HomeHO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam – As the old adages go, the smoke has cleared, the dust has settled and the battles are over as the Asian Poker Tour (APT) took this city by storm and with it changed the lives of many poker aficionados that walked in the doors of the Saigon Poker Club for ten days of riveting action that saw over a thousand entries totaling billions in prize money and seeing records fall. This was perhaps the most game-changing invasion the APT has done in recent memory.
To sum it all up, this leg had a total of eighteen events with 2,731 entries (666 of them unique) and a whopping VND39,646,000,000.00 (US$1,704,778.00) in prize money. This number could have been higher if not for the fact that some Side Events had to be cancelled due to “table congestion” with the immense influx of those who celebrated the return of poker–with no restrictions–and fanning the flames of what could be more than a re-birth in the very near future.
This will definitely not be the last time the APT makes a stop here. But after the ten days of magic, we look back at the winners and winners of what was APT Vietnam Ho Chi Minh.
The Warm-Up event broke an APT Vietnam record for an opening event with 439 entries, it was a sign of things to come and also the emergence of Phan Huu Minh Tri who bested the field and take down the first crown for the host nation. This would not be the last time this name would be mentioned in this undertaking.
Phan Huu Minh Tri wins the APT Vietnam Ho Chi Minh 2022 Warm-Up Event
It slowly began to become a true battle of the nations as the Koreans and Japanese joined the Vietnamese in a bid to amass the most titles.
Oh Sumin, Lee Seongmin and later on Park Chung Min gave the Vietnamese a run for their turf, but not to be outdone is the contingent from Japan that saw Satioshi Kuriga take the Single-Day High-Rollers (Event #6), but several runner-up finishes left their hopes in shambles. Hong Kong’s Ho Chi Chung took down yet another Single-Day High-Rollers but the rest went to the home country in an impeccable show of brute strength.
2022 Ho Chui Minh Main Event Champion
Latvian Aigars Plivcs (who now resides in Vietnam) joined local champions Phan, Bang Quang Hung, Mai Bien, Cao Hai Son, Do Hoang Long, Vu Van Lich, Nguyen Thien Minh and Main Event victor Tran Tuan Anh in the winner’s circle for the stint here and Phan even made matters sweeter by taking down the Player of the Series crown with one more triumph in the Monster Stack (Event #18).
However, the big digit that this leg will be remembered for is 722. That’s the total number of entries garnered by the Main Event; a madhouse of Day 1s that led to a groundbreaking Day 2 and the last push that saw Tran win on an unprecedented “flip” for the trophy.
Now that the APT gears up for Manila starting September 6th, the memories of triumphs and tribulations, of friendships gained and experience attained will ring through as we the APT finally closes this historic chapter in Ho Chi Minh City. It has truly been a one-of-a-kind endeavor.