WPT Prime Vietnam 2023: India’s Alok Birewar, Dhaval Mudgal & Siddarth Jolly Post Impressive Final Table Finishes in Side Events

The 2023 WPT Prime Vietnam is witnessing an impressive display of prowess from the home country, which has clinched eight hard-fought trophies already. Hot on Vietnam’s heels is India, posing a formidable challenge with a bounty of accolades. The Indian delegation has already seized a coveted WPT featured event trophy in the WPT Opener, supplemented by two runner-up titles, four final table finishes, and three other scores, bringing the team`s scorecard to an impressive ten cash finishes and counting.

Alok Birewar, aiming for his third WPT trophy, raised India’s prospects of a second title victory in the VN₫ 4.40 Million Turbo NLH. His fierce showdown against Thanh Hung Tran, the Event #4: Hyper Turbo NLH champion, concluded with Birewar clinching a respectable runner-up position worth VN₫ 65.80 Million, marking a spectacular start to his campaign. Meanwhile, Tran raked in VN₫ 108.90 Million, affirming his winning streak.

Further bolstering India’s final table record, Dhaval Mudgal secured a fourth-place finish in VN₫ 3.30 Million Deepstack Cheap Freeze, bagging VN₫ 23.40 Million. This marked Mudgal’s third FT appearance in the series, improving his series winnings to VN₫ 87.03 Million.

In the same event, Siddarth Jolly earned his second final table score at the series, placing sixth for VN₫ 15 Million, pushing his total winnings to VN₫ 27.80 Million. Vineet Kumar, too, marked his inaugural score of the series, finishing 12th for VN₫ 8.50 Million.

China’s Jianhui Zhuo (Won VN₫ 3.30 Million Deepstack Cheap Freeze for VN₫ 97 Million) and Vietnam’s Trung Toan Chan (Won VN₫ 210 Million Billionaire Club High Stakes Challenge for VN₫ 2.415 Billion) captured the other side event trophies.

On Friday, the VN₫ 3 Billion GTD Mystery Bounty played out its second starting flight, Day 1B. Two Indian contenders, Gokul Raj and Avneesh Munjal, progressed to Day 2 with 165,500 and 96,000 in chips, respectively. Leading the pack of 24 survivors from an initial pool of 185 entries was Vietnam’s NguyễN Trung Hà, carrying 440,500 into Day 2, enough to put him into the overall chip lead.

Vietnam’s Thanh Hung Tran Claims 2nd WPT Turbo NLH Trophy at the Series (VN₫ 108.90 Million); India’s Alok Birewar Finishes Runner-Up (VN₫ 65.80 Million)

Buy-in: VN₫ 4.40 Million

Entries: 70

Re-entries: 17

Prize Pool: VN₫ 337.56 Million

Places Paid: 11

Vietnam’s Thanh Hung Tran added another feather to his cap by clinching his third poker trophy of the year with two notable victories at the ongoing WPT Prime Vietnam. Tran’s winning streak began with a resounding victory in Event #4: Hyper Turbo NLH, and he followed it up with a stellar performance at the VN₫ 4.40 Million Turbo NLH, earning VN₫ 108.90 Million for the win.

Alok Birewar, a day after qualifying for Day 2 of the Mystery Bounty through Day 1A, came excruciatingly close to grabbing his career-third WPT trophy in the Turbo NLH. The 2018 WPTDeepStacks India Big Bounty and 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia Deepstack NLH Freezeout champion fell one spot short, settling for a runner-up finish worth VN₫ 65.80 Million – posting his first score of the series.

As the game was whittled down to three contenders, Birewar made a significant move by eliminating Ta Khanh Linh, bringing himself closer to Tran’s formidable stack. However, the tables turned in the fourth hand of heads-up play.

In a pulse-pounding moment, Birewar decided to three-bet shove, which led Tran to deliberate before finally making the call. Tran revealed , which initially seemed to be inferior to Birewar’s . Nevertheless, lady luck was in Tran’s corner when he flopped top pair, shifting the odds in his favor.

This pivotal turn of events maintained until the end, leading to Tran’s second triumph in the series.

Complete Payouts (VN₫)

1. Thanh Hung Tran – VN₫ 108,900,000
2. Alok Birewar – VN₫ 65,800,000
3. Ta Khanh Linh – VN₫ 40,900,000
4. Armon Van Wijk – VN₫ 27,700,000
5. Khoi Nguyen – VN₫ 21,100,000
6. Cho Myat Thwe – VN₫ 16,900,000
7. Nguyen Manh Than – VN₫ 14,000,000
8. Konstantin Generalov – VN₫ 11,800,000
9. Jaxon James Byrne – VN₫ 10,900,000
10. Duy Anh Nguyen – VN₫ 10,100,000
11. Quang Huy Pham – VN₫ 9,460,000

China’s Jianhui Zhuo Ships VN₫ 3.30 Million Deepstack Cheap Freeze For VN₫ 97 Million; India’s Dhaval Mudgal & Siddarth Jolly Make FT Finishes

Buy-in: VN₫ 3.30 Million

Entries: 111

Prize Pool: VN₫ 323.01 Million

Places Paid: 14

China’s Jianhui Zhuo outlasted the 111 entrants in the Deepstack Cheap Freeze to capture his first-ever international tournament trophy and the top prize of VN₫ 97 Million.

“I feel so good. This is my first international tournament, and I won the trophy,” said Zhuo in the post-tournament interview.

From India, Dhaval Mudgal and Siddarth Jolly made it to the final table of the Deepstack Cheap Freeze.

Dhaval Mudgal, who had already FT-ed Event #3: Deepstack NLH and Event 7: Megastack NLH, claimed his third final table score, banking VN₫ 23.40 Million in fourth place.

A day after his fourth-place finish in Event 8: 15/15/15 PLO, Siddarth Jolly picked up his second FT score of the series, placing sixth for VN₫ 15 Million.

India’s Vinnet Kumar opened his scorecard at the series, finishing 12th for VN₫ 8.50 Million.

Final Table Results (VN₫)

1. Jianhui Zhuo – VN₫ 97,000,000
2. Ryan Swanwick – VN₫ 59,800,000
3. Trung Gia Nguyen – VN₫ 35,900,000
4. Dhaval Mudgal – VN₫ 23,400,000
5. Dastan Yespolov – VN₫ 18,000,000
6. Siddarth Jolly – VN₫ 15,000,000
7. Son Hoang La – VN₫ 12,500,000
8. Hung Viet Le – VN₫ 11,000,000
9. Yunho Cho – VN₫ 9,710,000

Vietnam’s Trung Toan Chan Champions VN₫ 210 Million Billionaire Club High Stakes Challenge For VN₫ 2.415 Billion

Buy-in: VN₫ 210 Million

Entries: 27

Re-entries: 8

Prize Pool: VN₫ 6.790 Billion

Places Paid: 6

The Billionaire Club High Stakes Challenge witnessed participation from 27 poker stalwarts, each staking a substantial VN₫ 210 Million to enter the tournament. The contest heated up with an additional eight re-entries, escalating the count to 35 competitors and amassing an impressive prize pool of VN₫ 6.790 Billion.

The event unfolded over a grueling 15-plus hours, with players locked in a fierce battle. Emerging victorious from the exhaustive struggle, Vietnam’s Trung Toan Chan claimed the coveted title of the Billionaire Club High Stakes Challenge for VN₫ 2.415 Billion, securing a triumphant victory over Australia’s Anton Lu (2nd for VN₫ 1.610 Billion) in the heads-up duel.

This victory marked a significant milestone for Chan as it was his maiden high roller title. Despite the intense battle, the newly-crowned champion found solace in his achievement, declaring, “I am truly overjoyed. My performance was strong in the early game, with consistently over 100 big blinds. Despite the challenge at the final table, I emerged victorious. The arduous journey has left me exhausted but deeply satisfied. This being my inaugural win in such an event and my first high roller victory, it bolsters my confidence tremendously.”

Complete Payouts (VN₫)

1. Trung Toan Chan – VN₫ 2,415,000,000
2. Anton Lu – VN₫ 1,610,000,000
3. Thanh Tien Dinh – VN₫ 1,070,000,000
4. Huy Quang Nguyen – VN₫ 745,000,000
5. Anh Duy Pham – VN₫ 540,000,000
6. Joshua McCully – VN₫ 410,000,000

Vietnam’s NguyễN Trung Hà Leads 24 Survivors From Day 1B of the VN₫ 3 Billon GTD Mystery Bounty, India’s Gokul Raj & Avneesh Munjal Make Day 2

Day 1B of the Mystery Bounty saw an even larger turnout than its predecessor, with 185 players joining the competition. Each player paid a buy-in of VN₫ 11 Million. This surge in participation brought the total number of entrants to an impressive 317, crushing the prize guarantee with one starting flight left to play. As the day came to a close, only 24 players remained standing.

Local player NguyễN Trung Hà, known by his moniker ‘Hasagi’, emerged as the front-runner. Amassing a hefty stack of 440,500, he managed to dethrone the Day 1A leader, Stephen Nathan, securing the overall chip lead for Day 2.

India’s Gokul Raj bagged the eight-biggest stack of 165,500, while the WPT Opener champion Avneesh Munjal amassed a below-average stack of 96,000.

Day 1C, the tournament’s final starting flight, kicked off at 11 AM (local time) on Saturday.

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 1B

1. NguyễN Trung Hà – 440,500
2. Nguyen Manh Trung – 415,000
3. Tsang Chak Lam – 301,500
4. NguyễN Văn ChiếN – 234,500
5. Fedor Dedelov – 226,500
6. Đinh Văn TiếN – 220,000
7. Sumin Oh – 206,000
8. Gokul Raj – 165,500
9. Victor Em – 146,000
10. Anton Widjaya – 137,000

Content Courtesy: So Much Poker & World Poker Tour

Images Courtesy: So Much Poker & Crown Poker Club

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