Singapore's Benjamin Sai Wins Player of the Series, Japan's Satoshi Kuriga Goes Wire-to-Wire in Super High Roller

Ben Wilson / 18 Dec 2022

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Singapore's Benjamin Sai Wins Player of the Series, Japan's Satoshi Kuriga Goes Wire-to-Wire in Super High Roller

APT DA NANG PLAYER GUIDE | APT DA NANG SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | IMAGES

DA NANG, VIETNAM, December 18, 2022 – The APT Da Nang Vietnam VSOP 2022 – partnered with the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP) – is in the books, with Singapore's Benjamin Sai proving his credentials and taking the coveted Asian Poker Tour Player of the Series (POS) title.

Sai claimed two APT Da Nang series titles, winning the opening ₫9,000,000+900,000 Event #1 Mystery Bounty and also claiming gold in the ₫50,000,000+4,000,000 Event #18 High Rollers Single Day.

The Singaporean topped the POS counts with an impressive 1,341.26 points, cashing eight times – including his two title wins – and making an impressive six final table appearences.

Sai's POS victory earned him a Main Event seat at the upcoming APT Hanoi 2023, running February 3-12, in addition to the ₫1,098,050,000 (~$46,118) in prize money he will be returning with to Singapore.

APT Da Nang By The Numbers

Playing out in the ballroom of the five-star Risemount Premier Resort, the 10-day, 34-event APT Da Nang 2022 saw 478 unique players from 41 countries compete for an impressive ₫40,827,300,000 (~$1,714,958) in prize money.

You can see a breakdown of prize money and player numbers HERE

Close to a third of the series' prize money (29.3%) was awarded in the Main Event, which saw 217 unique players from 32 different countries compete for a ₫11,960,100,000 (~$502,325) prize pool.

For a breakdown of the Main Event by Country/Region please CLICK HERE and you can see a graphic HERE.

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Japan's Satoshi Kuriga Goes Wire-to-Wire in Super High Roller

Wire-to-wire wins are a rare thing in sports, making Satoshi Kuriga's victory in the ₫80,000,000+6,000,000 Event #32 Super High Roller all the more impressive.

Playing out in the ballroom of the five-star Risemount Premier Resort, the second and final day saw the eight surviving Day 1 players joined by a further eight contenders to bring the total number of entries up to 16 (15 unique), bringing the total prize pool up to ₫1,241,600,000 (~$52,147).

Kuriga returned as the start-of-day chip leader and did not take his foot off the gas, busting both of the field's other paying positions on his way to claiming his third APT title.

The key hand for the Japanese player came mid-way through the official final table, which had been reduced to six-handed. Kuriga won a monster three-way pre-flop all-in when his ace queen outflopped the UK's Grant Gardner and China's Sung Keung Pang, who were both holding ace king.

After that, Kuriga arguably had one hand on the trophy already.

After seeing off Australia's Tu Thanh Le in third place with the nut flush, Kuriga defeated fellow countryman Keita Minami heads-up to claim the title, with the tournament paying out as follows:

SUPER HIGH ROLLER RESULTS

  • 1st: Satoshi Kuriga (Japan) – ₫707,710,000
  • 2nd: Keita Minami (Japan) – ₫347,650,000
  • 3rd: Tu Thanh Le (Australia) – ₫186,240,000

All prize pool and payout information can be viewed on the Official Results page.

You can follow all the action as it happened via the APT blog.

You can view all the High Roller action as it happened via the official APT YouTube Live Stream.

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Vietnam's Dinh Van Tien Closes Out Series With Monster Stack Win

The two-day ₫15,000,000+1,500,000 Event #31 Monster Stack has a champion, with Vietnam's Dinh Van Tien taking the trophy and claiming his second title of the series.

Just 48 players out of 168 initial entrants (105 unique) returned for the second and final day, with Tien returning in the top 25 percent of the field.

Proving his deep runs in the Mystery Bounty and Main Event were no fluke, Tien and Russia's Aleksei Varashev found themselves the last players standing.

The pair then cut a deal that saw the duo split the cash for first and second place, with both receiving payouts of ₫466,355,000 (~$19,586), with chip leader Tien awarded the trophy.

The Vietnamese player has enjoyed a great APT Da Nang, with this win bringing his total haul for the series up to ₫1,065,115,000 (~$44,734).

A total of 28 players cashed for a share of the ₫2,444,400,000 (~$102,664) total prize pool, with the official eight-handed final table paying out as follows:

MONSTER STACK FINAL TABLE RESULTS

  • 1st: Dinh Van Tien (Vietnam) – ₫466,355,000
  • 2nd: Aleksei Varashev (Russia) – ₫466,355,000
  • 3rd: Hoi Wai Tam (Hong Kong) – ₫259,360,000
  • 4th: Lam Wing Yin (China) – ₫187,330,000
  • 5th: Pratik Jain (India) – ₫140,100,000
  • 6th: Nguyen Viet Anh (Vietnam) – ₫108,120,000
  • 7th: Dinh Tien Thanh (Vietnam) – ₫85,860,000
  • 8th: Peter Kiem (United States) – ₫69,950,000

Notables to cash but come up short of the final table included reigning APT Korea Incheon Main Event champion Farhad Aghayev (9th for ₫58,300,000), India's Akshay Kapoor (18th for ₫33,740,000), start-of-day chip leader Yu Hoi Chan (19th for ₫28,110,000), and Canada's Duncan Son (21st for ₫28,110,000).

All prize pool and payout information can be viewed on the Official Results page.

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South Korea's Daeho An Wins Event #35 High Rollers Single Day

The final tournament of the series to play out, the ₫50,000,000+4,000,000 Event #35 High Rollers Single Day saw South Korea's Daeho An triumph over an eight-strong field, winning the lion's share of the ₫388,000,000 (~$16,296) prize pool.

An battled back from a sizable chip deficit to defeat Germany's Samuel Tebege heads-up to take the ₫271,600,000 (~$11,407) top prize, in addition to claiming his first APT title.

Tebege, making his third final-table appearance and fourth cash of the series, collected ₫116,400,000 (~$4,888) for his runner-up finish.

HIGH ROLLERS SINGLE DAY RESULTS

  • 1st: Daeho An (South Korea) ₫271,600,000
  • 2nd: Samuel Tebege (Germany) – ₫116,400,000

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Vietnam's Vu Hoai Lam Wins Event #33 Deep Stack Hyper Turbo, Indonesia's Jimmy Johan Victorious in Event #34 Super Deep Stack Turbo

The final two turbo tournaments of the APT Da Nang are in the books, with two more newly minted champions popping their APT cherry.

The first of these saw Vietnam's Vu Hoai Lam claim his maiden APT title in the Event #33 Deep Stack Hyper Turbo.

Playing out in the early hours of Sunday morning, this drew 52 entries (38 unique), generating a ₫201,760,000 (~$8,473) total prize pool.

Lam defeated Indonesia's Jimmy Johan heads-up to claim the ₫61,310,000 (~$2,575) top prize, with Johan receiving ₫40,870,000 (~$1,716) for his runner-up finish.

A total of nine players made the money, with the tournament paying out as follows:

EVENT #33 DEEP STACK HYPER TURBO RESULTS

  • 1st: Vu Hoai Lam (Vietnam) – ₫61,310,000
  • 2nd: Jimmy Johan (Indonesia) – ₫40,870,000
  • 3rd: Tran Nam Trung (Vietnam) – ₫28,410,000
  • 4th: Chuong Phung (Canada) – ₫20,520,000
  • 5th: Abhishek Paul (India) – ₫15,350,000
  • 6th: Bao Hoang Phung (Canada) – ₫11,840,000
  • 7th: Benjamin Sai (Singapore) – ₫9,410,000
  • 8th: Nguyen Van Bao (Vietnam) – ₫7,660,000
  • 9th: Yabar Gonzalo Navarro (Italy) – ₫6,390,000

All prize pool and payout information can be viewed on the Official Results page.

However, Johan was not to be denied, earning his maiden APT title win the very next evening in the ₫7,000,000+700,000 Event #34 Super Deep Stack Turbo.

The Indonesian player emerged victorious over a 59-strong field (47 uniques), defeating China's Ka Lik Lau heads-up to claim the ₫103,830,000 (~$4,360) top prize.

Lau earned ₫93,830,000 ($3,940) for his runner-up finish, with ten players cashing for a share of the ₫400,610,000 ($16,825) prize pool and the tournament paying out as follows:

EVENT #34 SUPER DEEP STACK TURBO RESULTS

  • 1st: Jimmy Johan (Indonesia) – 103,830,000
  • 2nd: Ka Lik Lau (China) – 93,830,000
  • 3rd: Huynh Ngoc Thai (Vietnam) – 54,970,000
  • 4th: Sang Bum Kim (South Korea) – 39,700,000
  • 5th: Chien Nguyen (Vietnam) – 29,690,000
  • 6th: Pham Ngoc Tu (Vietnam) – 22,910,000
  • 7th: Ha Van Thien (Vietnam) – 18,200,000
  • 8th: Pham Ngoc Quoc Bao (Vietnam) – 13,590,000
  • 9th: Yukina Oza (Japan) – 13,590,000
  • 10th: Yashiro Naoki (Japan) – 10,300,000

All prize pool and payout information can be viewed on the Official Results page.

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