HomeThe APT Kickoff Vietnam 2018 continued to pump in the players with the Main Event VND 3,000,000,000 Guaranteed filling up the Pro Poker Club to maximum capacity once again. This forced the organizers to shut down the Main Event Mega Satellite to be able to accommodate the players for the Super Deep Stack Turbo 1 in the late afternoon.
For those who missed out on today’s action, there were 179 entrants burning up the Main Event felt throughout the day. At the end of the scheduled eight rounds, a clear leader emerged with Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Dat bagging up an enormous 454,900 stack.
Main Event Day 1B Chip Leader, Pham Thanh Dat
Coming in second position – though very far from Dat – was poker professional John Phan. He closed the night with 232,900 in chips. Rounding out the top three was Malaysia’s Sukumar Letchmunan with 207,800.
In total, there were 90 players that survived today’s challenges. While a huge fraction were locals, there were also many from outside of the country that attended. Among those that advanced to Day 2 were Alecz Chan, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa, Andy Li Xueyan, Dhanesh Chainani, and Kristian Faering.
As announced in the afternoon, due to the monstrous turnout of the Main Event, there will now be two flights for Day 2: 1pm and 6pm. For all players into Day 2, you can view the chip count list, your seat assignment, and your designated flight time right here.
Kosei Ichinose outlasts the 168 entries of the NLH Two-Day event
NLH Two Day Event Champion, Kosei Ichinose
The NLH Two-Day event may as well have been a three day marathon with the final day stretching just past the midnight hour. Outlasting the massive 168 field was Japanese pro Kosei Ichinose. He earned the VND 344,820,000 first prize and another APT side event trophy to add to his shelf.
The NLH Two-day event resumed earlier today with the final 38 players back on the poker green. With many short stacks in the mix, it didn’t take long for the money to flow with Pham Ouang Huy completing a diamond flush to deliver the bubble. From there, it took some time for the 28-player field to downsize to one table. When it did, it was Julian Tran who was denied a spot in the final ten. Tran was bumped off by the eventual champion Ichinose with Q♥ Q♠ over Q♣ 3♣.
The final table kicked off with Huy leading the crew in chips. He continued to amass a huge lead until two big hits dropped him back to par with the group. After a couple of bust outs, Ichinose slid into the leader’s seat with a winning straight then held on until he doubled up Katsuhiro Muto’s set of nines.
The six-handed bout had to be one of the longest runs of this event. During that time, the lead switched around numerous times with every player earning the right to be chief. After Ichinose retired Than Son Thach in 6th place, he retook the lead, then climbed higher by sending Duong to the rail in 5th place. By this time, the Japanese pro had half of the chips in play and used them to send more players packing.
Next to feel the Ichinose shove was Katsuhiro Muto. On a flop of 4♠ 7♣ K♠, ample betting action led to all ins by Ichinose and Muto. Ichinose was ahead with K♣ 4♥ two pair over Muto’s A♠ 2♠ nut flush draw. The turn K♦ improved Ichinose to a full house and despite the 7♠ river, it was all over for Muto who took 4th place. Filipino Adrian Brion was downed in 3rd place, shoving his Q♣ 8♣ and running into Ichinose’s A♥ A♠.
The heads up round between Ichinose and Hoa Nguyen – the last woman standing – opened with a 3:1 chip advantage to the Japanese pro. Hoa gave a good run but never got close enough to overtake Ichinose. The final hand saw both players all in on a flop of 7♣ 4♠ 9♣. Hoa banked on her top pair of 8♣ 9♥ against Ichinose’s two pair 7♥ 4♣ however with the turn 2♦ and river 7♦ Ichinose improved to a full house and took down the event.
Top 10 payouts – Prize pool: VND 1,629,600,000 – 28 ITM
Buy-in: VND 11,000,000
1st Kosei Ichinose – Japan – VND 344,820,000
2nd Hoa Nguyen – Vietnam – VND 229,770,000
3rd Adrian Brion – Philippines – VND 159,380,000
4th Katsuhiro Muto – Japan – VND 115,050,000
5th Duong Thanh Ha (Harry) – Vietnam – VND 86,540,000
6th Than Son Thach – Vietnam – VND 67,630,000
7th Pham Ouang Huy – Vietnam – VND 54,930,000
8th Bui Dinh Nam – Vietnam – VND 46,450,000
9th Erik Billgren – Sweden – VND 40,900,000
10th Pham Ngoc Quoc Bao – Vietnam – VND 35,850,000
Cong Chi Nguyen wins the Super Deep Stack Turbo 1
In addition to Main Event Day 1B, players also had the option of enjoying the lone side event on the menu – the Super Deep Stack Turbo 1. Due to the main taking command of a large portion of the room, this event had a long list of alternates from the get-go. Unfortunately many players eventually cancelled leaving a total of 81 players vying for the title.
Super Deep Stack Turbo 1 Champion, Cong Chi Nguyen
After seven hours of action, the winner emerged with Vietnam’s Cong Chi Nguyen getting the best of Norway’s Kai Paulsen to earn the VND 82,620,000 first place purse and his first-ever APT trophy. The final hand saw Paulsen shove his K♣ 8♥ right into Nguyen’s K♠ K♦.
Top 5 payouts – Prize pool: VND 314,280,000 – 14 ITM
Buy-in: VND 4,400,000
1st Cong Chi Nguyen – Vietnam – VND 82,620,000
2nd Kai Paulsen – Norway – VND 55,090,000
3rd Chris Morrison – UK – VND 38,250,000
4th J. Michael Shell – USA – VND 27,590,000
5th Dang Van Don – Vietnam – VND 20,740,000
Events scheduled for Wednesday, January 24, 2018
The final starting day of the prestigious Main Event gets rolling at 1pm. For those that sign up early and have their chips in play on the first hand of the first round, you will be eligible for bubble protection. Read all about the Main Event and the bubble protection right here.
There has also been a change in the schedule. The 6pm Deep Stack Turbo 1 has been cancelled however the No Limit Hold’em One Day Event will still be on deck but moved to 5pm. Buy-in is VND 4,400,000.
For the full schedule, click here.