WPT Korea 2024: Yu Lei wins Single Day High Roller for KRW 181,250,000 (~USD 134K); Zhang Lirui clinches WPT Opener title; Li Lei leads Jeju Dragon Quest Day 2

WPT Korea underway

The tables at Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, South Korea have been brimming with excitement as WPT Korea festival takes center stage with a full ten-day lineup through Wednesday, April 3rd. Day 3 of the series saw Yu Lei conquer the Single Day High Roller event and capture the third WPT Korea Ring this season. The multi-day Opener likewise welcomed its newest champion with China’s Zhang Lirui topping the 387-entry field. Check out these highlights below.

WPT Korea 2024 – Festival Results
WPT Korea 2024 – Player Guide

Players continue to arrive with the Main Event set to kick off this afternoon, March 28th. The first of three flights will run through, setting each player back KR₩ 2,800,000 (~US$ 2,100) for a chance to claim the lion’s share of the KR₩ 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 1,500,000) guaranteed prize pool. Running alongside is Event #7: NLH Bounty, along with Day 2 of the Jeju Dragon Quest.

China’s Yu Lei wins Single Day High Roller for KRW 181,250,000 (~USD 134,810)

Yu Lei wins Single Day High Roller
Yu Lei

The first of two Single Day High Roller events on schedule attracted a great turnout of 65 entries and saw its prize pool amount to KR₩ 573,300,000 (~USD 426,410) by the time registration closed. Only nine players locked in a share of the pot, guaranteeing each final table contender a minimum cash of KRW 18,100,000 (~USD 13,460). A lengthy battle ensued where it took nearly fourteen hours on the floor before a champion was crowned. 

Yu’s rush to the top began early in the evening after he doubled off Wang Afu with 5s5s vs the latter’s JdJs. By dinner break, Yu was already stacking atop the ranks and carried this lead all the way down to the final table. Yu only lost his advantage after a three way pot against Zhou Quan and Chu Chi Jen saw his pocket aces head to the muck. Zhou, running hot, spiked a two outer vs Yu and claimed the full triple up along with the chip lead. Zhou’s momentum wouldn’t stop there as he managed to scoop up Toma Tsugunari’s stack not long after.

Single Day High Roller Final Table
Single Day High Roller Final Table

Down to three handed play, shortest stacked Christopher Park found himself having to go with Ks8s and faced Yu’s Ac4h for a race. Slightly behind, Park failed to catch up on board and was eliminated from the running. Heads up play saw Yu and Zhou have nearly equal stacks to start the final games. However just fifteen minutes in, Zhou was seen stacking all the chips and Yu down to five big blinds. Almost a done deal, this wasn’t the case as Yu won the next three pots to overtake his opponent. Yu finished him off with a final hand of Kd8h against Zhou’s QhJh, earning him trips by the river to seal his victory. Yu takes with him a KRW 181,250,000 top payout, WPT Korea trophy, and WPT High Roller Ring for his impressive performance.

Date/s: March 27, 2024
Buy-in: KR₩ 10,000,000 (~USD 7,400)
Prize pool: KR₩ 573,300,000 (~USD 426,410)
Entries: 65 (52 unique)
ITM: 9 players

Event #4: Single Day High Roller Full Payouts

Rank Player Flag Prize (KRW)
1 Yu Lei China 181,250,000
2 Zhou Quan China 120,850,000
3 Park Christopher United States 80,550,000
4 Toma Tsugunari Japan 56,000,000
5 Chu Chi Jen Taiwan 40,600,000
6 Xu Hang China 30,850,000
7 Lin Chen-An Taiwan 24,550,000
8 Chen Mingcong China 20,550,000
9 Weng Stanley United States 18,100,000

WPT Korea 2024 – Single Day High Roller Live Updates

China’s Zhang Lirui clinches WPT Opener title – KRW 57,624,000 (~USD 42,850)

Zhang Lirui ships WPT Opener title
Zhang Lirui

The WPT Opener Day 2 games welcomed 48 runners back on the felt vying for the KRW 57,624,000 (~USD 42,850) listed top prize, WPT trophy, and a side event WPT Korea Ring. It took over four hours of play before the field dwindled down to its final nine players. China’s Lin Yan led the hunt, joined by flight chip leaders Iakimenko Anton and Augutis Vilius

Six levels was all Zhang Lirui needed to secure the victory, defeating Australia’s Ai Rex Hunt in a quick heads up battle along the way. Zhang started the duel with 2:1 advantage and locked in the win in just under an hour. The final hand saw Ai all-in with AdKc against Zhang’s AhJc. Whilst dominated, Zhang continued his run good and locked in the win on board AsJs9hJd8c. Ai settled for a runner up finish and KRW 38,380,000 (~USD 28,540) in winnings while Zhang bagged the larger payout.

Date/s: March 25 – 27, 2024
Buy-in: KR₩ 850,000 (~USD 630)
Prize pool: KR₩ 287,173,400 (~USD 213,590)
Entries: 387 (221 unique)
ITM: 50 players

Day 1A: 68 entries, 9 qualified
Day 1B: 206 entries, 26 qualified
Day 1C Turbo: 113 entries, 15 qualified

Event #1: WPT Opener Final Table Results

Rank Player Flag Prize (KRW)
1 Zhang Lirui China 57,624,000
2 Ai Rex Hunt Australia 38,380,000
3 Lin Yan China 28,150,000
4 Nielsen Martin Denmark 20,880,000
5 Liu Yin China 15,670,000
6 Yang Xi China 11,890,000
7 Zhang Chenxu China 9,130,000
8 Augutis Vilius Lithuania 7,090,000
9 Iakimenko Anton Russia 5,570,000

WPT Korea 2024 – WPT Opener Day 2 Live Updates

China’s Li Lei leads Jeju Dragon Quest Day 2

Li Lei leads Jeju Dragon Quest
Li Lei

Date/s: March 27-28, 2024
Buy-in: KR₩ 1,100,000 (~USD 810)
Prize pool: KR₩ 265,043,000 (~USD 197,130)
Entries: 276 (188 unique)
ITM: 37 players

Day 2 Chip Counts

Pos. Last Name First Name Flag Chip Count
1 LI LEI China 1,183,000
2 ZHANG XIN China 1,094,000
3 NIELSEN MARTIN Denmark 692,000
4 LI ZHONGXIAN China 672,000
5 DOI KEN Japan 516,000
6 WU SHENGHAO China 514,000
7 LIU ZHEXU China 496,000
8 Chen Chuan Shu China 458,000
9 GAO QINRONG China 439,000
10 IAKIMENKO ANTON Russia 439,000
11 LOEFFLER KILIAN MARKUS HYUN Germany 379,000
12 JIN BOXIN China 342,000
13 LIN KUAN YU China 339,000
14 CHEN YUFEI China 294,000
15 NAKAYAMA TAKUMI Japan 288,000
16 MORI AKIHITO Japan 283,000
17 GOTO DAISUKE Japan 282,000
18 WU PENG-SEN Taiwan 264,000
19 KIM ANDREI Russia 258,000
20 YUZHU WANG China 247,000
21 CHANG CHIH-CHUN China 215,000
22 YANG XI China 181,000
23 KUN WANG China 166,000
24 LO YU-JUNG Taiwan 155,000
25 FELDMAN LAWRENCE EVAN United States 147,000
26 LEKEROV AIBEK Kazakhstan 142,000
27 Wang Yanfeng China 123,000
28 JIANG DAQIAO China 114,000
29 ZHANG CHI China 72,000
30 XU YIGUANG China 66,000
31 OHKUBO TOMORO Japan 53,000
32 LYU BO China 51,000
33 YANG REN JUN China 48,000
34 TANAKA KOTARO Japan 40,000
35 KANG SEUNG KI Japan 35,000
36 AGHAYEV FARHAD Azerbaigian 15,000

Getting to Jeju Shinhwa Landing Resort

wptairport

For arriving players, WPT is pulling out all the stops with a complimentary service straight to the venue. Just look for the WPT Korea banner right outside the arrivals gate and head down to the shuttle bus location. It takes approximately one hour to get to the Resort with the service running daily on a thirty minute interval starting at 7:00 a.m. 

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