WPC Loyal Hanoi: Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Que Wins HSOP Main Event After Heads-Up Deal With Trinh Anh Dung With Both Banking VN₫ 756 Million

It was an intense and exciting weekend at the 2023 World Poker Championship (WPC) Loyal Hanoi, currently underway at the Grand Loyal Poker Club in Hanoi, Vietnam, with one of the featured attractions of the festival, VN₫ 3 Billion GTD HSOP Main Event, playing down to a winner on Sunday.

2021 had seen Indians dominating the Asian felts with multiple title wins and FT finishes. Team India has kicked off 2023 with a BANG, persisting with raking in the big scores. The VN₫ 16.50 Million buy-in HSOP Main Event had several Indians joining the two starting flights.

Once all was done and dusted, Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Que was the player posing for the winner picture after besting compatriot Dung Anh Trinh heads-up. Both players had agreed on a heads-up deal that saw them bank VN₫ 756 Million each. The duo then sat down to compete for the trophy, where Que emerged victorious. They laudably even left a tip for all the dealers and the casino staff!

Several Indians entered the HSOP Main Event, and though we don’t have the exact numbers, long-time circuit pro Jasven Saigal was the only one from the country to cross the money line. He qualified through Day 1A and finished 14th for VN₫ 66 Million.

Saigal had a hugely successful live poker outing in 2022, posting as many as 23 scores in tournaments held in Asia last year. He most prominently won two titles, starting with the WPT Prime Cambodia Event #23: $300 NLHE Superstack 6-Max ($6,255) and the APT Philippines Event #13: ₱22K NLHE (₱532,300).

The other Indian in Hanoi, Amit Kaushik, has been on a scoring spree in Hanoi and picked up his third cash at the stop on Friday (January 6). Following up on deep runs in the Kickoff and Event #5: Bounty Hunter, the Noida resident fell whiskers short of the final table in Event #7: Superstack, pocketing VN₫ 29.86 Million in ninth place.

Another Indian player, Anshul Rajput, landed a payday in Event #11: Megastack, finishing 19th for VN₫ 20 Million.

Korean players wreaked havoc over the weekend, winning four of the six tournaments, which included Yu Seung Min (Won Event #8: Single Day High Roller for VN₫ 882 Million), Kim Kyoung Hun (Won Event #7: Superstack for VN₫ 290 Million), Suk Kim (Won Event #12: Short Deck for VN₫ 104.440 Million), and Song Hyeong Yu (Won Event #10: Hyper Turbo For VN₫ 52 Million). The lone player from Hong Kong to claim a WPC trophy was Tam Hoi Wai (Won Event #11: Megastack for VN₫ 450 Million).

Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Que Wins HSOP Main Event Following Even Heads-up Deal With Trinh Anh Dung With Both Pokceting For VN₫ 756 Million Each

Event #9: HSOP Main Event drew 284 players from two starting flights (Day 1A – 106 & Day 1B – 106), shattering its listed guarantee of VN₫ 3 Billion to generate a massive VN₫ 4,132,200,000 prize pool. Only 34 players returned on Day 2 (Day 1A – 21, Day 1B – 13).

The event finally wrapped proceedings on Sunday, January 8. Vietnam’s Nguyen Van Que emerged as the victor, eventually opting for a heads-up deal to claim the title and the VN₫ 756 Million up top. Que’s fellow countryman Trinh Anh Dung finished in second place, pocketing an equivalent payout.

Representing Team India on Day 2 was Jasven Saigal, who brought forth a stack of 342,000 from Day 1A. Saigal eventually fell out in 14th place, pocketing his first cash at the series (his first live score of 2023), amounting to VN₫ 66 Million.

The top 35 finishers earned at least VN₫ 30 Million from the VN₫ 4,132,200,000.

The final table began following the elimination of Korea’s Ko Kyungsuk (9th for VN₫ 88.10 Million).

Final Table Chip Counts

1. Dung Trinh Anh – 1,910,000
2. Andreas Tomazou – 1,850,000
3. Mr. Big – 1,590,000
4. Ha Manh Tuong – 1,080,000
5. Lee Jin Kyu – 780,000
6. Louie Yu – 495,000
7. Nguyen Van Que – 410,000
8. Park Soo Rin – 405,000

Final Table Recap

Korea’s Louie Yu became the first casualty in the final table, losing his stack to Nguyen Ngoc Dai cowboys that dominated his king-three, ending the former’s run in eighth place.

Another player from Korea, Park Soo Rin, then lost a battle of the blinds against Andreas Tomazou, with ace-seven being trumped by the latter’s ace-ten, eliminating her in seventh place.

Tomazou then eliminated Vietnam’s Ha Manh Tuong, aka Hamatu, and Korea’s Lee Jin Kyu in sixth and fifth places, respectively.

Next up, Nguyen Ngoc Dai, aka Mr. Big, then lost a coin flip to Nguyen Van Que, who made two-pair of queens and fives to outrun Dai’s two-pair of sevens and fives. Dai was eliminated in fourth place.

Dung Anh Trinh then knocked Andreas Tomazou out in third place after his ace-six hit top pair on the flop, besting Tomazou’s king-eight.

Nguyen Van Que and Dung Trinh then agreed to split the final payouts equally, playing for the HSOP Main Event trophy that Que claimed, clinching the bragging rights of being the Main Event champion!

You can watch the final table live-streamed on a 30-minute delay on the Life of Poker Facebook page below:

https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=522404659902646

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Nguyen Van Que – VN₫ 756,000,000*
2. Trinh Anh Dung – VN₫ 756,000,000*
3. Tomazoy Andreas – VN₫ 400,000,000
4. Nguyen Ngoc Dai – VN₫ 300,000,000
5. Lee Jinkyu – VN₫ 230,000,000
6. Ha Manh Tuong – VN₫ 180,000,000
7. Park Soo Rin – VN₫ 140,000,000
8. Yu Seung Min – VN₫ 110,000,000

*denotes a heads-up deal

Korea’s Yu Seung Min Wins Event #8: Single Day High Roller For VN₫ 882 Million

Korea’s Yu Seung Min bested a field of 49 entries in Event #8: Single Day High Roller to lay claim to the trophy and the winner’s cheque worth VN₫ 882 Million. Vietnam’s Ta Son Tung finished runner-up place for VN₫ 522 Million.

The VN₫ 55 Million buy-in event collected a VN₫ 2,376,500,000 prize pool, and the top 49 finishers got paid.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Yu Seung Min – VN₫ 882,000,000
2. Ta Son Tung – VN₫ 522,000,000
3. Keita Minami – VN₫ 320,000,000
4. Kim Gab Yong – VN₫ 225,000,000
5. Kim Woo Seok – VN₫ 178,000,000
6. Pham Duy Anh – VN₫ 142,500,000
7. Lee Gyuhyuk – VN₫ 107,000,000

Hong Kong’s Tam Hoi Wai Wins Event #11: Megastack For VN₫ 450 Million

The VN₫ 8.8 Million buy-in Event #11: Megastack played out on January 8, with 254 entries in the competition. A prize pool of VN₫ 1,971,040,000 was collected and distributed among the top 32 finishers.

Hong Kong’s Tam Hoi Wai eventually topped the field to grab the title and top prize of VN₫ 450 Million. China’s Chen Ziyang settled for a runner-up payday of VN₫ 299 Million.

From India, Anshul Rajput cashed the event, placing 19th for VN₫ 20 Million, opening his scorecard at the stop.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Tam Hoi Wai – VN₫ 450,000,000
2. Chen Ziyang – VN₫ 299,000,000
3. Jason Kyle – VN₫ 200,000,000
4. Pham Duy Anh – VN₫ 150,000,000
5. Hoang The Thanh – VN₫ 115,000,000
6. Wu Jun Hao – VN₫ 90,000,000
7. MinhAAA – VN₫ 72,000,000

Korea’s Kim Kyoung Hun Wins Event #7: Superstack For VN₫ 290 Million

The VN₫ 6.6 Million buy-I Event #7: Superstack recorded 198 entries, making for a whopping VN₫ 1,152,360,000 prize pool. The final 25 finishers got paid at least VN₫ 9 Million, and walking away with the trophy was Korea’s Kim Kyoung Hum, who took it down for VN₫ 290 Million after defeating China’s Kong Fung (2nd for VN₫ 190 Million) in the heads-up showdown.

The lone Indian to cash Event #7: Superstack was Amit Kaushik. Fresh from his 18th place score in the Kickoff and an FT appearance in Event #5: Bounty Hunter, where he placed fifth, Kaushik almost made it to his second final table at the series, eventually falling in ninth place to earn a VN₫ 29.86 Million payday.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Kim Kyoung Hun – VN₫ 290,000,000
2. Kong Fung – VN₫ 190,000,000
3. Park Je Young – VN₫ 115,000,000
4. Dinh Duc Trung – VN₫ 73,000,000
5. Song Hyeong Yu – VN₫ 58,000,000
6. Cu Duc Canh – VN₫ 48,000,000
7. Hoang Phi – VN₫ 40,000,000
8. David Erquiaga – VN₫ 34,000,000

Korea’s Suk Kim Wins Event #12: Short Deck For VN₫ 104.440 Million

Korea’s Suk Kim came out on the top of a 42-strong entry field in the VN₫ 6.6 Million buy-in Event #12: Short Deck, claiming the title and the top prize of VN₫ 104.440 Million. Vietnam’s Vu Thai Bao collected VN₫ 61 Million in second place.

Only the top five finishers dug into the VN₫ 224,440,000 prize pool.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Kim Suk – VN₫ 104,440,000
2. Vu Thai Bao – VN₫ 61,000,000
3. Bui Duc Thien – VN₫ 36,000,000
4. Tran Anh Tuan – VN₫ 24,000,000
5. Kim Woo Seok – VN₫ 19,000,000

Korea’s Song Hyeong Yu Wins Event #10: Hyper Turbo For VN₫ 52 Million

Korea’s Song Hyeong Yu was among the 254-player field to enter the VN₫ 8.8 Million buy-in Event #10: Hyper Turbo. He eventually rode to the finish line to clinch the trophy and the top prize of VN₫ 52 Million.

Only the top six finishers earned a share of the VN₫ 1,971,040,000 prize pool.

Final Table Results (VND)

1. Song Hyeong Yu – VN₫ 52,000,000
2. Dang Vu Duy Hai – VN₫ 30,000,000
3. Choi Howon – VN₫ 18,000,000
4. Thijs Ardo Hilberts – VN₫ 13,000,000
5. Ta Khanh Linh – VN₫ 10,000,000
6. Yow Jia Wei – VN₫ 7,950,000

Content & Images Courtesy: Life of Poker

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