With cancellations and the WSOP putting a halt to live poker in the region for the past two months, opening day at WPT Cambodia – Passport To The World Championship was a clear indicator that it had been sorely missed in the region. The day’s events drew a diverse crowd, with players from Vietnam, Korea, China, Singapore, Thailand, India, Taiwan, and Japan showing up in impressive numbers. European nationals were also well represented, adding to the international flair of this popular WPT stop. By night’s end the first winners emerged. Here’s a rundown of the day’s festivities and what’s is yet to come.

Jungsup Yun Wins The NagaWorld Superstack

First on the floor was crowd favorite NagaWorld Superstack. This edition was no different with 162 entries across ten levels of registration. With buy in at $300, the prize pool climbed to $41,642 with 21 players dipping in. Notables making an early run for the WPT merch were Kyle Bao Diep, Vineet Kumar, Vi Khoa Duong, Hwanho Choe, and 2023 WPT Vietnam champion Sorawit Suriyakarn who went on to finish in 8th place.

Among the big stacks at the end of registration was Korea’s Jungsup Yun who went on to close it out after a dominating heads up performance against China’s Shaohua Luo. Yun shipped a career high $11,067 and his career first live title.

Before Yun’s win, the money was reached 9.5 hours in with Vinni Pilling sending two players out simultaneously. Pilling’s burned and a short stack’s [3h} with a Jack on the board.

Once the money was intact, it took a couple of more hours for the final table to form. Pilling maintained his big stack and went on to finish in 3rd place. Heads up began with Shaohua Luo backed by a commanding 3:1 stack but both were deep, giving plenty of grinding time. Despite having the shorter stack, Yun dominated to quickly even up.

Yun widened the gap with big bets on small boards leading to the final hand. It was all in preflop with the board running . Luo had that stayed behind Yun’s trips.

Date: July 12, 2024
Buy in: $300
Entries: 162
Prize pool: $41,642
ITM: 21 places

Final Table Payouts

Shaoshua Li Wins the Deepstack Mini HR

China’s Shaoshua Li may not be a familiar face in the WPT crowd but his gameplay at the Deepstack Mini High Roller would be remembered. Li controlled and dominated the heads up action against Vietnamese pro Pham Bao to seize his first WPT title and payout of $20,769.

The $1,650 buy in event drew 42 entries for a prize pool of $61,110. The top seven players earned a piece. Among the attendees were WPT Cambodia Championship 5th placer Amit Kaushik, 2024 WPT Cambodia Player Of The Festival Jinlong Hu, Australia’s Joseph Sandaev, Germany’s Max Menzel, along with Vietnamese high rollers Huu Dung Nguyen, Nguyen Quang Huy, and Hoang Hai Nam who held a commanding lead at the close of registration.

Nam failed to reach the final table. Taking his place up top was India’s Vishal Ojha who took it as far as 5th place, falling to Bao. Heads up arrived after Li eliminated Matthew Wakeman in 3rd place with standing firm against overcards. The final duel for the win saw Bao switch the counts and seemed to pull away. However, Li was an equally determined grinder landed a crucial pot that sent Bao’s stack plunging.

On a board , Li bet the flop and both checked the turn. Bao bet the river then called Li’s raise. Bao had trips, Li outkicked with . Shortly after, the winning hand was tabled. Bao’s all in was outdrawn by Li’s flush on a board .

Date: July 12, 2024
Buy in: $1,650
Entries: 42
Prize poo: $61,110
ITM: 7 places

Kai Yat Fam Wins The Superstack Big Bounty Hyper Turbo

Everyone loves a bounty event and that was case at opening day’s Superstack Big Bounty Hyper Turbo with 88 entries contributing $250 each for a prize pool of $18,779. The 15 seconds to act saw the event clock in at under five hours. Singapore’s Kai Yat Fam was the last player standing to ship the $3,219 top prize along with several bounty rewards. This was Fam’s career first win.

Date: July 12, 2024
Buy in: $250
Entries: 88
Prize pool: $18,779
ITM: 11 places

*Bounties not included in payouts below

Dmytro Lytvynov Tops Championship Warm Up Day 1A

The first phased event also heated up the tournament floor with 61 entries at Day 1A of the Championship Warm Up $100K guaranteed prize pool. Seen in action were Ilya Firstov, Frank Lillis, Donghyun Park, Matt Douhan, and Dhanesh Chainani to mention a few. By the  end of 15 levels, none of them advanced however there are still two flights remaining to get back in the running.

Bagging up the largest stack was Ukraine’s Dmytro Lytvynov of 635,000 (106 bb). Lytvynov was already under the spotlight with his massive stack at the end of registration. Near the end of day, Lytvynov won a huge three-handed pot with pocket Sixes turned set on a board .

Day 1A Survivors

Links:

Guide to  WPT Cambodia Passport To The World Championship

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