There’s no surprise to see the ballroom at Grand Loyal Poker Club, Hanoi once again fill up by midday with the Day 1B qualifier for Event #2: WPC-SEAPT Kick Off setting sail as early as 11:00. Five levels of registration was all it took before the opening event smashed its VN₫ 2.5 Billion (~US$ 105,695) guarantee after 184 entries registered. Seen amongst today’s field are locals Hue Dang, Cao Ngoc Anh, Huynh Ngoc Cuong, big stacked Somashekar Kurkhepally, Laksh Pal Singh, Chi Chung Ho, and Korea’s Hwang Seong Il.
Buy-in is set at VN₫ 8.8 Million (~US$ 372) and will play to the money – 12.5% of the field, to end the qualifiers. Late registration ends at exactly 15:20 right before the start of Level 9: 600/1,200-1,200 ante where players can still start things off with roughly a 20 big blind stack (25,000 starting chips). However, those who fail to make it through the first two flights can still enter via Day 1C running today at 15:30, with late registration open until 19:50 in the evening.
Both qualifiers will play through 30 minute blind levels, leading up to tomorrow’s Final Day at 11:00. Judging from the buzzing turnout alone, the eventual prize pool can likely swell to a staggering VN₫ 4 Billion (~US$ 169,062).
Yesterday’s Day 1A festivities recorded a total of 129 entries with only 16 players making it through the Final Day. Vietnam’s Nguyen Tuan Anh currently leads the pack with 396,000 in chips, close to double of the average stack.
| Player | Country | Chip Count |
| Nguyen Tuan Anh | Vietnam | 396,000 |
| Nguyen Minh Duc | Vietnam | 372,000 |
| Nguyen Quy Quyen | Vietnam | 354,000 |
| Tran Hoai Anh | Vietnam | 312,000 |
| Pham Thanh Dat | Vietnam | 249,000 |
Slated for later on tonight is also Event #4: Hyper Turbo with the buy-in priced at VN₫ 3.3 Million. Late registration ends right before Level 7@19:25 and will continue to play through ten minute blind levels all the way down to the trophy winner.
WPC-SEAPT Schedule & Structures
Event Photos
Tomorrow, Sunday, September 18th’s lineup includes the Final Day of the Kick Off Event, the VN₫ 500 Million (~US$ 21,132) guaranteed Super Stack, and lastly, Event #6: High Roller – VN₫ 1.5 Billion (~US$ 63,398) guaranteed.
Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for more on the ongoing World Poker Championship at Grand Loyal.
World Poker Championship to stage a massive ₫20 Billion guarantee at Grand Loyal Poker Club Hanoi
Cards are in the air for this season’s World Poker Championship at Grand Loyal, Hanoi!
