HomeAPT Korea Seoul 2018 saw 40 bounty hunters hit the tables at Paradise Casino in Grand Walkerhill for the Head Hunter event. Russia’s Artur Gaynanov ruled the hunt coming from behind at heads up against Paraguay’s An Hyeon Woo to capture the KRW 3,983,000 first prize money and his first-ever APT event trophy.
Artur Gaynanov, Head Hunter champion
Before Gaynanov stole the show, it was runner-up An who dominated the action. An had a massive stack entering the final table and fattened up further after delivering the bubble to claim his 9th bounty reward. With each bounty at KRW 100,000 each, An already profited, earning back double his buyin of KRW 440,000.
The money round was littered with heavy action. The chip leader’s status switched hands several times with NLH Welcome Event winner Stephane Blouin and Ang Boon Seng both spending a brief moment in the high chair. After Alexander Ugay landed two huge back-to-back pots – Q-10 full house that exposed Ang’s 8-7 bluff shove on the river of 4-5-Q-Q-10 and K♣ K♦ quads dusting Jeffrey Haney’s 6♥ 6♠ on a board A♦ A♠ K♠ K♥ 4♠ – he too took command.
An collected his 10th bounty after sending Takuya Suzuki (6th) to the rail; Gaynanov booted Ang (5th) with 8♦ 8♠ full house over A♣ 9♣ on a board of 10♦ J♥ K♣ 8♣ 10♥; and Ugay denied Blouin a second title, knocking him out in 4th place with K-K over 3-3.
The three-handed round was just a explosive as the start of the money round with Ugay, An, and Gaynanov battling hard for the chip lead. An proceeded to knock out Ugay for his 11th bounty. An had a dominating Q♥ J♠ straight over Ugay’s 10♦ 7♠ top pair with both players all in at the flop of a completed board 9♣ 10♥ 8♥ K♦ A♦.
At heads up, An was way ahead over 3.5:1 against Gaynanov but it didn’t last. An paid Gaynanov two double ups that cost him the chip lead. Gaynanov’s first win was 8♥ 8♠ holding against A♦ 4♥, and the second was A♥ K♦ over K♣ 9♠ on a board of A♠ 9♣ 8♣ 2♦ 7♣ with the shoves happening at the flop. Several hands later, Gaynanov was able to close it out winning with yet another pair of eights.
Payouts
Prize pool: KRW 11,520,000 – Bounties: KRW 4,000,000 – Buyin: KRW 440,000
1st Artur Gaynanov – Russia – KRW 3,983,000
2nd An Hyeon Woo – Paragauay – KRW 2,557,00
3rd Alexander Ugay – Russia – KRW 1,712,000
4th Stephane Blouin – Canada – KRW 1,196,000
5th Ang Boon Seng – Singapore – KRW 873,000
6th Takuya Suzuki – Japan – KRW 667,000
7th Jeffrey Haney – USA – KRW 532,000
APT Player of the Series race update
With Stephane Blouin finishing in the money at the Head Hunter event, he maintains his frontrunner status in the APT Player of the Series race. Six events have concluded with 12 more to go plus the Main Event.
Up next: APT MAIN EVENT including promos by CoinPoker
Owning the floor for the next five days is the featured tournament of the series, the APT Main Event. This is the most prestigious event of the APT. It is a deep structured No Limit Hold’em tournament boasting of the best structure in the region. The event runs from June 19 – 23 with two starting days, Day 2, Day 3, and the Final 8.
Make sure to read up on Everything You Need To Know About the Main Event including CoinPoker Promos. It includes exciting promos offered by Asian Poker Tour sponsor, CoinPoker, a cryptocurrency-based online poker room.
Full APT Korea Seoul 2018 schedule
Other festival winners:
Stephane Blouin: NLH Welcome Event
John Young Lee: Ante Up for Charity
Kelvin Beattie: Main Event Warm Up
Calvin Lee: PLO High Rollers
Andrew An: No Limit Hold’em 1