500)

Starting stack is 40,000. Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C will see blinds increase every 40 minutes. Day 1D (Turbo) will see blinds go up every 25 minutes.

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16:20: 278 entries
Level 7: 400-800 ante 800

278 entries on record with 225 players seated. Joining the hunt are Dicky Tsang, Le Ngoc Minh, Amit Kaushik, Soo Jo Kim, Drasko Boskovic, Khoi Nguyen, and Yinfei Xiao.

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15:40: 250 entries, halfway through registration
Level 6: 300-600 ante 600

With five levels completed, only five levels left to jump into this heat. Registration halfway mark recorded 250 entries. Plenty of time to sign up. Registration stays open until the start of Level 11.

Buy in: VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235)
Guarantee: VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500)

Starting stack is 40,000. Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C will see blinds increase every 40 minutes. Day 1D (Turbo) will see blinds go up every 25 minutes.

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15:00: Notables around the room
Level 5: 300-500 ante 500

More noteworthy players scattered all over the room: Hoang Hai Nam, Hyeonho Shin, Pham Bao, Junnie Pamplona, Hwanho Choe, Jiyoung Kim, Xiao Sheng Zhou, and Zhi Yuan Xu.

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14:50: First break of the day in the books, 218 entries
Level 5: 300-500 ante 500

Players are back from the first break of the day. The Main Event has already crossed anoher marker with 218 entries. Currenlty 178 seated. Registration stays open until the start of Level 11. Plenty of time to sign up.

Buy in: VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235)
Guarantee: VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500)

Starting stack is 40,000. Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C will see blinds increase every 40 minutes. Day 1D (Turbo) will see blinds go up every 25 minutes. Registration closes at the start of Level 11.

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14:00: 160 entries at the new level
Level 4: 200-400 ante 400

Blinds are up with 160 entries to kick off the new level. 152 players seated. Among the new arrivals are Ngo Minh Tien, Yi Xuan, Hanh Tran, Vitaliy Polikarpov, and Aayush Arya.

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13:20: 111 entries at the new level
Level 3: 200-300 ante 300

It’s gonna be a big day here with triple digits already! The screens flash 111 entries with 108 seated. Among the new arrivals are Manish Lakhotia, Sofia Lovgren-Fullmer, and Jinlong Hu.

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12:42: Dao Minh Phu delivers first KO
Level 2: 100-200 ante 200

Having just sat down, on his first hand, Dao Minh Phu looks down at and proceeds to knock out a player when the board drops three spades. The fallen player had a baby flush with .

Dao Minh Phu – 75,000

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12:40: 75 players kicks off Level 2
Level 2: 100-200 ante 200

75 players at the tables at the start of Level 2. Among the new arrivals were Francis Garson, Michael Kim Falcon, Ha Van Thien, Giuseppe Murabito, Thanh Hung Tran, and Doan Quang Trung.

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12:00: Cards in the air!
Level 1: 100-100 ant 100

Cards are now flying here at the Main Event! At the starting gun, 25 players were seated with more at registration. Among the early go-ers were Quan Qiu and Nishant Sharma.

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Main Event – Day 1A

Suit up for the U Series of Poker – USOP MAIN EVENT! The crown jewel of the series runs from March 28 to April 1 at the Pullman Danang Beach Resort.

With the first half of USOP Danang 2024 drawing huge numbers, the Main Event is expected to demolish its VN₫ 15 Billion (~USD 614,500) guarantee and possibly even surpass the brand record VN₫ 34,801,800,000 (~$1,434,000) prize pool.

To enter, jump into any of the Day 1 flights. Starting stack is 40,000. Day 1A, Day 1B, and Day 1C will see blinds increase every 40 minutes. Day 1D (Turbo) will see blinds go up every 25 minutes. Registration closes at the start of Level 11.

Date: March 28 to April 1, 2024
Buy in: VN₫ 30,000,000 (~USD 1,235)
Guarantee: VN₫ 15,000,000,000 (~USD 614,500)

Day 1A: Thursday, March 28
Day 1B: Friday, March 29
Day 1C: Saturday, March 30
Day 1D (Turbo): Saturday, March 30
Day 2: Sunday, March 31
Final Day: Monday, April 1