APPT Macau 2018: Aditya Agarwal 2nd in Chips With 27 Remaining in Main Event, Sahil Chutani & Ashish Gupta in The Running

APPT Macau 2018
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  • PG News March 22, 2018
  • 3 Minutes Read

It was a long and busy day for our Indian challengers at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Macau 2018 Main Event that is currently underway at the PokerStars LIVE Macau poker room. 93 survivors from Day 2 returned back earlier today, all looking to make it through the day and by the time the bags were brought out, only 27 players made the cut and believe it or not, three among them are Indians!

Headlining the Indian campaign is country’s Poker Guru and Team PokerStars pro Aditya Agarwal. Agarwal cruised his way to an early lead and looked very much at ease the entire day as one of the top stacks. The Kolkata-based pro will be returning tomorrow with the second largest stack of 968,000. Macau has been one of the very few stops where a deep run or even a half decent score has somehow eluded Agarwal who is looking hungry to set the record straight this time around. It`s still a stacked field with some very experienced pros still in the running and Agarwal will have to bring in his A-game tomorrow, so get ready for some very exciting updates tomorrow.

The only player ahead of Agarwal is also probably one of the toughest players left in the fray. We are referring to Belgium`s David Kitai who is also the only player above the 1 million mark with 1,012,000 in chips.

Interestingly, Poker Hall of Fame member John Juanda is also in the running. The five-time WSOP bracelet winner boasts of over $23 million in live earnings and is another elite player to watch out for, as he returns tomorrow with 389,000 in chips.

Apart from Agarwal, Young Gun Sahil Chutani and Australia based Indian origin player Ashish Gupta have made it through to Day 4 and its almost poetic that all three Indians have been drawn on the same table! Gupta will start Day 4 with 532,000 chips while Chutani starts off with 152,000 in chips.

Sumit Sapra was also in thick of action and managed to cash. He lost a crucial flip to eventually finish at 32nd place for HK$84,000 (~₹6.97 lakhs).

The Main Event registered a total 356 entries (153 entries on Day 1A + 179 entries on Day 1B + 24 entries on Day 2) that created a monstrous HK$12,984,032 prize pool. These riches will be shared among the top 41 places and a min-cash is good for HK$71,000.

The ultimate prize however is where all eyes are at, as the winner will walk away with a whopping HK$3,095,000 (~₹2.56 Crores) top prize, which includes a 2018 ACOP Main Event seat worth HK$100,000. The winner will also bag the coveted Platinum Pass worth $30,000.

 

Main Event – Day 3

Aditya Agarwal was not the only Team Pro to make Day 3 with fellow Team Pro and a record 2-time MPC Red Dragon Champion Celina Lin all primed for another deep run on home turf. Unfortunately for Lin, it was not to be and she fell before the money bubble.

The money bubble eventually burst on Ivan Lee who went out in 42nd place.

 

Aditya Agarwal`s Day 3 Journey

Agarwal went straight to work and started dominating the field early on when he busted Jiafei Yu near the bubble. Liang Song opened, Agarwal called and Yu moved all in for 51,500. Song mucked quickly and Agarwal called with , in good shape against Yu’s . Agarwal turned a straight on the board to climb up to 180,000.

Agarwal`s stack then created a magnetic field of sorts that just seemed to pull in chips pot after pot. Before we knew it, he had accumulated a stack of 430,000, enough make him the chip leader at that point. He however lost a healthy pot to Joshua Zimmerman when the latter shoved with and Agarwal called with . No ace on the board and Agarwal lost the pot but still kept his lead with 505,000 in chips.

Agarwal caught his fair share of luck along the way and we know of one hand in particular that sent Seung Yong Yi packing just before the money bubble. Yi limped with , Agarwal jammed on the button with and Yi made the call putting his tournament life at risk. Agarwal hit a pair of threes on the flop to take down another big pot.

He then picked up another big pot to cross the 600,000 mark. On the flop , Agarwal check-raised a bet by Daniel Carlsson and both players checked the turn to see the river card open . Agarwal slid a tall tower of chips in the middle that prompted a fold from Carlsson. Post the hand, Agarwal’s stack went up to 622,000.

Agarwal kept the momentum going and went on to further consolidate to 800,000 after he forced Joshua Zimmerman to fold a big hand. With the community cards open , Agarwal bet 80,000 and Zimmerman tank-called to see the river. Agarwal looked at Zimmerman’s stack and jammed prompting the latter to lay down his hand.

The unstoppable Indian next railed James Broom. Broom got incredibly unlucky as Agarwal’s pocket king’s cracked open his pocket aces when the latter hit a set on the flop. Post that, Agarwal’s stack was an unmatched 870,000.

In another major move, Agarwal got some more chips when he opened to 12,000, Carlsson called to see the flop that got checked around. On the turn, Agarwal bet 7,000 and Carlsson check-called and the river completed the board. Agarwal fired a sizeable bet of 50,000, Carlsson check-called again and mucked his hand after seeing Agarwal’s . Once the last hand of the day was dealt, Agarwal had bagged a massive 938,000 in chips.

Aditya Agarwal
Aditya Agarwal

 

Sahil Chutani`s Day 3 Journey

The second Indian in the field, Young Gun Sahil Chutani was another juggernaut today. First, he grabbed a huge pot at the expense of Lin Wu. Chutani opened with and got three callers, including Wu. On the flop, Chutani bet with his top two pairs and only Wu called to see the turn . Chutani checked and Wu shoved to put the former all in. Chutani made the call but wasn’t delighted to see Wu’s . The river however completed a full boat for Chutani and he got a much needed double up to get to around 195,000 in chips.

Chutani then got involved in another huge hand when was all-in for his last 93,000 on a flop of against Chunjie Liu. Chutani was ahead with against Liu`s . The and completed the board and Chutani collected the pot to take his stack up to 235,000.

Chutani kept his calm and grinded his way to the finish line today and will return tomorrow with a very respectable 152,000 in chips.

Sahil Chutani
Sahil Chutani

The other Indian pro in the field Sumit Sapra didn’t have the best start today as he lost a healthy chunk of chips to Liang Song at Level 16. Sapra limped and Song checked the big blind to see the flop that got checked around. On the turn , Sapra bet 7,500 and Song tank called. The river prompted Sapra to lead out for 16,500 this time, and again Song went into the tank. Song eventually called with a great read with for king-high and that was good, as Sapra was bluffing with . Sapra fell down to 145,000 post the hand but worked his way up to 195,000.

Sapra’s journey finally came to an end in 32nd place when he shoved with pocket eights against Carson Wong’s ace-king but just couldn`t hold up when it mattered. Sapra collected HK$84,000 (~₹6.97 lakhs) for his efforts.

Sumit Sapra
Sumit Sapra

Other notables still in the running include Martin Gonzales (683,000), Pete Chen (505,000), and Daniel Carlsson (436,000).

Davidi Kitai
Davidi Kitai

Top 10 Chip Counts at the End of Day 3

1. Davidi Kitai – 1,012,000
2. Aditya Agarwal – 968,000
3. Michael Kue Seong Tchong – 715,000
4. Martin Gonzales – 683,000
5. Maximilian Lehmanski – 623,000
6. Yi Ye – 596,000
7. Victor Kiong Fook Chong – 559,000
8. Ashish Gupta – 532,000
9. Pete Chen – 505,000

Keep following all the updates from APPT Macau 2018 right here on PokerGuru!

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