2018 Oriental Poker Championship

HK$100,000 High Roller
Day: 2
Event Info

2018 Oriental Poker Championship

Final Results
Winner
Winning Hand
99
Prize
1,442,300 HKD
Event Info
Buy-in
100,000 HKD
Entries
43
Level Info
Level
24
Blinds
20,000 / 40,000
Ante
5,000

HK$100,000 High Roller

Day 2 Completed

Ivan Leow Wins Inaugural OPC High Roller Macau for HKD $1,442,300 (USD $183,740)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Inaugural OPC Macau High Roller Champion Ivan Leow
Inaugural OPC Macau High Roller Champion Ivan Leow

The second and final day of the HKD $100,000 OPC High Roller saw 26 players of the initial 31 entries return to the Venetian Hotel & Resort poker room for the eighth 40-minute level of the event. With late registration remaining open until the end of Level 12 at around 5.20pm local time (GMT+7) by the time it closed the field had grown to 43 total entries (including re-entries) and generated a HKD $4,003,300 (~US$510,115) prize pool, with the top seven places paying out and a min-cash good for HKD $160,000.

It took close to 12 grueling hours of play to find the Oriental Poker Championship Macau's very first High Roller Champion with Malaysia's Ivan Leow the man to hoist the trophy and take down the HKD $1,442,300 (~US$183,740) top prize. Leow defeated China's Yang Wang after a brief heads-up confrontation, which the Malaysian came into with over a 2-1 chip lead. The final hand saw the short-stacked Wang move all-in pre-flop for close to 15 big blinds with queen-deuce suited and Leow make the call with pocket nines, which held to give Leow the win and his first tournament title.

OPC Macau High Roller Final Results

PlaceWinnerCountryPrize (in HKD)Prize in (USD) 
1Ivan LeowMalaysia1,442,300183,740 
2Yang WangChina921,000117,360 
3Albert PaikUSA580,00073,910 
4Wenling GaoChina400,00050,970 
5Chihwen ChenTaiwan280,00035,680 
6Victor ChongMalaysia220,00028,030 
7Tony ChengHong Kong160,00020,390 

It was a day for firsts as, in addition to winning his first title, Leow also became the first-ever player to win an OPC High Roller, a fact he celebrated with his watching rail. Leow has enjoyed a great month of May having already final tabled two out of the four Triton Super High Roller events in Montenegro earlier in the month for combined winnings of $450,194 for his two 6th place finishes. This OPC victory brings Leow's total live earnings up to US$776,741 and shoots him up to #6 on the Malaysia All Time Money List.

While Wang will have been disappointed not to have been able to convert his initial final table chip lead into a win, the HKD $921,000 (~US$117,360) second place money should take the edge off , especially when you consider the fact this is his second largest career score to date and the Chinese player remained up beat and chatty for the majority of the two-day tournament.

Yang Wang
Yang Wang came close but had to settle for second best

The final table took six-hours to play out with Wang coming in with the chip lead. However, the action was high tempo from the get-go with the chip lead changing hands with a great deal of frequency and with two of the final nine departing empty-handed, competition for the money spots was fierce.

It was Hong Kong's Danny Tang who became the first final table casualty after taking a nasty beat at the hands of the USA's Albert Paik with the pair getting all the chip in pre-flop with pocket kings and ace-king suited respectively. Unfortunately for Tang, Paik turned the nut flush to shoot up to second in chips while Tang dropped down near the bottom of the counts. Nothing went right for the Hong Kong player after that and he lost two back-to-back pots to fellow countryman Tony Cheng to hit the rail empty handed shortly after the dinner break.

Danny Tang
Danny Tang took some brutal beats at the Final Table

Ivan Leow had edged into the chip lead before the bubble burst, with the short-stacked Chung Yuan Yu getting the last of his chips in pre-flop with king-six offsuit against China's Wenling Gao. Her ace-high was enough to send Yu out in eighth to burst the bubble and guarantee all seven remaining finalists a place in the hallowed money spots.

Chung Yuan Yu
Taiwan's Chung Yuan Yu departed empty-handed on the money bubble

Albert Paik took a huge chunk of Wang's chips with a flopped set shortly afterwards to climb to the top of the counts, taking it in turns to swap the chip lead with Leow. Tony Cheng departed in 7th place for an HKD $160,000 payday, falling at the hands of Wang when his king-nine offsuit was out-flopped by the latter's queen-ten suited on a ten-high board and that pot brought Wang right back into the game.

Tony Cheng
Hong Kong's Tony Cheng was the first of the paying casualties

However, it was Leow who would send the next player out the door, busting fellow Malaysian Victor Chong in sixth place for HKD $220,000 when the two got all the chips in pre-flop with king-queen and king-jack respectively. Both missed the board by miles, meaning Leow's kicked played and he climbed back into the chip lead.

Victor Chong
Malaysia's Victor Chong busted at the hands of Leow to finish in sixth place

It looked as though Leow might run away with it at this point, but Wang caught a timely double-up at the former's expense to bring Leow back down to close to the rest of the remaining five players. Taiwan's Chihwen Chen enjoyed a brief stint as chip leader after turning the nuts in a hand against Leow, but the Malaysian player took all his chips back with interest a little later when Chen open-shoved a {3-Hearts}{2-Spades}{2-Diamonds} flop with pocket fours and Leow snapped him off with ace-deuce suited. Chen collected HKD $280,000 for his fifth place finish while Leow shot back to the top of the counts.

Chihwen Chen
Taiwan's Chihwen Chen came in fifth

Four handed play lasted for quite some time before Wenling Gao lost a race against Wang to get short. While she attempted a late comeback it was not to be. Gao called off the last of her chips with a dominating ace-king against a Wang button shove with king-ten, but Wang caught four to a flush to bring her tournament to a close for an HKD $400,000 payday.

Wenling Gao
The Final Table's only female player came in fourth

That left three, with Albert Paik, Yang Wang and Leow all enjoying stints as tournament top dog before Paik got short and called off his chips in a big hand against Leow. Both had rivered a pair of eights, but Leow had the best kicker and Paik had to settle for the HKD $580,000 for third.

Albert Paik
Close, but no trophy for the US-player Albert Paik

It took seven hours to whittle the field down to the final nine, with several Macau regular high stakes players falling by the wayside as play progressed. The UK's Matt Moss could not go the distance, and neither could high stakes crusher James Chen and seasoned tournament player Thomas Ward, though the last two did make the final 16.

Tags: Albert PaikChihwen ChenIvan LeowJames ChenMatt MossThomas WardTony ChengVictor ChongWenling GaoYang Wang

Yang Wang Eliminated in 2nd Place (HKD $921,000)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Yang Wang
Yang Wang

Heads-up was a brief affair, with Yang Wang and Ivan Leow taking it in turns to shove or fold before finally the inevitable happened and there was an all-in and a call. It was Wang the man to pull the trigger first, shoving the button with Leow making a quick call from the big blind.

Yang Wang: {q-Hearts}{2-Hearts}
Ivan Leow: {9-Hearts}{9-Clubs}

Wang needed a double-up to get back into the game, but was behind to Leow's pair and stayed that way when the board ran out {j-Spades}{4-Spades}{k-Diamonds} {4-Clubs}{6-Clubs} and it was all over. Wang congratulated Leow on his well-earned victory, posed for a photo and then headed off into the night HKD $921,000 better off. Leow celebrated the fact he had just won his first-ever tournament title with the watching Malaysian rail before posing for his winner's picture as the inaugural Oriental Poker Championship High Roller Champion.

Player Chips Progress
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
2,150,000 630,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
Busted

Tags: Ivan LeowYang Wang

Albert Paik Eliminated in 3rd Place (HKD $580,000)

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante
Albert Paik
Albert Paik

There was a great deal of aggressive blind and ante swapping before a three-way hand took place that saw Albert Paik's tournament come to a close. All three of the remaining players had taken it in turns to play chip leader, but Paik will not be getting the chance again.

It was Ivan Leow the instigator once again, making it 80,000 to go on the button and both Yang Wang (small blind) and Paik (big blind) made the call.

The flop came down {2-Hearts}{k-Diamonds}{6-Spades} and was checked all around, as was the {k-Clubs} turn. The {8-Clubs} river saw Wang check, Paik led out for 100,000 and Leow shove. After Wang folded Paik thought it over before making the call.

Leow turned over {a-Hearts}{8-Hearts} and Paik tapped the table, flashed him the {8-Spades} got up, shook everyone's hand and headed for the exit. The remaining two are now heads-up for the title and trophy with Leow holding over a 2-1 chip lead.

Player Chips Progress
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
1,520,000 620,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
630,000 -220,000
Albert Paik us
Albert Paik
Busted

Tags: Albert PaikIvan LeowYang Wang

Wang Doubles Through Paik Again

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Ivan Leow won a pot off Albert Paik before the latter doubled Yang Wang the hand afterward. Paik shoved the button and Wang made the call for his tournament life to put himself at risk.

Albert Paik: {a-Spades}{5-Diamonds}
Yang Wang: {a-Clubs}{q-Hearts}

The board ran out {6-Diamonds}{q-Spades}{10-Spades}{q-Clubs}{4-Clubs} to give Wang the double, a fact he celebrated with a fist bump with neighbor Ivan Leow.

Player Chips Progress
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
900,000 280,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
850,000 410,000
Albert Paik us
Albert Paik
400,000 -655,000

Tags: Ivan LeowAlbert PaikYang Wang

Wang and Paik Chop Leow's Chips

Level 24 : 20,000/40,000, 5,000 ante

Ivan Leow made it 80,000 to go on the button, Yang Wang shoved the small blind for 390,000 and Albert Paik asked for a count before making the call and Leow folded.

Both players turned over ace-jack and the board ran out {3-Hearts}{4-Spades}{6-Hearts}{k-Clubs}{7-Diamonds} to a cry of 'Noooooooo!' from Leow, who told the table he folded a king.

Player Chips Progress
Albert Paik us
Albert Paik
1,055,000 40,000
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
620,000 -80,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
440,000 5,000

Tags: Ivan LeowAlbert PaikYang Wang

Level: 24

Blinds: 20,000/40,000

Ante: 5,000

Paik Putting the Hammer Down

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

Now he has the chip lead Albert Paik is putting the hammer down on his other two opponents and has won a pot off each. The first was between Paik and Ivan Leow, with the former playing his button aggressively to take down the hand pre-flop.

This trend continued in the second hand when Yang Wang raised to 100,000 from the button. Paik shoved, Leow laid his head on the table for a few seconds, only lifting it to fold and Wang let a deep sigh before doing the same.

Player Chips Progress
Albert Paik us
Albert Paik
1,015,000 165,000
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
700,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
435,000 -165,000

Tags: Albert PaikIvan LeowYang Wang

Paik Seizes Lead

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante
Albert Paik
Albert Paik

Albert Paik has edged in front of Ivan Leow. It was Paik driving the action with a raise to 75,000 on the button and Leow calling from the small blind to take the action heads-up to a flop of {2-Spades}{q-Spades}{k-Spades}.

The action went check, check, and Leow decided to take a stab on the {q-Clubs} turn for 110,000, which Paik smooth-called. The {3-Hearts} river saw Leow look like betting, but then decided to check and Paik fired for 125,000.

After a few moments thinking it over Leow folded and started grilling Paik about what he had, with the US player telling the table he had a full house.

Player Chips Progress
Albert Paik us
Albert Paik
850,000 300,000
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
700,000 -250,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
600,000 -50,000

Tags: Albert PaikIvan Leow

Paik Doubles Though Leow

Level 23 : 15,000/30,000, 5,000 ante

A round of no playable cards is expensive three-handed and Albert Paik had slipped to 275,000, which he moved all-in from the small blind and Ivan Leow made the call from the big blind to put Paik at risk.

Albert Paik: {10-Hearts}{9-Spades}
Ivan Leow: {7-Spades}{7-Hearts}

The window card was the {10-Spades}, which saw Paik breath a big sigh of relief with the rest of the board running out {2-Spades}{2-Diamonds}{6-Clubs}{k-Clubs} to see Paik double up.

Player Chips Progress
Ivan Leow my
Ivan Leow
950,000 -150,000
Yang Wang cn
Yang Wang
650,000
Albert Paik us
Albert Paik
550,000 150,000

Tags: Albert PaikIvan Leow