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Just three days into the first-ever Asian Poker Tour (APT) Summer Festival Hanoi, currently underway at the VSOP Club in Hanoi, Indian scores have already started pouring in! The Indian team hogged the limelight in a big way on Day 3, and leading from the front was none other than the inaugural WPT Prime Vietnam Main Event champion Zarvan Tumboli.
Having already won one of Asia’s biggest live tournaments of 2022, Tumboli came excruciatingly close to winning his second consecutive PLO title in Vietnam. Among the 28 players who entered Event #5: PLO, Tumboli cruised to the finale, where he struck an ICM deal with Norway’s Tommy Duy Linh. The latter grabbed the bragging rights for VND 80.46 Million (~$3,440), while Tumboli collected VND 66.16 Million (~₹2.25 Lakhs) in second place.
Talking about his run, Tumboli said – “It would have been nice to do back-to-back PLO wins. Disappointed that I could not defend my title, was almost there. Anyways, happy that I could put up a good fight.”
With a close run to the title, Tumboli seems well on track to pull out another standout innings in Vietnam. The freshly minted Spartan Poker Team Pro has exerted a dominating presence in the live tournament circuit in Vietnam these last two months. After taking down the WPT Prime Vietnam Main Event, Tumboli stayed back for the APT Vietnam Hanoi, where he won back-to-back titles in Event #17: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo and Event 18: Pot-Limit Omaha. The Mumbai-based MTT Pro has lived up to his reputation as one of the hottest players on the Asian circuit and will be one of the Indian pros to watch out for at the ongoing stop!
Tumboli kept the Indian railbirds posted on his progress in the event by sharing pictures on his Instagram handle.
Ankit Jajodia is another Indian pro who final-tabled Event #5 PLO and finished third for VND 33,310,000 (~₹1.13 Lakhs). Jajodia FT-ed an impressive four events in last month’s APT Vietnam Hanoi, where his last FT appearance was in the Championships Event that ended in a fifth-place finish for VND 456.49 Million (~₹15.31 Lakhs). Along with a sixth-place finish in Event #2 Head Hunter – we shall get to that later – Jajodia has collected 289.42 points and sprinted up to #4 in the POS standings!
If Tumboli and Jajodia dominated Event #6, Young Guns Shardul Parthasarathi and Siddhanth Kripalani made the final table in Event #6: High Rollers Single Day.
Just a day back, Parthasarathi, the reigning APT Vietnam Hanoi Main Event champion, had opened his scorecard at the series with a ninth-place finish in Event #1: Mystery Bounty. He came strikingly close to taking down Event #6: High Rollers but eventually finished third, scoring a hefty VND 186.21 Million (~₹6.34 Lakhs) payday.
The first-ever IPC Megastacks Main Event champion, Kripalani, finished seventh in Event #6 for VND 61.64 Million (~ ₹2.10 Lakhs) – picking up his first score in the series. Vietnam’s Huy Pham emerged as the eventual champion and won VND 401.78 Million (~$17,129).
Another two Indians cashed the VND 6.6 Million (~$280) buy-in Event #2: Head Hunter Event, and headlining them was Ankit Kumar Jajodia. Jajodia returned on Day 2 of the Head Hunter ranked fifth in chips among the eight finalists and eventually took home a sixth-place payday worth VND 19.11 Million (~₹65,070).
Young Gun Kanchan Sharma just about sailed past the money line and finished 17th for VND 5.96 Million (~₹20,294). Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan captured the title for VND 98.91 Million ($4,217). Tuan collected seven bounties on the side worth an additional VND 14 Million, pocketing a combined VND 112.91 Million (~$4,820) in the event.
On the sidelines, Vietnam’s Dao Minh Phu championed the most expensive event of the series, the VND 108.50 Million (~$4,630) buy-in Event #3: Superstar Challenge for VND 1.118 Billion (~$47,737).
After a hectic three days of action, the Mystery Bounty winner Kyle Bao Diep (487.56 points) retains his lead in the Player of the Series (POS) leaderboard race, with Pham Tien Dung (353 points) and Nguyen Anh Tuan (347.28 points) trailing him.
The most awaited event of the series, the Main Event, began proceedings on July 14. Day 1A registered 67 entries, and 23 sailed through to Day 2. Team India is off to a flying start in the series’ showstopper with last night`s ITM #28 Thursday Supersonic runner-up finisher, Rising Star Ritwik Khanna (166,700), bagging the day-end chip lead. Hot on Khanna’s coattails is the 2019 WPT Vietnam Kickoff runner-up finisher and Thursday Supersonic champion Rubin Labroo (161,400), while a third Indian player, Yashwanth Thuti (68,900), bagged the 10th biggest stack on Day 1A.
Day 1B is currently underway, and Day 1C will run on Saturday, July 16, before all the starting flight qualifiers converge for Day 2 on Sunday, July 17.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan Wins Event #2: VND 6.6 Million Head Hunter For VND 98.91 Million
The VND 6.6 Million (~$280) buy-in Head Hunter Event drew a field of 100 entries, and only eight players returned on Day 2. Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Tuan outlasted them all to win the APT trophy and the VND 98.91 Million up-top after defeating American pro-Peter Jang Hwan Kiem (2nd for VND 65.93 Million) heads-up!
Tuan earned an additional seven bounties worth VND 14 Million to pocket a combined VND 112.91 Million (~$4,820) in the event, also climbing to #3 on the APT Player of the Series (POS) leaderboard.
Two Indians cashed the tournament. Ankit Kumar Jajodia was fifth in chips on the eight-handed final table at the start of Day 2 and eventually placed sixth for VND 19.11 Million (~₹65,070).
Young Gun Kanchan Sharma was the other Indian to cash out, and she just about managed to cross the money line, finishing 17th for VND 5.96 Million (~₹20,294).
The event collected a prize pool of VND 582 Million (~$24,880). A third of this money, amounting to VND 2 Million (~$8,550), was kept aside as the bounty prize pool, with each player collecting a bounty worth VND 2 Million for eliminating an opponent. The top 17 got paid.
Final Table Recap
Yang Hai Yang was the first to fall. He got it in good with pocket queens against Nguyen Manh Hung’s ace-king, but the latter hit quads on a board that brought three kings.
The start-of-day chip leader Mai Van Son was out next in seventh place.
Indian pro Ankit Jajodia first doubled up off Hung with his pocket sevens hitting a full house of the board to dominate Hung’s queen-jack that made a flush. Despite chipping up, Jajodia exited sixth after Tran Duc Son’s tens crushed his pocket sevens.
Nguyen Manh Hung and Pham Hung Cuong fell out of contention quickly, followed by Tran Duc Son.
Peter Jang Hwan Kiem held a slight edge over Tuan at the start of the heads-up, but Tuan turned the show around in just a few hands. He slowly grinded away at Kiem’s stack, eventually beating the latter with his pocket nines, keeping ahead of Kiem’s jack-four.
Final Table Results (VND)
Dao Minh Phu Wins Event #3: Superstar Challenge For VND 1.118 Billion
The most expensive event on the series’ schedule, the VND 108.5 Million (~$4,630) buy-in Event #3: Superstar Challenge, drew 16 runners on its opening day, and only eight made it to Day 2. Another 11 players joined the action on Day 2, bringing the field to 27 runners (including 18 unique players) to generate an appetizing VND 2.619 Billion (~111,827) prize pool.
Only the top five places were assured a payout, and the bubble burst within six hours. From there, it took another three hours of play for a winner to emerge.
Vietnam’s Dao Minh Phu, a well-known local high roller, emerged as the champion. He was third in stacks at the start of the final table. Towards the end, he eliminated Dang Van Hien in third place, setting up the heads-up with Nguyen Quang Minh.
The heads-up match lasted all of five hands. On the last hand, Phu jammed with , and Minh called off with [5]. Phu flopped a superior pair of queens on the board to lift the APT trophy and the VND 1.118 Billion (~$47,737) cash prize.
Final Table Results (VND)
Norway’s Tommy Duy Linh Wins Event #5: PLO For VND 80.46 Million Following a Heads-Up Deal With India’s Zarvan Tumboli
The VND 800K (~$375) buy-in Event #5: PLO was the first non-NLHE tournament of the series to crown a champion. With 28 players registering to play, the event generated a VND 217.28 Million (~$9,290) prize pool.
In the final moments, Norway’s Tommy Duy Linh struck an ICM-based deal with India’s Zarvan Tumboli. With both players locking in the prize money, Linh won the APT trophy and the top prize of VND 80.46 Million (~$3,440). Tumboli collected an equally impressive VND 66.16 Million (~₹2.25 Lakhs) in second place, courtesy of the deal.
Another Indian pro Ankit Kumar Jajodia finished third for VND 33.31 Million (~₹1.13 Lakhs).
Final Table Results (VND)
*denotes a heads-up deal
Huy Pham Captures Event #6: High Rollers Single Day For VND 401.78 Million
A total of 44 players signed up for Event #6: High Rollers Single Day, which featured a VND 32.5 Million buy-in (~$1,390). After ten hours of action, Vietnam’s Huy Pham emerged triumphant. Pham played an aggressive game on the final table and dispatched four opponents to the rail to claim the title and the top prize of VND 401.78 Million (~$17,129).
Two Indians, Young Guns Shardul Parthasarathi (3rd for VND 186.21 Million, ~₹6.34 Lakhs) and Siddhanth Kripalani (7th for VND 61.64 Million – ₹2.10 Lakhs), final tabled the event.
Final Table Recap
Early into the final table, Indian pro Shardul Parthasarathi eliminated Hao Seo in eighth place.
Luu Danh Tuan next sent Young Gun Siddhanth Kripalani packing in seventh place.
Parthasarathi scalped Chu Thai Thinh in sixth place.
At five-handed play, Pham stepped up the aggression. He first doubled up through Tuan with pocket eights dominating the latter’s king-queen. Phan followed through by eliminating Vu Hoia Lam, aka Victor Lam, in fifth place after his king-five spiked a pair on the board to beat Lam’s king-ten.
Next up, Pham dispatched Luu Danh Tuan in fourth place, with ace-king dominating the latter`s queen-jack.
One level later, Pham eliminated Shardul Parthasarathi in third place, with pocket sixes dominating the latter’s overcards.
Pham and Nang Quang Nguyen decided to play it out for the title, with Nguyen talking out aloud, “This is my best friend, but no deal!” Pham had 44 big blinds to Nguyen’s 22 bigs, but the latter almost caught up. ALMOST. Pham quickly won back most of the chips he had lost to Nguyen and closed it out after his kept ahead of Nguyen’s on the runout.
Final Table Results (VND)
India`s Ritwik Khanna and Rubin Labroo Bag Top Two Stacks on Day 1A of Main Event
Day 1A of the APT Summer Festival Hanoi – VSOP 2022 Main Event brought in 67 challengers, and only 23 survived the day`s play. The Indian pros dominated the show, with Rising Star Ritwik Khanna (166,700) bagging the top stack of the day. Khanna is followed by compatriot Rubin Labroo (161,400), with Slade Fisher (120,600) rounding out the top three stacks advancing through Day 1A.
Another Indian, Yashwanth Thuti (68,900), also bagged a huge stack for Day 2.
The Main Event has two more starting flights, and all qualifying stacks will converge for Day 2 on Sunday, July 17.
Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1A
Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour
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