HomeAt the stroke of midnight, the Asian Poker Tour Cambodia 2016, held at the Queenco Hotel & Casino in Sihanoukville, Cambodia, wrapped up its first two events of the festival. Coming out on top were Japan’s Iori Yogo who overcame a field of 62 entries at the Opening Event, and USA’s Michael Edward Maas who rose to victory at the Ante Up for Charity event.
Opening Event Recap
Welcome Event Champion, Iori Yogo
Entering the APT Cambodia 2016 arena as the current leader in the APT Player of the Year 2016 rankings, Yogo had a slow start, unable to pick up big pots unlike Denmark’s Michael Kim Falcon who seemed to be dusting players in his path. By the time the field downsized to the final table of ten, it was bubble time with Falcon as the massive chip leader while Frenchman Demai Anouar and Yogo were running second but with only about half the amount of Falcon’s stack.
The bubble burst when Japanese player Go Mori booted out a player with his quad jacks. Soon after, money was paid to Portuguese player Cerqueira Da Cunha in 9th place followed by Norwegian player Kristian Nes Aune who fell at the hands of Falcon in 8th place. With Falcon’s stack continuing to increase, the Frenchman Anouar jabbed at it, successfully winning two big pots to be at par with the leader. As for Yogo, he struggled with a very short stack then caught a lucky break when his K♦ J♥ landed trips on a board of J♦ 6♥ J♠ 2♠ 9♠ against UK’s Kevin Anthony Fortt’s A♠ K♥. Unbenknownst to all, Yogo’s double up would be the turning point for his impressive run to the finish line.
Action continued with Yogo eliminating Mori in 7th place, Anouar burning Fortt in 6th place with his set of nines, and Falcon finishing off Japan’s Hiroki Morishita in 5th place with his pocket kings. Yogo picked up more chips when his ace-jack dominated Henry Georges Schmitt’s ace-nine out of the table in 4th place, leaving himself, Anouar, and big-stacked Falcon (who had half of the chips in play) at three-handed.
Although getting to this point was a challenging upward climb for Yogo, he continued to press on until he landed a massive double up with a straight against Falcon’s two pair. Owning the chip lead, he slammed the door shut on Falcon at 3rd place with his A♥ 9♦ top pair, and faced Anouar at heads up with an overwhelming 7:1 chip advantage. Masterfully dominating the moment, the final hand saw Anouar all in with K♣ J♠ against Yogo’s K♠ Q♣. The board ran J♦ Q♠ 2♠ A♠ 9♠ giving Yogo the nut flush, the first place cash prize of $1,660, and the first trophy of the APT Cambodia 2016.
With this victory, Yogo moved further ahead in the APT POY 2016 leader board. UK’s Samad Razavi, who currently ranks second in the leader board, entered the Opening Event but failed to reach the money stage. Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa and Peru’s Yohn Paredes were among the APT regulars who also participated in the Opening Event but like Razavi, they met their end before securing a payout.
Opening Event
Entries : 62
Prize Pool: #6,010
Buy-in: $110
1st Iori Yogo – Japan – $1660
2nd Demai Anouar – France – $1040
3rd Michael Kim Falcon – Denmark – $760
4th Henry Georges Schmitts – France – $580
5th Hiroki Morishita – Japan – $500
6th Kevin Anthony Fortt – UK – $440
7th Go Mori – Japan – $380
8th Kristian Nes Aune – Norway – $340
9th Cerqueira Da Cunha – Portugal – $310
Ante Up for Charity Recap
Charity Event Champion, Michael Edward Maas
The Ante Up for Charity event churned its engine a little later than its scheduled hour but after it got going, there were a total of 11 entries for a prize pool of $1100 and $600 for the House of Family charity organization. Among those at the table were USA’s Ron Tate, Denmark’s Kristian Faering, and a couple of players who busted out of the Opening Event, Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa and UK’s Samad Razavi.
With action moving fast at the table, Tate, Tsuchikawa, and Razavi fell before the money stage, while Denmark’s Michael Kim Falcon, who also joined the fun but had to multi-table, bubbled in 4th place. The final three saw Japan’s Akihiro Yamada burn out in 3rd place leaving Faering and USA’s Michael Edward Maas at heads up. Maas got the better of Faering plus all his chips when his A♥ K♦ won a coin flip against Faering’s pocket queens with a king landing on the board. Maas earned the $550 first place cash prize and the second trophy of the APT Cambodia 2016.
Ante Up for Charity
Entries: 11
Prize pool $1100
Charity $600
Buy-in $150
1st Michael Edward Maas – USA – $550
2nd Kristian Faering – Denmark – $330
3rd Akihiro Yamada – Japan – $220