Championships Event Day 3 ends with the Final 8 established; Kit Kwan Kwok seeks 2nd title

Another round of eliminations took place at the APT Vietnam Ho Chi Minh Championships – Championships Event – with 29 players out of the 213 total entries back at the felt hunting down a coveted seat to the final day. After eight hours of heavy action the Final 8 players emerged. 

Top Left to Right:
Quang Phung
– Vietnam – 1,980,000
Kit Kwan Kwok – Hong Kong – 1,665,000
Son Putin – Vietnam – 1,465,000
Paul Hong – New Zealand – 1,305,000

Bottom Left to Right:
Cao Ngoc Anh – Vietnam – 1,335,000
Wei Cheng Yin – Taiwan – 1,295,000
Nguyen Tuan Anh – Vietnam – 840,000
Thong Trinh – Vietnam 765,000

Youu can read up on the Day 3 action via our Live Updates posts. We also have a review of the finalists written below.

Final 8 players

29 players returned to Pro Poker Club for the next stage to the Championships Event title. One player in particular returned with a monstrous stack, Nguyen Tuan Anh, with over 1.3 million in chips. Nguyen’s day wouldn’t quite match up to his previous day’s performance. At three tables remaining, he lost a series of pots to bring him down to ground level. This opening led to several players in heated tug-of-wars for the chip lead.

The first player to fall was APT Main Event title-holder, Choong Kian Weng, eliminated in 29th place by Nguyen Van Canh with a straight over set. Canh proceeded to rail several others however his run painfully ended one spot shy of the Final 8. Sending him out was Quang Phung with pocket tens over ace-queen suited. Phung closed Day 3 in command of the Final 8 contenders with 1,980,000 in chips.

Standing: Nguyen Van Canh (L) final hand

Earning second rank was Kwan Kit Kwok, the only APT Main Event title-holder left in the field. Kwok picked up the pace early in the day, doubling up through Le Ngoc Khanh with pocket jacks over pocket fives. Among the players he railed today was Main Event runner-up Minh Le in 10th place. Kwok closed Day 3 in fine shape with 1,665,000. He will be hunting down his second title with the first one also claimed in Vietnam back  in 2015.  

Kit Kwan Kwok

Another player charging up the ranks was Son Putin. Putin was involved in several heated encounters with Paul Hong, the fifth player on the chip rung. Putin wrapped up slightly ahead with 1,465,000 and Hong with 1,305,000. Impressively, Putin finished 17th at the Main Event; as for Hong, he finished runner-up at the APT Main Event in Seoul, Korea last month. To form the unofficial final table of ten players, Hong eliminated John Paredes in 11th place. 

Cao Ngoc Anh was quite the executioner in Day 3. He knocked out the most number of players sending five to the rail. He would have had six under his belt, but Hieu Tran survived what became one of the nuttiest hands of the day. He ended with 1,335,000. 

Hieu Tran celebrating a split pot

Earning sixth rank was Wei Cheng Yin with 1,295,000. Yin had a roller coaster day, watching his stack rise and dip. He celebrated two double ups during the unofficial final table of ten players to earn a Final 8 spot. The day’s entering chip leader Tuan Anh claimed seventh position with 840,000, and bringing up the rear was Thong Trinh with 765,000.

The Final 8 players will return tomorrow, Sunday, July 22, for the final race to the championship title and the VND 1,304,030,000 first place prize money. Cards in the air at 130pm. Average stack is 1,331,250 with 10,650,000 total chips in play. There will be a rollback to 20K-40K ante 5K.

You can watch the action live (45-min delay) on APT Twitch and APT YouTube. This will also be the final day of the festival so come on over if you are in Ho Chi Minh and catch the action live.

Payouts 9th – 29th
9th Nguyen Van Canh – Vietnam – VND 147,270,000
10th Minh Le – Vietnam – VND 125,870,000
11th John Paredes – USA– VND 107,580,000
12th Tran Uy Thanh – Vietnam  – VND 107,580,000
13th Hieu Tran – Vietnam – VND 91,950,000
14th 20Feb – Vietnam – VND 91,950,000
15th Duong Nguyen – Vietnam – VND 91,950,000
16th Charly Mouline – France – VND 78,590,000
17th Tran Son Thach – Vietnam – VND 78,590,000
18th Gao Li Chao – China – VND 78,590.000
19th Nguyen Thi Hien Hoa – Vietnam – VND 67,170,000
20th Hoe Guofeng – Singapore – VND 67,170,000
21st Takeo Hanayama – Japan – VND 67,170,000
22nd Nguyen Thanh Nha – Vietnam – VND 67,170,000
23rd Lars Jurgens – VND 57,410,000
24th Nguyen Duc Giao Linh – Vietnam – VND 49,070,000
25th Takao Shimizu – Japan – VND 57,410,000
26th Le Ngoc Khanh – Vietnam – VND 57,410,000
27th Tan Wah Meng – Singapore – VND 57,410,000
28th Yuri Odagiri – Japan – VND 49,070,000
29th Choong Kian Weng – Malaysia – VND 49,070,000