APT Summer Festival Hanoi: Nishant Sharma, Jasven Saigal, Akshay Nasa, Kanchan Sharma & Kamal Kumar Sogani Contribute Towards a Massive Haul For Team India on the Final Day of the Series

The inaugural 2022 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Summer Festival Hanoi – VSOP made a hugely successful 13-day long run before going down the history books on Sunday. The last day of the series saw a host of side events crowning champions alongside the final table of the Championships Event that found a winner in New Zealand’s Slade Fisher.

The Indian contingent closed the series with a bang, with at least nine Indians posting FT finishes across three side events.

Nishant Sharma made an explosive run in Event #25: Super High Rollers, where he entered the heads-up finale with Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Huy. Sharma was short-stacked but decided to play to the end. He eventually lost the heads-up battle to Huy, collecting a runner-up payday worth VND 833.14 Million. Huy lifted the APT trophy and the top prize of VND 1,249,700,000 (~$53,280).

Two other Indian players joined Sharma on the Super High Rollers FT, Akshay Nasa (4th for VND 312.85 Million, ₹10.66 Lakhs) and Young Gun Siddhanth Kripalani (7th for VND 156.22 Million, ₹5.32 Lakhs).

Team India made an even better run in Event #24: Monster Stack, where 36 players from a starting field of 160 runners returned on Day 2, with India’s Ankit Jajodia in pole position. Vietnam’s Le Dinh Hai was the last player standing and won the title for VND 402.43 Million (~$17,203) following a three-way deal with Australia’s Calum Davies Peter (2nd for VND 371 Million, $15,859) and India’s Jasven Saigal (3rd for VND 371 Million, ₹12.64 Lakhs).

Saigal was one of the six Indians who crossed the money line in Event #24. Another five Indian players: Event #22: PLO winner Kamal Kumar Sogani (4th for VND 179.85 Million, ₹6.13 Lakhs), Young Gun Kanchan Sharma (5th for VND 134.50 Million, ₹4.58 Lakhs), Rising Star Ritwik Khanna (7th for VND 82.43 Million. ₹2.81 Lakhs), and Ankit Jajodia (8th for VND 67.16 Million, ₹2.29 Lakhs) scored on the FT. Event #16: Deep Stack Turbo winner Siddarth Singhvi (15th for VND 32.39 Million, ₹1.10 Lakhs) was another Indian cashing the event – his third cash of the series!

Kanchan Sharma quickly jumped in Event #27: High Rollers Single Day and again managed to reach the FT, netting VND 110.56 Million (~ ₹3.77 Lakhs) in sixth place. Vietnam’s Hao Seo won the title for VND 572.23 Million (~$24,400). The Agra-based pro, Sharma, collectively added ₹8.35 Lakhs through her two FT finishes on the last day of the series.

Filipino player Karen Talamayan won the fourth side event running, Event #26: Deep Stack Turbo, for VND 98.19 Million (~$4,197).

Vamerdino Magsakay Wins APT Player of the Series (POS) Title

The APT Summer Festival Hanoi – VSOP was a raging success, with 2,776 total entries (437 unique players) registered across 29 events, making for a massive VND 43,802,290,000 (~$1,867,500) in prize money awarded at the series.

The Main Event champion, Filipino pro Vamerdino Magsakay (1,051.13 points), walked away with the APT Player of the Series (POS) title. Apart from winning the Main Event, Magsakay final-tabled another two events to lock in the APT POS title for the second time this year. He had won the POS title in the APT Phu Quoc Vietnam stop in April.

Malaysia’s Chang Xiang Guang (899.26 points) came second in the POS standings, while India’s Ankit Kumar Jajodia (881.40 points) round out the top three names on the POS leaderboard.

Jajodia posted four final table finishes in the series, headlined by a third-place in the Main Event and another third-place finish in Event #5: PLO. The Indian pro also placed sixth in the Head Hunter, topping that by an eighth-place finish in Event #24: Monster Stack on Sunday.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Huy Wins Event #25: Super High Rollers For VND 1,249,700,000

The VND 86 Million (~$3,665) buy-in Event #25: Super High Rollers was the second most expensive event of the series. The event drew 53 entries, generating a massive VND 4,112,800,000 (~$175,350) prize pool. Only the top nine players were assured a payout, and Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Huy emerged as the eventual champion to win the APT trophy and VND 1,249,700,000 (~$53,280) in prize money.

Huy eliminated Park Yu “Sparrow” Cheung in third place to enter the heads-up against India’s Nishant Sharma. The duo discussed a deal but decided to play it out instead. The heads-up was a short affair and Sharma eventually lost all his chips to Huy after his failed to hit an ace against Huy’s on the board . Even though he missed out on the title, Sharma banked a sizeable VND 833.14 Million in second place.

Another two Indians, Akshay Nasa (4th for VND 312.85 Million, ₹10.66 Lakhs) and Young Gun Siddhanth Kripalani (7th for VND 156.22 Million, ₹5.32 Lakhs), final tabled the event.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Nguyen Quang Huy – VND 1,249,700,000
2. Nishant Sharma – VND 833,140,000
3. Park Yu Cheung – VND 579,190,000
4. Akshay Nasa – VND 312,850,000
5. Nguyen Quang Minh – VND 241,450,000
6. Dennis Ng Hong Kong – VND 191,740,000
7. Siddhanth Kripalani – VND 156,220,000
8. Hieu Ngo – VND 130,180,000

Le Dinh Hai Wins Event #24: Monster Stack for VND 402.43 Million

The VND 16.50 Million (~$700) two-day Event #24: Monster Stack was a crowded affair with 160 entries registering to play. Only 36 brought back a stack to Day 2, with India’s Ankit Jajodia in pole position.

Vietnam’s Le Dinh Hai was the last player standing and won the title for VND 402.43 Million (~$17,203). He struck a three-way deal with Australia’s Calum Davies Peter (2nd for VND 371 Million, $15,859) and India’s Jasven Saigal (3rd for VND 371 Million, ₹12.64 Lakhs).

A total of 27 were assured a payout from the VND 2.328 Billion (~$99,517) prize pool, and it took two hours for the money bubble to burst on Day 2. The final three players opted for a deal that guaranteed them VND 371 Million each, with an extra VND 31.43 Million set aside for the eventual champion.

Jasven Saigal scored an early double-up through Le Dinh Hai but couldn’t survive much longer. He was eliminated in third place. Hai subsequently finished off Calum Davies with his pocket jacks dominating the latter’s pocket deuces.

Apart from Saigal, another five Indians finished in the money. Four of them namely, Kamal Kumar Sogani (4th for VND 179.85 Million, ₹6.13 Lakhs), Young Gun Kanchan Sharma (5th for VND 134.50 Million, ₹4.58 Lakhs), Rising Star Ritwik Khanna (7th for VND 82.43 Million, ₹2.81 Lakhs), and Ankit Jajodia (8th for VND 67.16 Million, ₹2.29 Lakhs) posted FT finishes.

Siddarth Singhvi (15th for VND 32.39 Million, ₹1.10 Lakhs) was among the 27 players who crossed the money line.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Le Dinh Hai – VND 402,430,000*
2. Calum Davies Peter – VND 371,000,000*
3. Jasven Saigal – VND 371,000,000*
4. Kamal Kumar Sogani – VND 179,850,000
5. Kanchan Sharma – VND 134,500,000
6. Nguyen Thuy Duong – VND 103,800,000
7. Ritwik Khanna – VND 82,430,000
8. Ankit Kumar – VND 67,160,000
9. Nguyen The Nuong – VND 55,970,000

*denotes a three-way deal

Karen Talamayan Wins Event #26: Deep Stack Turbo For VND 98.19 Million

The VND 6.6 Million (~$280) buy-in Event #26: Deep Stack Turbo drew 57 runners and made a five-and-a-half-hour run to the finish line. Filipino player Karen Talamayan outlasted the competition to win the title for VND 98.19 Million (~$4,197).

The event generated a prize pool of VND 331.74 Million (~$14,181), which was distributed among the top 10 finishers.

Interestingly, Talamayan later shared she had entered the event to pass the time and didn`t expect to win it. Talamayan surged ahead during three-handed play when her hit a full house on the board that earned her a double-up against Ha Van Thien`s .

Talamayan subsequently eliminated Vamerdino Magsakay in third place to enter the heads-up play with Ha Van Thien. It took all three hands for her to clinch victory. She doubled up in the second hand with pocket kings over Thien’s queen-ten and took it down with her , beating Thien’s .

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Karen Talamayan – VND 98,190,000
2. Ha Van Thien – VND 65,470,000
3. Vamerdino Magsakay – VND 45,520,000
4. Pham Song Hau – VND 32,880,000
5. Gregory Kuhnast – VND 24,590,000
6. Phuong Xu Vietnam – VND 18,980,000
7. Hoang Thai Son – VND 15,070,000
8. Chang Xiang Guang – VND 12,280,000

Vietnam’s Hao Seo Wins Event #27: High Rollers Single Day For VND 572,230,000

Vietnam Hao Seo triumphed over a 43-entry field in the last event on the schedule, Event #27: High Rollers Single Day, to win his first-ever APT trophy and VND 572.23 Million (~$24,400) in prize money. Florent Remi finished runner-up for VND 381.49 Million.

Seo held the chip lead over Remi at the start of the heads-up play, but Remi soon caught up. Eventually, Remi suffered a bad beat with his , losing out to Seo’s after a queen popped up on the turn.

India’s Young Gun Kanchan Sharma, making her second final table appearance at the series, finished sixth for VND 110.56 Million (~ ₹3.77 Lakhs).

The event paid out eight places a share from the VND 1.88 Billion (~$80,150) prize pool.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Hao Seo – VND 572,230,000
2. Florent Remi – VND 381,490,000
3. Vu Minh Ha – VND 265,200,000
4. Ham Heung Chul – VND 191,550,000
5. Vu Hoai Lam – VND 143,250,000
6. Kanchan Sharma – VND 110,560,000
7. Joseph Talayaman – VND 87,790,000
8. Pham Duy Anh – VND 71,530,000

Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour