Huge day for Russia’s Anatolii Gorbushin and Vietnam’s Vu Thai Bao with both players crushing the U Series of Poker Hanoi – Mystery Bounty event taking place at the Crown Poker Club in Hanoi, Vietnam. In the end there could only be one true winner. Gorbushin clinched it for his maiden live title and a score of VND 550,000,000.
In knockouts, Gorbushin also reigned. He sent a stunning 10 players to their knees to pad up his earnings an extra VND 172,500,000. This brought his combined winnings to a career high VND 722,500,000 (~USD 30,000).
Leading up to the final table, Gorbushin eliminated seven players to bring in a stack second only to Vu Thai Bao. At four-handed, Gorbushin landed a huge double up with 
full house on a board 
against Vu’s 
two pair. He went on to eliminate Thien Ha (4th), Vu (3rd), and Le Xuan Long (2nd) after an ICM heads up deal.
A couple of titles Gorbushin wasn’t able to claim were the Biggest Bounty winner and Biggest Earner. Those titles went to Vu without challenge. Vu collected nine bounties that amounted to VND 715,000,000, nearly the combined earnings of champion Gorbushin.
The Vietnamese was incredibly lucky on his draws. Among his bounties, Vu pulled the coveted biggest reward of VND 300M, the second largest of VND 200M, and one of the fourth largest of VND 100M. In addition, Vu pocketed VND 273,000,000 for third place to bring his combined earnings to a career high payout of VND 988,000,000 (~USD 41,000).
*Relive the final table race to victory via the livestream. Link provided below.
Mystery Bounty – Livestream [English commentary]
Date: September 1 to 3, 2023
Buy in: VND 11,000,000 (~USD 456)
Guarantee: VND 3,000,000,000 (~USD 124,560)
Total entries: 497
Prize pool: VND 3,127,200,000 (~USD 129,840)
Bounty pool: VND 1,683,900,000 (~USD 69,915)
ITM: 63 places
Final 9 payouts
| Place | Player | Bounty in VND |
Payout in VND
|
| 1 | Anatolii Gorbushin | 172,500,000 | 722,500,000* |
| 2 | Le Xuan Long | 82,500,000 | 562,500,000* |
| 3 | Vu Thai Bao | 715,000,000 | 988,000,000 |
| 4 | Ha Van Thien | 20,000,000 | 232,000,000 |
| 5 | Nguyen Quy Quyen | 5,000,000 | 164,000,000 |
| 6 | Vu Duc Trung | 5,000,000 | 130,000,000 |
| 7 | Nguyen Van Viet | 0 | 98,000,000 |
| 8 | Phi Tien Sang | 115,000,000 | 191,100,000 |
| 9 | Dinh Quang Vu | 30,000,000 | 90,300,000 |
*Heads up ICM deal, play for trophy
Full payouts can be found in the USOP Hanoi – Festival Results
USOP Hanoi – VND 32 Billion in guarantees
USOP Hanoi is the young brand’s third event since its break out to the live scene on February 2023. With its variety of offerings and buy ins that cater to all types of bankrolls, the USOP has quickly become one of the most sought after festivals in the region.
If you haven’t heard yet, for this edition, the brand has spiced up the schedule with VND 32 Billion in guaranteed prize pools. Games run from September 1 to 11, 2023. The star attraction is the Main Event which carries a mighty VND 12 Billion guarantee, that’s over half a million USD! Mark these dates, Main Event runs from September 7 to 11, 2023. Buy in is VND 25,000,000 (~USD 1,060).
Hoodies have become the go-to choice of table attire for poker players, and at USOP, participants who register and have their chips in play during Level 1 of the Main Event will be gifted the newest USOP hoodie. It’s advisable to join on Day 1A as supply is limited to a total of just 250 pieces.
New Events
Several new events have also been added. The Heads Up Challenge is gearing up to be one of the most exciting with all 32 spots quickly claimed. Click the link down below for the list of players and their first round match-ups.
USOP Hanoi – Heads Up Challenge first round match-ups revealed!
One of the most enjoyable will be the Tag Team Event. Strategy is the key. The winning team will receive two trophies, one for each player. Buy in is VND 6,600,000 per player / VND 13,200,000 per team. Teammates must register together. Event takes place on September 8, 2023.
The first 8 levels is individual play with teams battling at separate tables. As soon as Level 9 kicks in, teammates combine their stacks and play Tag Team poker from then on. Teammates can switch off anytime as long as they are not in an active hand.
Livestream Events
| Event | Date |
| Mini High Roller | September 1, 2023 |
| High Roller Warm Up | September 2, 2023 |
| Mystery Bounty | September 3, 2023 |
| Superstar Challenge | September 4, 2023 |
| High Roller Superstack | September 4, 2023 |
| Mini Main Event | September 6, 2023 |
| High Roller Megastack | September 6, 2023 |
| Super High Roller | September 7, 2023 |
| Heads Up Challenge | September 8, 2023 |
| Main Event | September 11, 2023 |
| High Roller Finale | September 11, 2023 |
Final table promo
In addition to the Hoodie promo, players that reach the final table of any trophy event will receive a newly designed USOP cap. Three colors are available: black, white, and pink.
Links:
USOP Hanoi – Coverage
USOP Hanoi – Full Schedule
USOP Hanoi – Festival Results
USOP Hanoi – Photo Gallery
USOP Hanoi – Heads Up Challenge players revealed
USOP Hanoi: Bigger, Fresher, More Lucrative
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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