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The inaugural Poker Dream Vietnam is now in the books! The 28-tournament-long series pulled out a record-breaking debut at the Hoiana Hotel & Suites KHOS in Quảng Nam, Vietnam, wrapping up proceedings on Sunday with local talent Minh Anh Nguyen (cover image), winning the Main Event!
It took 11 hours of play on the final day of the series for Nguyen to lift the custom-designed trophy and take home the whopping VN₫ 3.378 Billion up-top! Malaysia’s Brandon Koh entered the heads-up play as the chip lead but had to contend with a runner-up payout worth VN₫ 2.055 Billion.
Team India picked up a few scores on the last day of the series. Dhaval Mudgal‘s Main Event run gave the Indian rail hopes of another Main Event win in Vietnam. The 2018 WPT Vietnam Main Event winner had entered the final day with a sizeable stack among the final 18 players but fell out quickly after a strong start, netting VN₫ 185.4 Million in 13th place.
Young Gun Abhinav Iyer ran deep in the VN₫ 3 Billion GTD High Roller, finishing seventh for VN₫ 380 Million. Taiwan’s Chen Sin-Ren took down the event for VN₫ 2.234 Billion.
Kunal Patni posted his third final table finish of the series in the Mini High Roller, placing sixth for VN₫ 160 Million, while Mudgal placed 13th for VN₫ 53.50 Million. Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Minh shipped the event for VN₫ 709 Million.
Poker Dream Vietnam Winners
Player Event Prize Amount
Nguyen Anh Minh Main Event VN₫ 3.378 Billion
Chunharas Tossapat High Roller Single Day VN₫ 1.869 Billion
Yeu Wei Hsiang Short Deck-Ante Only VN₫ 1.747 Billion
Nguyen Duc Nhat Main Event Turbo Edition VN₫ 1.383 Billion
Nguyen Manh Hao Short Deck Ante Only VN₫ 864 Million
Zong Chi He Megastack VN₫ 765.22 Million
In Ho Song Warm Up VN₫ 361.176 Million
Jason Kyle Magbanua Pot Limit Omaha VN₫ 136.30 Million
Hojin Kim 6-Handed Event VN₫ 113.60 Million
William Ysmael Deepstack VN₫ 109.35 Million
Witsarut Ketnanrin Bubble Rush VN₫ 97.15 Million
Sin-Ren Chen Pot Limit Omaha Turbo VN₫ 83.80 Million
Jason Wai Kit Lau Short Deck Event VN₫ 59.30 Million
Nguyen Phuong Ngoc
Deepstack Hyper Turbo VN₫ 58.10 Million
Local Player Minh A Nguyen Wins Main Event For VN₫ 3.378 Billion; India’s Dhaval Mudgal Finishes 13th (VN₫ 185.4 Million)
The VN₫ 10 Billion GTD Main Event pulled in 822 entries across three starting flights, setting a new record in Vietnam for the largest attendance for an event with a buy-in of VN₫ 25 Million. The Main Event posted a guarantee-crushing VN₫ 17.940 Billion prize pool, entering the history books as the richest poker tournament to be held in the country, surpassing the previous record by more than VN₫ 100 Million!
After five days of grueling play, Vietnamese player Minh Anh Nguyen emerged as the victor, taking home VN₫ 3.378 Billion up top! Malaysia’s Brandon Koh finished runner-up for VN₫ 2.055 Billion.
Celebrated Indian pro Dhaval Mudgal was the only ‘desi’ to make it to the final day and held the sixth-biggest stack of 1,520,000 (30 BBs) among 18 runners. The musician and poker pro had a great start but lost a couple of big pots and eventually bowed out during level 27, falling four short of the final table.
Mudgal’s elimination hand was a battle of the blinds. Minh Anh Nguyen raised 400,000 from the small blind, and Mudgal called all-in from the big blind.
Minh Anh Nguyen
Dhaval Mudgal
The board ran , and Nguyen’s Big Slick eliminated Mudgal in 13th place for VN₫ 185.4 Million.
Kunal Patni (55th for VN₫ 62.90 Million), Young Gun`s Shardul Parthasarathi (57th for VN₫ 54.80 Million), Neel Joshi (90th for VN₫ 46.80 Million), and Abhinav Iyer (105th for VN₫ 40.40 Million), also crossed the money line but were dismissed on Day 2.
With the elimination of start-of-Day 2 chip leader Hojin Kim in 10th place (VN₫ 207.30 Million), the nine-handed final table was set up.
Final Table Chip Counts
Final Table Recap
Dinh Van Tien was the first player to be eliminated from the final table. His were cracked by Ngo Minh Tien’s that completed a Queen-high straight on the board .
Five minutes later, Nam Hoang Nguyen exited in eighth place when his was outdrawn by Zong Chi He’s , who spiked a King on the flop.
Dennis Ng departed from the final table in seventh place ten minutes later. His lost out to Tien’s that turned two-pair on the runout .
Finishing in sixth place was Zong Chi He after his were outmaneuvered by Brandon Koh’s .
Soon after, Manh Huu Nguyen bowed out in fifth place when his were cracked by Winfred Yu’s that bettered to trip Kings on the runout .
Ngo Minh Tien was the first to fall after the hour-long dinner break. His were crushed by Koh’s that hit two pairs on the turn, ousting Tien in fourth place.
Winfred Yu lost his stack in third place with his getting overpowered by Koh’s .
Yu’s elimination set up the heads-up between Brandon Koh (15 Million) and Minh A Nguyen (9.60 Million). Despite starting on the back foot, Nguyen turned the tables within an hour, whisking the chip lead away from Koh.
Fifteen minutes later, it was all over for Koh, with Nguyen taking down the inaugural Poker Dream Vietnam Main Event.
On the final hand, Koh limped, and Nguyen checked to see the flop . Nguyen bet 300,000, and Koh called to see the turn . Nguyen checked, and Koh led out for 500,000. Nguyen called, and the completed the runout. Nguyen checked again, and Koh bet 2 Million. Nguyen shoved for 13 Million, and Koh went into a long tank before calling.
Minh A Nguyen
Brandon Koh
Ironically, the last elimination on the final table was much like the first. Koh’s Aces were cracked by Nguyen’s turned flush, forcing the former to settle for a runner-up finish.
Final Table Results (VN₫)
Taiwan’s Chen Sin-Ren Ships High Roller (VN₫ 2.234 Billion); India’s Abhinav Iyer Finishes 7th (VN₫ 380 Million)
Taiwan’s Chen Sin-Ren triumphed over a 172-player field in the VN₫ 3 Billion GTD High Roller to claim the title and top prize of VN₫ 2.234 Billion. Fellow countryman Ho Chung Yi placed runner-up for VN₫ 1.514 Billion.
India`s first solo WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer finished seventh for VN₫ 380 Million, picking up his second cash of the series,
Final Table Results (VN₫)
Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Minh Wins Mini High Roller (VN₫ 709 Million); India’s Kunal Patni & Dhaval Mudgal Score
Local player Nguyen Quang Minh championed the VN₫ 30 Million buy-in Mini High Roller, netting VN₫ 709 Million. Hong Kong’s Chung Ming San placed runner-up for VN₫ 492.90 Million.
India’s Kunal Patni posted his third FT score of the series, finishing sixth for VN₫ 160 Million.
Dhaval Mudgal also crossed the money line, pocketing VN₫ 53.50 Million in 13th place.
Complete Payouts (VN₫)
Content & Images Courtesy: Poker Dream & So Much Poker