Main Event Day 3 | 2017 Poker King Cup Macau

05-26-2017 02:02 UTC+8

Tsang Falls to Set Up Official Poker King Cup Macau Final Table; Hang Leads

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Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante

China's Zhong Yuan Hang leads the final eight

Just eight players now remain in contention for the trophy, title and lion’s share of the HK$7.129 million (~$915,295) prize pool in the Poker King Cup Macau 2017 Main Event.

The 490 initial entries had been reduced to 63 when play resumed for Day 3 at 1pm local time (GMT+7) on Thursday, May 26, all of whom were guaranteed a payday of at least HK$26,000 (~$3,338).

The action was fast and frantic from the get-go and there was a slew of early eliminations with Alex Lee, Wei Guoliang and Yah Loon Lim – former Day 1A, 1B and 1C frontrunners respectively – all falling by the wayside as play progressed.

Other notables who could not go the distance included Denmark’s Frederik Farrington, Macau’s Sam Cheong and Hong Kong’s Justin Chan, with the elimination of the latter setting up a redraw for the last three tables.

It took ten grueling 1-hour levels to whittle the 63-strong field down to the final eight and set up the official 8-handed Poker King Cup Macau Main Event Final Table, with former Day 2 frontrunner Anson Tsang falling at the final hurdle to close out the day.

Tsang began play with a sizable chip lead of 1.1 million – 210,000 more than next closest rival Weizhou Zha. The Hong Kong player increased this still further with the elimination of Lim Yohwan after the Korean player made an ill-timed bluff in a battle of the blinds with ten-high midway through the day.

Unfortunately for Yohwan, Tsang had flopped trip eights and made the call to send the Korean to the rail in 39th place. That massive pot saw Tsang climb to 2 million in chips; more than double that of next closest rival Longyun Li. Tsang increased this still further to climb to the giddy heights of 3.1 million as play came down to the final three tables.

However, a misstep against China’s Zhong Yuan Hang when there were two tables left saw Tsang get all the chips in on the flop with a king-high flush draw on an ace-high board in a three-bet pot. Hang made the call with ace-queen, which held to take a big bite out of Tsang’s stack and blow the game wide open and see China’s Longyun Li seize the lead.

Two tables quickly became one with the exits of Japan’s Yuhei Sanada, China’s Zhou Jia, Korea’s SJ Kim, China’s Zhao Jia, Zhao Ting Ting and Jun Wang in quick succession.

Wang’s exit was by far the most spectacular, with the Chinese player moving all-in for the last of his chips with pocket fives and running into Longyun Li’s pocket sixes. Li spiked a set on the flop and improved to quads on the river to send Wang to the rail in 11th for an HK$102,000 payday and set up the unofficial 10-handed final table.

The first casualty of the unofficial final table was the unfortunate Alex Shen Zheng, who ran his pocket jacks into the pocket aces of Li – who was sitting in the hot seat for a large part of the day – to further extend the Chinese player’s lead.

It took a nearly a further 3-hours of play before Tsang’s departure, with Li holding the lead throughout until the final hand. Tsang’s fortunes had waned as the day progressed and he had become the second shortest stack.

When the end came it was sudden and after the action folded around to Tsang on the button he got the last of his chips in with ace-ten and was beaten into the pot by small blind Zhong Yuan Hang holding ace-jack. Hang paired his jack to send Tsang crashing out of the tournament, snag the chip lead and close the day in one fell swoop.

Final Table Lineup

Seat	Player	Chips
1	Simon Burns	725,000
3	Zhong Yuan Hang	4,280,000
4	Huang Qien	1,400,000
5	Liu Lifu	1,585,000
6	Michael Soyza	1,130,000
7	Longyun Li	4,155,000
7	Linh Tran	870,000
7	Weizhou Zha	555,000

When play resumes at 1:30pm on Friday, May 26 for the official 8-handed final table blinds will be rolled back to 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 running ante and will play down until a champion is crowned so join us then.

Tags: Alex Lee Anson Tsang Frederik Farrington Huang Qien Jun Wang Justin Chan Linh Tran Liu Lifu Longyun Li Michael Soyza Sam Cheong Shen Zheng Simon Burns Wei Guoliang Weizhou Zha Yah Loon Lim Yohwan Lim Yuhei Sanada Zhang Yuan Hang Zhao Ting Ting Zhong Yuan Hang Zhou Jia

05-26-2017 00:05 UTC+8

Anson Tsang Eliminated in 9th Place (HK$139,000)

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Level 29 : 40,000/80,000, 10,000 ante

Hong Kong's Anson Tsang falls to set up official final table

It took exactly 17 minutes of level 29 – over two and a half hours after the elimination of Shen Zheng – before the final table lost another player, with Day 2 frontrunner Anson Tsang the man to fall to close out the day.

There were obviously some pots played before this, but none were particularly significant until action folded around to Tsang on the button, who had become one of the shorter stacks – with only Weizhou Zha on less.

Down to his last 625,000 Tsang moved all-in and was beaten into the pot by small blind Zhong Yuan Hang and the cards were turned over.

Anson Tsang:
Zhong Yuan Hang:

Tsang was the at-risk player and held the dominated hand and the flop saw Hang strengthen his lead. The turn saw Tsang pick up a gutshot straight draw but his hopes of a suck-out were dashed with the appearance of the river.

That pot saw Hang edge in front of Longyun Li for the chip lead and he stacked up to 4,280,000 as the remaining eight players bagged up their chips.

All that action concludes the day and play will resume at 1:30pm on Friday, May 26 as the official 8-handed final table plays down until a champion is crowned so join us then.

There will be a full end of day write up and chip counts to follow so watch this space.

Player	Chips	Progress
Zhong Yuan Hang	4,280,000 1,180,000	1,180,000
Anson Tsang	Busted

Tags: Anson Tsang Zhang Yuan Hang

05-25-2017 23:38 UTC+8

Li Picks Off Lifu Before Break

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Level 28 : 30,000/60,000, 10,000 ante

There were several sizable pots that played out just before the break with Liu Lifu pushing Huang Qien off a decent sized pot without showdown to climb to 2.4 million while Qien dropped to 1.86 million.

Then Zhong Yuan Hang called a late position Linh Tran raise and c-bet on a flop of with Hang opening the turn and folding out Tran, who dropped to 1.1 million while Hang stacked up to 3.1 million.

Then an interesting hand played out between Liu Lifu and Longyun Li that took about 10-minutes to play out and ate up 8-minutes of both players break.

Pre-flop Lifu changed gears and limped from under-the-gun and the action folded around to Li, who threw out a bet of 180,000 from middle position with Lifu the only caller.

Lifu check the flop over to Li, who chose to c-bet 260,000, which Lifu called. Li evidently did not like this too much as when the hit the turn and Lifu checked it over to Li for the second time he spent a couple of minutes in the tank before checking it back.

The river saw Lifu reach for a sizable about of pink 25k chips and he now led for a chunky 415,000 bet to send Li deep into the tank, where he remained for several minutes, talking to himself under his breath.

Eventually though, he slapped down the call and Lifu turned over for an ace-high bluff. Li triumphantly turned over to take the hand and pull out in front just that little bit further, climbing to 4.35 million while Lifu dropped to 1.4 million.

Player	Chips	Progress
Longyun Li	4,350,000 450,000	450,000
Zhong Yuan Hang	3,100,000 600,000	600,000
Huang Qien	1,860,000 -140,000	-140,000
Liu Lifu	1,400,000
Linh Tran	1,100,000 -200,000	-200,000

Tags: Huang Qien Linh Tran Liu Lifu Longyun Li Zhong Yuan Hang

05-25-2017 21:29 UTC+8

Alex Zheng Eliminated in 10th Place (HK$102,000)

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Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Longyun Li is running so hot it’s a wonder he’s not bursting into flames at the table and we have just had another bust out with Li the man to wield the executioner’s axe once more.

Pre-flop it was Li who was the man in the driving seat, min-raising to 80,000 from middle position and action folded around to Alex Shen Zheng in the small blind who re-raised to 200,000 in total.

Li quickly declared himself all-in, with Zheng beating him into the pot and the cards were turned over.

Alex Zheng:
Longyun Li:

While Zheng had a pocket pair Li had the best pre-flop poker hand and did not relinquish his lead when the board ran out to bring Zheng’s tournament to a close and bring the field down to nine.

Player	Chips	Progress
Longyun Li	461,000 -3,739,000	-3,739,000
Shen Zheng	Busted

Tags: Longyun Li Shen Zheng

05-25-2017 21:26 UTC+8

10-Handed Final Table

RazorSharpPro

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Final Table Lineup

Seat	Player	Chips
1	Simon Burns	650,000
2	Anson Tsang	1,400,000
3	Zhong Yuan Hang	2,150,000
4	Alex Shen Zheng	490,000
5	Huang Qien	400,000
6	Liu Lifu	2,100,000
7	Michael Soyza	980,000
8	Longyun Li	4,200,000
9	Linh Tran	1,000,000
10	Weizhou Zha	2,050,000

Player	Chips	Progress
Longyun Li	4,200,000
Zhong Yuan Hang	2,150,000 50,000	50,000
Liu Lifu	2,100,000 300,000	300,000
Weizhou Zha	2,050,000 1,250,000	1,250,000
Anson Tsang	1,400,000 300,000	300,000

Linh Tran	1,000,000 -50,000	-50,000
Michael Soyza	980,000 -120,000	-120,000

Simon Burns	650,000 -300,000	-300,000
Shen Zheng	490,000 -60,000	-60,000
Huang Qien	400,000 -10,000	-10,000

05-25-2017 21:14 UTC+8

Jun Wang Eliminated in 11th Place (HK$102,000) to Set Up Final Table

RazorSharpPro

Level 26 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

With the elimination of Jun Wang play has now paused for a re-draw as the 10 remaining players are moved to a single table.

When Wang’s end came it was quick, at it was certainly memorable. Down to his last 350,000 Wang moved all-in from the button and Longjun Li made a very quick call from the big blind and the cards were turned over.

Jun Wang:
Longyun Li:

Li had Wang out-pipped and even had his suits, so it was not looking good for the latter. It got a whole lot worse on the flop with Li binking middle set. The only silver lining for Wang was the fact he had picked up the open-ended straight draw but the turn was of no help.

Wang was on his feet calling for the straight but was mocked by the poker gods who chose to favor Li and the hit the river to give him quads, to excited shouting from the rest of the table. That’s certainly a stylish way to set up the final table at any rate.

While the final table has now been reached, it is not the official 8-handed final table so play will continue until we lose to more. Full chip counts and redraw info to follow so watch this space.

Player	Chips	Progress
Longyun Li	4,200,000 300,000	300,000
Jun Wang	Busted

Tags: Jun Wang Longyun Li

05-25-2017 20:21 UTC+8

Zhao Ting Ting Departs in 12th Place (HK$102,000)

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Level 25 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

We have just lost another with Zhao Ting Ting unable to recover after that bluff against Weizhou Zha. A few hands later she was all-in, moving her last 590,000 into the middle from the cutoff with Longyun Li making the call from the big blind.

Zhao Ting Ting:
Longyun Li:

Unfortunately for Ting Ting the window card was the with the rest of the board running out and her tournament is now over, meaning the Main Event is now an all-male affair, while Li stacked up to 2.6 million, which makes him chip leader once more.

Player	Chips	Progress
Longyun Li	2,600,000 700,000	700,000
Zhao Ting Ting	Busted

Tags: Zhao Ting Ting Longyun Li

05-25-2017 19:45 UTC+8

Zhao Jie Eliminated in 13th Place (HK$83,000)

RazorSharpPro

Level 25 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Down to his last 260,000 Zhao Jie moved all-in from under-the-gun and neighbor Jun Wang re-shoved to isolate for 600,000 and the rest of the table took the hint and got out of the way.

Zhao Jie:
Jun Wang:

As is often the case at this stage in a tournament, it was down to a race and unfortunately for Jie, it was one he lost when the board ran out and he headed for the cash desk to collect his winnings while Wang stacked up to 835,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Jun Wang	835,000 225,000	225,000
Zhao Jie	Busted

Tags: Jun Wang Zhao Jie

05-25-2017 19:36 UTC+8

Soojo Kim Eliminated in 14th Place (HK$83,000)

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Level 25 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Play had not long resumed following the break before there was another casualty. Down to his last 400,000 Korea’s Soojo Kim moved all-in from the button and after the small blind folded the action was on big blind Huang Qien.

Qien looked torn between calling and folding but the chance to thin the field was just too good to miss and he eventually chose to make the call.

Soojo Kim:
Huang Qien:

Kim was in great shape with a dominating hand and the flop kept his nose in front. The turn gave both players the gutshot straight draw and they both had each other’s out. Unfortunately for Kim he hit top pair on the river, which gave Qien Broadway and we lose one more.

Player	Chips	Progress
Huang Qien	900,000 660,000	660,000
Soojo Kim	Busted

Tags: Solo Kim Huang Qien

05-25-2017 18:59 UTC+8

All Change at the Top

RazorSharpPro

Level 24 : 12,000/24,000, 4,000 ante

Anson Tsang and Zhong Yuan Hang have just played a massive pot that has seen the chip lead change hands, though not quite in the way you imagine.

We only arrived in time to catch the aftermath as the stacks were being counted down but Tsang was kind enough to fill us in on the details.

Hang had opened the action with a raise and Tsang tried to leverage his monster stack and re-raised in position, with Hang making the call to take play heads-up to a flop of and this is where the fireworks happened.

Hang now led out for a pot-sized bet, Tsang continued the aggression with a raise and Hang did not take long to get the rest of his sizable 860,000 stack into the pot and with chips to spare Tsang made the call and the cards were turned over.

Zhong Yuan Hang:
Anson Tsang:

While Hang had top pair he would need to fade Tsang’s hearts and did so when the turn and river completed the hand. Tsang took a big hit and dropped to 1.7 million while Hang climbed to a little over two million.