HomeThe inaugural APT Southeast Asia 2017 awarded its first-ever event trophy and the happy winner was none other than Japanese pro Tetsuya Tsuchikawa! Tsuchikawa dusted the 47-player field of the NLH Welcome Event to capture the USD 1,800 first prize.
NLH Welcome Event Champion, Tetsuya Tsuchikawa
Taking a short trip down memory lane, we recently witnessed Tsuchikawa win the APT Player of the Series race at the APT Macau 2017. That was just less than two weeks ago.
Entering the final table of ten players, Tsuchikawa was sitting in middle rank with a healthy stack. Fellow compatriot Mitsuru Sano led in chips, one he amassed after winning a triple up with quad sixes. After several quick dropouts, the bubble finally burst and it was Tsuchikawa who shipped in the huge pot with his A♣ 10♥ against a player’s 9♣ 7♣ on a board of Q♣ 10♣ 9♦ 3♥ 4♦. The hand saw betting at every round with Tsuchikawa calling the shove on the river.
With everyone now guaranteed a payout,the next player to fall was China’s Hailong Huang railed in 5th place by Japan’s Yoichi Uesugi with pocket sevens over pocket sixes. This left four players on the hunt for the title, all of them hailing from Japan.
Tsuchikawa defeats an all-Japanese final four
The four-handed round saw short-stacked Hisashi Ogi pump up his stack with a couple of early wins to stay in the running however for Sano, he wasn’t as fortunate and busted out in 4th place. Once again, it was Uesugi who delivered the blow with pocket tens holding up against ace-jack.
With three players remaining, Ogi went on a winning streak, picking up seven consecutive pots to steal the chip lead from Tsuchikawa. With Uesugi now on the short end, he was unable to hold on and was eliminated in 3rd place by Tsuchikawa. Uesugi shoved on a flop of 3♥ J♥ 2♣ while holding 4♣ 5♣. Tsuchikawa held J♣ 10♠. The turn came Q♣ and river K♠. This set up the heads up round with Ogi slightly leading in the count.
Final heads up round to victory
It took some time before the final hand made landfall. It took 70 hands to be exact. Along the way, it was fairly even until they returned from a short break. From there, six hands were more of the same, but the next fifteen that followed were all Tsuchikawa. This left Ogi no choice but to shove in hopes of a double up. He was successful with Q♣ J♣ running well on a board of A♠ 9♦ J♥ J♣ 6♦ against Tsuchikawa’s K♥ Q♥, then he earned more chips with quad nines.
But his run would not be enough. Tsuchikawa won a sizable pot with J-3 two pair over pocket kings, then several hands after, Tsuchikawa was all in with A♠ 7♥ and Ogi tossed in the call for his tournament life holding K♦ 9♠. The board ran 7♣ 3♥ 4♦ 5♥ 8♣.
With this victory, Tsuchikawa leads the race for the APT Player of the Series title.
Payouts
1st Tetsuya Tsuchikawa – Japan – USD 1,800
2nd Hisashi Ogi – Japan – USD 1,180
3rd Yoichi Uesugi – Japan – USD 680
4th Mitsuru Sano – Japan – USD 500
5th Hailong Huang – China – USD 400
1992 Manchester United players attend PKC and DNA Star Vegas Casino celebrations
For all those football fans out there, the Poker King Club and the DNA Star Vegas Casino celebrated the opening of the newest PKC poker room with special appearances by players from the 1992 Manchester United team. A brief look back in history, this golden team won the first-ever FA Premier League. Among those in attendance today were Nicky Butt, Philip Neville, Gary Neville, Ryan Gigs, and Paul Scholes.
Man Utd’s Class of ’92 joins the ribbon cutting to officially open APT Southeast Asia 2017
Although they were in-and-out of the poker tournament area pretty quickly, they did dabble in a fun Sit n Go match. This was immediately followed by the customary autograph signing to the thrill of many fans who eagerly awaited with their jerseys and other memorabilia.
Manchester United Class of ’92 rocking the felt as fans flock in
That wraps up opening day of the APT Southeast Asia 2017! See you at the tables tomorrow for more nonstop poker action!