WPT Prime Vietnam 2023: Alok Birewar Secures Career-Third WPT Trophy & India’s 4th Series Titles With PLO Event Victory (VN₫ 304 Million)

Team India continues to make waves in the 2023 WPT Prime Vietnam. Following consecutive victories from Amit Kaushik in the VN₫ 2 Billion GTD 8 Max Main Event Warm Up (Wednesday) and Shuchi Chamaria in the VN₫ 11 Million Big Bounty (Thursday), Friday’s spotlight fell on Alok Birewar (cover image).

Having narrowly missed a title in the VN₫ 4.40 Million Turbo NLH earlier, the 2018 WPTDeepStacks India Big Bounty and 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia Deepstack NLH Freezeout, Birewar, clinched his career-third WPT title in the VN₫ 16.50 Million PLO Event, earning an impressive VN₫ 304 Million. This win marks Birewar’s third profitable outing of the series, elevating his cumulative winnings to VN₫ 380.80 Million.

Birewar’s victory expands India’s series title count to four, coupled with 18 final table appearances and an impressive 38 cashes in total.

Adding to the final table appearances, Abhishek Jalan contributed another successful performance for India, securing an eighth-place finish and VN₫ 213 Million in the VN₫ 100 Million Super High Roller.

Australian pro Joshua McCully emerged victorious in the Super High Roller, netting VN₫ 1.515 Billion following a heads-up deal with his compatriot, Luke Martinelli, who secured the second place and VN₫ 1.600 Billion.

The VN₫ 12 Billion GTD Main Event‘s Day 1B was a record-shattering spectacle. It registered a formidable 388 entries (304 unique), meaning the VN₫ 25 Million buy-in event has already exceeded its advertised guarantee, with a current total of 626 entries. With Day 1C in progress, this figure is set to climb further.

India’s Rajasekhar Puttamsetty emerged as the Day 1B chip leader, with 580,000 among the surviving 49 players. Other Indian qualifiers advancing to Day 2 include Mohit Bohra (419,000), Avneesh Munjal (210,000), Vinayak Bajaj (143,000), Aditya Agarwal (116,000), and Muskan Sethi (62,000).

India’s Alok Birewar Clinches Career-Third WPT Title in VN₫ 16.50 Million PLO Event for VN₫ 304 Million

Buy-in: VN₫ 15.50 Million

Entries: 37

Re-entries: 21

Prize Pool: VN₫ 843.90 Million

Places Paid: 8

Continuing India’s winning streak, Alok Birewar clinched the nation’s fourth series title in the VN₫ 16.50 Million PLO Event. Last year’s IPC MegaStacks Highroller champion, Birewar, came tantalizingly close to his third WPT title last Sunday in the VN₫ 4.40 Million Turbo NLH, finishing a commendable runner-up.

Undeterred by this near miss, Birewar triumphed over a 58-entry field in the PLO Event, securing his third WPT trophy and a VN₫ 304 Million prize. This win comes just 11 weeks after Birewar’s victory in the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia Deepstack NLH Freezeout.

Meanwhile, Singapore’s Jack Tey Sheuseng took home the runner-up prize of VN₫ 178.50 Million.

Complete Payouts (VN₫)

1. Alok Birewar – VN₫ 304,000,000
2. Jack Tey Sheuseng – VN₫ 178,500,000
3. Hung Thanh Tran – VN₫ 112,000,000
4. Masafumi Shimizu – VN₫ 76,000,000
5. Le Tu Thanh – VN₫ 59,000,000
6. Kevin Lee – VN₫ 46,500,000
7. Vincent Chauve – VN₫ 37,900,000
8. Li Fang – VN₫ 30,000,000

Australia’s Joshua McCully Ships VN₫ 100 Million Super High Roller for VN₫ 1.515 Billion; India’s Abhishek Jalan Finishes 8th

Buy-in: VN₫ 107 Million

Entries: 41

Re-entries: 20

Prize Pool: VN₫ 5.917 Billion

Places Paid: 9

Australian pro Joshua McCully is riding a wave of victories. Following successful stints at the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia ($2.2K NLH Mini High Roller), 2023 APT Phu Quoc (Event #42: VN₫ 44 Million Single Day High Roller – 8 Max), and 2023 APPT Cambodia ($10K APPT Super High Roller), McCully has now left an indelible mark on the WPT Prime Vietnam.

Raising the bar from his commendable sixth-place finish in the VN₫ 210 Million Billionaire Club High Stakes Challenge, the Australian dynamo outplayed a field of 61 entrants (41 unique) in the VN₫ 100 Million Super High Roller. This stellar performance awarded him the prestigious title and a whopping top prize of VN₫ 1.515 Billion.

His fellow countryman, Luke Martinelli, secured the largest payout of VN₫ 1.600 Billion following a heads-up deal.

India’s Abhishek Jalan marked his second final table appearance of the series, securing an eighth-place finish for VN₫ 213 Million. This performance has brought his overall series earnings to an impressive VN₫ 411 Million.

Complete Payouts (VN₫)

1. Joshua McCully – VN₫ 1,515,000,000*
2. Luke Martinelli – VN₫ 1,600,000,000*
3. Yu Hang Chen – VN₫ 831,000,000
4. Anh Duy Pham – VN₫ 578,000,000
5. Yeh Hung Wei – VN₫ 419,000,000
6. Jun Hao Wu – VN₫ 318,000,000
7. Dong Kyu Kim – VN₫ 253,000,000
8. Abhishek Jalan – VN₫ 213,000,000
9. Huu Dung Nguyen – VN₫ 190,000,000

*denotes a heads-up deal

India’s Rajasekhar Puttamsetty Headlines 49 Survivors on Day 1B of the Main Event

Day 1B of the 2023 WPT Prime Vietnam VN₫ 12 Billion GTD Main Event saw an influx of 304 distinct competitors who made an additional 84 re-entries. This surge of participation raised the total tally to 626 entries thus far, with the promise of eclipsing the previous year’s count of 777 entries quite substantially.

The evening satellite added 20 more entries and reaffirmed this upward trend. Moreover, the event has set its sights on breaking the first World Poker Championship (WPC) Main Event’s record of 1,020 entries hosted on Vietnamese soil, as well as possibly setting a new prize pool record for a non-High Roller series live poker event in the country.

The second flight dwindled to a remaining 49 contenders, with India’s Rajasekhar Puttamsetty leading the pack, having amassed a chip count of 580,000.

Fellow compatriot Mohit Bohra (419,000) bagged the eighth biggest stack of the day.

Other Indian players moving forward to Day 2 from Day 1B include Avneesh Munjal (210,000), Vinayak Bajaj (143,000), Aditya Agarwal (116,000), and Muskan Sethi (62,000).

The final starting flight of the Main Event, Day 1C, kicked off at 11 AM (local time) on Saturday, May 27. Day 2 is slated to start at the same time on Sunday, May 28, and will continue until the final table is determined.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1B

1. Rajasekhar Puttamsetty – 580,000
2. Zhi Jian Xiong – 501,000
3. Duy Thuc Nguyen – 498,000
4. Evgenii Chernyi – 479,000
5. Hoan Cong Le – 445,000
6. Linh Trong Phan – 427,000
7. Dinh Tien Thanh – 423,000
8. Mohit Bohra – 419,000
9. Alan Pun – 414,000
10. Rikuto Sashida – 407,000

Content Courtesy: So Much Poker & World Poker Tour

Images Courtesy: So Much Poker & Crown Poker Club

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