APPT Main Event
Day 3 Started
2023 APPT Cambodia
APPT Main Event
Day: 3
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
Players Info - Day 3
2023 APPT Cambodia
Buy-in
$1,500
Prize Pool
$623,322
Entries
476
Level
31
Blinds
80,000 / 160,000
Ante
160,000
Players Left
1
Who Will Become the 2023 APPT Cambodia $1,500 Main Event Champion?
Out of a field of 476 entries, only nine players remain for the grand finale of the 2023 PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cambodia $1,500 Main Event and return to their seats on the feature stage of the grand ballroom at the five-star NagaWorld Integrated Resort in Phnom Penh at 1 p.m. local time. They are competing for the biggest portion of the $623,322 prize pool with $10,908 locked up so far, but the winner will walk away with $120,300 for the efforts and the golden shard trophy.
Junnie Pamplona leads the way with 3,015,000, closely followed by Ting-Yi "Eric" Tsai (2,960,000) and Jimmy Torres (2,725,000) as the trio atop the leaderboard is separated by a mere ten big blinds.
Pamplona will aim to go all the way and surpass his previous best score from the 2022 WPT Prime $1,100 Main Event right here at NagaWorld when he was part of a three-way deal and collected $106,482.
Final Table Seat Draw
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Tsai | Taiwan | 2,960,000 | 99 |
| 2 | Evgenii Nekrasov | Russia | 1,080,000 | 36 |
| 3 | Curtis Lim | Singapore | 850,000 | 28 |
| 4 | Bien Mai | Vietnam | 410,000 | 14 |
| 5 | Chao-Ting Cheng | Taiwan | 1,825,000 | 61 |
| 6 | Kien Tat Heng | Singapore | 795,000 | 27 |
| 7 | Junnie Pamplona | Philippines | 3,015,000 | 101 |
| 8 | Hua-Wei Lin | Taiwan | 600,000 | 20 |
| 9 | Jimmy Torres | Colombia | 2,725,000 | 91 |
Chao-Ting Cheng is the only player with a middling stack and the other five finalists have between 14 and 36 big blinds at their disposal. However, there are only 07:38 minutes left in level 24 at blinds of 15,000-30,000 and a big blind ante of 30,000.
This puts a lot of pressure on the short stacks Bien Mai (410,000) and Hua-Wei Lin (600,000). Mai has had two runner-up finishes in the last two months, one of which came right here in Phnom Penh in the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event for $117,842.
Lin will be railed by her husband and fellow Taiwanese poker pro Yu-Chung "Nevan" Chang, both are known under their moniker "winpokercouple" on social media. Chang himself cashed in 38th place and had previously reached the final table of this very event in 2022, claiming $35,590 for his fourth place finish.
The levels on the final table continue with a duration of 60 minutes each with a break every two levels. As usual, the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor from start to finish in the Kingdom of Cambodia until a winner has been crowned.
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (in USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $120,300 | ||
| 2 | $75,795 | ||
| 3 | $54,290 | ||
| 4 | $42,760 | ||
| 5 | $33,597 | ||
| 6 | $26,242 | ||
| 7 | $19,759 | ||
| 8 | $13,775 | ||
| 9 | $10,908 |
Level: 24
Blinds: 15,000/30,000
Ante: 30,000
Shuffle Up and Deal for the Final Table
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
After the group picture and player introductions have been taken care of, the nine finalists are back in their seats and the cards are now officially in the air. The button is on Chao-Ting Cheng.
Bien Mai Eliminated in 9th Place ($10,908)
Level 24
: Blinds 15,000/30,000, 30,000 ante
Junnie Pamplona won the first small pot against Chao-Ting Cheng and Hua-Wei Lin then three-bet jammed against an open raise of Curtis Lim.
The third hand of the final table saw an open shove by Bien Mai for 410,000 in late position and Cheng called from one seat over in the hijack.
Bien Mai: K♦Q♦
Chao-Ting Cheng: 8♦8♥
"Yeah, fifty fifty," Mai grinned as he had a coin flip. However, the 8♠6♠5♣ flop saw his hopes of a comeback all but gone, needing running cards for a split pot only. It was all over with the 2♣ turn and the 8♣ river was the cherry on top for Cheng as he scored the knockout with quads.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
2,200,000
375,000
|
375,000 |
|
660,000
60,000
|
60,000 |
|
Busted |
Level: 25
Blinds: 20,000/40,000
Ante: 40,000
Tsai Chips Up With One Showdown
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Just before the blinds went up, Curtis Lim min-raised for Eric Tsai to defend the big blind. Tsai check-raised from 55,000 to 165,000 on the 5♠3♠3♥ flop and Lim called. They checked down the 4♦ turn and Q♦ river for Tsai to win the pot with the K♣5♥.
Hua-Wei Lin then raised to 80,000 in the new level while in the cutoff. Tsai jammed out of the small blind and Lin folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
3,300,000
340,000
|
340,000 |
|
3,200,000
185,000
|
185,000 |
|
||
|
|
580,000
-80,000
|
-80,000 |
|
500,000
-350,000
|
-350,000 |
Tsai Fires Twice Against Nekrasov
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Eric Tsai raised to 80,000 in the hijack and was called only by Evgenii Nekrasov in the cutoff. The 5♠5♣2♥ flop brought a bet of 80,000 by Tsai and Nekrasov came along. After the 3♦ turn, Tsai made it 230,000 to go and Nekrasov folded.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,550,000
250,000
|
250,000 |
|
820,000
-260,000
|
-260,000 |
Nekrasov Flips to a Double Against Cheng
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Evgenii Nekrasov opened the action with a raise to 85,000 and Chao-Ting Cheng three-bet to 245,000. The four-bet shove by Nekrasov for 820,000 followed and Cheng double-checked his cards before snap-calling a second later.
Evgenii Nekrasov: A♠K♠
Chao-Ting Cheng: Q♥Q♦
It was a big flip for the Russian and one of his friends from the High Roller came over to witness the showdown. Nekrasov improved on the K♥10♣3♦ flop and K♣ turn, demanding for a four to come after. He was pleased with the 2♣ river as well as that secured the double-up.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
1,750,000
670,000
|
670,000 |
|
|
1,300,000
-900,000
|
-900,000 |
Cheng and Tsai Take From Torres
Level 25
: Blinds 20,000/40,000, 40,000 ante
Jimmy Torres raised from under the gun and found a customer in Chao-Ting Cheng in the cutoff,. On a J♠4♦2♥ flop, Torres check-called for 60,000 and did so again for 130,000 on the 10♠ turn and 150,000 on the 3♣ river. Cheng tabled the A♦J♥ for the top pair and top kicker to win the pot.
One hand later, Eric Tsai opened from under the gun and Torres called in the big blind. The 8♥6♣5♥ flop was checked for Torres to lead the 10♣ turn for 150,000. On the Q♥ river, Torres checked once again and that led to a bet worth 275,000 by Tsai.
Torres used two time banks and called, then tapped the table in defeat when he couldn't beat the A♦10♥ of Tsai.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,250,000
950,000
|
950,000 |
|
|
1,875,000
575,000
|
575,000 |
|
1,700,000
-1,025,000
|
-1,025,000 |