WPT Korea: Main Event Day 1A draws 252, Huidong Gu tops 98 survivors; David Erquiaga, Valeriy Pak, Yuan Xin win trophies

World Poker Tour (WPT) Korea is in full swing at Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Casino. Set against the backdrop of the beautiful Jeju Island, the ten-day festival kicked off on July 15 and will run until July 24.

After two days of pre-games, the KR₩ 2 Billion guaranteed Main Event took center stage. The first of three heats, Day 1A, completed with an impressive turnout of 252 entries. Alongside the Main Event, several opening side events wrapped up with three players lifting trophies. Here are the results.

WPT Korea – Festival Results
WPT Korea – Schedule and Structures

WPT Korea Main Event – Day 1A results

The WPT Korea Main Event is the the first of three major events scheduled. Its KR₩ 2 Billion guarantee, which is roughly USD 1.575 Million, is the largest prize pool ever offered by the brand in the region. Therefore it was no surprise to see players pour in. Among the crowd was famous New Zealand pro David Yan who closed the day with a very healthy 120 bb. Despite the large stack, Yan was outranked by one player, Macao’s Huidong Gu with 152 bb.

Other notable players were Fabio Oka, Hue Dang, Mikiya Kudo, and a long list of Chinese players that included Yunsheng Sun. In total, 98 players advanced to Day 2. They will have a two day break before returning to action on Thursday, July 20 at 1pm.

Buy in: KR₩ 3,400,000 (~USD 2,680)

Guarantee: KR₩ 2,000,000,000 (~USD 1,575,600)

Day 1A: 252 entries

Day 2 qualifiers: 98

End of Day 1A Top 10 in chips

WPT Korea Main Event Live Updates
WPT Korea Main Event – Chip Counts
WPT Korea – Festival Results
WPT Korea – Schedule and Structures

One flight down two more to go. The Main Event continues with Day 1B up on the plate on Tuesday, July 18 and Day 1C on Wednesday, July 19.

One thing that makes this Main Event special is the chance for players to experience the WPT Main Tour structure at half the price. Buy in is KR₩ 3,400,000 (~USD 2,680). Make sure to click the links provided for all the Main Event info.

Main Event info: Main Event KR₩ 2 BN guaranteed

WPT Korea: Schedule and Structures

David Erquiaga wins the WPT Opener

WPT decorated champion David Erquiaga recently reached one million US dollars in live tournament earnings and announced on social media that he would be retiring in pursuit of other dreams. That seems to be on hold as the Filipino pro took down the WPT Opener. Erquiaga pocketed a cool KR₩ 54,223,650 (~USD 42,720). In a brief interview with Erquiaga about his win, he said,

“It’s not the Main Event but a win is a win and of course extra money to spend.”

He went on to share his final table strategy, “prior to the final table, I already had notes on the players. I remember folding pocket Tens on utg after a three-bet jam. If I didn’t have notes, I would not have remembered he was a tight player so I would have called and lost. The player I avoided the most was seat 1, Wei Zhao. I saw him shove 20 bigs with Queen-Jack suited. It was a mistake on his part but he got lucky. Loose players like him are dangerous.”

On heads up, Erquiaga said, “I had to adjust and re-adjust, maybe four times. My opponent was getting coached so he was also adjusting and re-adjusting. There was one crucial spot where he made a mistake. I am glad it ended in my favor.”

Leading up to his win, Erquiaga eliminated Dianlei Zhang (6th), out-flipped Paul Hong (4th), and stopped Fugang Cui in 3rd place with broadway dusting a lower straight. He entered heads up against Sun Lei on a 3:1 advantage. Erquiaga kept his lead intact and closed it out on Hand 30 with pocket Nines doing the job against Jack-Nine.

Date: July 15 to 17, 2023

Buy in: KR₩ 850,000 (~USD 670)

Entries: 353

Prize pool: KR₩ 260,433,650 (~USD 205,170)

ITM: 45 players

Final table payouts

*Full list of payouts in WPT Korea – Festival Results

Valeriy Pak wins Big Bounty NLH

Russia’s Valeriy Pak scored a WPT hardware for his victory at the Big Bounty NLH. Valeriy outlasted a field of 150 runners, knocking out 12 players that included Cao Ngoc Anh at heads up with dominating . He earned a combined payout of KR₩ 13,956,000 (~USD 10,900).

Date: July 17, 2023
Buy in: KR₩ 680,000 (~USD 535)
Entries: 150
Prize pool: KR₩ 38,046,000 (~USD 30,000)
ITM: 19 places

Final table payouts

*Full list of payouts in WPT Korea – Festival Results

Yuan Xin wins Deepstack NLH

While many players were busy at the WPT Opener, a decent field also formed at the two-day Deepstack NLH. With a price tag of KR₩ 425,000 (~USD 335), it was one of the cheapest for players to win a WPT trophy.

China’s Yuan Xin did just that. He topped the 70-entry field, defeating fellow Lei Xiang at heads up. This was Xin’s career second WPT side event title, both won this year. He added KR₩ 7,959,000 (~USD 6,270) to his total live earnings.

Date: July 15 to 16, 2023
Buy in: KR₩ 425,000 (~USD 335)
Entries: 70 (63 unique, 7 re-entry)
Prize pool: KR₩ 25,972,000 (~USD 20,460)
ITM: 10 places

Other Key Events

Following the main is the WPT Alpha8 One Drop Koreacharity event which features a buy-in of $133,930. A portion of the buy-in goes to theOne Dropfoundation to help bring access to water to communities in need of clean water.

To complete the key three is theWPT Korea High Roller with a buy in of KRW 17,000,000 (~USD 13,400). Expect elite players from the region to populate the tables.

Getting to Jeju Shinhwa Landing Resort

For arriving players, getting to the venue couldn’t be any easier. Just look for the WPT Korea banner with the bus schedule and hop in once it arrives. It takes approximately one hour to get to the venue. The bus runs daily on a two hour schedule starting at 6am. The last bus to the venue is at 10pm.

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