Jeju Poker Festival: Jianting Cai Leads Red Dragon Championship Final Table; Dmitrii Gnusaev Wins Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty

12/01/2024

Jeju Poker Festival: Jianting Cai Leads Red Dragon Championship Final Table

The inaugural Jeju Poker Festival is down to its final day of play with its last headliner on schedule, Red Dragon Championship, close to crowning its newest champion. The Day 3 games wrapped up with the final eight out of its 642 entry field in place, led by China’s Jianting Cai. Cai stormed up the ranks right at the last deal, and bagged a chart-topping stack of nearly six million in chips to lead the final rounds. An eye-catching KRW 243,800,000 (~USD 174,470) top prize remains at stake, where one will rise to victory over today’s battle.

Across the side event lineup, Dmitrii Gnusaev ended the month of November in flair, having just captured his best live cash at the Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty highlight. Three more RDPT trophies were lifted off the podium, two of which went to Dong Li for a remarkable back to back victory.

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

Jianting Cai Leads Red Dragon Championship Final Eight

Jeju Poker Festival: Jianting Cai Leads Red Dragon Championship Final Table — Red Dragon Championship Final Table

A crucial day laid ahead the Red Dragon Championship Day 3 games with each decision beginning to weigh more as the remaining 24’s dreams of a Main Event title closer within reach. Four hours of battle ensued before the cast was set with China’s Jianting Cai stacking atop the charts. Cai entered the day bottom of the list, and kicked off to a great start straight away, having doubled off Gao Lei for some cushion. The Chinese gunner was at one point at the brink of elimination after calling off with pocket sixes against Tom Verbruggen’s pocket sevens, for his tournament life. A six on the flop however, turned things around, earning Cai another crucial double up.

The final table drew in place shortly after, with Zehao Li in command. However, in just a few deals, Cai managed to overtake the lead, delivering the final blow with pocket kings to send Cheng Chen towards the rails in ninth place finish. The crucial boost propelled Cai right up the top, closing out the day in style with 5,905,000 (74 BB), joined by fellow Chinese runner Li with 5,375,000 (67 BB) at the summit of the leaderboard. Each of the eight contenders is now guaranteed KRW 23,450,000 (~USD 16,780) in winnings, and a step closer to clinching the Red Dragon title.

Red Dragon Championship Final Table Chip Counts

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	Flag	Chip Count	Big Blinds
1	JIANTING	CAI	China	5,905,000	74
2	ZEHAO	LI	China	5,375,000	67
3	KYOSUKE	NAGAMI	Japan	4,130,000	52
4	NGOC HA	NGUYEN	Vietnam	3,725,000	47
5	CHI JEN	CHEN	China	3,465,000	43
6	YE	LI	China	3,420,000	43
7	JOSEPH SANGHYON	CHEONG	United States	3,240,000	41
8	XIAOBIN	ZHOU	China	2,810,000	35

Level 26: 40,000 / 80,000 ante 80,000
Total chips in play: 32,100,000
Average stack: 4,012,500 (50 BB)

Remaining Payouts

Rank	Prize (KRW)	Prize (~USD)
1	₩243,800,000	$174,470
2	₩162,150,000	$116,040
3	₩112,450,000	$80,470
4	₩79,350,000	$56,785
5	₩57,000,000	$40,790
6	₩41,700,000	$29,840
7	₩31,050,000	$22,220
8	₩23,450,000	$16,780

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)
Entries: 642 (285 unique)
Prize pool: KRW 1,380,000,000 (~USD 990,995)
ITM: 119 places

By the Numbers

Day 1A: 184 entries, 38 qualified
Day 1B: 104 entries, 31 qualified
Day 1C: 214 entries, 47 qualified
Day 1D: 140 entries, 31 qualified
Day 2: 147 players, 24 qualified
Day 3: 24 players, 8 qualified
Day 4 /Final: Sunday, December 1

Backtrack on the day’s action via SMP Live Updates

Dmitrii Gnusaev Ships Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty

Dmitrii Gnusaev Ships Red Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty — Dmitrii Gnusaev

Twenty players headed back across the Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty Final Day games, three of which walked away empty-handed as only 17 places were set to take a share of the KRW 252,120,000 (~USD 180,365) prize pool. Netherlands’ Thijs Hilberts was close to cutting a payday yet fell one spot short after risking the remainder of his chips with ace-ten right into Yizhou Nie’s pocket queens.

The next eight eliminations were seen in just over an hour with Dmitrii Gnusaev leading the final table charge by midday. Gnusaev carried this advantage all the way to the final duel for a 4:1 lead against Xiaolu Li, eventually finishing off his last opponent in quick fashion. The memorable feat earned the Russian runner the biggest payout on the list at KRW 66,120,000 (~USD 47,300), along with five bounty tokens for an additional KRW 25,000,000 (~USD 17,885). Fifth place finisher Zhang Lante on the other hand, likewise booked a notable payday, having captured the top bounty prize, bringing his total winnings to KRW 59,700,000 (~USD 42,710).

Date/s: November 29-30, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 4,000,000 (~USD 2,860)
Entries: 110 (76 unique)
Prize pool: KRW 252,120,000 (~USD 180,365)
Bounty prize pool: KRW 132,000,000 (~USD 94,430)
ITM: 17 places

Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty Final Table Results

Rank	First Name	Last Name	Flag	Prize (KRW)	Prize (~USD)
1	DMITRII	GNUSAEV	Russia	₩66,120,000	$47,244
2	XIAOLU	LI	China	₩42,850,000	$30,617
3	YU-CHUN	CHEN	Taiwan	₩28,800,000	$20,578
4	YIZHOU	NIE	China	₩20,150,000	$14,397
5	LANTE	ZHANG	China	₩14,700,000	$10,503
6	JIAYU	RUAN	China	₩11,150,000	$7,967
7	RONG	LONG	China	₩8,850,000	$6,323
8	DI	LU	China	₩7,350,000	$5,252
9	ZHENG SHI	WANG	China	₩6,450,000	$4,609

*Excluding bounty prizes

Side Event Winners

Dong Li Wins Two in One Day

With already two trophy wins in hand across the Jeju Poker Festival, China’s Dong Li added two more to his name, having captured back to back victories at yesterday’s Pot Limit Omaha and Win the Button Hyper Turbo games. The incredible feat landed Li KRW 19,455,000 (~USD 13,915) in total winnings, in addition to his already padded bankroll over the 17-day grind. Li has booked an undeniably great run so far, with his series biggest cash of KRW 150,000,000 (~USD 107,310) being a third place finish at the WPT Korea Main Event.

Pot Limit Omaha

Date/s: November 30, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 1,500,000 (~USD 1,070)
Entries: 20 (14 unique)
Prize pool: KRW 26,190,000 (~USD 18,735)
ITM: 3 places

Rank	First Name	Last Name	Flag	Prize (KRW)	Prize (~USD)
1	DONG	LI	China	₩12,340,000	$8,817
2	LANTE	ZHANG	China	₩8,230,000	$5,880
3	LI TA	HSU	Taiwan	₩5,620,000	$4,016

Win the Button Hyper Turbo

Date/s: November 30, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 600,000 (~USD 430)
Entries: 38 (33 unique)
Prize pool: KRW 19,905,000 (~USD 14,240)
ITM: 6 places

Rank	First Name	Last Name	Flag	Prize (KRW)	Prize (~USD)
1	DONG	LI	China	₩7,115,000	$5,084
2	KOSAKU	AKASHI	Japan	₩4,740,000	$3,387
3	WILLIAM	LI	Canada	₩2,980,000	$2,129
4	TAO	ZHANG	China	₩2,070,000	$1,479
5	MINGJIE	ZHU	China	₩1,600,000	$1,143
6	JIANFENG	JIAO	China	₩1,400,000	$1,000

Tze Yau Wong Bests All-in or Fold Hyper Turbo

Tze Yau Wong Bests Red Dragon All-in or Fold Hyper Turbo — Tze Yau Wong

Date/s: November 30, 2024
Buy-in: KRW 600,000 (~USD 430)
Entries: 37 (34 unique)
Prize pool: KRW 19,350,000 (~USD 13,840)
ITM: 6 places

Rank	First Name	Last Name	Flag	Prize (KRW)	Prize (~USD)
1	TZE YAU	WONG	Hong Kong	₩4,410,000*	$3,151
2	JOHN JOSEPH	PANISH	United States	₩5,000,000*	$3,573
3	CHENG	CHEN	China	₩5,000,000*	$3,573
4	ADRIEN	FAVRE FELIX	France	₩2,020,000	$1,443
5	XIANGLAI	LI	China	₩1,560,000	$1,115
6	SHENGYONG	WANG	China	₩1,360,000	$972