APT Kick-Off Vietnam: Harry Duong Ships the Championships Event; Meherzad Munsaf Finishes 14th (₹2.87 Lakhs)

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Kick-Off Vietnam has finally come to an end. Running since January 10 at the Pro Poker Club in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, the 12-day long series culminated on January 21 with the conclusion of the Championships Event VND 6 Billion GTD.

Following five days of intense play, Vietnam’s Harry Duong took down the Championships Event, banking an impressive VND 1,330,000, along with the APT trophy. A regular in the Asian circuit, Duong is presently ranked 12th on Vietnam’s All-Time Money List.

Duong entered the final table with the fifth-biggest stack and went on to eliminate Nguyen Thanh Binh, Xiao Yu Cheng, Michal Polchlopek, and eventual runner-up Terry Tien Thanh Nguyen, before claiming the top honors.

Following APL Ambassador Sumit Sapra‘s sixth-place finish in the Main Event VND 8 Billion GTD, the next Indian to score in the series was Meherzad Munsaf, who picked up a 14th place finish in the Championships Event for VND 93,470,000 (~₹2.87 Lakhs). Dhaval Mudgal and Sapra were both seen playing Day 2 but failed to cross the money line.

APT Kick-Off Vietnam 2020 – List of Winners

Australia’s Tanja Vujanic was named the APT Player of the Series for amassing 801.80 points, with Xiao Yu Cheng (751.67 points) and Lu Zheng Ha (737.40 points), finished second and third, respectively.

Harry Duong Takes Down Championships Event; Meherzad Munsaf Finishes 14th

The VND 38.50 Million buy-in Championships Event VND 6 Billion GTD registered a total of 160 entries, generating a prize pool of VND 5.820 Billion that resulted in an overlay of 180 Million.

Sixty-one players returned for Day 2, which included three Indian players. Meherzad Munsaf (99,700) and Dhaval Mudgal (24,000) advanced through Day 1A, while Sumit Sapra (111,800) made it from Day 1B. Mudgal and Sapra were eliminated by the end of Day 2, while Munsaf bagged the 10th biggest stack for Day 3 amounting to 389,000 in chips.

Poland’s Michal Polchlopek (800,000) bagged the overnight chip lead heading into Day 3, among 20 survivors.

Day 3 began with the money bubble looming overhead. The bubble burst when Nguyen Quang Minh was eliminated by David Erquiaga. Soon after that, Lok Ching Li became the first player to finish in the money, placing 16th for VND 77,890,000.

Meherzad Munsaf did well to make Day 3 but couldn’t reach the final table, finishing 14th for VND 93,470,000 (~₹2.87 Lakhs). His elimination took place when Erquiaga open-raised for 25K, and Munsaf shoved all-in for 88K. Nguyen Thanh Binh 4-bet for 200K and Erquiaga folded.

Nguyen Thanh Binh

Meherzad Munsaf

The board blanked out for Munsaf, sending him to the rail.

Day 3 ended with the elimination of Hyunil Hon in ninth place for VND 161,520,000 that formed the eight-handed final table.

You can watch the live-stream of the final table action below.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Michal Polchlopek – 1,541,000

2. Nguyen Thanh Binh – 1,509,000

3. Xiao Yu Cheng – 1,257,000

4. David Erquiaga – 991,000

5. Harry Duong – 807,000

6. Terry Tien Thanh Nguyen – 806,000

7. Peng Yang – 634,000

8. Hwang Sang Yeon – 478,000

Final Table Recap

David Eruquiaga was the first player to hit the rail in eighth place at the hands of Terry Tien.

Finishing seventh was Nguyen Thanh Binh, who lost a massive pot to Xiao Yu Cheng, and 15 hands later got eliminated by Harry Duong.

Securing the sixth-place finish was Peng Yang, following by Hwang Sang-yeon, who was dismissed in fifth place.

Sometime later, it was Xiao Yu Cheng who was ousted in fourth place by Duong, after which the latter grabbed the chip lead.

Duong, played aggressively after that, bringing Michal Polchlopek and Terry down to their last 13 BBs. Polchlopek was the first of the trio to be eliminated in third place.

Polchlopek’s exit set up the heads-up play between Harry Duong and Terry Tien Thanh Nguyen, with the former enjoying an overwhelming 6:1 chip lead. Though Terry managed to snatch the chip lead on the 17th hand, he immediately lost it on the very next hand. From then onwards, it was all downhill for Terry, who ultimately lost the title to Duong.

On the final hand, Duong’s outlasted Terry’s . The Vietnamese player clinched his second APT Championships title, along with a top prize of VND 1,331,200,000!

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Harry Duong – VND 1,331,200,000

2. Terry Tien Thanh Nguyen – VND 718,600,000

3. Michal Polchlopek – VND 718,600,000

4. Xiao Yu Cheng – VND 519,030,000

5. Hwang Sang-yeon – VND 388,150,000

6. Peng Yang – VND 299,570,000

7. Ng Thanh Binh – VND 237,890,000

8. David Erquiaga – VND 193,820,000

APT Player of the Series

Australia’s Tanja Vujanic was awarded the APT Player of the Series title for which she received the APT POS 1st place Trophy, APT POS Ring, exclusive watch, and US$800. Vujanic cashed in four events with a victory in the Monster Stack. She accrued 801.80 points.

China’s Xiao Yu Cheng finished runner-up in the APT POS race with 751.67 points and was awarded the APT POS 2nd place Trophy and US$100.

Singapore’s Lu Zheng Hao with 737.40 points came in third and took home the APT POS 3rd place trophy and US$100.

Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour