WPT Vietnam is just one day away from awarding its newest Main Event champion! What started as 686 entries over the course of three starting days, today’s Day 2 saw 170 players return to Pro Poker Club, each one battling to survive the scheduled 11 rounds. In the end, only 14 secured their spot into the final day. Amassing a commanding stack was Malaysia’s Jin Yong with 3,255,000.
Starting his day with only 22 bbs, Yong was well out of radar. It wasn’t until the last two hours of play with three tables remaining did he begin his incredible ascent to the leader’s seat. His first big collection was 
surviving the scare of Ashish Munot’s 
on a board of 
with all the chips out front at the flop.
After that double up, Yong proceeded to railroad the table, winning pot after pot, that included two knockouts, Louis Salter and Munot. This brought the field down to the final two tables. Yong was the only player to bag in the 3M range. He will enter the final day as the lone Malaysian waving the flag backed by 81 bbs.
Two players from Hong Kong also made the cut. Kwok Chun Yip closed the day running second-in-chips with 2,840,000. Down the rung was Raiden Kan, considerably the most decorated player remaining. Kan will have his work cut out on the final day with 720,000 equivalent to 18 bbs.
Another notable pro in the lineup was Singaporean Norbert Koh. Koh is one of the most successful international players in Vietnam with repeated deep runs at various festivals. Koh bagged a very healthy 1.705,000.
Despite a strong Indian force coming out with three of them entering Day 2 in the top 5, only Alok Birewar remains holding the torch for the country. Birewar had an impressive Day 2 run, bringing up his stack from just 16 bbs to a spot in the final day. He is in the same predicament though with 715,000 which is roughly 18 bbs.
Of course, the host country will be well represented coming the final day with six players finding their way into the lineup.
Detailed action of the day can be found below:
WPT Vietnam 2019 Main Event : Live Updates
Day 2 ending chip count
| Name | Table | Seat | Country | Chips |
| Jin Yong | 18 | 7 | Malaysia | 3,255,000 |
| Kwok Chun Yip | 18 | 1 | Hong Kong | 2,840,000 |
| Tuan PRO | 19 | 6 | Vietnam | 2,570,000 |
| Vincent Chauve | 18 | 6 | Thailand | 2,335,000 |
| Norbert Koh | 19 | 9 | Singapore | 1,705,000 |
| Pham Quoc Anh | 19 | 4 | Vietnam | 1,330,000 |
| Thien Phu | 19 | 7 | Vietnam | 1,225,000 |
| Luong Anh Tuan | 18 | 5 | Vietnam | 1,125,000 |
| Long Lam | 19 | 3 | Vietnam | 940,000 |
| Nguyen Nam Duong | 18 | 8 | Vietnam | 730,000 |
| Raiden Kan | 18 | 3 | Hong Kong | 720,000 |
| Alok Birewar | 19 | 8 | India | 715,000 |
| Guilleminot Clement | 18 | 9 | France | 585,000 |
| Jeonggyu Cho | 19 | 2 | Korea | 500,000 |
The Main Event will resume on Saturday, March 23. The hunt for the title and the VND 2,777360,000 (~US$119,734) first prize begins at 12:30pm.
Opening blinds: 20K-40K ante 40K
Level duration: 60 minutes
Level duration at heads up: reduced to 30 minutes
Total chips in play: 20,580,000
Average stack: 1,470,000
Updates on Somuchpoker starting 12:30pm.
Day 2 numbers and Main Event overview
The Main Event got underway on March 19. After three starting days, it drew 686 entries, and at VND 25 Million (US$1070) each, it set a record prize pool for the country amounting to VND 15,105,034,000 (~US$651,454). Of that juicy pot, only 86 were due to get paid. The money flowed at Day 2 after the fall of Linh Tran on the bubble.
Earning a piece of the pie were: Louis Salter (19th), Natalie Teh (24th), Tzu Chieh Lo (33rd), Hung Sheng Lin (34th), Marvin Rettenmaier (37th), Casey Kastle (38th), Richard Marquez (39th), Dhanesh Chainani (43rd), Benjamin Gonzva (55th), Rex Clinkscales (57th), Thai Ha (68th), Victor Chong (72nd), Phachara Wongwichit (73rd), and Sumit Sapra 86th.
Remaining payouts
1st VND 2,777,360,000
2nd VND 1,947,640,000
3rd VND 1,255,830,000
4th VND 919,900,000
5th VND 703,140,000
6th VND 561,150,000
7th VND 464,780,000
8th VND 369,920,000
9th VND 277,780.000
10th VND 230,350,000
11th VND 230,350,000
12th VND 230,350,000
13th VND 184,280,000
14th VND 184,280,000
WPT Asia Pacific Player of the Year race
With Dhaval Mudgal failing to advance to Day 2, and with Nikunj Jhunjhunwala falling early in Day 2, the WPT Asia Pacific Player of the Year race is very much up for grabs. The Main Event awards 1500 points which means one of the 14 finalists will overtake Mudgal and Jhunjhunwala for the lead. For one last attempt at getting back in the race, there is still WPT New Zealand in late May.
More : WPT Vietnam full coverage
Article by Tricia David
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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