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The second edition of the 2019 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Vietnam that once again came visiting the Pro Poker Club in Ho Chi Minh City has come to an end. The 24-event series ran from July 3 – July 14 and saw a slight decline in turnouts from the last edition in January.
In all, the series saw participation from 500 unique players representing 41 countries. Gold Lion trophies were awarded in 24 events that registered a cumulative 1,938 entries making for a combined prize pool of VND 30.4 Billion (~₹8.96 Crores).
The two APT hallmarks, the VND 8 Billion GTD Main Event and the VND 6 Billion GTD Championships Event were championed by China`s Zhou Ziaping & New Zealand’s Oliver Helm respectively.
Team India at APT Vietnam
The last few weeks have been phenomenal for Indian poker with our challengers putting up inspiring runs in major events. While most of the attention of the players and railbird alike has been focussed around the ongoings at the 2019 WSOP, a small but talented group of Indian pros at APT Vietnam kept us on our toes this last fortnight.
One of the few standout performances came from Manish Lakhotia who was also the only Indian to win a title at the stop. He got his hands on the Gold Lion`s trophy in the first few days of the series when he took down the VND 8.8 Million buy-in NLHE Single-Day 1 for VND 166,510,000 (~₹4.89 Lakhs). With two more final table finishes that include a third-place finish in Monster Stack #2 for VND 143,900,000 (₹4.24 Lakhs), Lakhotia won a cumulative ₹10.44 Lakhs at the stop. He even collected 707 APT points from his numerous deep runs placing 10th on the APT Player of the Series (POS) leaderboard.
PokerGuru Ambassador Ashish Munot was the other star Indian performer at the stop. An Asian circuit regular, Munot most notably final tabled the Championships Event placing sixth for VND 319,830,000 (~₹9.48 Lakhs).
Rounding up the top Indian scorers we have Manoj Pentakota who managed only one deep run at the stop but it came in the event that mattered the most – the VND 8 Billion GTD Main Event. The well-known online pro finished 12th for VND 136,880,000 (~₹4.03 Lakhs).
Other Indian players like Rubin Labroo and Maulik Shukla posted two scores each while Sumit Sapra, Gaurav Sood, PokerGuru Ambassador Laksh Pal Singh, Deep Raina & Maulik Shukla collected a score each.
Team India Cashes At APT Vietnam
Player | Event | Finish | Prize Money |
---|---|---|---|
Ashish Munot | VND 6B GTD Championships Event | 6th | VND 319,830,000 - ₹9.48 Lakhs |
Manish Lakhotia | NLHE Single-Day | 1st | VND 166,510,000 - ₹4.89 Lakhs |
Manish Lakhotia | Monster Stack #2 | 3rd | VND 143,900,000 - ₹4.24 Lakhs |
Manoj Pentakota | VND 8 Billion GTD Main Event | 12th | VND 136,860,000 - ₹4.05 Lakhs |
Gaurav Sood | VND 9.9M PLO Hi | 2nd | VND 110,000,000 - ₹3.24 Lakhs |
Laksh Pal Singh | VND 6B GTD Championships Event | 16th | VND 83,160,000 - ₹2.45 Lakhs |
Rubin Labroo | VND 8 Billion GTD Main Event | 37th | VND 45,840,000 - ₹1.35 Lakhs |
Manish Lakhotia | Short Deck | 4th | VND 44,600,000 - ₹1.31 Lakhs |
Maulik Shukla | VND 9.9M NLHE #2 | 5th | VND 35,860,000 - ₹1.05 Lakhs |
Deep Raina | VND 9.9M PLO Hi | 5th | VND 35,200,000 - ₹1.03 Lakhs |
Deep Raina | VND 6.6M WeLoveSport Deep Stack Turbo | 5th | VND 22,580,000 - ₹66,621 |
Maulik Shukla | VND 5.5M Deep Stack Hyper Turbo #1 | 5th | VND 15,680,000 - ₹46,262 |
Sumit Sapra | Dafabet Head Hunter VND 2M Bounty | 14th | VND 11,110,000 - ₹32,645 |
Rubin Labroo | VND 11M Monster Stack #1 | 3rd | VND 11,000,000 - ₹32,442 |
Player of the Series
Nguyen Tien Thanh aka Terry Nguyen was declared the APT Player of the Series. Nguyen won the title on the back of six cashes that he accrued at the stop headlined by his fourth-place finish in the Main Event. Nguyen’s tally also includes the High Rollers Single Day #4 title. In all, he collected 1,170 points to top the APT POS Leaderboard.
Cao Ngoc Anh who accumulated 880 points from four deep runs placed second on the APT Player of the Series leaderboard with Nguyen Nam Duong who collected 877 points placing third.
The last of the side events crowned Hong Kong Nguyen (High Rollers Single Day #3 for VND 43,000,000), Richard Marquez (WeLoveSport.com Deep Stack Turbo for VND 90,180,000), Cheung Fan Ng (NLHE #2 for VND 134,845,000), Christopher Mateo (Monster Stack #2 for VND 310,490,000), Yuen Kin Yuk (Deep Stack Turbo #2 for VND 90,180,000), Tobias Napel (Deep Stack Hyper Turbo #2 for VND 78,950,000) and Nguyen Tien Thanh (High Rollers Single Day #4 for VND 357,715,830) as champions!
Monster Stack #2
The VND 11 Million buy-in Monster Stack #2 drew 132 entries and outlasting them all was Filipino player Christopher Mateo who took down the title and the top prize of VND 310,490,000.
India`s Manish Lakhotia, who was on his third final table at the series, finished third for VND 143,900,000 (~₹4.24 Lakhs).
Final Table Results
WeLoveSport.com Deep Stack Turbo
Overcoming a field of 51 entries, Richard Marquez won the VND 6,600,000 Million buy-in WeLoveSport.com Deep Stack Turbo for VND 90,180,000.
The last Indian standing in the event was Deep Raina who placed fifth in the event for VND 22,580,000 (₹66,609).
Final Table Results (VND)
NLHE #2
The two-day event attracted 54 entries, each ponying up the VND 9.9 Million buy-in to enter. The eight-handed final table was convened on the RFID table with the action live-streamed on YouTube and Twitch.
Eventually, Cheung Fan Ng took down the title and the VND 134,845,000 cash prize following a heads-up deal with Tom Henricus Wilhelmus.
Adding to the team`s tally was Maulik Shukla, who finished fifth for VND 35,860,000 (~₹1.05 Lakhs).
Final Table Results (VND)
Content & Images Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour