China’s Jinlong Hu Claims VND 4.7BN (~USD 185K) Career-Best Score in Tours’ Largest Phu Quoc Main Event

APT PHU QUOC 2024 SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | IMAGES | WINNERS | PLAYERS LIST

PHU QUOC, VIETNAM, November 16, 2024 — The APT Phu Quoc 2024 VND 36M Main Event—run in partnership with VPT at the Corona Theater located within the luxurious Corona Resort & Casino—has crowned a champion, with China’s Jinlong Hu bulldozing through the final table field to claim his maiden APT Main Event title.

Nanchang native Hu, making a fourth career APT final table, put on a dominating performance to triumph over the tour's largest-ever Phu Quoc-based 795-strong Main Event field, taming the award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy and locking up the lion’s share of the VND 25 billion (~USD 1 million) prize pool.

All nine returning players were guaranteed a payout of at least VND 352,000,000 (~USD 13,860) with six of the final nine (including Hu) cashing for career-best scores with the other five being; South Korea’s Junseok Oh (2nd), Vietnamese film actor Do Tien Vu (3rd), Australia’s Truong Thang Minh (4th), China’s Wang Haozhao (6th), and Chuhao Zhang (8th).

Hu, who already boasts an online bracelet and close to USD 600,000 in live tournament winnings, can now pad out his poker piggy bank with the VND 4,710,000,000 (~USD 185,430) top prize and add an APT title to his list of poker accolades with this victory awarding the Chinese poker professional his second live major tournament title, moving him up 36 places from #95 to #59 on the China All-time Money List.

MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS

For Main Event Results please CLICK HERE

For Main Event Player Profiles please CLICK HERE

For Main Event Breakdown by Country/Region please CLICK HERE with a graphic available HERE

FINAL TABLE ACTION

The 32-year-old poker professional came into the final table third in the chip counts, but stated his intentions plainly early on, taking first blood by sending second shortest stack Pham Bao to the rail on the fifth hand played to seize the chip lead.

While Hu had to circumnavigate a slight bump in the road when he was briefly usurped from the top spot by eventual runner-up Junseok Oh thirty hands into the action, the heft of his weighty chip stack was enough to level the playing field.

Wielding his monster stack like a club, Hu bludgeoned Deepankur Gupta out of the tournament in seventh place to bring the final table down to six and retake a lead he would not relinquish, while the Indian player headed to the payout desk to collect the second-largest live cash of his poker career.

“I think there are two key moments for me,” stated Hu via the aid of a translator in his post-match interview.

“The first was when I made a re-jam with ten-eight suited from the big blind. There was an Indian player [Gupta] who opened, and I re-jammed. He snap-called with ace-king. But this hand with ten-eight suited, I had pushed it three times before, and each time I won it at the final table. So, I was confident this time as well, and I ended up winning with two pairs.”

After that, Hu set his sights on dealing with the biggest obstacle between him and the title – the Philippines’ David Erquiaga.

“The second key moment was when my biggest competitor, David, and I both had strong hands,” confided Hu.

“I opened with ace-queen suited, and he re-jammed [with pocket twos]. We were heads-up, and I called, and I won. After I won that hand, I felt that I was definitely going to win because I had a huge chip advantage, and my toughest competitor was out.”

With his Main Event dream in ashes, Erquiaga hit the rail in fifth place for a top ten career score, while Hu hoovered up over 40 percent of the chips in play. After that there was no derailing the Hu express, with the Chinese player busting six of the eight other finalists on his way to victory, seeing off Thang in fourth and Vu in third to bring a commanding chip lead of close to 5-to-1 into the heads-up match against Oh.

South Korea’s Junseok Oh and China’s Jinlong Hu prepare for heads-up

While the South Korean player gave it his best shot, earning an early double-up and battling over 32 heads-up hands spanning two levels, the slopes of Hu’s mountainous chip stack proved too steep to summit and Oh was forced to settle for the runner-up prize of VND 2,865,000,000 (~USD 112,795) – his largest career score.

“I think, firstly, the Golden Lion trophy is one of the best-looking trophies I’ve ever seen, second only to the WSOP gold bracelet. Secondly, because APT is the Asia Poker Tour, it represents the highest level of poker competition in Asia, so it holds a very special meaning for me,” confided Hu in his post match interview.

“I think I will first take my trophy home, and then participate in other tournaments. Because the prize money is just a bonus for me, so everything will go on as usual. I want to thank everyone who has supported me, not just one person. They believed that I could win, and in the end, I did,” stated Hu, before posing for his obligatory winner’s photograph and heading off into the Phu Quoc night to bask in the glow of victory.

You can follow all the tournament action via the APT Blog and view action from the feature tables via the Main Event Final Day Live Stream on the official APT YouTube channel. All tournament information can be found on the Main Event - Final Day tournament page.

Chudapal Siarhei Triples Career Winnings & APT Titles With Double Stack Win

Belarusian Chudapal Siarhei claimed his third series title in the Double Stack

The VND 11M Event #56: Double Stack - VND 2,500,000,000 GTD field set a new Phu Quoc tour record, with the 415-strong (235 unique) field representing over a 200 percent increase in entries from the APT Phu Quoc 2023 tournament.

Just 59 players returned for the Final Day to battle it out for the lion’s share of a prize pool three times the size of the tour’s previous offering, with VND 3,985,245,000 (~USD 156,900) in the purse.

All returning players were guaranteed a minimum payout of VND 17,230,000 (~USD 680), but it was the VND 773,125,000 (~USD 30,440) top prize and the coveted silver lion silhouette trophy that all were aiming for.

It took fifteen 30-minute level to crown a champion, with Belarusian Chudapal Siarhei triumphing over South Korea’s Anna Jo to claim the accolades and earn his seventh cash and third title of the festival.

This is the largest score of Siarhei’s poker career to date, more than tripling his USD 8,300 in live tournament winnings, all of which he has made this series.

Jo collected VND 490,190,000 (~USD 19,300) for her first recorded live cash, making her APT debut one to remember.

Le Van Hung rounded out the winner’s podium, taking bronze and a payout of VND 354,290,000 (~USD 13,950) for his third place finish with the Vietnamese player another player making his maiden APT score, and the largest cash of his poker career.

Start-of-day chip leader Kornkrit Chaveewanitkun made his second final table showing of the festival, banking VND 94,050,000 (~USD 3,700) for eighth place, with the final table paying out as follows:

DOUBLE STACK FINAL TABLE RESULTS

Other notables to make a deep run included Taiwan’s Fang Puyen (11th for VND 61,220,000), Flight B frontrunner Mason Griffin (14th for VND 46,620,000), India’s Dhaval Mudgal (18th for VND 41,760,000), Russia’s Rudolf Domin (28th for VND 25,540,000), and the Philippines’ Charles Pansoy (46th for VND 18,650,000).

For Double Stack Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE

For Double Stack Results please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack - Final Day tournament page.

Phanlert Sukonthachartnant Leads APT High Roller Day 1

Thailand’s Phanlert Sukonthachartnant is hunting his second signature lion trophy after bagging the chip lead in the APT High Roller

While the Mini Main Event drew the largest field of the day, it was the VND 80M Event #67: APT High Roller - VND 2,500,000,000 GTD that generated the largest prize pool, with a total of 139 high-rolling entries (85 unique) anteing up the buy-in and fighting it out at the felt in an attempt to make the Final Day and claim a share of the VND 9,707,760,000 (~USD 382,195) prize pool.

Just 20 of the 28 Day 1 survivors will make the paying positions, with APT Taipei Poker Classic Super High Roller champion Phanlert Sukonthachartnant summiting the tournament leaderboard to return in the best of positions to claim the VND 2,329,880,000 (~USD 91,730) top prize, bagging up a stack of 1,221,000 in chips at the end of the gruelling sixteen 40-minute levels played.

For APT High Roller Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

Taiwan’s Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang sits a close second in the chip counts with a stack of 1,132,000, with Vietnam’s Duy Thuc Nguyen the only other player to bag a seven-figure stack, concluding play with 1,084,000.

APT Manila Super High Roller champion William Teoh (837,000) is another looking to claim a second signature lion trophy, with other notables to bag top ten stacks including Australia’s Jennifer Cassell (728,000), Sweden’s Mikael Andersson (685,000), and Thailand’s Kannapong Thanarattrakul (646,000).

APT HIGH ROLLER TOP TEN STACKS

Other notables still in the running include Japan’s Motoyoshi Okamura (435,000), Australia’s Dylan Foster (427,000), Main Event finalist David Erquiaga (416,000), Malaysia’s Sean Ooi (407,000), and Australia’s John “Bert” Perry (209,000).

For APT High Roller Day 1 Player List please CLICK HERE

For APT High Roller Day 1 Survivors please CLICK HERE

For APT High Roller Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am on Sunday, November 17 with the action resuming on level 17 with blinds recommencing at 6,000/12,000 with a 12,000 big blind ante. All the action will be live streamed via the official APT YouTube channel so watch along and see who has what it takes to tame the Bronze Lion APT High Roller trophy.

You can read about all the high-rolling action via the APT Blog. All tournament information can be found on the APT High Roller - Day 1 tournament page.

Viet Hoa Do Leads Mini Main Event With VND 600M (~USD 23.6K) Top Prize on the Line

Vietnam’s Viet Hoa Do will be returning with the overall chip lead in the Mini Main Event

With all the rail birds focusing on the Main Event final table, and the festival’s high roller contingent occupied with the APT High Roller, the two-day VND 12M Event #66: Mini Main Event – VND 1,500,000,000 GTD proved to be the most popular tournament of the day in terms of entries, attracting a 284-strong (163 unique) field over the two starting flights.

This saw a VND 2,975,184,000 (~USD 117,130) prize pool accumulated, with the eventual champion taking home a VND 600,354,000 (~USD 23,635) top prize, in addition to the trophy and title, and all the bragging rights that come with it.

A total of 41 survivors made it through the maelstrom of the Flight A and Flight B action, all locking up a payday of at least VND 17,560,000 (~USD 690).

For Mini Main Event Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

It is Vietnam’s Viet Hoa Do who will be returning in pole position after topping Flight B to occupy the tournament leaderboard number one spot when play resumes for the Final Day, with Do the only player to bag over 600K in chips to return with a stack of 660,000.

Flight A frontrunner Kiyoung Kim

South Korea’s Kiyoung Kim will be returning second in the overall counts after bagging the largest Flight A stack, topping a field of 167 entries (123 unique after the players battled over twenty 30-minute levels. Kim concluded the action with a stack of 591,000, with Thailand’s Siripong Khamklang (565,000), and Russia’s Dmitrii Belikov (549,000) rounding out the top three Flight A stacks to return third and fifth respectively in the overall counts.

A total of 24 players made it through from Flight A with the top ten stacks as follows:

MINI MAIN EVENT FLIGHT A TOP TEN STACKS

A total of 24 players Other notables to make it through included France’s Bastien Joly (276,000), and Russia’s Sergei Korzhenko (270,000).

For Mini Main Event Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE

For Mini Main Event Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE

Flight B drew a further 117 runners (96 unique) and in addition to Do, South Korea’s Minjae Kwon (552,000) and Thailand’s Runch Pornraksamanee (542,000) were the other top three finishers and will return fourth and sixth in the counts respectively for the Final Day.

Just 17 of the field remained after the twenty-two 20-minute levels played out, with the top ten stacks as follows:

MINI MAIN EVENT FLIGHT B TOP TEN STACKS

For Mini Main Event Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE

For Mini Main Event Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE

For Mini Main Event Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

The 41 survivors will combine for the Final Day which gets underway at 11:15am local time (GMT+7) on Saturday, November 16, with the tournament playing down to a champion.

All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack - Flight B tournament page.