HomeDay 3 of the inaugural APT Vietnam Hanoi at the Grand Loyal Poker Club was buzzing with activity as players wrestled for one of the side event trophies on display. By evening’s end four players walked away victorious namely Pham Tien Dung, Phachara W0ngwichit, Kajornnut Prirungrueng, and Hung Manh Dinh. Congratulations to the winners! We’ve got those highlights for you down below.
Just a quick reminder, the Player of the Series race is underway with Mystery Bounty champion Huy Quang Nguyen in the lead. Players that cash at any of the majors and side events will receive points towards the race. Make sure to check your points.
APT Player of the Series leaderboard
Double KO awards Pham Tien Dung the Super High Rollers win
Fantastic turnout at the two-day Super High Rollers with 40 entries at VN₫ 108,000,000 (~US$ 4,650) a pop for a juicy prize pool of VN₫ 3,880,000,000 (~US$ 167,328) It was the largest attendance of this price tag by the APT in Vietnam. Among the players that pulled up seats were Triton champion Michael Soyza, New Zealand pro Thomas Ward, Thailand pro Phachara Wongwichit, and numerous local big wigs that included Dang Duy Thanh and Dang Van Hien.
With registration still open on the final day, it took over five and a half hours for the bubble to burst. The unfortunate moment befell Dao Minh Phu who according to reports contributed a whopping one-fourth of the pot. Dao shoved with A♠ 6♦ that ran into Cao Ngoc Anh‘s A♣ A♦. From there, the final 7 players were guaranteed to cash. All but one, Florent Benlloch, was from the host country. You can catch the race to the top via APT YouTube. The saved stream begins at the final four players or you can read our brief recap below.
The first player to fall was Minh Quang Nguyen with A♣ K♣ unable to crack Teddy Pham‘s 8♣ 8♦. Cao Ngoc Anh followed and was joined by Quang Nguyen. The final four lasted for some time with the lead exchanging hands a few times. At one point, Benlloch dropped to 13 BB then zoomed to the top after an insane rush of premium hands. His lead was cut short by Pham Tien Dung who caught a lucky straight holding 4♥ 4♣ on a board A♠ 5♠ 3♣ 7♦ 2♠ to bust Benlloch’s K♠ K♥. Benlloch recovered some of the lost chips by eliminating Khanh Hoang Nguyen in 4th place.
At three remaining with Pham still ahead, a dramatic hand came down to end the tournament. From the button, chip leader Dung raised, sb Pham and bb Benlloch called. The flop ran 7♣ 10♦ 9♦, Pham shoved, Benlloch called, Dung re-jammed, Benlloch called for a three-way showdown.
Teddy Pham K♦ 10♣ top pair
Florent Benlloch 8♠ 6♠ nuts straight
Pham Tien Dung 9♣ 9♠ set
The turn 7♥ granted Dung the full house and it was all over. The K♦ river had no bearing. This was Dung’s first ever APT triumph. He shipped the massive VN₫ 1,333,450,000 (~US$ 57,526) and a trophy for his achievement.
Buy in: VN₫ 108,000,000 (~US$ 4,650)
Entries: 40
Prize pool: VN₫ 3,880,000,000 (~US$ 167,328)
ITM: 7 places
Payouts in Vietnamese Dong
| Rank | Player | Flag | Prize |
| 1st | Pham Tien Dung | Vietnam | 1,333,450,000 |
| 2nd | Florent Benlloch | France | 856,940,000 |
| 3rd | Teddy Pham | Vietnam | 577,710,000 |
| 4th | Khanh Hoang Nguyen | Vietnam | 407,050,000 |
| 5th | Quang Nguyen | Vietnam | 298,650,000 |
| 6th | Cao Ngoc Anh | Vietnam | 227,320,000 |
| 7th | Minh Quang Nguyen | Vietnam | 178,880,000 |
Phachara Wongwichit wins the High Rollers Single Day
Phachara Wongwichit may have missed the money at the Super High Rollers event but made up for it at the High Rollers Single Day event. The Thai pro defeated fellow countryman Thananat Therdtakoonrat at heads up to pocket the VN₫ 341,610,000 (~US$ 14,737) first prize and career third APT high rollers title.
The event had a very slow start with only four players taking interest and one busting out during the first two hours. It finally picked up before the fourth hour to extend registration to the maximum. At the close, 24 signed up to build a prize pool of VN₫ 698,400,000 (~US$ 30,119).
Just past the eighth hour of play, the money was reached at the fall of Mystery Bounty champion Huy Quang Nguyen was all in holding K♣ 2♠ on a flop 2♣ 7♥ 3♥ that stayed behind Wongwichit’s K♠ 3♣ higher pair. The turn 6♦ and river 3♠ even improved Wongwichit to trips. From there, it took another two hours for the trophy to be claimed. Chip leader Thai Quang Phan railed Nam Hai Hoang with K♦ J♣ dominating Q♥ J♥ throughout. At three handed, Phan’s dominance vanished, losing multiple pots while short stacked Therdtakoonrat was enoying a consistent boost in chips to impressively reach the top. Wongwichit finished off Phan with A♥ 6♥ over K♣ 8♦.
At heads up, Wongwichit held on to his lead and increased further after getting some decent pay for his J♣ 6♣ trips on a board J♠ K♥ J♦ 5♠ 3♠. Wongwichit proceeded to grind down Therdtakoonrat and cleaned him out with K♣ Q♦ outdrawing 6♦ 6♣ when a king graced the board.
Buy in: VN₫ 32,500,000 (~US$ 1,400)
Entries: 24
Prize pool: VN₫ 698,400,000 (~US$ 30,119)
ITM: 4 places
Payouts in Vietnamese Dong
| Rank | Player | Flag | Prize |
| 1st | Phachara Wongwichit | Thailand | 341,610,000 |
| 2nd | Thananat Therdtakoonrat | Thailand | 183,240,000 |
| 3rd | Thai Quang Phan | Vietnam | 106,480,000 |
| 4th | Nam Hai Hoang | Vietnam | 67,070,000 |
Kajornnut Prirungrueng wins the two-day Head Hunter
Before Phachara Wongwichit won the High Rollers Single Day, Kajornnut Prirungrueng became the firsth player from Thailand to win at the inaugural series. Prirungrueng took down the two-day Head Hunter event for VN₫ 119,690,000 (~US$ 5,163) plus multiple bounty rewards.
The event drew 75 executioners to the felt for a combined bounty and cash prize pool of VN₫ 582,000,000. The first day bagged up at the final 8 with Japan’s Yoichi Uesugi and Australia’s Paul Elliott among the players who reached the money.
At the final day, two early busts brought the table down to six players led by the lone Thai player Prirungrueng. From here, Minh Nguyen brought his axe down on three players starting with Sang Van Nguyen with Ace-Jack overcards outdrawing pocket Tens, India’s Jasven Saigal with pocket Sevens dominating pocket Fives, and Minwoong Jeong in 4th place. Nguyen’s rush and tournament life ended with A♥ 7♥ denied by Prirungrueng’s A♣ 9♣ flush on a board K♥ 9♥ J♣ 8♣ 5♣.
With a massive advantage in chips, Prirungrueng overpowered Hung Tuan Nguyen that even if he did pay one double up, he stayed in command to eventually claim the win. The final hand was } Q♣ J♠ beating 10♠ 9♠ that missed the board completely.
Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 380)
Entries: 75
Prize pool: VN₫ 432,000,000 (~US$ 18,637)
Bounty pool: VN₫ 150,000,000
ITM: 13 places
Payouts in Vietnamese Dong
| Rank | Player | Flag | Prize |
| 1st | Kajornnut Prirungrueng | Thailand | 119,690,000 |
| 2nd | Hung Tuan Nguyen | Vietnam | 79,790,000 |
| 3rd | Minh Duc Nguyen | Vietnam | 55,470,000 |
| 4th | Minwoong Jeong | Korea | 40,070,000 |
| 5th | Jasven Saigal | India | 29,960,000 |
| 6th | Sang Van Nguyen | Vietnam | 23,130,000 |
| 7th | Jinlong Hu | Korea | 18,360,000 |
| 8th | Hoang Thai Son | Vietnam | 14,960,000 |
| 9th | Can Cuoc Cog Dan | Vietnam | 12,470,000 |
| 10th | Yoichi Uesugi | Japan | 10,390,000 |
| 11th | Chia San Tze | Singapore | 10,390,000 |
| 12th | Paul Elliott | Australia | 8,660,000 |
| 13th | Hieu Tran | Vietnam | 8,660,000 |
Hung Manh Dinh ships the Pot Limit Omaha event
Giving Texas Hold’em a break was the Pot Limit Omaha event which attracted a small group of 25 runners. Vietnam’s Hung Manh Dinh commanded most of the final table action, even eliminating Anthony Abram to bring about the money round. While Dinh enjoyed his big stack, Hoang Thai Son clawed his way from nearly busting without pay to heads up. One hand that helped Hoang get there was emptying out Chien Van Nguyen with a rivered full house to dust the straight.
Heads up Dinh carried in the lead and never relinquished. He grinded down Hoang who eventually put it all in with a desperate 5♦ 8♣ 6♠ 4♣ that bricked on a board 3♣ 7♠ Q♠ 7♣ 2♥ against Dinh’s 7♥ A♠ 4♦ 9♦ trips. Dinh walked away with VN₫ 103,610,000 (~US$ 4,470). As for runner up Hoang, this was his second cash of the day having finished 8th at the Head Hunter event.
Buy in: VN₫ 11,000,000 (~US$ 475)
Entries: 25
Prize pool: VN₫ 242,500,000 (~US$ 10,458)
ITM: 5 places
Payouts in Vietnamese Dong
| Rank | Player | Flag | Prize |
| 1st | Hung Manh Dinh | Vietnam | 103,610,000 |
| 2nd | Hoang Thai Son | Vietnam | 60,050,000 |
| 3rd | Chien Van Nguyen | Vietnam | 37,170,000 |
| 4th | Vu Minh Duc | Vietnam | 24,510,000 |
| 5th | Ankit Kumarjajodia | India | 17,160,000 |