₩2,500,000 Main Event
Day 4 Started
2019 PokerStars Red Dragon Jeju
₩2,500,000 Main Event
Day: 4
A New Red Dragon Champion Will Be Crowned in Jeju
Only nine players out of a field of 869 entries remain in the biggest live poker event in the history of South Korea at the Jeju Shinhwa World - Landing Casino and will aim to become the 28th Red Dragon Main Event champion in the 2019 PokerStars LIVE Asia Red Dragon Jeju ₩2,500,000 Main Event.
So far, all finalists are guaranteed at least ₩32,242,000 ($27,728) for their efforts, but the unique red dragon trophy in the most influencial poker event of the Asia-Pacific Region is up for grabs. The winner can look forward to the top prize of ₩393,553,500 ($338,456) and a luxurious Rolex watch worth USD$14,000, exclusively sponsored by 6UP – the official partner of PokerStars in Asia.
Zhihao Zhang enters the final day with 11,750,000, 45% of the chips in play, and there is a massive gap to Xin He (2,450,000) and Ting Yi Tsai (2,445,000), who sit in 2nd and 3rd place respectively. Tsai is the only remaining non-Mainland Chinese player in contention and one of the most accomplished finalists with 40 live cashes – including five live tournament titles – to his name for live tournament winnings just shy of US$147,000.
All further remaining six finalists have between 10 and 20 big blinds at their disposal and one double up would significantly alter the chances of a possible top-three finish. Yifan Cao (2,045,000), Cangsheng Ni (1,880,000), Wenyan Liu (1,875,000), Dapeng Wang (1,570,000), Zhenhua Lu (1,190,000) and Rongshan Li (1,020,000) complete the line-up for the final day.
Lu has reached his second Red Dragon Main Event final table as he finished fourth to Alvin Yifang Zhang in February 2018 out of a field of 1,122 in Macau and received his largest score of HK$800,000 ($102,293) so far. Ni is the next most successful player in terms of money won, with over US$118,000 in live tournament cashes, though he has yet to win a title.
Seat Assignments for the Final Table
| Seat | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wenyan Liu | China | 1,875,000 | 19 |
| 2 | Rongshan Li | China | 1,020,000 | 10 |
| 3 | Ting Yi Tsai | Taiwan | 2,445,000 | 24 |
| 4 | Yifan Cao | China | 2,045,000 | 20 |
| 5 | Cangsheng Ni | China | 1,880,000 | 19 |
| 6 | Dapeng Wang | China | 1,570,000 | 16 |
| 7 | Xin He | China | 2,450,000 | 25 |
| 8 | Zhenhua Lu | China | 1,190,000 | 12 |
| 9 | Zhihao Zhang | China | 11,750,000 | 118 |
The action is set to resume at 1 p.m. local time with 40:42 minutes remaining in level 29 at blinds of 50,000-100,000 with a big blind ante of 100,000 and the final showdown will be broadcasted live on the Red Dragon Poker website with Mandarin commentary and hole cards displayed on a security delay of 30 minutes.
All PokerNews updates until the conclusion of the tournament will be published according to the delay on the live stream.
Baby Dragon Sets Record in South Korea With 593 Entries; 72 Return for Final Day
While Day 3 of the 2019 PokerStars LIVE Asia Red Dragon Jeju ₩2,500,000 Main Event was playing down to the nine-handed final table, another tournament ran concurrently and continued the success of the festival at the Jeju Shinhwa World - Landing Casino.
Both starting days of the ₩1,500,000 Baby Dragon ensured a busy day at the poker tables and resulted in a record for this very event in South Korea as it nearly doubled the 298 entries of the previous year.
Day 1a drew a total of 363 entrants (296 unique players) and the evening flight with 20-minute levels gathered another 230 entries (190 unique players) to create a field of 593 total entries.
The prize pool stands at a sizable ₩ 776,534,000 (~$662,815) and the winner will take home a top prize of ₩168,502,000 (~US$143,830).
With the format playing down to the money and paying out 12 percent of the field each starting flight, a total of 44 Day 1a players locked up a payday of at least ₩2,796,000 (~US$2,385).
China's Qiuning Zhang bagged up a sizable lead with 852,000 in chips on a single bullet and the next closest rival Xinglai Yitrails by quite a margin with 597,000. Former Red Dragon Main Event champion and 2019 Main Event bubble boy Dengfeng "Denny" Yu rounded out the top three Day 1a stacks with 594,000 in chips.
Other Day 1a notables who battled through to Day 2 include China's Bin Zhao (463,000) and Dong Chen (299,000), Taiwan's Chien Fa Chou (223,000) and Australia's Kelvin Beattie (173,000).
Defending champion James Won Lee was in the running but was unable to make it through to Day 2, with other notables to come up short, at least on the opening flight, including Thailand's Phachara Wongwichit, Singapore's Alex Lee, reigning APPT Korea Champion Sparrow Cheung, the Philippines' Mike Takayama and Taiwan's Hung Sheng Lin to name but a few.
Bo Jin topped the counts of the second starting flight and returns second in chips for Day 2 with a stack of 628,000. China's Sun Guodong (617,000) and Thailand's Kannapong Thanarattrakul (432,000) rounded out the top three Day 1b stacks, with other notables to bag big including the previously mentioned Wongwichit (393,000), Taiwan's Chen An Lin (336,000) and China's Hao Chen (276,000).
Only 28 players made it through Day 1b and 72 remaining survivors returned to their seats at 1 p.m. local time to play down to a champion. Day 2 features a level duration of 40 minutes and the action recommenced with blinds of 5,000-10,000 and a big blind ante of 10,000. The event will play down to a champion today and the average stack at the start was just shy of 25 big blinds.
Top 10 Chip Counts for Day 2
| Place | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Qiuning Zhang | China | 852,000 | 85 |
| 2 | Bo Jin | China | 628,000 | 63 |
| 3 | Sun Guodong | China | 617,000 | 62 |
| 4 | Xianlai Li | China | 597,000 | 60 |
| 5 | Dengfeng Yu | China | 594,000 | 59 |
| 6 | Yucheng Xiao | China | 524,000 | 52 |
| 7 | Ferlyn Cabaling | Philippines | 483,000 | 48 |
| 8 | Bin Zhao | China | 463,000 | 46 |
| 9 | Kannapong Thanarattrakul | Thailand | 432,000 | 43 |
| 10 | Nengyue Chen | China | 421,000 | 42 |
Level: 29
Blinds: 50,000/100,000
Ante: 100,000
Tsai Wins First Hand
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Xin He raised to 230,000 with the 
and chip leader Zhihao Zhang called with the 
.
Ting Yi Tsai moved all in on the button for 2,445,000 with the 
and He reluctantly folded, as did Zhang.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
11,520,000 | -230,000 |
|
3,200,000 | 755,000 |
|
2,220,000 | -230,000 |
Ni Jams Into Tsai
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Ting Yi Tsai raised to 200,000 with the 
and Cangsheng Ni three-bet shoved for 17 big blinds with the 
. Tsai gave it short consideration and opted to fold.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
3,000,000 | -200,000 |
|
2,100,000 | 220,000 |
Wenyan Liu Eliminated in 9th Place (₩ 32,242,000)
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Wenyan Liu raised to 200,000 from early position and Ting Yi Tsai moved all in for 32 big blinds from two seats over, Liu eventually called all in for 19 big blinds.
Wenyan Liu: 
Ting Yi Tsai:
The board came 
and just like that ten minutes into the final table, Liu was eliminated in 9th place for ₩ 32,242,000.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
5,300,000 | 2,300,000 |
|
Busted |
Zhenhua Lu Eliminated in 8th Place (₩ 37,932,000)
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Zhenhua Lu limped in with the from the small blind and chip leader Zhihao Zhang checked his option with 
. Both flopped a pair on 
and Lu check-raised from 100,000 to 300,000. Zhang gave it some consideration and made the call.
After the turn, Lu moved all in for 540,000 and Zhang called instantly.
Athe on the river failed to improve Lu and he finished in 8th place for ₩ 37,932,000 in his second Red Dragon Main Event final table appearance.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
12,400,000 | 880,000 |
|
Busted |
He Takes From Tsai
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Xin He raised to 205,000 with the 
in the cutoff and Ting Yi Tsai called in the big blind with .
On a flop of [1s10d5d], Tsai checked and subsequently called a continuation bet of 175,000 to see the 
on the turn.
Tsai's checked was followed by a check back of He and the fell on the river. Tsai bet 500,000 and He called to win a sizable pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
4,400,000 | -900,000 |
|
|
3,000,000 | 780,000 |
Ni and Li Jam
Level 29
: 50,000/100,000, 100,000 ante
Cangsheng Ni jammed for 23 big blinds from under the gun with the and Dapeng Wang folded the 
, Xin He let go of 
.
Down to 770,000, Rongshan Li moved all in from the hijack with the 
and Ni in the small blind had a decision with the . He eventually let go and Dapeng Wang also forfeited his big blind.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
2,350,000 | 250,000 |
|
1,100,000 | -470,000 |
|
1,000,000 | -20,000 |