Main Event
Day 1a Started
2015 PokerStars.net APPT Season 9 Seoul
Main Event
Day: 1a
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2015 PokerStars.net APPT Season 9 Seoul
Buy-in
2,760,000 KRW
Prize Pool
645,205,200 KRW
Entries
241
Level
24
Blinds
15,000 / 30,000
Ante
5,000
Welcome to the 2015 Asia Pacific Poker Tour Seoul Main Event!
It's Spring time in the South-Korean capital and that means it's time for cherry blossoms, soju shots, bbq dinners and the Asia Pacific Poker Tour stop!
PokerNews would like to welcome you to the coverage of the ninth season of the APPT, as we look to see if last year's winner Chane Kampanatsanyakorn can pull off another magical run. Besides winning last year, everyone of course remembers that Thailand's all-time money list leader took the event down in Season 8 after having finished runner-up in Season 7 to none other than Aaron Lim.
There is another great similarity between the last two editions of the Main Event in Seoul, and that is that women have been known to perform very well. Last year it was United States' Sam Cohen who finished third for third for KRW130,000,000 ($141,719) while Xuan Liu (4th - KRW44,600,000 - $40,711) and Sixiao Li (5th - KRW37,100,000 - $33,865) made the final table the year prior.
Besides the KRW3,000,000 (US $2,750) Main Event there was also a Warm-Up event (KRW700,000 - US $640) that finished lat night, and there will be many more side events. Here's a look at what's still to come.
| Start date | Start time | Type | Buy in KRW | Buy in USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 9-10 | 12:00 p.m. | NLHE Main Event | ₩3,000,000 | $2,700 |
| April 9 | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE Satellite | ₩660,000 | $660 |
| April 10 | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE Teams Event | ₩1,000,000 | $913 |
| April 11 | 4:00 p.m. | NLHE Flipout re-entry | ₩100,000 | $91 |
| April 11 | 9:00 p.m. | NLHE High Roller | ₩6,000,000 | $5,485 |
| April 12 | 12:30 p.m. | NLHE Turbo Bounty flight 1 | ₩500,000 | $456 |
| April 12 | 16:00 p.m. | NLHE Turbo Bounty flight 2 | ₩500,000 | $456 |
Something to look at as well during this year's APPT event in Seoul is the Asia Player of the Year race, which is currently lead by Yuguang Li from China with 4,200 points. The top four are all from China, and in the top 10 we've also spotted Steve O'Dwyer (6th) and Russell Thomas (8th). The current leader, Li, jumped into first after winning the Macau Poker Cup Red dragon Main Event and High Roller on back-to-back days and therefor his lead is 1,200 points over current second place Yunye Lu. Here's the current Top 10, and for the entire ranking you can click on this link.
2015 Asia Player of the Year Rankings
| Place | Name | Country | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yuguang Li | China | 4,200 |
| 2 | Yunye Lu | China | 3,000 |
| 3 | Yifan Zhang | China | 2,880 |
| 4 | Yang Zhang | China | 2,542 |
| 5 | Yi Won Lee | Korea | 1,940 |
| 6 | Steve O'Dwyer | Ireland | 1,877 |
| 7 | Yonggang Wang | China | 1,668 |
| 8 | Russell Thomas | USA | 1,565 |
| 9 | Sam Nee | Malaysia | 1,508 |
| 10 | Takuya Yamashita | Japan | 1,500 |
For a point of reference, here are the winners of the APOY leader boards in previous years dating back to the first one, which was won by Kitty Kuo in 2009. When looking at the rankings it becomes clear that Li has a ton of points already this year, as his total would've been enough to win in both 2012 and 2010, but the race is far from over yet.
| Year | Player | Country | Points | Winnings (HKD) | Final Tables | Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Pete Chen | Chinese Taipei | 5,691 | $1,383,511 | 7 | 1 |
| 2013 | Jian Yang | China | 3,922 | $2,040,100 | 3 | 2 |
| 2012 | Yosuke Sekiya | Japan | 4,191 | $1,002,600 | 6 | 1 |
| 2011 | Hung-Sheng "Shaq" Lin | Chinese Taipei | 6,278 | $1,272,690 | 10 | 1 |
| 2010 | Bryan Huang | Singapore | 3,166 | $594,050 | 6 | 1 |
| 2009 | Kitty Kuo | Chinese Taipei | 4,752 | $601,045 | 3 | 1 |
There are lots of events left to be played, including this huge one in Seoul, and we will keep you up to date with the POY race throughout this event.
The Main Event in Seoul kicks off at 12:00 p.m. noon local time (5:00 a.m. CET/11:00 p.m. ET) and has two starting flights. Day 2 will be on Saturday and the big final will take place on Sunday, so stay tuned to PokerNews.com as we will bring you all the live updates of this event!
Level: 1
Blinds: 50/100
Ante: 0
Shuffle Up and Deal!
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
After a few words from Walker Hill poker room operator and World Series of Poker bracelet winner Kevin Song play has commenced.
On both Day 1a and b eight levels will be played, all 60 minutes in length.
It's Party Time Tonight!
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
While everyone flew out to Seoul for the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Main Event it is also important to have some fun.
Tonight at 10 p.m. local time the Welcome Party will kick off at Focus, and shuttle buses will depart from the WalkerHill Paradise Casino at both 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.
In case you are looking to travel to the party yourself, the address is as following.
B-1, 48-14 Hwayang-Dong, Gwangjin-guy, Seoul
Dress code: Smart casual
The Plan for Today
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
On both starting days eight levels will be played, all 60-minutes in length. There is no dinner break on either of the starting days and after every second level there will be a 10-minute break.
Late registration is open for four hours on each days, so the latest possible time you can register for this event is Friday at 4:10 p.m. local time.
Play will finish today around 8:35 p.m. local time.
Early Birds
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Several notable players have been spotted here early on Day 1a.
Defending APPT Seoul champion Chane Kampanatsanyakorn is back to defend his title.
Chane's twin brother Chin, 2011 EPT Berlin champion Benjamin Willonofsky and Taiwan's Kitty Kuo are all seated at the same table.
Also spotted are PokerStars Team Pro Naoya Kihara, Sam Cohen - who finished 3rd in this event last year, and Scotland's David Vamplew.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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20,000
20,000
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20,000 |
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20,000
20,000
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20,000 |
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20,000
20,000
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20,000 |
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20,000 | |
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20,000
20,000
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20,000 |
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20,000
20,000
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20,000 |
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20,000
20,000
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20,000 |
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Team Pros Huang and Agarwal Are Also Here
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
Team PokerStars Pro is well represented today on Day 1a of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Main Event in Seoul, as we've also spotted Bryan Huang and Aditya Agarwal.
Huang, hailing from Singapore, was the Asia Player of the Year winner back in 2010 and finished 3rd in the APPT Macau Main Event back in 2008 for $153,841. In total Huang has $667,000 in live tournament earnings, and he's always someone to keep an eye on.
While Huang has been on the Team Pro roster for many years the other just got signed. Back in January of this year Agarawal became the first Indian PokerStars Pro. Agarwal, who's from Darjeeling, India, studied in the United States at Drexel University where he discovered poker back in 2003.
Besides his successful online play Agarwal has managed to cash in the World Series of Poker Main Event three times, finishing 450th in 2007, 213th in 2013 and his best result was a 96th-place finish in 2008 for $51,466.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 | |
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20,000 | |
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Sweet Start for Vamplew
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
We just caught a hand with former EPT London champion David Vamplew on the river when the board showed 
.
Vamplew had bet 2,400 and his opponent tanked for quite a while before making the call. Vamplew quickly tabled 
for a rivered straight and he raked in this during the first level of play.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
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24,000
4,000
|
4,000 |
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Li Looks to Extend His Lead
Level 1
: 50/100, 0 ante
China's Yuguang Li obliterated his opponents during the most recent Macau Poker Cup at City of Dreams and with that comes a huge lead in the Asia Player of the Year race. Li however is not resting on his laurels however, as he looks to accumulate even more points here in Seoul this week.
Last month, Li beat a field of 987 to capture the Macau Poker Cup Red Dragon Main event for $238,230, just in time to enter the High Roller before late registration closed. About 24 hours after entering that event he took it down, beating Stephen Chidwick heads up. Li took home $212,037 in that event, and right now he's looking at a 1,200-point lead heading into this event.
The full standings of the APOY standings can be find right here.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
20,000 |