Viet Nam, Pullman Grand Hotel Hai PhongEVENT

2024.11.29 - 2024.12.01Add to Calendar

U Series Of Poker

Blind level

Level 18: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Entries

35/277

Total Chips

6,925,000

Average

168,900

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 7:44:01 PM

Graeme Travis Endersby Leads Day 1B Chip Counts

Level 18: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Graeme Travis Endersby

277 entries (197 unique) punched their ticket worth VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430) for a seat on the Day 1B flight and a chance to compete for 35 spots to bag some chips to carry on to the Day 2 Final on Sunday, December 1. All 35 are guaranteed at least a minimum share from the prize pool.

Leading the flight of 35 is Graeme Travis Endersby who bagged a total of 536,000 to carry into the Day 2 Final. Hongru Zhang has the second-ranked stack with 532,000 while Wongyu Kang gained the third biggest stack of 504,000 after bursting the bubble and shipping those chips.

Two more Day One flights of the Madness Kickoff will be played tomorrow on November 30.

Madness Kickoff Day 1B

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in: VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430)

Guarantee: VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000)

Entries: 277 entries (197 unique)

ITM: 35 players

Starting Stack: 25,000

Total Chips In Play: 6,925,000

Average Stack: 168,900

Blinds: 3,000/6,000 with ante of 6,000

Player	Chips
GT Graeme Travis EndersbyAustralia	536,000(89 BB)
HZ Hongru ZhangChina	532,000(89 BB)
WK Wongyu KangSouth Korea	504,000(84 BB)
LV Linh Van VuViet Nam	419,000(70 BB)
MG Meng GuangruiChina	386,000(64 BB)
KS Karia SiddharthIndia	378,000(63 BB)
CL Chenghong LuChina	360,000(60 BB)
SK Sangseop KimSouth Korea	344,000(57 BB)
QB Qiang Bao HoSingapore	331,000(55 BB)
LD Linh Do HoangViet Nam	278,000(46 BB)
HQ Hiep Quoc VoViet Nam	251,000(42 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 7:18:43 PM

Khang Xuan Dinh Goes Out As Bubble Boy

Level 18: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Khang Xuan Dinh

Khang Xuan Dinh raised to 12,000 from the button and then called the all-in re-raised of Wongyu Kang from the big blind.

Kang led all the way even if there was a threat of split pot after the turn. However, the poker gods threw a brick and deservedly gave the queens of Kang their chance to shine.

Dinh's exit at the bubble meant that the remaining 35 players would advance to the Day 2 final and guaranteed at least a minimum share of the prize pool.

Player	Hand	Chips
WK Wongyu Kang	Q♥Q♣	504,000(84 BB)
KX Khang Xuan Dinh	Q♦4♣	busted

Board:9♠5♠8♦6♣K♠

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 7:15:26 PM

Cohen Busts Le At Soft Bubble

Level 18: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Eliahu Cohen

Eliahu Cohen raised all-in on the button and was called all-in by small blind Cuong Manh Le for his last 24,000. Le looked to have the dominating hand, but Cohen caught a pair on the flop. While the turn gave Le more outs, the river threw a brick to eliminate him as the soft bubble.

Player	Hand	Chips
EC Eliahu CohenIsrael	K♥9♠	136,000(23 BB)
CM Cuong Manh Le	K♣J♣	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 7:09:25 PM

Nguyen Turns A Straight To Crack Aces

Level 18: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

Quan Hong Nguyen raised to 51,000 and added 1,000 to call the 52,000 all-in re-raise of Linh Hoang Do in the cutoff.

Do was the obvious leader with aces, but the flop gave Nguyen an open-ended straight draw, which he hit on the turn, leaving Do drawing dead.

Player	Hand	Chips
QH Quan Hong Nguyen	T♥9♥	119,000(20 BB)
LH Linh Hoang Do	A♥A♣	218,000(36 BB)

Board:Q♠J♠4♣8♦2♠

Level 18: 3,000 / 6,000 ante: 6,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 41/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 6:39:25 PM

Endersby Cathces A River To Bust Li

Level 17: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Graeme Travis Endersby

After much back-and-forth raising between hi-jack Graeme Travis Endersby and small blind Tong Li, both finally put their chips in the middle after Li shoved his last 115,000 and Endersby bold enough to match the call for a showdown.

Li remained ahead on the flop and turn, but Endersby was able to river one of his three outs to crack Li's Kings and send him out to the exits.

Player	Hand	Chips
GT Graeme Travis Endersby	A♦J♦	400,000(80 BB)
TL Tong LiChina	K♥K♦	busted

Board:T♣2♥5♣5♦A♠

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 6:30:29 PM

Nguyen Pressures Zhou To A Short Stack

Level 17: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

Nam Hoang Nguyen

Zhengong Zhou made a 10,000 min-raise from the cut-off and called the 30,000 three-bet of Nam Hoang Nguyen on the button. Both players were shown a flop of A♦ K♦ Q♦. Zhou check-called the 25,000 bet of Nguyen to see a T♠ on the turn. Zhou checked and folded when Nguyen pushed all-in.

Player	Chips
NH Nam Hoang Nguyen	250,000(50 BB)
ZZ Zhengong Zhou	55,000(11 BB)

Level 17: 3,000 / 5,000 ante: 5,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 49/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 6:24:14 PM

Zhou Ends Lau's Run

Level 16: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Zhengong Zhou

A short-stacked Jason Lau pushed his last 21,000 from the cut-off and was isolated with an all-in by Zhengong Zhou in the small blind.

Zhou dominated Lau from the beginning until the end, sending Lau out of his chair and the tournament.

Player	Hand	Chips
ZZ Zhengong Zhou	Q♦Q♥	138,200(35 BB)
JL Jason LauMalaysia	4♣4♦	busted

Board:K♥7♥8♥2♣9♠

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 6:20:51 PM

Zhang Hurts Troncay

Level 16: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Hongru Zhang

Marc Erwann Troncay raised to 9,000 from middle position and was three-bet by Hongru Zhang in the small blind to 36,000. Troncay made the call and both were shown a flop of T♥ T♣ 3♣. Zhang led with a 32,000 bet that Troncay called to see a 8♦ turn.

Both slowed down to see a free 4♦ on the river. Zhang fired 100,000 and Troncay took a pause before counting the chips to match. Zhang showed K♦ K♣ and Troncay mucked with a heavy sigh.

Player	Chips
HZ Hongru ZhangChina	391,000(98 BB)
ME Marc Erwann Troncay	105,000(26 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 5:59:40 PM

Skarparis Set of Hooks KOs Ngo

Level 16: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

Georgios Skarparis

Georgios Skarparis and Thuy Xuan Ngo had put all their chips in the middle with Ngo at risk for his tournament life with just 36,000 chips left.

It was a classic flip of Big Slick vs Jacks.

Ngo flopped top pair king, but Skarparis also hit his jack for a set. The ace on the turn made things interesting, but the brick on the river gave Skarparis a sigh of relief to win the pot and eliminate Ngo.

Player	Hand	Chips
GS Georgios SkarparisCyprus	J♣J♥	131,000(33 BB)
TX Thuy Xuan Ngo	A♣K♦	busted

Level 16: 2,000 / 4,000 ante: 4,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 59/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 5:47:13 PM

Quick Question With Jason Lau

Level 15: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Jason Lau

SMP ran into Jason Lau at the break, wished him luck and encouraged him to win the Madness Kick Off. He said "Thank you!" with a fist bump.

SMP further joked - if this was the high roller, you would've won it already!

Jason Lau replied, "I busted out of the high roller (Single Day High Roller: Warm Up)" and smiled.

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 5:30:33 PM

Break!

Level 15: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Players are on a quick break.

59 players are still in contention for the 35 qualifying slots to advance to Day 2 Final on Sunday December 1.

Here are some top chip counts:

Player	Chips
LV Linh Van VuViet Nam	395,000(132 BB)
SK Siddhart Karia	313,000(104 BB)
GT Graeme Travis Endersby	283,000(94 BB)
CL Chenghong Lu	252,000(84 BB)
HQ Hiep Quoc Vo	232,000(77 BB)
ME Marc Erwann Troncay	222,000(74 BB)
QB Qiang Bao Ho	217,000(72 BB)
SK Sangseop Kim	216,000(72 BB)
HB Harsh BubnaIndia	207,000(69 BB)
EC Eliahu CohenIsrael	190,000(63 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 5:24:43 PM

Li's Big Slick Wipes Out Lim

Level 15: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Youkan Li

Youkan Li raised all-in from the cut-off and Yohwan Lim put his tournament life at risk with his last 36,100 chips.

It was a coin flip of Big Slick versus Treys, which Li led when an ace appeared on the window and which cemented the lead with another ace on the turn. The brick on the river for Lim sealed the deal and took the seat away from Lim, shipping all the chips to Li.

Player	Hand	Chips
YL Youkan LiChina	A♦K♠	126,000(42 BB)
YL Yohwan LimSouth Korea	3♠3♥	busted

Board:A♠6♠4♦A♥7♦

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 5:17:48 PM

Kim Puts Tran Down And Almost Out

Level 15: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

Sangseop Kim

103,500 chips were in the pot beside a board that showed K♥ J♣ J♥ A♠ 9♦. Anh The Tran and Sangseop Kim were in the hand with Tran first to act after the board completed.

Tran tapped his option to Kim who bet out 45,000. Tran thought about it and counted his chips, looked at his hole cards, then counted his chips again, stared at the board and wondered if Kim had a jack and if the zombie apocalypse would end the world. Tran threw time bank tokens and also threw in a chip to make the call.

Kim's made a full house to almost wipe out Tran's stack.

Player	Hand	Chips
SK Sangseop Kim	K♠J♠	241,000(80 BB)
AT Anh The Tran	A♣K♦	13,000(4 BB)

Level 15: 1,500 / 3,000 ante: 3,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 71/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 5:04:52 PM

Cheng Flushes For A Double

Level 14: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Baoqiang Cheng and Khang Xuan Dinh were staring at a board of 3♣ 2♣ J♠ 6♣ and a pot of 57,500. Cheng pushed his last 14,400 in the middle and put his tournament life at risk. Dinh made the call and found out he was drawing dead when they flipped the cards.

The river didn't matter and Cheng won an important double-up.

Player	Hand	Chips
BC Baoqiang ChengChina	K♣9♣	86,300(35 BB)
KX Khang Xuan Dinh	A♥4♠	144,600(58 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 4:55:00 PM

[UPDATE] Final Table Is Ready at Single Day High Roller: Warm Up

Level 14: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Final Table of 9 players of the Single Day High Roller: Warm Up is ready to play and will be featured in the USOP Live Stream available at the following link:

U Series Of Poker Facebook

Meanwhile, here are the seat draws and chip counts

Seat 1: Do Anh Tai (Vietnam) - 895,000

Seat 2: Nevan Chang (Taiwan) - 2,380,000

Seat 3: Nguyen Trung Chien (Vietnam) - 1,155,000

Seat 4: Do Quang Trinh (Vietnam) - 950,000

Seat 5: Do Quang Thang (Vietnam) 600,000

Seat 6: Nguyen Dai Duong (Vietnam) 1,165,000

Seat 7: John Perry (Australia) 1,945,000

Seat 8: Zhao Jiaming (China) 765,000

Seat 9: Lee Hon Cheong (Hong Kong) 645,000

All 9 are guaranteed a minimum of VND 110,000,000 (~USD 4,300), but all will fiercely compete for the championship trophy and the winner's share of VND 1,110,000,000 (~USD 43,700).

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 4:45:34 PM

Jin Brings Xiong To The Edge

Level 14: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Both Sheng Xiong on the button and Sungmin Jin in the big blind pushed all their chips in the middle with Jin at risk for his last 44,700.

It was coin flip between sevens and big slick. Jin flopped a set and had Xiong drawing dead by the turn. The river came but it wasn't significant. Jin doubled-up and Xiong was left with just a few fingers hanging on the cliff's edge for dear life.

Player	Hand	Chips
SJ Sungmin Jin	7♦7♠	92,900(37 BB)
SX Sheng Xiong	A♦K♣	5,000(2 BB)

Board:7♣9♦3♠2♦Q♣

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 4:42:00 PM

Rahden Von Doubles With Aces

Level 14: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

Rahden Von

Dan Van Nguyen raised to 5,000 from under the gun and called the 19,900 all-in of Rahden Von from UTG+1 for a showdown.

Rahden Von's aces dominated and held without any threat for an important double-up.

Player	Hand	Chips
RV Rahden Von	A♥A♣	45,800(18 BB)
DV Dan Van Nguyen	A♠T♥	53,600(21 BB)

Board:Q♦5♦3♥8♦K♦

Level 14: 1,000 / 2,500 ante: 2,500

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 101/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 4:25:42 PM

Yasuhiro Tales Out Liu

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Waki Yasuhiro

Both Waki Yasuhiro and Yongyi Liu were looking at a flop of J♠ 3♣ 9♣ and a pot of 49,000 in the middle. Liu pushed 17,500 all-in from the big blind and was called by Yasuhiro. Liu showed his pocket tens and Yasuhiro showed his pair jack. The turn came J♥ to improve Yakuiro's hand to a set. The 2♦ river shut the door on Liu's tournament hopes and gave Yasuhiro's stack a big boost.

Player	Hand	Chips
WY Waki YasuhiroJapan	K♣J♦	137,700(69 BB)
YL Yongyi Liu	T♦T♥	busted

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 4:21:43 PM

Karia Scoops A Big Pot

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Siddhart Karia

There was already 60,000 in the pot with a flop that showed Q♦ J♦ 7♣. Three players were in the hand. Siddhart Karia checked his UTG option to the hi-jack player who passed it on the Koangho Lee on the button. Lee obliged by firing 20,000 with Karia being the only one to match to see a K♥ turn.

Both checked to see a 5♥ and river and checked to show their cards. Karia showed A♣ Q♣ while Lee didn't bother to open.

Player	Chips
SK Siddhart Karia	136,000(68 BB)
KL Koangho LeeSouth Korea	50,000(25 BB)

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 4:11:37 PM

Top Chip Counts!

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

Here are some of the chip counts entering Level 13.

Player	Chips
LV Linh Van VuViet Nam	362,000(181 BB)
EC Eliahu CohenIsrael	159,000(80 BB)
MA Munot Ashish Anikumar	141,000(71 BB)
ZZ Zhengong Zhou	138,200(69 BB)
ME Marc Erwann Troncay	136,600(68 BB)
QH Quy Hung Tran	135,700(68 BB)
SK Sangseop Kim	125,700(63 BB)
KL Koangho LeeSouth Korea	121,200(61 BB)
HM Haohui MaChina	118,400(59 BB)

Level 13: 1,000 / 2,000 ante: 2,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 101/277

Level 12: 1,000 / 1,500 ante: 1,500

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 111/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 3:07:15 PM

Registration Officially Closed!

Level 11: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

277 entries bought in for VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430) to grab a seat and compete for the VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000) guaranteed prize pool. 142 players remain to fight for 41 slots in order to advance to the Day 2 final on Sunday December 1.

Madness Kickoff Day 1B

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in: VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430)

Guarantee: VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000)

Entries: 277 entries (197 unique)

ITM: 35 players to advance to Day 2.

Starting Stack: 25,000

Total Chips In Play: 6,925,000

Average Stack: 48,700

Players Remaining: 142

Blinds: 1,000/1,500 with ante of 1,500

Level 11: 600 / 1,200 ante: 1,200

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 142/277

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 2:51:09 PM

[UPDATE] Bubble Burst At Single Day High Roller: Warm Up

Level 10: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

Nguyen Trung Chien took out Ivan Karatayeu as the bubble boy, allowing for the remaining 16 players to make it in the money.

All 16 players are guaranteed at least VND 80,000,000 (~USD 3,100), but are fighting for the champion's share of VND 1,110,000,000 (~USD 43,700) from the VND 3,948,000,000 (~USD 155,700) prize pool.

Level 10: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 151/237

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 1:50:04 PM

Some Notables In The Field

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

Spotted in the Madness Kickoff Day1B flight was Jason Lau, who just scored his biggest after bagging the championship of the High Roller event at APT Phu Quoc two weeks ago. Also in the flight is Macau's Jing Sun who made two final table appearances in last September's USOP Hai Phong, including a runner-up finish in that series' Madness Kickoff event. China's Zeyu Chen made 6 final table appearances in APT Phu Quoc, including two runner-up finishes in different PLO events.

Level 9: 500 / 1,000 ante: 1,000

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 149/232

Level 8: 400 / 800 ante: 800

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 158/224

Level 7: 300 / 600 ante: 600

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 147/200

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 12:43:46 PM

[UPDATE] 42 Players Fight For 16 ITM Slots In Single Day High Roller: Warm Up

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

One of the attractions in the opening day of the USOP Hai Phong Grand Finale is the Single Day High Roller: Warm Up, which brings with it a guaranteed prize pool of VND 1.28 Billion (~USD 50,500).

A total of 105 entries made the VND 44,000,000 (~USD 1,735) buy-in for a seat to boost the guarantee to a juicy VND 3,948,000,000 (~USD 155,700). Only the top 16 will make it into the payout circle for at least a minimum share of VND 80,000,000 (~USD 3,100) from the prize pool.

After fourteen (14) 30-minute levels, only 42 players remain. All eyes are on the top prize of VND 1,110,000,000 (~USD 43,700).

Single Day High Roller: Warm Up

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in: VND 44,000,000 (~USD 1,735)

Entries: 105 (84 unique)

Prize Pool: VND 3,948,000,000 (~USD 155,700)

ITM: 16 places

Starting Stack: 100,000

Total Chips In Play: 10,500,000

Average Stack: 250,000

Players Remaining: 42

Next blinds: 4,000/8,000 with ante of 8,000

Level 6: 300 / 500 ante: 500

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 147/184

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 11:54:11 AM

Break!

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

Players are on a short break.

Level 5: 200 / 400 ante: 400

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 118/139

Level 4: 200 / 300 ante: 300

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 93/99

Level 3: 100 / 200 ante: 200

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 85/90

Level 2: 100 / 100 ante: 100

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 78/79

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 9:48:13 AM

Notable Pros On Day 1B Flight

Level 1: 100 / 100

Here are some of the key players to look out for in the Day 1B flight of the Madness Kickoff:

Russia's Ilia Timofeev busted out on the Day 1A flight and will be back with a vengeance for the Day 1B flight. Timofeev has nearly USD 100,000 in total live earnings and an ITM finish in this event will surely make him cross that milesone.

Vietnam's The Anh Tran made a runner-up finish in the NLH Turbo Double Stack event at the APT Phu Quoc earlier this November and earned his biggest career cash. Tran will look to take that momentum in this event.

Johnni Peer Nielsen of Sweden won the Madness Kickoff event in the USOP Hai Phong back in September and also won the Tag Team Event in the same series. Nielsen is hoping for a back-to-back win if he can secure a championship in this Madness Kickoff.

Level 1: 100 / 100

30 minutes

Remaining Players: 39/39

JJ DuqueJJ Duque

11/29/2024, 9:44:57 AM

Day 1B Is Underway

Cards are in the air for Day 1B with 39 players filling up the tables.

Madness Kickoff Day 1B

Date: November 29, 2024

Buy-in:VND 11,000,000 (~USD 430)

Guarantee: VND 10,000,000,000 (~USD 400,000)

Entries: 39 entries

ITM: TBD