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WPT Korea: Tao Yin wins the Main Event; Jin Xu Dong and Zhao Wei win trophies; Mystery Bounty draws 173 entries; WPT High Roller up next

SMP Editor
SMP EditorEditor-in-Chief
WPT Korea – Jeju Shinhwa World
WPT Korea – Jeju Shinhwa World

The World Poker Tour (WPT) crowned its first WPT Korea Main Event champion after China’s Tao Yin emerged victorious for his first WPT title and largest career score. Over at the side events, Jin Xu Dong and Zhao Wei walked away with trophies. More events up ahead including the WPT High Roller which runs from July 23 to 24 at the Jeju Shinhwa World Landing Casino.

WPT Korea:Schedule and Structures

Tao Yin wins the WPT Korea Main Event for KR₩ 295,000,000 (~USD 229,370)

Big win for China’s Tao Yin who entered the WPT Korea Main Event final table as chip leader and was able to fend off the more decorated players to clinch the title and career high ICM payout deal of KR₩ 295,000,000 (~USD 229,370).

Tao Yin
Tao Yin

In an interview with the champ, he expressed,

“I’ve always known of WPT and heard they were coming to Jeju so I came to play. Winning the Main Event is a fantastic feeling. It’s not easy to win the Main Event so this is very special for me. The players were so good and tough, especially the second and third placers. I felt I got lucky. One time I won with pocket Aces and beat pocket Queens. I also pushed all in preflop with Kd and my opponent Chao Ting Cheng had AcAh, I won the hand (board QsKh).”

Dates: July 17 to 22, 2023

Buy in: KR₩ 3,400,000 (~USD 2,680)

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

Entries: 758

Prize pool: KR₩ 2,246,947,400 (~USD 1,770,200)

ITM: 95 places

Place

Player

Flag

Payout in KR₩

1

Yin Tao

China

295,000,000*

2

Pak Valeriy

Russia

250,187,000*

3

Cheng Chao Ting

Taiwan

319,000,000*

4

Jianguo Shu

China

146,500,000

5

Chunhao Zhang

China

110,300,000

6

Sawada Toshihide

Japan

82,000,000

7

Liu Li Jiang

China

64,930,000

8

Hong Zhu

China

50,300,000

*Full list of payouts inWPT Korea – Festival Results

You can catch the action via the livestream by Sharehand broadcasted in the WPT YouTube page with Matt Savage and Jamie Kerstetter on the commentary. You can also read up on the action via the Live Updates.

WPT Korea – Livestream
WPT Korea Main Event – Live Updates

Final 8 recap

wpt korea main event final table
wpt korea main event final table

The Main Event attracted 758 entries over three starting days to generate a prize pool of KR₩ 2,246,947,400 (~USD 1,770,200). The top 95 players claimed a cut with the final 8 battling for the biggest piece and the coveted title.

Chao Ting Cheng
Chao Ting Cheng

China’sTao Yin entered as chip leader, Taiwan’s Chao-Ting Cheng trailed not too far behind. At seven-handed, Tao soared to a massive advantage with AsAh eliminating Liu Li Jiang QdQh. Cheng tightened the gap by booting Sawada Toshihide (6th) then overtook by four-handed.

Jianguo Shu
Jianguo Shu

After Valeriy Pak railed Jianguo Shu in 4th place with KsQd outdrawing Shu’s AdAdd SMPBONUS RocketPlay Promo Code on a board QsKhKd, the final three struck an ICM deal then played for the trophy.

ICM deal payout:

Chao Ting Cheng – KR₩ 319,000,000 (~USD 248,000)

Tao Yin – KR₩ 295,000,000 (~USD 229,370)

Valeriy Pak – KR₩ 250,187,000 (~USD 194,520)

tao yin wins
tao yin wins

Tao nearly fell first with his King-Nine shove improving to two pair to double up through Cheng’s pocket Aces. Cheng was unable to recover for the final battle battle to be between Pak and Tao. Several exchanges in, Pak risked his entire stack on a gutshot and missed to finish in 2nd place and Tao to be crowned the champion.

Side Event results

Jin Xu Dong stays tough to win Mini Main Event

Jin Xu Dong
Jin Xu Dong

The two-day Mini Main Event also wrapped up with China’s Jin Xu Dong impressive throughout. Jin topped the 26 Day 1 survivors out of 208 total entries. He maintained his big stack for a majority of Day 2to claim his first known live tournament title and a career high payout of KR₩ 71,103,000 (~USD 55,285).Notables at the final table were Taiwanese players Chen-An Lin and Ting-Yi Tsai.

Date: July 21 to 22, 2023

Buy in: KR₩ 1,700,000 (~USD 1,340)

Entries: 208

Prize pool: KR₩ 308,693,000 (~USD 240,000)

ITM: 26 places

Place

Player

Flag

Payout in KR₩

1

Jin Xu Dong

China

71,103,000

2

Wang Jizhong

China

47,230,000

3

Lin Chen-An

Taiwan

34,310,000

4

Guo Meng

China

25,260,000

5

Tan Win Meng

Malaysia

18,860,000

6

Guodong Sun

China

14,270,000

7

Tsai Ting Yi

China

10,980,000

8

Liu Tianyou

China

8,560,000

9

Lam Wai Lun William

China

6,760,000

*Full list of payouts inWPT Korea – Festival Results

Zhao Wei takes down the Single Day High Roller

Wei Zhao
Wei Zhao

Rarely seen on the live felt, online grinder Zhao Wei proved his virtual prowess translated seamlessly to the real world. His fierce and aggressive playing style led to his victory at the Single Day High Roller, thus breaking a six year live victory drought. Zhao topped a field of 39 runners to pocket a live tournament career high payout of KR₩ 109,713,000 (~USD 85,300). This was his fourth side event cash.

Leading up to his win, Zhao eliminated Michael Wang on the bubble with AhAs dominating KhJc. Jieming Xu polished off the next three players to bring about heads up. On the final hand, Zhao was slightly up in chips. Both were all in preflop with Zhao’s Ah top pair defeating Xu’s Kd on a board KhAs.

Date: July 22, 2023

Buy in: KR₩ 8,500,000 (~USD 6,610)

Entries: 39

Prize pool: KR₩ 292,383,000 (~USD 227,335)

ITM: 5 places

Place

Player

Flag

Payout in KR₩

1

Zhao Wei

China

109,713,000

2

Jieming Xu

China

73,150,000

3

Lin Wenguo

China

48,760,000

4

Sun Guo Dong

China

34,580,000

5

Yang Chongxian

China

26,180,000

Mystery Bounty Day 1 results

Kataoka Toshio
Kataoka Toshio

Date: July 22 to 23, 2023

Buy in: KR₩ 850,000 (~USD 660)

Day 1A: 111 entries

Day 1B: 62 entries

Entries: 173

Prize pool: TBA

ITM: 22 players

Rank

Player

Flag

Stack

1

Kataoka Toshio

Japan

614,000

2

Yuzhou Yin

China

611,000

3

Chen Shaoyi

China

472,000

4

Yunfeng Sun

China

425,000

5

Luo Chuan

China

413,000

6

Lam Wai Lun William

China

378,000

7

Song Li

China

333,000

8

Sakuma Akihiko

Japan

253,000

9

Tamalayan Karen

USA

224,000

10

Liu Yin

China

201,000

11

Hongxu Zhang

China

164,000

12

Ding Yu Jia

China

157,000

13

Zheng Zhan Hui

China

138,000

14

Wang Xiaoyu

China

121,000

15

Lin Hao

China

111,000

16

Okada Takeya

Japan

106,000

17

Kun Wang

China

104,000

18

Shih King Lun

China

93,000

19

Chauve Vincent

France

77,000

20

Lei Xiang

China

77,000

21

Ji Yu Shun

China

69,000

22

Zhang Lei

China

47,000

Update: WPT Alpha8 for One Drop

wpt korea jeju 3
wpt korea jeju 3

The WPT Alpha8 for One Drop event went on as planned however it was held behind closed doors. We will have the results for you once it has been made available. The event ran from July 21 to 22 to raise funds for the One Drop Foundation whose mission it is to provide sustainable solutions and support to communities in need of clean water.

This was the second Alpha8 for One Drop collaboration between WPT and One Drop with the first one held earlier in the month at Wynn Las Vegas. The events are a lead-up to the return of the Big One for One Drop taking place at the WPT World Championship on December 18 to 20, 2023.

Up next: WPT Korea High Roller

Up next is the final key event of the festival, the WPT Korea High Roller which features a buy in of KR₩ 17,000,000 (~USD 13,400). Elite players have already been seen since the opener. You can expect more to make their way for this final key event. Event runs July 23 to 24, 2023.

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About the Editor

SMP Editor

The SMP Editor covers international poker and iGaming for SoMuchPoker, providing news, tournament coverage, and industry insights. With a focus on accuracy, clarity, and relevance, the editor helps readers stay informed about developments across the global poker community.