HomeWhat an exciting final day at the APT Championships Philippines 2017 here at Resorts World Manila with many players claiming the last remaining side event trophies. While they all had their moment in the spotlight, outshining them all was an APT newcomer, Vietnam’s Huu Dung Nguyen, who went from the shortest stack of the APT Championships Final 8 to the very top to seize the title. Huu won the APT Championships trophy, the APT Championship Ring, and the huge USD 91,670 first place purse.
APT Championships 2017 Winner, Huu Dung Nguyen
Recap of the Final 8: Early eliminations
At the start of the Final 8, it was all about the short stacks on the move. Singapore’s Don Mishra and Vietnam’s Huu Dung Nguyen entered with just eight big blinds and both quickly doubled up through Japan’s Shinobu Tanaka. While several other short stacks doubled up as well including a big stacked Ko Yuki, it didn’t last as the days massive chip leader, Korea’s Kim Gab Yong, sent them to the rail. Vietnam’s Tien Quyet Pham was out in 8th place and Japan’s Ko Yuki in 7th place.
Next on the chopping block was Korea’s In Chul Sin who was removed from contention in 6th place by Huu to bring up his stack to a healthy million range. However, it was Yong who continued to be the star, eliminating another player, Mishra in 5th place.
The rise of Huu and the fall of Yong
With over half of the chips in play, 5.3 million out of the 9.45 million in play, and three heads claimed, Yong was no doubt the man in charge. Or so it seemed. For the rest of the four-handed action, Huu would be the biggest thorn on his side, winning seven costly pots to eventually see Yong bow out in 4th place.
The first big pot between them saw Huu win with A♠ 6♠ two pair on a board of 7♦ 7♣ 3♠ 6♥ 4♣. He claimed another hefty pile with A♥ 4♣ two pair on a board of J♠ A♠ 8♦ 4♥ 7♦. Huu evened up to the leader after calling down Yong’s big raise on a completed board of 2♣ 4♣ 8♥ A♣ K♠ while holding a gutsy second pair with K♥ 3♥ that he only caught on the river. This also exposed Yong’s bluff. Huu eventually overtook Yong and became the chip leader after shipping in two more massive pots, then catapulted to 4.2 million chips with his pocket eights good on a J♠ 4♠ 6♦ 9♥ 9♣ board.
As Kim continued to drop, the other two players, Tanaka and Nguyen Hoang Bach, also got a piece of his action. Yong played almost every hand of the four-handed round and was finally booted out in 4th place.
Huu’s road to victory
The three-handed round wasn’t quite as active as when Yong was still at the felt. Chips moved from player to player with Tanaka and Huu in most of the action. Tanaka gained momentum, winning sizable pots to widen his gap between the two players. He proceeded to finish off Bach in 3rd place with J♠ J♥ improving to a gorgeous straight flush on a running board of 10♠ 9♠ 7♠ 10♥ 8♠.
Heads Up: Huu Dung Nguyen vs. Shinobu Tanaka
Entering the heads up round, Tanaka was ahead 2.5:1 against Huu. It didn’t take long for Huu to display his one-on-one skills, dominating the first six hands to usurp the leader’s status. Tanaka valiantly charged back and both evened up – give or take some chips – several times. Huu rose to a 3:1 chip advantage with his 2♥ 3♥ full house against Tanaka’s A♠ 6♦ on a board of 9♠ 3♠ 3♦ 10♦ 9♦.
The final hand Huu shoved with A♦ 4♥ and Tanaka snap-called for his tournament life with K♣ Q♣. The board ran A♠ Q♠ J♣ 7♥ 9♦ for a huge victory to the Huu.
In addition to Huu’s incredible win at the APT Championships featured event, he also won the Opening Event for another USD 19,050 to add to his winnings.
Congratulations to Huu Dung Nguyen for his impressive performance at the APT Championships!
Final Side Events Results
Additionally, there were four side events that wrapped up on our final day of the APT Championships Philippines 2017. Here are the winners.
Monster Stack
186 entries
Prize Pool: USD 90,210
1st Katsuhiro Muto – Japan – USD 20,540
6 Handed Turbo w/Antes
103 entries
Prize Pool: USD 19,980
1st Stephen Bierman – USA – USD 5,100
Open Face Chinese Pineapple
18 entries
Prize Pool: USD 6,980
1st Noel Araniel – Philippines – USD 3,480
Deep Stack Hyper Turbo
133 entries
Prize Pool: USD 12,900
1st Robert Branson – USA – USD 3,300
Congratulations to all the winners! You can look up all the winners and event payouts in the Events and Results page.
We will have a final wrap with all the highlights of the APT Championships Philippines 2017.