Poker Dream Vietnam crossed the halfway mark with Day 5 done and dusted at the Grand Hall of Hoiana Hotel & Suites. The inaugural festival is shaping up to be the richest in the region this year with well over $1.1 Million paid out and 15 events still remaining. For those on the fence on whether to make the trip, maybe the numbers will settle that decision. The series runs until October 23 with the ₫10 Billion guaranteed Main Event coming up.
Topping the Day 5 headlines were the four new winners Hojin Kim, Jason Magbanua, Witsarut Ketnanrin, and India’s Kunal Patni who captured a first trophy for the country. Another highlight was the two-day Super High Roller that drew a whopping 79 runners. Malaysia’s Paul Phua bagged up the chip lead. If you are looking to join the action, registration is still open, closing at 1pm local time. We’ve got those stories for you down below.
Kunal Patni wins Mystery Bounty; Le Ba Phuc draws the biggest bounty
Kunal Patni
Kunal Patni added India to the trophy board after rising above the final 31 players of the Mystery Bounty. Patni defeated Le Ba Phuc in just one heads up hand to claim the ₫247,750,000 (~$10,130) first prize. In addition, he collected a total of eight bounties, the most by any player, to fatten up his winnings an extra ₫105,500,000. Patni walked away with a combined total of ₫353,250,000 (~$14,450).
The Mystery Bounty was a two-day affair that drew 205 entries for a prize pool of ₫1,174,650,000 and a bounty pool of ₫615,000,000. 31 players reached ITM giving them each a chance at the mystery rewards. Specific only to this festival, the top bounty reward worth ₫130,000,000 was reserved for the final table which was won by runner up Phuc.
Prior to Patni’s victory, runner up Phuc skyrocketed after knocking out three players simultaneously. This gave him the chip lead entering the final table where he proceeded to dust a few more players that included Low Chooi Loong in 7th place. This particular bust gave Phuc another chance at the bounty draw where he pulled the coveted top prize. In total, Phuc earned ₫177,500,000 in bounties and ₫167,300,000 for 2nd place for a combined ₫344,800,000 (~$14,085).
Buy in: ₫10,000,000 (~$409)
Entries: 205
Prize pool: ₫1,174,650,000 (~$48,060)
Bounty pool: ₫615,000,000 (~$25,160)
ITM: 31 places
Payouts (bounties not included)
1st
Kunal Patni
India
₫247,750,000
2nd
Le Ba Phuc
Vietnam
₫167,300,000
3rd
Nguyen Van Xuan
Vietnam
₫117,900,000
4th
Pang Cho Yi
Hong Kong
₫95,600,000
5th
Elmer Kalaquian
Philippines
₫75,700,000
6th
Yu Sheng Lin
Taiwan
₫57,400,000
7th
Low Chooi Loong
Malaysia
₫41,900,000
8th
Le Hoai Nam
Vietnam
₫30,700,000
9th
Le Huu Long
Vietnam
₫25,400,000
10th
Vu Duc Trung
Vietnam
₫21,500,000
11th
Nguyen Huu Manh
Vietnam
₫21,500,000
12th
Hwang Seokjin
Korea, South
₫19,300,000
13th
Chokejindachai Napat
Thailand
₫19,300,000
14th
Nguyen Duc Minh
Vietnam
₫17,400,000
15th
Nguyen Dich Khanh
Vietnam
₫17,400,000
16th
Theppot Natee
Thailand
₫15,600,000
17th
Phanchapo Sutthipong
Thailand
₫15,600,000
18th
Nguyen Kinh Huyen
Vietnam
₫13,900,000
19th
Suksomlert Taragon
Thailand
₫13,900,000
20th
Siwat Singhsuttakorn
Thailand
₫13,900,000
21st
Jonas Rothmund
Germany
₫12,700,000
22nd
Nguyen Dieu Phuong Linh
Vietnam
₫12,700,000
23rd
Edgar Asehan
Philippines
₫12,700,000
24th
Kevin Kar Wai Ang
Malaysia
₫11,500,000
25th
Tran Duy Binh
Vietnam
₫11,500,000
26th
David Erquiaga
Philippines
₫11,500,000
27th
Nguyen Thanh Hung
Vietnam
₫11,500,000
28th
Nguyen Trong Nghia
Vietnam
₫10,400,000
29th
Jose Colada
Philippines
₫10,400,000
30th
Yee Siew Key
Malaysia
₫10,400,000
31st
Ha Duong
Vietnam
₫10,400,000
HOJIN KIM bests the Filipinos at 6-Handed
Hojin Kim
One of the cheapest events on the day’s menu was the 6-Handed which saw 79 hopefuls take to the felt. This built a prize pool of ₫413,802,000 (~$16,930) with the top 11 players shaving a portion. Two spots before the money, Jeffrey Pamplona and Mangkone Sanaphanith eliminated players at respective tables to deny the bubble. Seven and a half hours in, with only four players left, Korea’s Hojin Kim doubled up through Filipino Jose Colada with 
dominating 
. This gave Kim the lead which he held it to the finish. Kim faced Filipino Emmanuel Segismundo at heads up and were even for some time until Kim won a series of pots that gave him a significant advantage. The final hand soon arrived with Segismundo pushing on a flop 
. Kim 
called and was ahead of Segismundo’s 
gut shot. The turn came 
and river 
. Kim pocketed the ₫113,602,000 first prize and gave Korea’s its second trophy of the series.
Buy in: ₫6,000,000 (~$245)
Entries: 79
Prize pool: ₫413,802,000 (~$16,930)
ITM: 11 places
Payouts
1st
Hojin Kim
Korea
₫113,602,000
2nd
Emmanuel Segismundo
Philippines
₫80,700,000
3rd
Jose Colada
Philippines
₫53,000,000
4th
Mangkone Sanaphanith
Thailand
₫40,800,000
5th
Taekeong Kim
Korea
₫32,300,000
6th
Hoang Long Nguyen
Vietnam
₫25,300,000
7th
Manh Hung Nguyen
Vietnam
₫19,900,000
8th
Chalermporn Nutteecharoen
Thailand
₫15,600,000
9th
Chung Yi Ho
Taiwan
₫11,800,000
10th
Jeffrey Pamplona
Philippines
₫10,400,000
11th
Jun Hee Kim
Korea
₫10,400,000
Jason Kyle Magbanua bags it on his third final table
Jason Kyle Magbanua
Jason Kyle Magbanua is on fire! The Filipino player is on his first poker trip outside of home soil and already his results are very impressive. On Day 5, Magbanua reached the final table of the Pot Limit Omaha event, becoming the first player to do so at the series. Magbanua went on to win it, defeating Vietnam’s Quang Hung Bang at heads up. The final hand was a full house over straight. Also finding his way to another final table was 6th placer Tam Lon Tek who finished 3rd at the Short Deck event two days prior.
Magbanua lifted the trophy and the ₫83,800,000 (~$3,420) first prize. He joined fellow countryman William Ysmael in the champions list.
Buy in: ₫10,000,000 (~$410)
Entries: 46
Prize pool: ₫401,580,000 (~$16,400)
ITM: 6 places
Payouts
1st
Jason Kyle Magbanua
Philippines
83,800,000
2nd
Quang Hung Bang
Vietnam
57,900,000
3rd
David Erquiaga
Philippines
37,000,000
4th
Chung Yi Ho
Taiwan
28,000,000
5th
Mike Takayama
Philippines
22,200,000
6th
Tam Lon Tek
Malaysia
17,300,000
Bubble Rush
Witsarut Ketnarin
Like in Day 4, Thailand picked up the last trophy on offer. At the evening’s Bubble Rush event, where time slows down after the bubble bursts, four Thais were seen at the final table with three going deep in the top four. Looking to spoil their plans was Korea’s Oh Junseok who was on his second final table, however he fell short in 4th place. A deal was then proposed but rejected. The game proceeded with Prommin Talordpong stopped in 3rd place. This was Talordpong’s second final table having placed 3rd at the previous day’s PLO Turbo. Heads up opened with Witsarut Ketnanrin backed by an intimidating big stack. He went on to defeat Supakit Anukoolpitaknil to claim his maiden live title and ₫97,150,000 (~$3,970). This was Thailand’s second win of the series.
Buy in: ₫10,000,000 (~$409)
Entries: 62
Prize pool: ₫324,756,000 (~$13,290)
ITM: 8 places
Payouts
1st
Witsarut Ketnanrin
Thailand
₫97,150,000
2nd
Supakit Anukoolpitaknil
Thailand
₫70,500,000
3rd
Prommin Talordpong
Thailand
₫45,500,000
4th
Oh Junseok
Korea
₫34,500,000
5th
Pham Phu Son Lam
Vietnam
₫26,700,000
6th
Hwang Soonchul
Korea
₫20,800,000
7th
Gai Lax Lim
Malaysia
₫16,600,000
8th
Panitan Papoodsri
Thailand
₫13,000,000
Update: Super High Roller
The most expensive tournament in the lineup is the Super High Roller event with buy in at ₫230,000,000 just under $10K. Despite the hefty price, 79 signed up on Day 1 to generate a prize pool of nearly ₫17 Billion. This figure is expected to increase further with registration still open. For those looking to jump in the big game, make sure to do so before 1pm.
Paul Phua
44 players will return for Day 2. Well known poker figure Paul Phua is currently the race leader, trailed closely by Ewe Eng Soon and Abhinav Iyer. All three bagged up stacks over 2M. You can catch some of the action and final table via the live stream broadcasted in the Poker Dream fb page. You can also follow the live updates via the PokerNews site.
Stick with us here at Somuchpoker as we bring you full coverage of the festival from start to finish.
Poker Dream Player Guide
Daily event pics – Somuchpoker fb page
Article links:
Poker Dream releases Hoi An full schedule
Poker Dream makes landfall in Hoi An, Vietnam
Poker Dream: Day 1 recap
Poker Dream: First four trophies awarded
Poker Dream: Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand lift trophies
