APT Hanoi Vietnam VSOP: India’s Kunal Patni Claims Maiden APT Title in Event #36 Hyper Turbo; Hai Nam Hoang Ships Main Event For VN₫2.79 Billion

The first APT festival of the year, the 2023 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Hanoi Vietnam VSOP, is almost at the finish line, and the Saturday action at the VSOP poker club was nothing short of electrifying.

Indians have always been a dominating force in Vietnam. Keeping the tradition alive, long-time circuit reg Kunal Patni won the country its fourth APT title of the year yesterday. After a litany of close finishes in APT tournaments over the years, the former banker finally got the monkey off his back by lifting the elusive APT trophy in Event #36: Hyper Turbo – 8 Max. He won the VN₫16.50 Million buy-in tournament for VN₫106.94 Million following an even heads-up deal with Vietnam’s Dinh Tien Thanh.

The biggest attraction at the stop, the VN₫10 Billion GTD APT Hanoi Vietnam VSOP Main Event, saw Vietnam’s Hai Nam Hoang riding his final table chip lead to the finish line, bagging the APT Main Event trophy and a whopping VN₫2.79 Billion top prize. He chopped the Main Event title heads-up with compatriot Tuan Tai Nguyen (2nd for VN₫2.10 Billion).

Vietnam’s Hoan Cong Le outran the 47 Day 2 qualifiers in the VN₫11 Million buy-in Event #31: Monster Stack, banking the lion`s share of the VN₫3.20 Billion prize pool worth VN₫623.81 Million. Japan’s Uesugi Yoichi collected VN₫396.28 Million in second place. The only Indian returning on Day 2, Event #34: Hyper Turbo champion, Ritesh Khatwani, busted 22nd for VN₫29.77 Million.

Day 1B of Event #32: APT High Roller drew 140 entries (85 unique), and 44 survived to Day 2, with South Korea’s Seungmook Jung (799,000) sitting on top of the day-end counts. Event #1: APT Kickoff runner-up finisher Spartan Poker Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli (687,000) is well placed for another deep run as he bagged the third-biggest stack.

Alok Birewar (448,000), Jasven Saigal (380,000), Ashish Munot (330,000), Event #27: Single Day High Roller champion Shardul Parthasarathi (294,000) and Prashant Bhutoria (220,000) were other Indians moving ahead to Day 2.

Event #35: APT Mini Main Event was another featured event that generated much player interest. Day 1B registered a 114-entry starting field (85 unique), and 16 players advanced to Day 2. The APT Hanoi Vietnam VSOP Main Event eighth-place finisher, German Bukharov (860,000), topped the day-end chip counts.

Switzerland’s Sandro Burkhard bagged his maiden APT title in Event #37: Hyper Turbo. He scored a winner’s payday of VN₫47.38 Million after defeating Japan’s Kosei Fujiwara (2nd for VN₫32.65 Million) heads-up.

Kunal Patni Wins Maiden APT Title in Event #36: Hyper Turbo – 8 Max For VN₫106.94 Million, Strikes Even Heads-up Deal With Dinh Tien Thanh

The banker-turned-poker pro, Kunal Patni, made the long overdue entry into the APT champion`s club yesterday. The Asian circuit regular shot down a 21-player field (16 unique) in the VN₫16.50 Million buy-in Event #36: Hyper Turbo – 8 Max, grabbing his fifth-ever live tournament title – his first at the APT – for VN₫106.94 Million.

Patni, who won the Poker Dream Vietnam Mystery Bounty and WPT Prime Cambodia Deepstack titles last year, struck an equal ICM deal with Vietnam’s Dinh Tien Thanh (2nd for VN₫106.94 Million), becoming the fourth Indian player to lift an APT trophy at the series.

The event generated a VN₫305.55 Million prize pool, and the top four places got paid, with Tu Thanh Le (3rd for VN₫55 Million) and Zhi Xiong (4th for VN₫36,67 Million) rounding out the payouts.

Complete Results (VN₫)

1. Kunal Patni – VN₫106,940,000
2. Dinh Tien Thanh – VN₫106,940,000
3. Tu Thanh Le – VN₫55,000,000
4. Zhi Xiong – VN₫36,670,000

Vietnam’s Hai Nam Hoang Slays APT Hanoi Vietnam VSOP Main Event For VN₫2.79 Billion Following a Heads-up Deal With Tuan Tai Nguyen (VN₫2.10 Billion)

The showstopper event at the ongoing APT Hanoi Vietnam, the VN₫10 Billion GTD APT Hanoi Vietnam VSOP Main Event, found a champion in Vietnam’s Hai Nam Hoang, who won his first-ever tournament with a bang!

Hoang entered the final table in the chip lead and muscled through the field to win the APT Main Event trophy and a massive VN₫2.79 Billion cash prize following an ICM deal with another local player Tuan Tai Nguyen (2nd for VN₫2.10 Billion).

Following his maiden title victory, Hoang said via a translator, “This is only my second time playing in an event with such a big field, and to become the champion of a Main Event is a great feeling. I’d like to say a big thank you and I appreciate everything APT and the VSOP have done to make this a great event. It was a pleasure to be here.”

“I just played the best I could and took it step by step, hoping I could go as deep as I could” he added.

The Main Event registered a guarantee-crushing 654-entry field and 96 players got a piece of the VN₫15.85 Billion prize pool.

Five Indians crossed the money line, namely Prashant Bhutoria (27th for VN₫89.61 Million), Event #22: NLHE Super Holdem winner Nikita Luther (49th for VN₫59.47 Million), Jasven Saigal (57th for VN₫53.13 Million), Pranav Bagai (63rd for VN₫53.13 Million) and Spartan Poker Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli (79th for VN₫46.79 Million).

Other notables finishing in the money include Junam Lee (10th for VN₫203 Million), Aleksei Varashev (21st for VN₫104.51 Million), Ahmed Ibrahimi (32nd for VN₫68.99 Million), Artsiom Panasiuk (39th for VN₫68.99 Million), William Kang (47th for VN₫59.47 Million), Yiu Yeung Leung (59th for VN₫53.13 Million), Junya Yamaguchi (72nd for VN₫46.79 Million), Martin Finger (80th for VN₫46.79 Million), and Niroshan Loganathan (95th for VN₫23.39 Million).

The final table was live-streamed on APT`s YouTube channel. You can watch the replay below.

Final Table Recap

Russia’s German Bukharov had the shortest stint on the final table, crashing out eighth with his pocket eights falling to Petr Rudnev’s pocket nines.

The final table chip leader, Hai Nam Hoang, got the other finalists two pay jumps by eliminating two players in one hand. Short-stacked Duc Trung Dinh open-shoved with , Zhao Feng jammed over the top with . Unfortunately for them, Hoang woke up with pocket queens behind them, busting Dinh and Feng in seventh and sixth place, respectively.

The quick exits of Son Le (5th place) and Thanh Hai Nguyen (4th place) set up the three-handed play.

Following Petr Rudnev’s third-place elimination, the heads-up battle between Hoang (17.30 Million) and Tuan Tai Nguyen (8.60 Million) commenced.

After a brief battle, the duo shook hands on an ICM deal that awarded the Main Event trophy to Hai Nam Hoang and a VN₫2.79 Billion cash prize. Tuan Tai Nguyen locked in an equally impressive VN₫2.79 Billion.

Final Table Results (VN₫)

1. Hai Nam Hoang – VN₫2,794,200,000
2. Tuan Tai Nguyen – VN₫2,100,000,000
3. Petr Rudnev – VN₫1,335,370,000
4. Thanh Hai Nguyen – VN₫1,022,940,000
5. Son Le – VN₫810,420,000
6. Zhao Feng – VN₫631,210,000
7. Duc Trung Dinh – VN₫59,930,000
8. German Bukharov – VN₫314,340,000

Vietnam’s Hoan Cong Le Champions Event #31: Monster Stack to Win His Maiden APT Title (VN₫623.81 Million)

The three-day long VN₫11 Million buy-in Event #31: Monster Stack saw its 330-player starting field – (Day 1A – 153 and Day 1B – 177) – whittling down to a winner on Saturday. Only 47 contenders returned for Day 2, all guaranteed a share of the VN₫3.20 Billion prize pool.

Vietnam’s Hoan Cong Le stormed his way through the Day 2 field, winning his maiden APT title for VN₫623.81 Million. Japan’s Uesugi Yoichi had to settle for a runner-up payday of VN₫396.28 Million.

Event #34: Hyper Turbo champion, Ritesh Khatwani, was the only Indian player on Day 2. The Jaipur-based live tournament reg entered the Day 2 field ranked #7 in chips and busted 22nd for VN₫29.77 Million.

Calvin Tan (3rd for VN₫297.05 Million), Bao Sheng Woon (4th for VN₫240. 40 Million), Egor Shkiria (5th for VN₫189,500,000), Manh Tuong Ha (6th for VN₫144,690,000), Tuan Anh Nguyen (7th for VN₫106,270,000), and Aleksei Ignatev (8th for VN₫78,100,000) made final table finishes.

Vietnam’s Doan Quang Trung bubbled the final table in ninth place, winning VN₫64.02 Million.

Other notables to cross the money line included Ben Loo (15th for VN₫42.57 Million), John Tech (26th for VN₫26.57 Million), Kana Idoji (29th for VN₫23.37 Million), Yucheng Xiao (33rd for VN₫20.49 Million), and Hoang Hai Nguyen (47th for VN₫18.25 Million)

Final Table Results (VN₫)

1. Hoan Cong Le – VN₫623,810,000
2. Uesugi Yoichi – VN₫396,280,000
3. Calvin Tan – VN₫297,050,000
4. Bao Sheng Woon – VN₫240,400,000
5. Egor Shkiria – VN₫189,500,000
6. Manh Tuong Ha – VN₫144,690,000
7. Tuan Anh Nguyen – VN₫106,270,000
8. Aleksei Ignatev – VN₫78,100,000

South Korea’s Seungmook Jung Bagged the Top Stack Among 44 Survivors on Day 1B of Event #32: APT High Roller, Six Indians Made Cut With Zarvan Tumboli Ranked #3 in Chips

Event #32: APT High Roller was one of the big hits at the APT season opener with a late rush of 140 players (85 unique) in the VN₫55 Million buy-in tournament pulling up the field to 204-strong, generating a hefty VN₫9.89 Billion prize pool – over 3X the advertised guarantee.

The top 27 players are due to get a payday with a min-cash good for VN₫98.94 Million.

After fifteen 40-minute levels of play, the 140-strong field was reduced to just 44. South Korea’s Seungmook Jung (799,000) gave his chances at winning the VN₫2.19 Billion top prize a shot in the arm by amassing the most chips – putting himself third overall coming into Day 2. Belarus-based Artsiom Panasiuk (763,000) and Event #1 APT Kickoff runner-up finisher Spartan Poker Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli (687,000) round out the top three names on the day-end tally.

Besides Tumboli, five more Indians progressed to Day 2. These include Alok Birewar (448,000), Jasven Saigal (380,000), Ashish Munot (330,000), Event #27: Single Day High Roller champion Shardul Parthasarathi (294,000), and Prashant Bhutoria (220,000)!

The qualifiers from both starting flights convened for the Day 2 finale at 11 AM (local time) on February 12.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1B

1. Seungmook Jung – 799,000
2. Artsiom Panasiuk – 763,000
3. Zarvan Tumboli – 687,000
4. Truong Toan Chan – 649,000
5. Xianling Chen – 619,000
6. Dennis Ng – 575,000
7. Yuhan Liu – 489,000
8. Aigars Plivcs – 455,000
9. Weng Chih Chan – 449,000
10. Alok Birewar – 448,000

German Bukharov Chips Leads 16 Survivors on Day 1B of Event #35: APT Mini Main Event

Adding to the Saturday fervour was Day 1B of the VN₫8.8 Million buy-in Event #35 APT Mini Main Event that drew 114 players (85 unique), expanding the field to 250 players (158 unique), making for a hefty VN₫1.94 Billion prize pool.

Hot on the heels of his eighth-place finish in the APT Main Event (his fourth final table finish in the series), Russia’s German Bukharov (860,000) got another title sweat going by topping the 16 survivors – also assuming the overall chip lead. South Korea’s Ha Woojong (524,000) and Hyungkook Shin (524,000) round out the top three – both players tied with the same stack.

The 16 survivors from Day 1B joined the 20 qualifiers from the first flight at 11 AM (GMT+7) on February 12 to play down to a winner.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1B

1. German Bukharov – 860,000
2. Ha Woojong – 524,000
3. Hyungkook Shin – 524,000
4. Nguyen Khac Cuong – 419,000
5. Hoang Nam Nguyen – 408,000
6. Tran Huy Phong – 404,000
7. Robert Nemeskeri-Kiss – 348,000
8. Dinh Hai Le – 197,000
9. Norbert Koh – 159,000
10. Evgeni Gaidukov – 152,000

Sandro Burkhard Wins Maiden APT Title in Event #37: Hyper Turbo For VN₫47.38 Million

Switzerland’s Sandro Burkhard bagged his maiden APT title last night after taking down the VN₫4.4 Million buy-in Event #37: Hyper Turbo for VN₫47.38 Million. Burkhard edged past Japan’s Kosei Fujiwara (2nd for VN₫32.65 Million) in the heads-up battle to secure his first win of the series.

With a 33-entry field (28 unique) in attendance, the tournament generated a VN₫128.04 Million prize pool, and five players made the money list.

Junnie Pamplona (3rd for VN₫20.81 Million), Van Son Dang (4th for VN₫15.04 Million), and Mike Nguyen (5th for VN₫12.16 Million) round out the money list.

Complete Results (VN₫)

1. Sandro Burkhard – VN₫47,380,000
2. Kosei Fujiwara – VN₫32,650,000
3. Junnie Pamplona – VN₫20,810,000
4. Van Son Dang – VN₫15,040,000
5. Mike Nguyen– VN₫12,160,000

Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour

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