Championship Warm Up ($600)

Ali Hassan opened on the button and called off for his 2,175,000 (11 BB) stack after Martin Sedlak put him all-in.

Hassan in search of an ace, found none on board Q♣ 7♦ Q♥ 5♠ T♥ , shipping Sedlak the boost into heads up play while he headed for the rails.

Ilya Firstov opened 525,000 on the small blind and saw Ali Hassan right behind come along on flop K♥ Q♠ 3♣ . Firstov barreled 325,000 and went for another 500,000 on turn 5♠ , leaving Hassan to give it up by the second bet.

Ilya Firstov opened utg, followed by a three bet to 850,000 from Ali Hassan. Martin Sedlak on the big blind, squeezed all-in for 4,425,000 (30 BB) and saw Hassan rise to the challenge.

A crucial flip, Sedlak immediately gained the advantage, having flopped top pair on board Q♣ 3♥ 2♦ 7♠ 8♥ to continue on.

Ali Hassan defended his big blind against Ilya Firstov's 300,000 button open, revealing flop Q♥ 8♠ T♠ . Action checked round to turn J♣ , where Firstov bet 300,000. Hassan check called onto river 8♣ , and paid another 475,000, only to muck as Hassan revealed straight 9♣ 6♠ .

A blind vs blind limp pot between Ali Hassan and Martin Sedlak read a flop of K♥ J♦ 4♣ . Hassan check called 150,000 and proceeded to turn Q♣ . Both checked it through to river 7♣ , where Sedlak went for a final 375,000.

Hassan looked him up with midpair Q♥ 9♦ and was awarded the pot after Sedlak flipped over bluff 8♣ 2♥ .

Mateusz Stanielewicz defended his button open and called a 675,000 three bet from Ali Hassan.

On flop A♣ Q♦ 6♥ , Stanielewicz called another 300,000 onto turn 3♠ . Both checked it through to river 8♥ , where Hassan checked once more. Stanielewicz went for a final 600,000, and showed top pair A♦ 9♦ for the win after Hassan put out the chips.

Ilya Firstov defended his big blind against Ali Hassan's 300,000 cutoff open, and check called another 175,000 on flop A♦ T♣ 8♥ . On turn K♣ , Firstov let it go after Hassan barreled a heftier 525,000.

Mateusz Stanielewicz opened to 250,000 on the hijack, called behind by Ali Hassan on the button.

On board K♥ Q♠ J♦ J♠ 4♦ , Stanielewicz triple barreled - 225,000, 525,000 and a final 1,000,000, and was looked up by Hassan all the way to showdown.

Stanielewicz mucked, shipping Hassan the pot by default.

Robert Sherwood raised all-in on the small blind for his last 1,400,000 (11 BB) and was called by chip leader Ali Hassan right behind.

Sherwood slightly ahead, was left in no sweat, having instantly spiked top pair on board A♠ 8♦ T♠ 6♥ 2♦ to rake in the double up.

Ali Hassan opened 200,000 utg+1 and saw Mateusz Stanielewicz call from the big blind.

On board Q♥ 6♦ 6♣ 3♣ 3♠ , Hassan bet all the way - 100,000, 225,000 and a final 450,000, and saw Stanielewicz check call all three streets to showdown.

Hassan showed a flopped boat Q♦ Q♠ , leaving Stanielewicz to toss his hand back in the deck.

Ali Hassan opened 200,000 on the hijack, called behind by Amir Abbas on the button.

On flop 6♥ 5♠ 4♠ , Hassan check folded after Abbas pushed for his remaining 1,575,000.

Ali Hassan opened 200,000 utg and Robert Sherwood completed on the big blind.

On board 6♠ 4♣ Q♥ K♥ , Hassan double barreled - 100,000 and 225,000, leaving Sherwood to give it up by the turn.

Mateuz Stanielewicz opened to 200,000 on the button, joined by both Robert Sherwood and Ali Hassan on the blinds.

Action on flop Q♥ J♣ 3♣ was checked round to turn 6♦ . Hassan led for 225,000, and saw only Sherwood continue to river Q♠ . Both checked it down, revealing Sherwood's trip queens Q♣ T♣ for the pot.

Ali Hassan opened on the hijack and called a 450,000 three bet from Amir Abbas on the button.

On flop J♣ 2♣ 8♥ , Hassan check called a 200,000 bet from Abbas and headed to turn 5♥ . Both checked it through to river Q♦ , where Hassan led for 750,000. Abbas open folded A♠ K♦ , shipping his opponent the win.

Martin Sedlak opened 200,000 utg and Ali Hassan called on the big blind.

On flop 8♦ 9♦ T♥ , Hassan check raised to 525,000 after being faced with a small 75,000 continuation bet. Sedlak completed, and called another 350,000 on turn 8♣ . Hassan gunned for a final 675,000 on river J♠ , but folded after Sedlak pulled a raise to 1,800,000.

Hassan Sey opened 150,000 utg, called by Ali Hassan on the button.

Action on flop K♣ 4♥ 5♥ was checked round to turn 5♦ , where Sey led 175,000. Ali made the call, revealing river Q♥ . Sey checked to Ali, pushing him to go for a final 375,000. Sey gave it some thought, but opted to save his chips and toss his hand in the muck.

Ali Hassan opened utg, called by Amir Abbas on the hijack along with Robert Sherwood on the big blind.

All three checked flop 9♦ 8♠ 6♠ through to turn Q♦ . Checked once more to Abbas, he bet 225,000. Sherwood continued to river T♣ , but missed to arrive at showdown after Abbas gunned for a final 350,000.

Hassan Sey defended his big blind against Ali Hassan's open, and check called a 250,000 bet on flop Q♦ 4♣ 4♠ . Both checked turn 8♠ through to river T♥ , where Sey led a final 350,000. Ali failed to get to showdown, earning Sey the boost.

Robert Kiss opened 150,000 on the button and saw both Ali Hassan and Martin Sedlak on the blinds come along on flop A♠ J♠ 3♠ .

Action checked round to turn 7♥ , where Hassan led 100,000. Martin Sedlak called to see turn 6♥ , but stepped away as Hassan went for another 375,000.

Thomas Eychenne opened to 150,000 and was met with a 325,000 three bet from Ali Hassan on the button. Eychenne responded with an all-in for 2,300,000 (30 BB), called by Hassan to put him at risk.

Drawing slim, Hassan was in luck to catch his two outer on board K♣ 7♠ J♥ 5♦ 4♥ , sending Eychenne out as the first casualty of the day.

A blind vs blind confrontation saw Ali Hassan limp call a 250,000 raise against Martin Sedlak.

Board A♣ 9♠ 3♠ 4♠ was checked twice to Sedlak, prompting him to fire a 300,000 delayed cbet by the turn. Hassan immediately surrendered, shipping Sedlak the first pot of the day.

The WPT Cambodia Championship Warm Up games is due to crown its champion today with its 527-entry field whittled to the final eight. While initially set to narrow down to six, all remaining players agreed to wrap up yesterday's Day 2 following ten levels of play.

Leading the charge for the lion's share of the $274,943 prize pool is UK's Robert Sherwood with 4,275,000 (57 BB), having claimed a last minute double up right as the day closed. Trailing just six big blinds behind are both Ali Hassan and Ilya Firstov, to round up the top three counts.

A ton of play however, is left on the table with all the remaining contenders stacking above the 30 big blind mark. Still anyone's game, each runner has a fighting chance to claim the $52,383 top prize along with a seat to WPT Prime worth $1,100, all while guaranteed $7,122 in winnings as they return to the felt for the final battle.

Play resumes at 11:30 local time, with 46 minutes left on the clock at Level 26: 50,000 / 75,000 ante 75,000. Stay tuned for updates as SMP brings you all the latest directly off the floor!

Championship Warm Up

Date/s: February 7-10, 2025

Buy-in: USD 600

Guarantee: USD 150,000

Entries: 527

Prize pool: USD 274,943

ITM: 66 places

Final 8 Chip Counts

The WPT Cambodia Championship Warm Up wrapped up Day 2 at NagaWorld in Phnom Penh with the field trimmed from 113 players down to just eight finalists.

Sitting at the top of that lineup is Robert Sherwood with a stack of 4,275,000 (57 bb). Sherwood was chip leader for a large portion of the day then dropped down with 12 players left. He reclaimed the lead on a double up off Thomas Eychenne with A♦ Q♦ over K♠ T♠ just before they called it a day.

Sherwood is closely trailed by Ilya Firstov with 3,850,000 (51 bb) and rounding out the top three is Ali Hassan with 3,800,000 (51 bb). While the leaders have an edge over the rest, it is still anyone's game with the shortest sitting on a healthy 31 bb.

The remaining players are now guaranteed a minimum $7,122 payout while awaiting the champion is a hefty $52,383 along with a seat to WPT Prime worth $1,100.

The Championship Warm Up opened Day 2 with 113 players out of the 527 entries returning to action. Two levels in, the bubble round arrived with 67 players remaining. In a gutsy showdown, Pham Tien Dung's aggression was finally challenged by Ireland's Frank Lillis, calling a preflop shove by risking 30 bigs holding Ace-King. It paid off with a big double. Immediate following the win, Lillis delivered the bubble to the ailing Jingyi Wang with 8♠ 3♠ flush dusting A♥ J♠ . Lillis went on to finish in 47th place while Pham fared better in 34th place.

The players raced down for a spot at the final table. India's decorated Ankit Ahuja seesawed throughout the day and was grounded in 23rd place. Fellow countryman Dhaval Mudgal finished notches higher in 12th place. For Vietnam, Mai Bien also saw his stack swing and emptied out in 16th place. Their final hope was Thanh Ha Duong who just missed the unofficial final table in 10th place. The day ended shortly after the fall of Shane Pearce in 9th place.

Somuchpoker returns tomorrow for the final dash to the title. Stick with us for all of the action.

The aim for Day 2 was to play down to the official WPT final table of six players however with ten hours of play, the game was stopped at the final 8. Action resumes at 11:30 tomorrow, February 10, 2025.

Day 3 blinds resume at Level 26: 50,000-75,000 ante 75,000 with 46:24 remaining in the clock.

Here are the finalists:

The board was quite a doozy as it ran K♥ T♣ Q♠ for a set to Hassan. With the turn A♦ , Zhang took the lead with a straight. Then another suckout on the river K♣ for a full house to Hassan to burn Zhang into 13th place.

Four players in for 100,000 preflop check it to the turn A♠ 7♦ K♦ 3♥ . Big blind Mateusz Stanielewicz takes a stab for 150,000 to lose one player, cutoff Thanh Ha Duong raises 425,000, then small blind Ali Hassan tank-shoves. Hassan claims the pot with no one willing to take the risk.

Ali Hassan is on the move at the start of the new level. Having just won a pot, he picked up another without a showdown. From cutoff, he opened 100,000, button Marius Stanielewicz three-bet 300,000, Hassan took it to the limit with a four-bet all in and pushed Stanielewicz out of the pot.

Facing a raise from Ali Hassan of 90,000, Hassan Sey defended on the big blind with a three-bet to 320,000. Ali called. At the flop 2♥ T♦ J♠ , Sey tanked then bet 250,000, Ali snap-folded.

Ali Hassan opened from under the gun and was joined by three callers. They all checked to the turn T♣ 6♣ 2♦ 2♣ . Small blind Mateusz Stanielewicz test bet 100,000 and picked up the pot that easy.

After losing a showdown that sent his stack down to 12 bb, Ankit Ahuja went all in holding pocket Jacks and raced down the streets against caller Ali Hassan with Ace-Ten. The board looked good for Ahuja until an ace found the river to finish him off.