APT Phu Quoc: Siddharth Karia Falls 3 Places Short of Winning APT Kickoff; Shardul Parthasarathi Makes SHR FT & Alok Birewar Carries Monster Stack in Mystery Bounty Hunter

The 2023 Asia Poker Tour (APT) Phu Quoc has kicked off in style, with Team India putting on an impressive performance on the second day of the event. Held at the lavish Corona Resort & Casino’s Sapphire Conference Room, the day saw eight Indian players make the cash list following the previous day’s two final table finishes.

Among the Indian players, MPL Poker Pro Siddharth Karia was the star of the team on Saturday. The Young Gun made a strong bid to win his first live tournament in the series-opener, Event #1: VN₫ 8.8 Million APT Kickoff. However, Karia fell just three places short of the victory, finishing fourth with a score of VN₫ 125.99 Million. Ahmed Ibrahimi from Morocco emerged as the champion, winning VN₫ 327.76 Million and his third APT trophy.

Other Indian players who made the cash list in the APT Kickoff were Gamezy Poker Pro Nishant Sharma (14th for VN₫ 22.91 Million), Deepak Bothra (15th for VN₫ 22.91 Million), Paawan Bansal (18th for VN₫ 18.27 Million), recent WPT Prime Cambodia Deepstack NLH Freezeout winner Alok Birewar (19th for VN₫ 18.27 Million), Young Gun Shardul Parthasarathi (20th for VN₫ 18.27 Million), Vikhyat Ahlawat (24th for VN₫ 15.17 Million) and Jasven Saigal (25th for VN₫ 15.17 Million).

Despite the near miss in the series-opener, the team has two title sweats in Event #4: VN₫ 88 Million APT Super High Roller and Event #5: VN₫ 9.9 Million Mystery Bounty Hunter.

Coming to Vietnam after a decent outing in WPT Prime Cambodia, Shardul Parthasarathi (630,000) returns for the final table proceedings in the record-breaking APT Super High Roller sporting the shortest stack. The VN₫ 88 Million buy-in tournament registered an impressive 56 entrants, and Mongolia’s Anarbayasgalan Sainjargal (2,780,000) holds the chip lead entering the final leg.

Event #5: VN₫ 9.9 Million Mystery Bounty Hunter is down to the final 31 players, and Alok Birewar (528,000) holds the second-largest stack in the field. Filipino pro Lester Edoc (556,000) is the overall chip leader.

Dhaval Mudgal (276,000), Rising Star Ritwik Khanna (258,000), Jasven Saigal (225,000), Amit Kaushik (219,000), and Nishant Sharma (122,000) are other Indians still in contention in Mystery Bounty Hunter.

Thailand’s Worawat Kiatponglap shipped Event #3: VN₫ 16.5 Million Turbo – 8 Max for VN₫ 188.42 Million, capturing his maiden APT trophy.

Morocco’s Ahmed Ibrahimi Champions Event #1: VN₫ 8.8 Million APT Kickoff For VN₫ 327.76 Million; India’s Siddharth Karia Finishes 4th (VN₫ 125.99 Million)

Buy-in: VN₫ 8,800,000

Entries: 125

Re-entries: 71

Prize Pool: VN₫ 1,520,960,000

Places Paid: 29

The two-day-long series-opener, Event #1: VN₫ 8.8 Million APT Kickoff, culminated with Morocco’s Ahmed Ibrahimi championing the 196-player field (125 unique) to claim the lion’s share of the VN₫ 1.520 Billion prize pool worth VN₫ 327.76 Million, adding a third APT trophy to his poker cabinet.

After six 30-minute levels of play, the 29 survivors were reduced to an unofficial final table of nine players. It took seven more levels to determine the winner, with the tournament ending on the 30th level.

Ibrahimi, who started as the third-largest stack on the official eight-handed final table, emerged victorious after defeating Japan’s Yashiro Naoki (2nd for VN₫ 220.39 Million) in the heads-up battle.

The 40-year-old Ibrahimi is a skilled poker player with a poker resume dating back to 2010. He has accumulated over $370,000 in career tournament winnings. At present, the Moroccan is traveling around Asia and was elated by his victory, which marks his tenth live poker title. With this win, Ibrahimi has more funds to support his travels and can continue to enjoy his journey even more.

“There were ups and downs, but it was a great tournament,” said Ibrahimi in his post-match interview.

“Once in a while, you have to get lucky, and I did when I needed to. I’m happy with the way I played; anybody could have been the champion, but today I’m lucky enough to be the one.”

Eight Indians advanced to the final day in APT Kickoff, but only Young Gun Siddharth Karia reached the final table. He fell out fourth for VN₫ 125.99 Million, picking up his first cash in the series (his third live score in 2023).

Gamezy Poker Pro Nishant Sharma (14th for VN₫ 22.91 Million), Deepak Bothra (15th for VN₫ 22.91 Million), Paawan Bansal (18th for VN₫ 18.27 Million), Alok Birewar (19th for VN₫ 18.27 Million), Young Gun Shardul Parthasarathi (20th for VN₫ 18.27 Million), Vikhyat Ahlawat (24th for VN₫ 15.17 Million) and Jasven Saigal (25th for VN₫ 15.17 Million) were other Indians crossing the money line in the series opener.

Final Table Results (VN₫)

1. Ahmed Ibrahimi – VN₫ 327,760,000
2. Yashiro Naoki – VN₫ 220,390,000
3. Batmunkh Batkhuyag – VN₫ 155,390,000
4. Siddharth Karia – VN₫ 125,990,000
5. Konstantin Generalov – VN₫ 99,670,000
6. Minh Tri Phan Huu – VN₫ 75,680,000
7. Erwan Regnault – VN₫ 55,260,000
8. Auttaphon Ruensukon – VN₫ 40,400,000

Mongolia’s Anarbayasgalan Sainjargal Leads Final 8 in Event #4: VN₫ 88 Million APT Super High Roller; India’s Shardul Parthasarathi on the FT

Buy-in: VN₫ 88,000,000

Entries: 34

Re-entries: 22

Prize Pool: VN₫ 4,345,600,000

Places Paid: 8

One of the featured attractions on Saturday, the VN₫ 88 Million buy-in Event #4: APT Super High Roller set a new APT record. The two-day-long tournament attracted 56 entrants (34 unique), setting the record for the largest Super High Roller field in APT history and the third largest in terms of prize money, with a prize pool collection of VN₫ 4.346 Billion.

By the time the bags were brought out, only eight players had a stack on them, with Mongolia’s Anarbayasgalan Sainjargal (2,780,000) leading the charge. China’s Yake Wu (2,515,000) and Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan (2,250,000) are in hot pursuit.

India’s Shardul Parthasarathi (630,000) carries the shortest stack to the final table. The poker coach is fresh off winning Event #26: $600 Superstack Classic Freezeout at WPT Prime Cambodia but will need to come up with something special if he intends to add a third APT title to his name,

The final table of the APT Super High Roller kicked off at 12:30 PM (local time) on Sunday, March 26. All eight finalists are assured a min-cash of VN₫ 173.82 Million, with VN₫ 1.304 Billion reserved for the ultimate winner.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Anarbayasgalan Sainjargal – 2,780,000
2. Yake Wu – 2,515,000
3. Nguyen Trung Quan – 2,250,000
4. Hon Cheong Lee – 2,180,000
5. Roman Hrabec – 1,675,000
6. Mike Takayama – 1,090,000
7. Yuhang Chen – 1,030,000
8. Shardul Parthasarathi – 630,000

Philippines’ Lester Edoc Headlines 31 Survivors in Event #5: VN₫ 9.9 Million Mystery Bounty Hunter; Alok Birewar Headlines 5 Indians in Contention

Buy-in: VN₫ 9,900,000

Entries: 134

Re-entries: 80

Prize Pool: VN₫ 1,868,220,000

Places Paid: 31

The third featured event of the series, Event #5: VN₫ 9.9 Million Mystery Bounty Hunter, ran it’s two starting flights on Saturday, registering 214 participants (134 unique entries).

Flight A flagged proceedings at noon (local time), attracting 124 players. Flight B drew an additional 90 hopefuls, bringing the total prize pool to VN₫ 1.868 Billion, which includes VN₫ 642 Million in bounty prizes.

Filipino pro Lester Edoc (556,000) bagged the most massive stack on Flight A and will enter Day 2 as the overall chip leader among 31 survivors (Flight A – 18 & Flight B – 13).

India’s Alok Birewar (528,000) is a close second to Edoc.

Dhaval Mudgal (276,000), Rising Star Ritwik Khanna (258,000), Jasven Saigal (225,000), Amit Kaushik (219,000), and Nishant Sharma (122,000) are all seasoned Indian regs returning for Day 2.

All 31 survivors are guaranteed VN₫ 10.79 Million, while the eventual champion will take home VN₫ 261.96 Million. Day 2 began at 12:30 PM (local time) on Sunday.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the Start of Day 2

1. Lester Edoc – 556,000
2. Alok Birewar – 528,000
3. Keita Minami – 435,000
4. Sungkyu Jeon – 323,000
5. Gavin Best – 315,000
6. Dhaval Mudgal – 276,000
7. Tyler Warken – 270,000
8. The Anh Nguyen – 266,000
9. Ritwik Khanna – 258,000
10. Ngoc Hai Duy Nguyen – 234,000

Thailand’s Worawat Kiatponglap Captures Maiden APT Title in Event #3: VN₫ 16.5 Million Turbo – 8 Max For VN₫ 188.42 Million

Buy-in: VN₫ 16,500,000

Entries: 28

Re-entries: 7

Prize Pool: VN₫ 509,250,000

Places Paid: 5

Thailand’s Worawat Kiatponglap packed up the 35-strong field (28 unique) in Event #3: VN₫ 16.5 Million Turbo – 8 Max, winning his first APT trophy and VN₫ 188.42 Million in prize money. Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz finished runner-up for VN₫ 129.86 Million.

The VN₫ 16.50 Million buy-in event posted a VN₫ 509.25 Million prize pool, and the top five finishers received payouts.

Complete Payouts (VN₫)

1. Worawat Kiatponglap – ₫188,420,000
2. Jeorge Lagatuz – ₫129,860,000
3. Mike Takayama – ₫82,750,000
4. Enkh-Orgil Battur – ₫59,840,000
5. Joshua Mccully – ₫48,380,000

Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour

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