The Viet Nam Series of Poker advertised the biggest homegrown event in Hanoi, Vietnam and after ten days of action packed days, it more than delivered with over VN₫ 18 Billion in cash paid out. In partnership with Asia Poker League, the series ran from August 26 to September 4. Main Event champion Nguyễn Minh Hoàng emerged the wealthiest collecting a payout of over VN₫ 1.2 Billion and Lê Ngọc Khánh was the only player to lift two trophies. Also among the winners were Đặng Xuân Cảnh, Ha Mạnh Tưởng, and Julien Tràn. International players may not have secured trophies but a good showing of pros were in attendance such as Alex Lee, Yohwan Lim aka BoxeR, Norbert Koh, Ankit Jajodia, Sumit Sapra, and Chi Chung Ho to mention a few. We’ve got all the highlights down below.
*All photos courtesy of VSOP
Festival review
Festival prize pool: VN₫ 18,090,130,000 (~US$ 768,975)
Entries: 1,896
₫ Billionaires: Nguyễn Minh Hoàng VN₫ 1,230,000,000 and Nguyễn Quang Huy VN₫ 1,177,000,000
Main Event prize pool: VN₫ 5,473,401,000 (~US$ 232,630)
Main Event champion: Nguyễn Minh Hoàng VN₫ 1,230,000,000 (~US$ 52,285)
Two time winner: Lê Ngọc Khánh (APL Hanoi Dragon Cup & Rising Stars)
Most final table cashes: Phạm Thanh Bình (4), Lê Đình Hải (4), Nguyễn Quang Huy (4)
NGUYỄN MINH HOÀNG clinches the Main Event for VN₫ 1,230,000,000 (~US$ 52,285)
Nguyễn Minh Hoàng
Nguyễn Minh Hoàng clinched his maiden victory at the Main Event and pocketed VN₫ 1,230,000,000 (~US$ 52,285). The featured tournament drew the largest crowd of 377 entries for a guarantee crushing prize pool of VN₫ 5,473,401 (~US$ 232,630). Kicking off the final day, only 71 advanced with Hoàng far behind ranked 59th and Đinh Hoàng Khánh way up top. Khánh raced up to 13th place. Once the final table was reached, Hoàng faced some stiff competition in well known pros Alex Lee, Nguyễn Quang Huy and Vũ Đức Trung. Lee was eliminated in 5th place by Huy, Trung busted to Hoàng in 3rd place, and Huy’s 
fell to Hoàng’s 
queen on the board.
The newly crowned champion Hoàng walked away the richest of the series while runner up Huy finished a close second with VN₫ 1,177,000,000 (~US$ 50,030) across four cashes. These were the only two players to cross the billion dong mark.
Buy in: VN₫ 16,500,000 (~US$ 700)
Guarantee: VN₫ 4,000,000,000
Entries: 377
Prize pool: VN₫ 5,473,401,000 (~US$ 232,630)
ITM: 38 places
Final table payouts
1st
NGUYỄN MINH HOÀNG
1,230,000,000
2nd
NGUYỄN QUANG HUY
800,000,000
3rd
VŨ ĐỨC TRUNG
540,000,000
4th
NGUYỄN VĂN QUỐC TUẤN
380,000,000
5th
ALEX LEE
285,000,000
6th
NGUYỄN THÙY DƯƠNG
230,000,000
7th
MASHAHITO
188,000,000
8th
TRẦN ĐỨC PHƯƠNG
153,000,000
9th
HÀ VĂN THIỆN
123,000,000
PHẠM NGỌC QUỐC BẢO wins Vietnam National Cup for VN₫ 600,000,000 (~US$ 25,500)
Pham Bao
Phạm Ngọc Quổc Bảo is one of the most decorated local players of Vietnam with eight titles to his name. At the series, he picked up his ninth win and first ever VSOP trophy at the Vietnam National Cup after defeating fellow Nguyen Ngoc Dai in 3rd place then Singaporean Si Yang Phua at heads up. The event drew 115 entries for surpass the guarantee for a richer VN₫ 2,252,660,000 prize pool. 14 players saw a return with Pham walking away with a career high payout of VN₫ 600,000,000 (~US$ 25,500).
Buy in: VN₫ 22,000,000 (~US$ 935)
Guarantee: VN₫ 2,000,000,000
Entries: 115
Prize pool: VN₫ 2,252,660,000 (~US$ 95,750)
ITM: 14 places
Final table payouts
1st
PHẠM NGỌC QUỐC BẢO
600,000,000
2nd
PHUA SI YANG
400,000,000
3rd
NGUYỄN NGỌC ĐẠI
273,000,000
4th
HOÀNG HẢI NAM
206,000,000
5th
NGUYỄN TRUNG HÀ
160,000,000
6th
TRẦN ANH TUẤN
125,000,000
7th
LÊ ĐÌNH HẢI
99,000,000
8th
ĐINH VĂN TIẾN
77,000,000
9th
NGUYỄN ĐỨC THÀNH
59,000,000
LÊ NGỌC KHÁNH bags two events
Decorated Vietnamese pro Lê Ngọc Khánh outshined at the festival becoming the only player to claim more than one event. Khánh first won one of the three APL events, the Hanoi Dragon Cup for VN₫ 250,000,000 (~US$ 10,625), then five days later, he closed out the Rising Stars event for VN₫ 140,000,000 (~US$ 5,950).
Lê Ngọc Khánh
A familiar face in the Asian live circuit, Khánh these were his first ever VSOP and APL titles which he adds to the long list of deep runs and titles in his resume. At the APL Hanoi Dragon Cup, the 173 entries was more than plenty to obliterate the guarantee and nearly double the prize pool to VN₫ 996,400,000 (~US$ 42,355). Out of the 22 players that dipped in the pot, it was Khánh going up against another highly decorated Vietnamese pro Nguyễn Quang Huy for the glory. Khánh persevered for his first series title. Following that win, Khánh brought his winning feeling to the Rising Stars event and successfully bested the 80 entry field.
APL Hanoi Dragon Cup
Buy in: VN₫ 6,600,000 (~US$ 280)
Guarantee: VN₫ 500,000,000
Entries: 173
Prize pool: VN₫ 996,400,000 (~US$ 42,355)
ITM: 22 places
Final table payouts
1st
LÊ NGỌC KHÁNH
250,000,000
2nd
NGUYỄN QUANG HUY
165,000,000
3rd
UNKNOWN
110,000,000
4th
UNKNOWN
80,000,000
5th
BÙI QUỐC DIỆN
62,000,000
6th
LÊ ĐÌNH HẢI
48,000,000
7th
PHAN HOÀNG TIẾN
38,000,000
8th
NGUYỄN TRUNG PHONG
30,600,000
9th
VŨ QUANG MINH
24,500,000
Rising Stars
Buy in: VN₫ 6,600,000 (~US$ 280)
Guarantee: VN₫ 500,000,000
Entries: 80
Prize pool: VN₫ 524,601,000 (~US$ 22,300)
ITM: 10 places
Payouts
1st
LÊ NGỌC KHÁNH
140,000,000
2nd
DOÃN MINH TUẤN
91,500,000
3rd
TÚ TỈNH TÁO
64,000,000
4th
VŨ MINH THÁI
50,000,000
5th
NGUYỄN TUẤN HÙNG
39,000,000
6th
CHENHAO YANG
30,000,000
7th
NGUYỄN MẠNH TRƯỜNG
23,000,000
8th
LÊ NHƯ HẢI
18,000,000
9th
ĐỖ TUẤN PHONG
14,000,000
10th
NGUYỄN VĂN SÁNG
10,500,000
Mystery Bounty: HÀ MẠNH TƯỞNG – VN₫ 384,000,000 (~US$ 16,320)
The Mystery Bounty event was the most popular side event with 366 signing up to absolutely crush and double up the advertised guarantee for a sweeter VN₫ 2,107,800,000 prize pool. Earning the most kills and the title was Ha Mạnh Tưởng with eight bounties claimed amounting to VN₫ 84,000,000 and the top cash prize of VN₫ 300,000,000. In total, he collected VN₫ 384,000,000 (~US$ 16,320), the largest takedown of his poker career.
Ha Mạnh Tưởng
Interestingly, the next three players down the rung Quấch Tuấn Anh (2nd), Huỳnh Ngoc Cường (3rd), and Ngô Khoa Anh (4th), each drew one of the three top mystery bounty prizes worth VN₫ 105,000,000. As a result, their total winning bumped up significantly. Quấch pocketed a total of VN₫ 360,400,000, Huỳnh took home VN₫ 305,600,000, and Ngô earned VN₫ 212,900,000.
Buy in: VN₫ 6,600,000
Guarantee: VN₫ 1,000,000,000
Entries: 366
Prize pool: VN₫ 1,405,400,000
Bounty pool: VN₫ 702,400,000
ITM: 46 places
Final table payouts (excluding bounties)
1st
HÀ MẠNH TƯỞNG
300,000,000
2nd
QUÁCH TUẤN ANH
194,000,000
3rd
HUỲNH NGỌC CƯỜNG
135,000,000
4th
NGÔ KHOA ANH
100,000,000
5th
PHẠM DUY KHÁNH
72,000,000
6th
ĐẶNG THANH LƯƠNG
54,000,000
7th
NGUYỄN TIẾN THÀNH
41,500,000
8th
NGUYỄN ĐỊCH KHÁNH
33,400,000
9th
VŨ QUANG MINH
27,300,000
Monster Stack: ĐẶNG HOÀNG VIỆT – VN₫ 250,000,000 (~US$ 10,625)
Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 375)
Guarantee: VN₫ 600,000,000
Entries: 125
Prize pool: VN₫ 960,000,000 (~US$ 40,800)
ITM: 16 places
Final table payouts
1st
ĐẶNG HOÀNG VIỆT
250,000,000
2nd
HỒ TRUNG ĐỨC
168,000,000
3rd
QUANG VŨ
117,000,000
4th
PHẠM THANH BÌNH
89,000,000
5th
DR.HOLLAND
69,000,000
6th
HÀ MẠNH TƯỞNG
54,000,000
7th
TÚ TỈNH TÁO
41,000,000
8th
NGUYỄN TRỌNG NGHĨA
31,000,000
9th
PHẠM HỮU SƠN
24,000,000
High Rollers events
Super Stars Challenge: ĐẶNG XUÂN CẢNH – VN₫ 930,000,000 (~US$ 39,530)
Đặng Xuân Cảnh is a rare sight in the live tournament scene. In fact, he only has three live cashes to his name, one of them a victory at the 2018 APT Ho Chi Minh Main Event. His return could not be any grander, taking down the most expensive buy in tournament, the Super Stars Challenge.
Dang Xuan Canh
The event produced a 63 strong field to drive the prize pool six times the guarantee. Among the attendees were Pham Tien Dung, Florent Remi, Dao Minh Phu, Yohwan Lim aka BoxeR, Jeffry Kurniawan, however all failed to cash.
Slipping in the money round was Nguyễn Quang Huy in 9th place, Mystery Bounty 4th placer Ngô Khoa Anh also took 4th in this event, while Cảnh outgunned to claim the coveted VN₫ 930,000,000 (~US$ 39,530) first prize.
Buy in: VN₫ 55,000,000 (~US$ 2,340)
Guarantee: VN₫ 500,000,000
Entries: 63
Prize pool: VN₫ 3,024,000,000 (~US$ 128,545)
ITM: 9 places
Payouts
1st
ĐẶNG XUÂN CẢNH
930,000,000
2nd
HOÀNG HẢI NAM
600,000,000
3rd
ĐINH TIẾN THÀNH
430,000,000
4th
NGÔ KHOA ANH
320,000,000
5th
QUANG VŨ
240,000,000
6th
NGUYỄN TRUNG HÀ
178,000,000
7th
TẠ KHÁNH LINH
134,000,000
8th
NGUYỄN MẠNH HÀO
105,000,000
9th
NGUYỄN QUANG HUY
87,000,000
APL High Roller Shot Clock: JULIEN TRÀN – VN₫ 370,000,000 (~US$ 15,728)
Julien Tràn
Buy in: VN₫ 22,000,000 (~US$ 935)
Guarantee: VN₫ 400,000,000
Entries: 65
Prize pool: VN₫ 1,248,000,000 (~US$ 53,000)
ITM: 10 places
Payouts
1st
JULIEN TRẦN
370,000,000
2nd
TRẦN TUẤN ANH
240,000,000
3rd
CAO NGỌC ANH
164,000,000
4th
NGUYỄN QUANG HUY
125,000,000
5th
NGUYỄN DUY TÙNG
98,000,000
6th
QUANG VŨ
77,000,000
7th
UNKNOWN
60,000,000
8th
TRẦN VĂN PHÚC
47,000,000
9th
NGUYỄN THẾ NHƯỢNG
37,000,000
10th
NGUYỄN HUY HOÀNG
30,000,000
Bounty Events
APL K.O Bounty Special: NGUYỄN ANH DŨNG – VN₫ 75,400,000
Michael Nguyen (1st) and Nguyen Tran Ngoc (2nd)
Buy in: VN₫ 4,500,000
Guarantee: VN₫ 300,000,000
Entries: 121
Prize pool: VN₫ 290,400,000
Bounty pool: VN₫ 181,500,000
ITM: 18 places
Final table payouts (excluding bounties)
1st
NGUYỄN ANH DŨNG
75,400,000
2nd
NGUYỄN TRẦN NGỌC
48,300,000
3rd
NGUYỄN THÁI BÌNH
34,300,000
4th
DƯƠNG VI KHOA
24,700,000
5th
VŨ THÁI BẢO
18,500,000
6th
NGUYỄN VŨ CƯỜNG –
14,300,000
7th
CHOI JAE YOUNG
11,300,000
8th
NGUYỄN HỮU MẠNH
9,200,000
9th
QUÁCH CHÍ CÔNG
7,700,000
Head Hunter: ĐẶNG THANH LƯƠNG – VN₫ 63,000,000
Buy in: VN₫ 4,500,000
Guarantee: VN₫ 300,000,000
Entries: 40
Prize pool: VN₫ 272,629,000
Bounty pool: VN₫ 60,000,000
ITM: 11 places
Final table payouts (excluding bounties)
1st
ĐẶNG THANH LƯƠNG
63,000,000
2nd
PHAN HOÀNG TÚ
45,000,000
3rd
TRẦN THANH VÂN
31,000,000
4th
ĐẶNG VĂN LINH
23,500,000
5th
BÙI TIẾN LONG
17,400,000
6th
MAI BIỂN
13,400,000
7th
NGUYỄN ANH DŨNG
10,700,000
8th
LÊ VIỆT HÙNG
8,300,000
9th
QUÁCH TUẤN ANH
6,300,000
Super Bounty Hunter: NGUYỄN ĐÌNH HÙNG – VN₫ 50,400,000
NGUYỄN ĐÌNH HÙNG
Buy in: VN₫ 3,400,000
Guarantee: VN₫ 200,000,000
Entries: 95
Prize pool: VN₫ 182,400,000
Bounty pool: VN₫ 95,000,000
ITM: 14 places
Final table payouts (excluding bounties)
1st
NGUYỄN ĐÌNH HÙNG
50,400,000
2nd
HÀ MINH ĐỨC
34,300,000
3rd
NGUYỄN ĐÌNH PHÚC
22,800,000
4th
BÙI QUANG ANH
15,900,000
5th
NGUYỄN VĂN CHIẾN
11,900,000
6th
LÊ VĂN TRƯỜNG
9,300,000
7th
ĐẶNG QUYỀN ANH
7,600,000
8th
PHẠM THANH BÌNH
6,100,000
9th
VŨ THÁI BẢO
5,000,000
Bounty Hunter 1: LÊ VIỆT HÙNG – VN₫ 33,900,000 (excluding bounties)
‘Buy in: VN₫ 2,300,000
Guarantee: VN₫ 100,000,000
Entries: 82
Prize pool: VN₫ 118,000,000
Bounty pool: VN₫ 41,000,000
ITM: 12 places
Final table payouts (excluding bounties)
1st
LÊ VIỆT HÙNG
33,900,000
2nd
JEFFRY KURNIAWAN
22,100,000
3rd
PHAN HOÀNG TIẾN
15,600,000
4th
PHẠM THANH BÌNH
11,100,000
5th
VŨ THÁI BẢO
8,600,000
6th
NGUYỄN VĂN NGHĨA
6,600,000
7th
BÙI NGUYÊN HUY
5,100,000
8th
TRẦN THỊ XUÂN HẠ
4,100,000
9th
MAI XUÂN CÔNG
3,100,000
Other Events
No Limit Hold’em 1: NGUYỄN MẠNH CẦM – VN₫ 14,400,000
NGUYỄN MẠNH CẦM
Buy in: VN₫ 1,800,000
Entries: 20
Prize pool: VN₫ 28,800,000
ITM: 3 places
Payouts
1st
NGUYỄN MẠNH CẦM
14,400,000
2nd
DƯƠNG VI KHOA
8,600,000
3rd
JEFFRY KURNIAWAN
5,800,000
No Limit Hold’em 2: MAI BIỂN – VN₫ 24,000,000
Mai Bien
Buy in: VN₫ 2,300,000
Entries: 33
Prize pool: VN₫ 63,300,000
ITM: 5 places
Payouts
1st
MAI BIỂN
24,000,000
2nd
PHẠM DUY KHÁNH
16,000,000
3rd
NGUYỄN THU NGÂN
10,500,000
4th
ĐẬU THÀNH ĐẠT
7,400,000
5th
NGUYỄN KHẮC LUẬT
5,400,000
Super Stack Turbo: NGUYỄN PHƯƠNG NGỌC – VN₫ 30,200,000
NGUYỄN PHƯƠNG NGỌC
Buy in: VN₫ 2,300,000
Entries: 50
Prize pool: VN₫ 96,000,000
ITM: 8 places
Payouts
1st
NGUYỄN PHƯƠNG NGỌC
30,200,000
2nd
ĐÀO SƠN HÀ
20,300,000
3rd
LÊ ĐÌNH HẢI
12,800,000
4th
PHẠM THANH BÌNH
10,000,000
5th
LÊ NHƯ HẢI
7,400,000
6th
LEON ALF MARLON
6,000,000
7th
ĐỖ TUẤN PHONG
5,000,000
8th
UNKNOWN
4,300,000
Speed Racer 1: NGUYỄN THU NGÂN – VN₫ 14,000,000
NGUYỄN THU NGAN
Buy in: VN₫ 1,200,000
Entries: 44
Prize pool: VN₫ 42,200,000
ITM: 7 places
Payouts
1st
NGUYỄN THU NGÂN
14,000,000
2nd
NGUYỄN CƯỜNG
9,200,000
3rd
QUÁCH CHÍ CÔNG
6,300,000
4th
PHẠM QUANG BIỂN
4,600,000
5th
DƯƠNG HẢI HẬU
3,400,000
6th
PHẠM TRƯỜNG THƯ
2,600,000
7th
KOO BON HYUNG
2,100,000
Speed Racer 2: PHƯƠNG HOÀNG LINH – VN₫ 11,400,000
PHƯƠNG HOÀNG LINH
Buy in: VN₫ 1,800,000
Entries: 28
Prize pool: VN₫ 40,300,000
ITM: 4 places
Payouts
1st
PHƯƠNG HOÀNG LINH
11,400,000*
2nd
LÊ ĐÌNH HẢI
15,800,000*
3rd
HOÀNG VĂN KHOA
7,400,000
4th
LÊ HOÀNG KHÁNH
5,700,000
*Heads up deal
The Closer: NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG GIANG – VN₫ 18,200,000
NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG GIANG
Buy in: VN₫ 2,300,000
Entries: 19
Prize pool: VN₫ 36,400,000
ITM: 3 places
Payouts
1st
NGUYỄN TRƯỜNG GIANG
18,200,000
2nd
NGUYỄN VĂN SƠN
10,900,000
3rd
VÕ KHẮC HOÀN
7,300,000
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