China’s Zhang Mai conquers Red Dragon Championship Event for KRW 392 Million (~USD 287K)

 

China’s Zhang Mai conquers Red Dragon Championship Event
Photo Credit – Chris Librojo

The final day of the esteemed Red Dragon Poker Tour held at Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, South Korea, arrived with the last set of trophies awarded across six events. On the schedule’s highlight was the Final Day of the Red Dragon Championship Event where nine players remained in contention for the title. In just under three hours of play, the Main Event festivities came to a close with China’s Zhang Mai locking in the victory. Zhang takes with him KRW 392,403,000 (~USD 288,920) in winnings, the RDPT Main Event trophy, and an exclusive RDPT Main Event Winner’s Jacket for his incredible run.

Red Dragon Poker Tour Jeju – Festival Results

Championship Event Final Table Recap

The final table action picked up fairly quickly with chip leader Nana Nakamura delivering the  first three eliminations within the initial hour. Nakamura came into the Final Day already towering over the pack and set the tone early on. By this time, the aggressive Japanese runner has amassed more than half the chips in play, leaving the rest treading more carefully in an attempt to ladder up the payouts. One by one fell in quick fashion with none of her opponents coming close to inching the gap. 

Zhang Mai wins Red Dragon Championship
Zhang Mai

Running table captain, Nakamura only lost her advantage when Zhang Mai rose to the lead after delivering two back to back eliminationsKozo Yamada and Saito Go, in 3rd and 4th place respectively. With ammo to take on his opponent, Zhang kicked off heads up play at par with Nakamura and ready to take on the challenge. Although both contenders stacked over 80 big blinds deep, the battle only lasted less than an hour before a winner was crowned. It took a few deals before the most crucial pot of the day was seen on the felt, beginning with a three bet from Nakamura. Nakamura went on to triple barrel board AdKhJd2sAs with a final all-in by the river. Zhang called down each street and caught Nakamura with a huge bluff 8d7d. Zhang tabled Ah10d and scooped up the massive 152 big blind pot, leaving his opponent shooting down.

Nana Nakamura
Nana Nakamura

Left with 16 big blinds, Nakamura managed to double up soon after but eventually crashed as the final hand came into play. Zhang open shoved from the button with Ad6c and saw his opponent snap call for her tournament life with Ac8c. Though slightly ahead, Nakamura found her luck come to an end as the board 5h6h9d9sJc ran on the felt, giving Zhang a pair of sixes to knock her out entirely. Nakamura settled for a runner up finish along with KRW 263,200,000 (~USD 192,770) in prizes for her efforts.

Backtrack on the concluded action via SMP Live Updates or Red Dragon Poker Tour’s official livestream channels:

https://www.youtube.com/@reddragonpokertour
https://www.twitch.tv/playreddragon

Dates: July 30 – August 4, 2024
Buy in: KRW 2,200,000 (~USD 1,620)
Guarantee: KRW 1,680,000,000 (~USD 1,236,390)
Prize pool: KRW 2,567,843,000 (~USD 1,875,480)
Entries: 1,337 (700 unique)
ITM: 201 places

Day 1A: 332 entries / 103 qualified
Day 1B: 395 entries / 138 qualified
Day 1C: 421 entries / 144 qualified
Day 1D: 190 entries / 74 qualified

Day 2: 456 players / 60 qualified
Day 3: 60 players

Red Dragon Championship Event Final Table Results

Rank First Name Last Name Flag Prize (KRW) Prize (~USD)
1 MAI ZHANG China ₩392,403,000 $287,400
2 NANA NAKAMURA Japan ₩263,200,000 $192,770
3 KOZO YAMADA Japan ₩186,940,000 $136,920
4 GO SAITO Japan ₩134,300,000 $98,360
5 CHUANSHU CHEN China ₩98,090,000 $71,840
6 XIAO LIU China ₩72,670,000 $53,220
7 JUN LIU China ₩54,440,000 $39,870
8 QIAO CHI China ₩41,600,000 $30,460
9 HAOYUN MA China ₩32,100,000 $23,510

Side Event Results

Event #30: Red Dragon High Roller: Zhou Quan – KRW 149,850,000 (~USD 110,330)

Zhou Quan wins RDPT Red Dragon High Roller
Zhou Quan

The two-day Red Dragon High Roller event attracted a smaller 25 entry field with only four players guaranteed a share of the KRW 368,600,000 (~USD 271,395) prize pool. With the minimum payout listed at KRW 52,650,000 (~USD 38,765), it took four levels of 40 minute gameplay before the money bubble burst. Stacks flew back and forth, and saw player after player stand at risk, up until the fall of Zhang Chenxu. Zhang lost a pot to Zhou Quan just prior, having ran Js10d on board Jc7d7c9s4s against Quan’s KsKc, and was down short. In search of a double up, Zhang went with AdQs for her remaining chips only to run into Zhou Lin’s AsKc right behind. Zhang exited the following hand, and left everyone else well in the green.

Shortest stacked Nagami Kyosuke was the first to crash after his 10d10h failed to hold up against Quan’s AdQc. Quan remaining in the lead, went on to grind down both opponents until Luo Xi Xiang found himself in a blind vs blind race, to eventually fall in 3rd place. With 90% of the chips in play now stacked by Quan, the heads up battle only lasted two deals, with Lin calling off for his last 13 big blinds with Ad4h against Quan’s Kd10s. The board 6cQc9sJc10d ran in favor of Quan, earning him his maiden Red Dragon trophy along with KRW 149,850,000 (~USD 110,330) in prizes.

Date/s: August 3-4, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 16,000,000 (~USD 11,780)
Prize pool: KRW 368,600,000 (~USD 271,395)
Entries: 25 (19 unique)
ITM: 4 players

Event #30: Red Dragon High Roller Full Payouts

Rank First Name Last Name Flag Prize (KRW)
1 QUAN ZHOU China 149,850,000
2 LIN ZHOU China 99,950,000
3 XI XIANG LUO China 66,150,000
4 KYOSUKE NAGAMI Japan 52,650,000

Event #31: Superstack Classic: Li Jun – KRW 41,743,000 (~USD 30,730)

Jun Li wins RDPT Superstack Classic
Li Jun

Date/s: August 3-4, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 720)
Prize pool: KRW 175,473,000 (~USD 129,190)
Entries: 201 (158 unique)
ITM: 31 players

Event #31: Superstack Classic Final Table Results

Rank First Name Last Name Flag Prize (KRW)
1 JUN LI United Kingdom 41,743,000
2 ALEKSEI SEI Russia 26,990,000
3 RONG XIA China 18,040,000
4 YEN-HAN CHEN China 12,440,000
5 WEN WEN CHEN China 8,860,000
6 KUAN HAN CHEN Taiwan 6,530,000
7 ZHICHEN YU China 4,980,000
8 QINGBO GAO China 3,930,000
9 HSUEH-YI CHEN Taiwan 3,230,000

Full Article

About The Author