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The marquee tournament of the inaugural 2024 Jin Bei Cup series can already be considered as a stunning success, because the ambitious $5,000,000 guarantee in the $50,000 Short Deck Main Event at the five-star Jin Bei Palace Hotel in Sihanoukville has been all but reached. A staggering 96 entries have been recorded so far and that number will be boosted further, as the late registration and add-on option is still available prior to the start of Day 2.
There were fireworks throughout the 12 levels of 30 minutes each and the local Short Deck specialists dominated the action as all 23 contenders who bagged up chips hail from China. A late surge in the final levels propelled Da Seng Sun to the top of the leaderboard with 3,900,000 as he edged past Kobe, who finished with 3,175,000. Kobe had even knocked out Sun before the latter re-entered and won several massive pots in quick succession.
Third on the leaderboard is one of the most well-known Chinese poker players on the international circuit in Quan Zhou, who is fifth on the country's all-time money list with nearly $8.8 million in cashes. Zhou also had to re-enter before things on the second entry went more smoothly, which he finished with 2,180,000. Among the notables in the overnight top ten is also Esti Wang (1,206,000), who has been taking part in the Triton Poker high-stakes short deck tournaments and cash games previously.
Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts
| Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count | Antes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Da Seng Sun | China | 3,900,000 | 260 |
| 2 | Kobe | China | 3,175,000 | 212 |
| 3 | Quan Zhou | China | 2,180,000 | 145 |
| 4 | Gavin | China | 2,083,000 | 139 |
| 5 | Zong Tao | China | 1,541,000 | 103 |
| 6 | Duan | China | 1,474,000 | 98 |
| 7 | Ke Xu | China | 1,435,000 | 96 |
| 8 | Esti Wang | China | 1,206,000 | 80 |
| 9 | Ge Hua | China | 1,098,000 | 73 |
| 10 | Aori | China | 1,021,000 | 68 |
Singapore's number one Kenneth Kee, WSOP Short Deck bracelet winner Martin Nielsen, Dan "Jungleman" Cates and Tom "durrrr" Dwan were among the international contenders but none of them survived the carnage at the tables so far. However, they may all enter the tournament once more prior to the start of Day 2 on Thursday, May 9, 2024.
The final bullet of Cates and Dwan thus far both went to Kobe, who became the run-away chip leader after the dinner break. However, Sun's aggressive pot building put a dent into his stack and their spots on the leaderboard were swapped during the final hands of the night. Nielsen found no fortune yet either, re-entering late only to get shut down on both bullets near instantly when Ivan Zhang won with ace-queen high against his suited one-gapper and Gavin turned a flush with ten-eight suited to crack his pocket tens.
It was a day filled with frantic all-in showdowns in the two-bullet format with 150,000 chips each, in which players preferred one bullet at a time until the start of level ten. During the final stages, the showdowns became even more volatile and the swings were even more aggressive. One such prime example was the three-way all-in between Esti Wang, San Zhang and Ming Zhong Liu in which Wang held up with pocket kings on an ace-high runout.
However, the late registration and add-on period may very well shake up the leaderboard even before any cards are dealt on the final day. Before the start of Day 2, all players can choose to add one or two stacks as well, with each stack exchanging the buy-in amount for 300,000 chips. The antes for level 13 will be 15,000 with a button double ante of 30,000.
So far, at least 12 spots will be paid with the top three all guaranteed a large slice of it. Based on the guarantee of $5,000,000, the Jin Bei Group guaranteed the following payouts for the top three finishers before the start, but these amounts may increase depending on how many further entries will be generated.
- First Place: $1,500,000
- Second Place: $800,000
- Third Place: $600,000
The high-stakes contest will recommence at 2 p.m. local time and the PokerNews team will be back on the floor to bring you all the exciting and exhilarating short deck action from Cambodia.
