Jeju Poker Festival: Yong Li and Qidong He Top Red Dragon Championship Heats; Yita Choong Crushes Super High Roller
The grand Jeju Poker Festival at Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, is down to its last week of festivities, with the Red Dragon Championship front and center. The last headliner on schedule took flight yesterday, with two of its four starting heats in the books. China’s Yong Li topped the initial heats and set the bar high with a massive 645,000 (129 BB) stack onto Day 2. Multi-day highlight winners Yita Choong and Jiale Li shared the spotlight, having emerged victorious over key events Red Dragon Super High Roller and Baby Dragon respectively.
Today runs the two final flights of the Championship games, with Day 1C kicking off at noon followed by a faster-paced Day 1D later in the evening.
Stay tuned to SMP Live Updates as the games unfold, and catch the latest action directly off the floor.
Jeju Poker Festival 2024 – Player Guide
Jeju Poker Festival 2024 – RDPT Festival Results
Jeju Poker Festival 2024 – RDPT Live Updates
Yong Li Shines Over Red Dragon Championship Day 1A
Red Dragon Championship’s initial flight closed following fourteen levels of play with its 184-entry field down to 38 runners. Players hailing from mainland China once again dominated the games with the top ten stacks raising the red five starred flag. Yong Li cracked the lead just before the dinner break and stretched out the advantage all the way through the day’s end. Li capped the day with a final chip count of 645,000 (129 BB), followed by Red Dragon Team’s own Ying Song, nine big blinds behind with 602,000. Only the two runners managed to crack the 600K threshold, setting the benchmark for the three following flights.
Also advancing through are notables Taiwan’s Chia Yun Wu (306,000) and Kun Han Lee (290,000), New Zealand’s Tae Hoon Han (236,000), Singapore’s Beng Hong Ker (141,000), and China’s Lei Yu (141,000).
Red Dragon Championship Day 1A Top Ten Survivors
| Pos. | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Chip Count |
| 1 | YONG | LI | China | 645,000 |
| 2 | YING | SONG | China | 602,000 |
| 3 | MING | YANG | China | 550,000 |
| 4 | NAN | ZHANG | China | 533,000 |
| 5 | BING | AN | China | 497,000 |
| 6 | CHI JEN | CHEN | China | 410,000 |
| 7 | YUN | SONG | China | 330,000 |
| 8 | CHUAN SHU | CHEN | China | 322,000 |
| 9 | TAO | ZHANG | China | 316,000 |
| 10 | QINGTAO | KONG | China | 308,000 |
Qidong He Rules Red Dragon Championship Day 1B
The second flight of the Red Dragon Championship games wrapped up with another 31 players out of its 104-entry field advancing to Day 2. China’s Qidong He topped the list, having bagged a mighty 408,000 (81 BB) stack to take the lead. Bracelet winner William Teoh followed second in rank with 315,000 (63 BB) after managing to triple up right at the last hand of the day. Day 1A chip leader Yong Li continues to hold the top spot with his massive 645,000 (129 BB) chip count remaining to be the target for the last two flights on schedule.
Both Day 1A and Day 1B survivors have a day to recuperate before heading back to the felt on Friday, November 29th for the Day 2 battle.
Red Dragon Championship Day 1B Top Ten Survivors
| Pos. | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Chip Counts |
| 1 | QIDONG | HE | China | 408,000 |
| 2 | WILLIAM | TEOH | Malaysia | 315,000 |
| 3 | YONGBIN | WANG | China | 295,000 |
| 4 | JIANWEI | LIN | China | 272,000 |
| 5 | YONG | HUANG | China | 268,000 |
| 6 | CHANGYANG | LIU | China | 268,000 |
| 7 | YIN | LIU | China | 265,000 |
| 8 | LEI | SHI | China | 251,000 |
| 9 | CHAO | LI | China | 249,000 |
| 10 | QIAO | HENG | China | 231,000 |
Red Dragon Championship Review
- Dates: November 27 – December 1, 2024
- Buy-in: KRW 2,000,000 (~USD 1,435)
- Guarantee: KRW 1,380,000,000 (~USD 990,995)
- Day 1A: 184 entries, 38 qualified
- Day 1B: 104 entries, 31 qualified
- Day 1C: Thursday, November 28
- Day 1D: Thursday, November 28
- Day 2: Friday, November 29
- Day 3: Saturday, November 30
- Day 4 /Final: Sunday, December 1
Backtrack on the day’s action via SMP Live Updates
Yita Choong Wins Red Dragon Super High Roller
With registration remaining open across the first three levels of Red Dragon Super High Roller Day 2, 17 more entries were added to the tally, bringing up the total to 49 for a prize pool of KRW 541,842,000 (~USD 387,760). The final table was set just four hours after the final numbers were in, with USA’s Calvin Lee holding down the top spot. One more elimination was seen before the money trickled in with Ningdan Shi falling one spot short, having ran his 20 BB stack with A♠Q♣ smack into Yita Choong’s K♥K♣.
A foreshadowing of what lay ahead, Choong eventually managed to land a spot into heads up play against Quan Jin who was running up a storm, having busted both Jun Liu and Dajie Zhou just minutes of each other. Jin carried over a 2:1 lead against the Australian pro yet lost his advantage after four short deals. Choong spiked his two outer with 8♥8♣ against Jin’s 10♥10♣ across board K♦5♣6♣K♣8♦, turning the tables in his favor. It didn’t take long for Choong to close out the win with his two pair holding up against Jin’s straight draw for the final victory, earning him KRW 177,750,000 (~USD 127,000) in winnings along with a career first Red Dragon hardware to add to his already impressive collection of trophies.
- Date/s: November 26-27, 2024
- Buy-in: KRW 12,000,000 (~USD 8,585)
- Entries: 49 (37 unique)
- Prize pool: KRW 541,842,000 (~USD 387,760)
- ITM: 8 places
Red Dragon Super High Roller NLH Full Payouts
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Prize (KRW) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | YITA | CHOONG | Australia | ₩177,750,000 | $127,005 |
| 2 | QUAN | JIN | China | ₩110,950,000 | $79,275 |
| 3 | DAJIE | ZHUO | China | ₩73,600,000 | $52,588 |
| 4 | JUN | LIU | China | ₩52,050,000 | $37,191 |
| 5 | CALVIN SUNGWON | LEE | United States | ₩39,450,000 | $28,188 |
| 6 | BAYAR | SARAN | Mongolia | ₩32,200,000 | $23,007 |
| 7 | YI | YANG | China | ₩28,450,000 | $20,328 |
| 8 | WEIRAN | PU | China | ₩27,400,000 | $19,578 |
Jiale Li Ships Baby Dragon Victory
The two-day Baby Dragon highlight wrapped up with China’s Jiale Li shipping the victory over the final rounds. Only 41 survivors returned to the felt across the Final Day, each guaranteed a mincash of KRW 3,140,000 (~USD 2,245). Nearly nine hours of play passed by before Li closed out the games, earning him a career maiden win for KRW 77,406,000 (~USD 55,395). Li held the advantage over the final duel and crushed Zuyou Wang for the title in just half an hour, leaving his opponent to settle for a runner up finish.
- Date/s: November 26-27, 2024
- Buy-in: KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,070)
- Entries: 269 (159 unique)
- Prize pool: KRW 352,256,000 (~USD 252,085)
- ITM: 41 places
Baby Dragon Final Table Results
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Prize (KRW) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | JIALE | LI | China | ₩77,406,000 | $55,308 |
| 2 | ZUYOU | WANG | China | ₩51,500,000 | $36,798 |
| 3 | FARHAD | AGHAYEV | Azerbaijan | ₩35,120,000 | $25,094 |
| 4 | JIANG | PU | United Kingdom | ₩24,520,000 | $17,520 |
| 5 | HSING-HSIUNG | TAI | Taiwan | ₩17,580,000 | $12,561 |
| 6 | BO | CHENG | China | ₩12,930,000 | $9,239 |
| 7 | BOHAO | HUANG | China | ₩9,760,000 | $6,974 |
| 8 | ZEYU | SUN | China | ₩7,570,000 | $5,409 |
| 9 | MINGJIE | ZHANG | China | ₩6,020,000 | $4,301 |
Side Event Winners
Yu Lun Huang Captures Maiden Win at Lady Dragon
The sole ladies event across Jeju Poker Festival’s 17-day schedule, Lady Dragon, racked up a total of 26 entries vying for the title, building up a prize pool of KRW 22,698,000 (~USD 16,240). Four players left with a payday, with Taiwan’s Yu Lun Huang taking the largest cut at KRW 9,238,000 (~USD 6,610) following a seven hour grind. The impressive feat earned Huang a new best live record as well as a career first trophy win for her crushing display.
- Date/s: November 27, 2024
- Buy-in: KRW 1,000,000 (~USD 715)
- Entries: 26 (20 unique)
- Prize pool: KRW 22,698,000 (~USD 16,240)
- ITM: 4 places
Lady Dragon Full Payouts
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Prize (KRW) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | YU-LUN | HUANG | China | ₩9,238,000 | $6,601 |
| 2 | YU HSI | LIN | Taiwan | ₩6,150,000 | $4,394 |
| 3 | YIYU | ZHOU | China | ₩4,070,000 | $2,908 |
| 4 | YI-JHEN | KE | Taiwan | ₩3,240,000 | $2,315 |
Hao Chuang Wins Short Deck NLH
- Date/s: November 28, 2024
- Buy-in: KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,070)
- Entries: 25 (18 unique)
- Prize pool: KRW 32,738,000 (~USD 23,425)
- ITM: 4 places
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Prize (KRW) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | HAO | CHUANG | Taiwan | ₩13,318,000 | $9,516 |
| 2 | LIANGYU | LI | China | ₩8,880,000 | $6,345 |
| 3 | FABRIZIO | FALZEI | Italy | ₩5,870,000 | $4,194 |
| 4 | JIAN | ZHENG | China | ₩4,670,000 | $3,337 |
Haonan Tian Takes Down Win the Button Hyper Turbo
- Date/s: November 28, 2024
- Buy-in: KRW 600,000 (~USD 430)
- Entries: 15 (15 unique)
- Prize pool: KRW 7,857,000 (~USD 5,620)
- ITM: 3 places
| Rank | First Name | Last Name | Flag | Prize (KRW) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | HAONAN | TIAN | China | ₩3,707,000 | $2,649 |
| 2 | RYUTARO | OIZUMI | Japan | ₩2,470,000 | $1,765 |
| 3 | JUNICHI | HASHIMOTO | Japan | ₩1,680,000 | $1,200 |
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