Vietnam National Cup Draws 579 Entries; Kunal Patni Brings Monster Lead into Final Day

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

PHU QUOC, VIETNAM, November 9, 2024 — The second day of the ten-day APT Phu Quoc 2024 festival—run in partnership with VPT at the Corona Theater located within the luxurious Corona Resort & Casino—saw the final three starting flights of the VND 9M Event #1: Vietnam National Cup - VND 5,000,000,000 GTD play out with the tournament drawing 579 entries (303 unique) in total over the six starting flights.

A total of 84 combined survivors will be returning for Final Day to battle it out as the baize for a share of the VND 5,000,000,000 (~USD196,850) prize pool with the eventual champion walking away with a VND 966,530,000 (~USD 38,050) top prize, in addition to the coveted silver lion silhouette trophy and title.

It is India’s Kunal Patni who will be returning in pole position when the action resumes at 11:15am local time (GMT+7) on Sunday, November 10, after finishing Flight D with a commanding chip lead of 804,000 in chips, which you can read about in more detail below.

For Vietnam National Cup Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

For Vietnam National Cup Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

India’s Kunal Patni Dominates Flight D

Flight D kicked off the day’s poker action, drawing a field of 183 entries (138 unique) who fought it out at the felt over eighteen 30-minute levels in an attempt to lock up a seat for the Final Day.

It was India’s Kunal Patni leading the charge by the time the tournament clock ticked into the red, bagging up a monster stack of 804,000 (just over 100 big blinds) – almost double that of Flight B frontrunner Wipat Udomkanjananan who topped the opening three flights with 439,000.

That was also over 34 big blinds more than next closest Flight D rival Obaidullah Habibi of Canada, who concluded the action with a stack of 530,000. The Netherlands’ Ronald Haverkamp bagged the third largest Flight D stack, with a total of 26 players making it through to the Final Day with the top ten stacks as follows:

VIETNAM NATIONAL CUP FLIGHT D TOP TEN STACKS

Other notables to bag included APT Manila Zodiac Classic finalist Charles Pansoy (167,000), Russia’s Daniil Shalaev (120,000), and India’s Dhaval Mudgal (42,000).

For Vietnam National Cup Flight D Player List please CLICK HERE

For Vietnam National Cup Flight D Survivors please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the Vietnam National Cup - Flight D tournament page.

China’s Yankai Zhang Tops Flight E

China’s Yankai Zhang seemed shy about topping Flight E

Flight E got underway at 5:30pm local time and saw another 140 entries (118 unique) duke it out over twenty-one 20-minute levels, with China’s Yankai Zhang bagging the biggest stack of 484,000

Zhang finished a whisker ahead of Nguyen The Nhong, with the Vietnamese player ending the fifth flight with a stack of 480,000. Thailand’s Chanpanya Saifah completed the top tirumvirate by bagging up 426,000 in chips.

A total of 20 players made the Final Day, with the top ten Flight E stacks as follows:

VIETNAM NATIONAL CUP FLIGHT E TOP TEN STACKS

For Vietnam National Cup Flight E Player List please CLICK HERE

For Vietnam National Cup Flight E Survivors please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the Vietnam National Cup - Flight E tournament page.

Japan’s Shimizu Nozomu Summits Flight E

Japan’s Shimizu Nozomu led the Flight F action

The sixth and final Turbo Flight F attracted a further 70 entries (56 unique) who competed over twenty fast-paced 15-minute levels, with 10 players locking up a place in the Final Day.

While the APT Super High Roller proved to be a bust for former champion Shimizu Nozumo, that did not stop the Japanese player from topping the turbo-charged Flight F action. Nozumo summited the counts with a stack of 499,000 and was the only player to bag over 400K.

Australia’s Jennifer Cassell was Nozumo’s next closest rival finishing the day with the second-largest stack of 365,000, with South Korea’s Chong-Hwa Kim (293,000) rounding out the top three, with the ten survivors bagging as follows:

VIETNAM NATIONAL CUP TURBO FLIGHT F TOP TEN STACKS

For Vietnam National Cup Turbo Flight F Player List please CLICK HERE

For Vietnam National Cup Turbo Flight F Survivors please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the Vietnam National Cup - Turbo Flight F tournament page.

Singapore’s The Naing Tops APT Super High Roller Day 1

Singapre’s The Naing came loaded for big game topping Day 1 of the APT Super High Roller

While Vietnam might seem a strange place to come hunting big game, a total of 55 high-rolling entries (37 unique) turned up in Phu Quoc hoping to bag a lion. Of course, the lion in question is the award-winning pewter lion APT Super High Roller trophy.

There is also the not-so-small matter of a VND 5,761,800,000 (~USD 226,840) prize pool, which needs to be distributed between the top eight players, and while all the entries came primed for the hunt only 13 of them remain in contention for the VND 1,728,540,000 (~USD 68,050) top prize and coveted trophy and title.

For APT Super High Roller Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

Some of the Asia-Pacific’s top tournament professionals battled against poker aficionados with deep pockets for a spot in the Final Day and plenty of them were unsuccessful in their quest.

High-calibre players the likes of Serbia’s Milos Skrbic, the Philippines David Erquiaga, South Korea’s Gab Yong Kim, former APT Super High Roller champion Shimizu Nozomu, and Australia’s Dylan Foster and John “Bert” Perry all came unstuck as play progressed.

It is The Naing who proved to be the Day 1 Master of the Hunt after the sixteen 40-minute levels played out with the Singaporean narrowly pipping Denmark’s Martin Stausholm for the end of day chip lead, bagging up an impressive 2,640,000 in chips.

Stausholm will be returning second in the counts after concluding play with 2,340,000 in chips and was the only other player to bag over 2 million. Austria’s Manuel Blaschke rounded out the top three, filling his end of day chip bag with a stack of 1,195,000.

Two previously successful APT lion hunters remain in the mix looking to make tour history by becoming the first double signature lion trophy winners; APT Summer Series Da Nang 2023 APT Super High Roller champion Julian Warhurst (875,000) and APT Incheon 2023 APT High Roller champion Thanisorn Saelor (800,000) are returning eighth and ninth respectively in the chip counts.

APT SUPER HIGH ROLLER TOP TEN STACKS

The other three remaining players to make it through are Australia’s Nelson Dong (590,000), India’s Ankit Ahjuya (350,000), and Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang, the latter of whom is bringing in the short stack of 245,000.

The Final Day action recommences at 11:15am local time (GMT+7) on level 17 with the blinds climbing to 15,000/30,000 with a 30,000 big blind ante. You can read more about the Day 1 action via the APT Blog, and full coverage will also be available for the Final Day.

For APT Super High Roller Day 1 Player List please CLICK HERE

For APT Super High Roller Day 1 Survivors please CLICK HERE

For APT Super High Roller Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the APT Super High Roller - Day 1 tournament page.