Vietnam Poker Games: First Winners Crowned in VPG Ho Chi Minh Stop

The return of a major live poker stop to Ho Chi Minh City is in full swing, as the Vietnam Poker Games (VPG) have kicked off at the Saigon Poker Room on November 1, 2024. Nearly one dozen tournaments and Side Events have already concluded in the former hotbed of live poker in Vietnam, which was previously known as Saigon.

Drawing a packed house from the start, most of the participants have been hailing from home soil so far, some international players also made the trip to Vietnam as the early results of the series indicate. Let’s have a closer look at the turnout so far and notable winners.

Early Winners Of Vietnam Poker Games – VPG Ho Chi Minh

It all commenced with Event #1 Madness Kick-Off, which came with a buy-in of VND 5 Million. Throughout four starting days, a total of 1,073 entries boosted the prize pool to VND 4,684,580,000 (~USD 185,015) and the top 133 players were paid at least VND 9.37 Million for their efforts. Russia’s Ilya Timofeev and USA’s Michael Truong finished in 11^th and 10^th place respectively, while the final nine featured six local players.

Canada’s Vinh Manh Chau (8^th for VND 88,990,000) and South Korea’s Hee Su Kim (7^th for VND 105,380,000) were the only exceptions. Nghia Dai Vu earned the first spot on the podium for VND 329,730,000 (~USD 13,022), while Linh Trong Phan finished as the runner-up for VND 606,060,000 (~USD 23,936). However, the victory went to China’s Yan Song Wu, who earned the top prize of VND 1,002,300,000 (~USD 39,585).

In Event #2 High Roller Open, the VND 22 Million price tag reeled in a total of 68 entries for a prize pool of VND 1,319,200,000 (~USD 52,101) with the top 11 spots paid. Robert Nemeskeri-Kiss was first to cash and one of five foreigners to finish in the money. Best-placed Vietnamese player was Tuan Anh Le Hoang in third place for VND 151,710,000 (~USD 5,992), while heads-up was a Singaporean affair. Jia Li defeated none other than Alex Lee in heads-up to claim VND 342,990,000 (~USD 13,546), the runner-up earned  VND 224,260,000 (~USD 8,857).

Event #4 Super Star Challenge came with an elevated buy-in of VND 55 Million (~USD 2,172) and produced a total of 57 entries. Local players occupied the top six spots with China rounding up the final three spots for a share of the VND 2,764,500,000 (~USD 109,183) prize pool. Thinh Hoa Nguyen finished in third for VND 345,560,000 (~USD 13,648) before a deal was cut, Linh Hoang Do (VND 586,120,000 / ~USD 23,149) and Nghia Buu Le (VND 740,840,000 / ~USD 29,259) earned the biggest slice of the money.

Other Winners

The VND 3.4 Million buy-in for Event #3 NLH Turbo was coughed up by 28 entries in this single-day tournament and the VND 81,480,000 (~USD 3,218) prize pool was split among the top five finishers. Jeong Yun So from South Korea earned the victory for VND 35,040,000 (~USD 1,384), Singapore’s Jordan Tan was among those to cash.

In a VND 1.2 Million Funny Evening Side Event, seven out of the 14 players to cash shared the most popular Vietnamese last name Nguyen. Dung Thuy Thi Nguyen topped it all for VND 22,680,000 (~USD 894). The Happy Morning equivalent then reeled in 111 entries and the top 12 finishers hailed from Vietnam with Thinh Cong Ly cashing the most for VND 25,910,000 (~USD 1023).

The stakes were rising again for the Single Day High-Roller on November 3, which came with a buy-in of VND 22 Million (~USD 890). There were a total of 121 entries and 19 of them claimed a piece of the VND 2,347,500,000 (~USD 92,713) prize pool. Some known foreigners to cash were Hao Chen, Keita Minami and Julian Warhurst. Xialin Li from China finished in fourth for VND 199,530,000 ~USD 7,880) but the podium spots all went to Vietnamese players in Cuong Manh Le, Linh Van Vu and eventual champion Dat Minh Dang (VND 563,380,000 / ~USD 22,250).

In Event #5 DeepStack Turbo, a total of 44 entries emerged with a buy-in of VND 3.4 Million and the top six earned a piece of the VND 128,040,000 (~USD 5,057) prize money. Denis Semerenko of Russia was first in the money, all other players then hailed from Vietnam. Cong Quoc Huynh was crowned the champion for VND 46,090,000 (~USD 1,820).

Only VND 6 Million (~USD 237) were required to enter Event #7 Sunday Hold’em on the same day, of which 127 players obliged to do so to generate VND 665,219,000 (~USD 26,272) in prize money. The lion’s share of that was shared between the top two finishers. Runner-up Nikolay Babushkin cashed for VND 137,589,000 (~USD 5,434) and Phuong Tan Nguyen padded his bankroll with VND 147,000,000 (~USD 5,806).

The Queens of VPG Ladies Event saw China’s Wen Jie Ren defeat Chi Lan Do from Vietnam with the former taking home VND 16,762,000 (~USD 662). Later that day, the Turbo NLH Event #9 attracted a field of 77 entries and this time, South Korea claimed all three spots on the podium. Beom Jun Seo, Suk Sim and Wonil Jang finished atop, the latter of which took home VND 61,610,000 (~USD 2,433).

Many further champions are set to be crowned at the Saigon Poker Club until November 11, 2024, when the series is set to conclude. The schedule contains a mix of low-stakes and High Roller tournaments and the crown jewel will get underway on November 7. With a buy-in of VND 16.5 Million (~USD 662), the VPG Ho Chi Minh Main Event features a staggering guarantee of VND 6 Billion (~USD 236,967) and headlines the final five days of the stop.

Links:

Vietnam Poker Games
VPG Ho Chi Minh – Schedule