After four days of play, the final table chip leader Shixiang Khoo closed out the APT Summer Series Da Nang Main Event and took home the first place trophy along with the VND 3,935,285,000 (~$165,280) first place prize.
Shixiang overcame a field of 675 players to win the largest APT event ever to take place in Vietnam and take home the famous golden lion trophy, in only his second-ever recorded Hendon Mob cash.
Final Table Action
Coming into the final table, Shixiang led the way at the top of the leaderboard but was closely followed by Shinya Maeda. While Shixiang and Maeda were far and away the biggest chip stacks at the start of the day, Tran Duc Tuan was in the unenviable position, and after securing an early double-up, he was eliminated just eight hands into the day when his A9 couldn’t beat the A6 of Khoo on a six-high flop.
Just a couple of orbits later, the table would lose its second player, as Daiki eliminated The Naing in 8th place. Naing shoved all-in with TT and was called by the 99 of Shingae, but after a safe flop, Daiki managed to hit a nine to leave Naing drawing to one out on the river. Unfortunately for Naing, no ten came on the river, and he was eliminated in 8th place for around $17,170.
As play went on, Natural8 ambassador Yu-Chung Chang managed to put himself in contention for the win, after a stunning hero call brought his chip stack in line with the two chip leaders. He managed to call Shingae’s raise on the river with just the top pair and put some distance between himself and the shorter stacks at the table.
However, that raise was short-lived, and Chang soon found himself back amongst the shorter stacks. Shortly after Koangho Lee was eliminated in 7th place after his K4 failed to improve against the A3 of Shingae, Chang managed to score a huge double up after laying a trap with pocket aces. He just called the raise of Shixiang Koo preflop, called his bet on the flop, and then called his shove on the turn. Khoo then doubled him up again, as Chang’s AJ beat Khoo’s JJ on an ace-high board.
Vietnam’s Hung Manh Nguyen had a quiet final table and eventually found himself with only 2bb after being blinded down over a number of orbits. He eventually shoved with K6 but couldn’t beat the rivered flush of Chang, and was eliminated in 6th place. He was shortly followed out the door by Nguyen Khac Cuong, who called off against Shingae’s squeeze with A7, only to find that Shingae held AK. Khac Cuong couldn’t find a seven, and he was eliminated in 5th place.
As play reached four-handed, players were relatively even in stacks, and the chip lead changed hands multiple times during the course of play. It was only a matter of time before someone was eliminated, and unfortunately, it was our own Yu-Chung Chang, who shoved A4 into the 66 of Khoo. He couldn’t find an ace to secure the double-up and was eliminated in 4th for around $55,870, much to the disappointment of many of the fans on the rail.
It only took one hand to reach three-handed play, as Khoo and Shingae found themselves playing a nearly 20 million chip pot. Shingae limped from the small blind with 77, before Khoo raised it to 4bb with TT. Shingae immediately shoved over Khoo’s raise, and Khoo called just as quickly. The flop of A63 was little help to Shingae, and the 6 on the turn meant that only a 7 would save him. The 4 hit the river, eliminating Shingae in 3rd place.
Heads-up play between Khoo and Maeda would last only seventeen hands, as Khoo managed to hold his 2-1 chip lead throughout the match. The two eventually got all-in on a flop of Q7J, with Kho holding KJ, and Maeda holding T9 for the open-ender and backdoor flush draw. The 3 on the turn meant that Maeda could only hit a K or an 8 to stay in the tournament, but the Q on the river sealed the victory for Khoo.
APT Da Nang Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize (VND) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shixiang Khoo | Singapore | 3,935,285,000 ₫ | $165,280 |
| 2 | Shinya Maeda | Japan | 2,429,580,000 ₫ | $102,040 |
| 3 | Daiki Shingae | Japan | 1,736,590,000 ₫ | $72,940 |
| 4 | Yu-Chung Chang | Taiwan | 1,330,290,000 ₫ | $55,870 |
| 5 | Nguyen Khac Cuong | Vietnam | 1,053,920,000 ₫ | $44,260 |
| 6 | Manh Hung Nguyen | Vietnam | 820,860,000 ₫ | $34,480 |
| 7 | Koangho Lee | South Korea | 598,110,000 ₫ | $25,120 |
| 8 | The Naing | Singapore | 408,780,000 ₫ | $17,170 |
| 9 | Tran Duc Tuan | Vietnam | 323,810,000 ₫ | $13,600 |
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Image Source: The Asian Poker Tour (APT)
