Main Event

A total of 368 entries (298 uniques) participated in Flight C of the TWD 65,000,000 APT Main Event with Jacob Ikuma from the United States bagging the most with 261,000 chips at the end of the day. A total of 195 players are moving into the next phase, which brings the running total of 533 entries moving into Day 2.

Following Ikuma in our list of chip leaders is Ngoc Minh Le from Vietnam with 221,900 chips and completing the podium for Day 1C is Chao-Yu Lu from Taiwan with 189.800 chips.

Daniel Neilson, who after finishing second earlier today in the Superstar Challenge jumped straight into the Main Event, and will take 163.800 into Day 2.

Other notables names include; Taiwan's Li Ta "Leon" Hsu (98,200), Hong Kong's Alan Lau (93,500), Singapore's Dhanesh Chainani (56,700), and Ravn Teo (48,500)—winner of the Sunday Super Stack earlier this week—as well as Stephen Song who sat together with Neilson at the final table of the Superstar Challenge today, finishing in third place.

Here is a list of the top ten chips counts to end the day:

You can view a full list of the Main Event Flight C survivors HERE

Join us for Day 2 tomorrow which will play five 60 minutes levels.

Flight C is done! Players who survived the day are bagging their chips. We will provide a full recap of the day shortly.

The last seven hands were announced to every table.

Ferdinand Carabuena Lu raised to 3,700 from the small blind and Xin Ann Lim called from the big blind.

Lu continuation bet to 4,000 on the 9♥ 7♣ Q♠ flop, forcing Lim to quickly fold.

With a flop of A♣ 9♠ 5♦ spreading and around 28,000 chips in the middle, Kyosuke Nagami bet 10,100 from and Jue Cheng Ming called

A 6♦ slid on the turn, Nagami fired another barrel of 18,000 which Ming this time shoved all in. Ming tabled A♠ K♠ for top pair to the pot and Nagami mucked his hand.

Heng Zhang raised 3,000 from the small blind, and Naoto Takeya made the call from the big blind.

Zhang bet 2,000 on the 3♣ 9♣ 6♦ flop, which Takeya called.

An 8♠ fell on the turn, and both players checked through to see the 6♣ river which Zhang check-folded after Takeya fired a bet of 6,000.

Both players involved in this hand experienced all possible emotions when being all in preflop. In the last level of the day the Korean Jinho Hong jammed all in from middle-position for around ten big-blinds. Bang Huang called on the button and both players opened their cards. Hong showed A♥ 4♣ and was up against Huang's A♦ A♠ . At this moment Hong prepared himself to stand up and try again the next flight.

However, the flop gave Hong a glimmer of hope. On 6♠ 5♠ 3♥ he flopped an up-and-down straight draw. Indeed the 2♦ gave him a straight, but the 4♥ river did the same for Huang and somehow both players walked away disappointed.

Yi Ping Feng opened to 3,500 from the cutoff and was called by Tran Thi Xuan Ha from the small blind.

Feng bet 3,000 on the J♥ 6♠ 4♣ flop before Ha stuck around to see the 7♥ turn and the 4♠ which both players checked through.

After Ha tabled her A♠ K♣ for ace-high, Feng mucked her hand and forfeit the pot.

Phan Vo Nhut raised to 2,500 from middle position, and Kei Wing Ng called on the button, which Yusuke Arai shoved all in for around 26,500 from the small blind. This was followed by snap-folds from Nhut and Ng.

Wei Jen Wang raised from the button to 3,600, and Chang Fu Hung called from the big blind.

Two players saw the 9♠ 3♥ T♣ flop spread and checked through to see the turn.

A 5♦ fell on the turn which Hung bet 2,200 before Wang raised to 2,500. After tanking a long time, Hung decided to shove all in for 25,000.

Wei Jen Wang A♦ K♠

Chang Fu Hung 8♦ 9♦

A bricky 7♥ landed on the rive to complete the board. Hung beat the big slick from Wang for a pair of nines and received a much-needed double-up.

Hessaum Sadri raised to 2,100 on the button and was called by Kyoungseok Chai from the big blind, who quickly announced his next action “check” before the flop was spread by the dealer.

Chai checked on 5♥ 9♦ 7♥ flop over to Sadri who also quickly checked.

The 4♠ hit on the turn which Chai bet 2,700 before Sadri made the call to see an A♣ river. Chai then fired another barrel of 5,500, making Sadri muck his cards.

A board rolled off 7♥ 9♣ 5♣ 4♣ 6♦ with around 46,000 chips in the middle, Chao-Yu Lu fired out 27,700 from the small blind to force Pakwarin Teerawatpattana from under the gun to fold quickly.

Aruto Ushijima raised to 2,500 from middle position, and Hsien Chang Liu called from the big blind.

Ushijima bet 2,500 on the J♠ 8♠ 6♣ flop which made Liu snap-folded.

With around 8,500 chips in the middle and the runout showing 8♣ A♠ 5♦ 8♠ T♠ , Arita Naohiro bet 7,500 from under the gun, quickly forcing the Yoskorn Kulma to fold.

Jacob Ikuma, who just had a carreer high cash earlier this series in Event #10 Mystery Bounty Hunter, is looking promising to make Day 2 of the Main Event. In this hand he opened J♦ 5♦ on the button and got called by both blinds.

On 7♦ 4♦ 2♥ action got checked to him and he continued with a small continuation-bet. Sakan Dhangwatnotai in the big-blind called and the turn brought the 3♦ . Now the big-blind took over the action with a decent-sized donk bet, which Ikuma called.

On the river K♣ Dhangwatnotai once again bet out 20 big-blinds, equaling around half his stack. Regrets were coming fast for the Thai as Ikuma put him all in. Sensing he was probably beaten, he called nonetheless with 6♣ 5♥ for a turned straight. Indeed he was, as Ikuma showed J♦ 5♦ for a flush.

The players on the Main Event flight C just entered a 15-minute break. This are the biggest stacks in the room:

Xin Xian Shen raised to 3,000 from the small blind which Seong Jin Han shoved all in for 900 from the big blind.

Xin Xian Shen Q♣ 6♥

Seong Jin Han 8♣ 8♦

The board spread 5♣ 7♣ 2♥ K♥ 6♥ , securing the pot for the snowmen from Han who stayed alive in the field.

We joined the 3-way action on table 19 on a Q♣ 9♠ 3♦ board. From middle position Tsung Mao Liao fired 3,000 into a 10,000 pot. His neighbour Chia Hsiang Ko came a long, but it was Moonho Seo from the button that raised the action to 12,000.

Liao made the quick call and Ko gave up. The 5♠ was checked quickly by both players, but Liao took over betting lead on the 7♣ river firing 7,000.

Seo folded quickly. This was an important hand for Liao that chipped up nicely while Seo now entered the danger zone.

A flop of 7♠ 3♥ Q♠ flop came with around 11,000 chips in the middle, and Victor Chen bet 3,200 from under the gun which only Ken Doi called from the middle position.

A 3♣ slid on the turn, and Chen fired 5,000 chips which Doi called to see the J♠ river, and Chen fired another 16,500 bet, forcing Doi to muck his hand.

Yuki Abe raised to 2,000 which was called by Wen Zhang and Chamanan Arthachinta.

Three players saw the runout of 3♣ 9♠ 3♥ J♠ , and they checked through to see the 5♥ river which Arthachinta and Abe check-folded after Zhang bet 2,000.

We picked up the action on table 20 on a board of T♦ 9♦ 7♣ 9♠ , from the small blind Wing Kwan Wong fired out 2,500 into a pot of 5,600. Big blind Andy Chen clicked it back to Wong as he made it 6,500. Wong gave it a good minute before he announced he was all-in for 41,000.

Chen looked surprised by Wong's move and counted out his chips before deciding to let it go.

With the runout spreading T♠ 5♦ 7♦ Q♣ and around 8,000 chips in the pot, Quoc Bao Diep fired 10,100 from the cutoff, sending Naoto Takeya from the small blind into the tank.

Eventually, Takeya called to see the A♥ river which Diep fired again with 16,500 chips, and Takeya stuck around. Takeya mucked his hand quickly as Diep tabled 7♥ 7♠ for a set

Wei-Chun Liu raised to 1,200 from middle position and called by Bai Ming Hoo from the small blind.

Hoo bet 3,000 on the 5♥ 8♣ 4♥ flop and was called by Liu to see the turn.

the K♣ turn card showed itself, and Hoo fired another bet of 8,500, and Liu still stuck around. A 5♦ fell on the river, and Liu shoved all in for around 31,000 after Hoo checked, leaving a tough decision to Hoo. After tanking for around two minutes, Hoo mucked his hand.

We picked up the action when Hong Kong's Kaga Tam jammed his 48,000 into the middle after a 3-bet by Ruiko Mamiya to 11,000. Mamiya went deep into the tank. After two minutes she made the call for her tournament life.

Tam: A♣ K♣ .

Mamiya: J♠ J♣ .

A classic coin flip to determined the fate of Mamiya. The flop came 9♥ 5♥ 9♠ , but the K♦ on the turn meant Tam took over the lead and a disappointed Mamiya already stood up from her chair. The 8♠ on the river made Mamiya pack her bag as she quietly made her way to the exit.

Yi Ping Feng opened 1,500 from middle position, and Calvin Lau called from the small blind.

Feng continuation bet to 2,000 on the J♥ A♣ 3♥ flop after Lau check-called.

A 4♥ fell on the turn which Lau fired 5,000, and Feng called. The 3♠ river triggered Lau to bet 4,000, and Feng called again. Feng mucked her hand as Lau tabled A♥ T♥ for a pair of aces.

Wen Zhang raised to 500 from the small blind and Ruiko Mamiya called from the big blind.

Zhang check-called the 6♦ Q♥ K♥ flop after Mamiya bet 1,000 to see the 4♥ turn which both players checked through. The 2♦ landed on the river, and Mamiya fired 3,200 before Zhang check-called again.

Wen Zhang K♠ J♦

Ruiko Mamiya J♥ T♦

Mamiya tabled his jack-ten for drawing dead, and Zhang managed to earn the pot with his king-jack for top pair.

With around 3,000 chips in the middle and a flop running Q♥ K♣ 8♦ , Yasuhiro Hashimoto bet 2,000 from the small blind which only Victor Chen from the big blind and Yun Lam Choi from the cutoff stuck around.

A board-pairing K♥ slid on the turn and Hashimoto bet 2,500 which Chen called, and Choi folded. With the 6♦ landing on the river, Hashimoto tanked for a long time before he fired a barrel of 6,000 and was called by Victor.

Yasuhiro Hashimoto 8♥ 5♥

Victor Chen Q♣ J♣

Victor tabled queen-jack for top pair queen against Hashimoto’s paired eights.

The players are enjoying a 15 minutes break. These are the biggest stacks in the room after four levels of play.

Now players are having their first 15-minute break.

Shue Sing Churk was dozing off when the hand just started, and woken up by Bastien Joly, his neighbor sitting at his right side.

Minoru Murano raised to 900 from under the gun which was called by Churk from the button and Makoto Osa from the small blind.

Three players saw the 8♣ 7♠ 4♥ flop spread and checked through.

The J♠ fell on the turn, and Churk bet 500 which Osa and Murano stuck around to see the board-pairing J♣ river which all players checked over. After Churk tabled T♠ T♣ both Churk and Osa mucked the hand quickly.

With around 7,000 chips in the pot and the runout spreading 6♣ 2♥ 4♦ Q♦ , Peerapat Poshyanonda checked, and Xin Ann Lim bet 3,500 forcing Poshyanonda to fold.

Two familiar faces from the tournament scens just jumped into action while we just entered level 4 of the Main Event C flight. Germany's Tommy Kemter and Vietnam's Kyle Bao Quoc Diep have joined the action.

Kemter is a German poker professional that lives in Vienna. He is here with a group of German poker friends grinding for a few months on the Asian circuit. Kemter received training from GGPoker ambassador Fedor Holz. So far Kemter has not yet cashed during this series, so he will be eager to make his mark on this Main Event.

Chaiwut Jungpongsakorn raised to 700 from middle position, and Riku Ichimura three-bet to 2,200 from the big blind, forcing Jungpongsakorn to fold.

With the 5♠ A♦ 6♠ flop spreading, and around 7,500 chips in the middle, Erans Shahams fired a bet of 4,000 on the button, making Ki On Chan and Chik Fatt Chan quickly folded from the hijack and the cutoff respectively.

Hiroki Hayashi limped in from under the gun which Shoji Sugitani checked from the big blind.

Both players checked through the flop of 4♦ 7♦ 2♠ until the Q♥ turn card which Sugitani bet 500, and Hayashi made the call. With a T♦ falling on the river, Sugitani bet 1,100, making Hayashi fold.

We just entered level 2 of the Main Event flight C, and so far, 124 entries have been made.

Some of the notable players we bumped into are Singapore's Dhanesh Chainani, Vietnam's Mai Bien, and USA's Michael Wang.

Chainani holds $613,284 in cashes in live tournament earnings and 2 APT trophies that came during an APT event in 2013 and 2017.

Vietnam's Mai Bien has $660,876 in live tournament earnings and also holds 2 APT titles. Bien won the Zodiac Classic in Phu Quoc last year cashing $17,340, while his other APT title als was won in Vietnam during the APT Ho Chi Minh back in 2022.

Last but not least we have Michael Wang in the house who holds $6,376,572 in live tournament earnings. The US poker pro, that holds 2 WSOP bracelets, is on his first trip to the APT.

On the flop 3♦ 4♠ 7♥ coming with totaling 1,300 pot in the middle, Michael Claire bet 1,000 from the cutoff, and Rujikorn Saekhu called from the small blind.

The 9♥ hit on the turn, and Saekhu fired 2,000 which Claire called to see the 6♥ river. Saekhu checked the action to Claire who quickly folded.

Japan’s Masafumi Iijima raised to 600 from under the gun and was called by his countrymate Hirotaka Fukatsu from middle position, and Australia’s Thanh Phat Nguyen from the small blind.

Nguyen folded on the paired J♥ 6♦ 6♠ flop, and Iijima bet 900 which Fukatsu raised to 1,200, making Fukatsu snap-fold.

With a flop running 6♠ 2♦ 3♣ and totaling 1,000 chips in the middle, Alexander Khvatov checked from under the gun, and Koji Takaji bet 800 from the cutoff. Arvin Tamilsilvam from the small blind and Khvatov folded

Natee Theppot raised to 300 from middle position and was called by Kei Shing Ng on the button, Jun Yi Ho in the big blind, and Jue Cheng Ming from under the gun.

With a string of checks from each player on the 5♣ 4♠ 5♠ flop, a 8♣ fell on the turn which Theppot bet 1,000, and only Ng called.

The Q♥ hit on the river, and Theppot fired another barrel of 3,000, forcing Ng to fold.

Play has started in Flight C of the APT Main Event now.

The third opening flight of APT Main Event – Flight C is going to happen this morning at 11:15 am, and later Flight D will start this afternoon at 6:30 pm.

On the opening of the previous two flights over the last two days, a total of 901 live entries have battled at the baize, and with a further 397 entries competing in the Natural8 qualifiers online, the current field size stands at 1,298.

Currently, it is Flight A frontrunner Keigo Kubo of Japan leading the charge after bagging up 420,600 in chips, with Malaysia's Chee Yong Sim topping the Flight B counts with a stack of 308,400.

Fasten your seatbelts and buckle in for the Flight C action as we see if someone can steal Kubo's thunder and usurp the top spot with the action getting underway at 11:30 am local time.

Players will compete over ten levels; 30-minute blind levels 1-6, and 45-minute blind levels 7-10. The registration will close earlier than the previous two flights at 5:30 pm local time, with the fourth opening Flight D getting underway at 6:30pm.

Stay tuned here to see if anyone can catch the current chip leaders’ record for the Main Event’s trophy.