2019 PokerStars Red Dragon Jeju

₩2,500,000 Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info

2019 PokerStars Red Dragon Jeju

Final Results
Winner
Zhihao Zhang
Winning Hand
98
Prize
345,370,000 KRW
Event Info
Buy-in
2,500,000 KRW
Prize Pool
1,896,592,500 KRW
Entries
869
Level Info
Level
32
Blinds
100,000 / 200,000
Ante
200,000
Players Info - Day 2
Entries
302
Players Left
36

Welcome to Day 2 of the 2019 PokerStars Red Dragon Jeju ₩2,500,000 Main Event

Landing Casino Tournament Room
Landing Casino Tournament Room

After three starting days, a record-breaking field of 869 entries has been culled down to 300 survivors at the Jeju Shinhwa World - Landing Casino and the guaranteed prize pool of the 2019 PokerStars LIVE Asia Red Dragon Jeju ₩2,500,000 Main Event has been nearly doubled for the biggest live poker tournament on South Korean soil thus far.

It will be a day filled with plenty of poker action as of 1 p.m. local time as the event will burst the money bubble and pay out a portion of the ₩1,896,592,500 (~$1,626,470) prize pool on the penultimate tournament day. Out of the 300 survivors, almost two-third will walk away empty-handed as only the top 108 spots get paid.

Leading the field into Day 2 is Xiaqing Ji with 355,500 and fellow countryman Hanze Wang (332,000) is the only other player with more than ten times the starting stack at his disposal when the action resumes at blinds of 1,000-2,500 with a big blind ante of 2,500. Other notables in the top 10 include Yifan Cao (248,000), Canlin Chen (238,000), James Won Lee (228,000), and Single-Day High Roller champion Ben Lai (220,000).

Top 10 Chip Counts Heading Into Day 2

PlacePlayerCountry/RegionChip CountBig Blinds
1Xiaqing JiChina355,500142
2Hanze WangChina332,000133
3Yifan CaoChina248,00099
4Dong JiangChina240,00096
5Canlin ChenChina238,00095
6Wen Kai ChenTaiwan235,50094
7Jun SuChina232,00093
8James LeeUnited States228,00091
9Hoa Thinh NguyenVietnam225,50090
10Ben LaiHong Kong220,00088

Furthermore, familiar faces such as Paul Newey (203,000), Kilian Loeffler (196,500), Lei Yu (182,000), Nan Hong (174,000), Daniel Lee (164,000), Quan Zhou (134,500), Jiayu Ruan (134,500), Szymon Wysocki (131,000), Tae Hoon Han (117,000), Xixiang Luo (115,000), Jun Obara (99,500), and reigning APPT Korea Main Event champion Sparrow Cheung (99,500) all return with above-average stacks.

Three former Red Dragon champions remain in contention to become the third two-time champion as Denny Feng (160,000). Alvan Yifan Zheng (105,000) and Kenichi Takarabe (38,500) advanced to Day 2. Defending champion Yuechun Shi, who won the first-ever Red Dragon Main Event outside of Macau in 2018 after topping a field of 613 entries, did not make the cut.

The 2019 Red Dragon Main Event in Jeju at a Glance

DayTotal #Unique EntriesRe-EntriesSurvivors
Day 1a2522232980
Day 1b44436084143
Day 1c1731373677

As of Day 2 and for the remainder of the tournament, the level duration increases to 60 minutes each and it seems likely that at least and up to 11 levels will be played today. The live stream with hole cards displayed on a 30-minute delay on the Red Dragon Poker website will commence after the first break and the PokerNews team will be there all the way until a champion is crowned in Jeju.

Tags: Alvan Yifan ZhengBen LaiCanlin ChenDaniel LeeJiayu RuanJun ObaraKenichi TakarabeKilian LoefflerLei YuNan HongPaul NeweyQuan ZhouSparrow CheungSzymon WysockiTae Hoon HanThinh NguyenWon LeeXiaqing JiXixiang LuoYifan ZhengYuechun Shi

Prize Pool Information

The Red Dragon trophy
The Red Dragon trophy

A total of 869 entries throughout three starting days generated a prize pool of ₩1,896,592,500 (~$1,626,470) and the top 108 spots will get paid with a min-cash being worth ₩ 4,931,000 ($4,241). The winner will take home the coveted Red Dragon trophy and a top prize of ₩ 393,553,500 ($338,456).

PlacePrize (in KRW)Prize (in USD)PlacePrize (in KRW)Prize (in USD)PlacePrize (in KRW)Prize (in USD)
1₩ 393,553,500$338,45610₩ 27,501,000$23,65128-36₩ 8,345,000$7,177
2₩ 241,816,000$207,96211-12₩ 22,759,000$19,57337-45₩ 7,207,000$6,198
3₩ 146,986,000$126,40813-15₩ 18,966,000$16,31146-54₩ 6,448,000$5,545
4₩ 108,106,000$92,97116-18₩ 15,173,000$13,04955-63₩ 6,069,000$5,219
5₩ 73,019,000$62,79619-21₩ 13,276,000$11,41764-72₩ 5,690,000$4,893
6₩ 53,294,000$45,83322-24₩ 11,380,000$9,78773-90₩ 5,310,000$4,567
7₩ 43,622,000$37,51525-27₩ 9,483,000$8,15591-108₩ 4,931,000$4,241
8₩ 37,932,000$32,622      
9₩ 32,242,000$27,728      

Takarabe Busts in Battle of Former Champs

Level 13 : 1,000/2,500, 2,500 ante
Jin Su
Jin Su

Kenichi Takarabe three-bet all in out of the hijack and Jin Su moved all in from the button, which Dengfeng Yu as initial raiser with the biggest stack called.

Kenichi Takarabe: {q-Diamonds}{q-Spades}
Jin Su: {9-Spades}{9-Hearts}
Dengfeng Yu: {5-Hearts}{5-Spades}

The board came {k-Spades}{10-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{9-Clubs}{7-Clubs} and Su turned a set to double through Yu while sending former Red Dragon champion Takarabe to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Dengfeng Yu cn
Dengfeng Yu
125,000
109,000
109,000
Jin Su cn
Jin Su
125,000
50,000
50,000
Kenichi Takarabe jp
Kenichi Takarabe
Busted

Tags: Dengfeng YuJin SuKenichi Takarabe

Nguyen Cracks Aces to Bust Obara

Level 14 : 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Jun Obara
Jun Obara

Huijie Zhou raised the cutoff and Jun Obara called on the button. Huu Dung Nguyen three-bet to 34,500 and Zhou folded while Obara called with some 60,000 behind. After the {8-Diamonds}{6-Hearts}{5-Hearts} flop, they got the remainder of the chips in with Obara at risk.

Jun Obara: {a-Hearts}{a-Spades}
Huu Dung Nguyen: {k-Hearts}{k-Clubs}

The {4-Diamonds} turn provided some chop outs bu a cruel {k-Spades} river gave Nguyen a set of kings to bust Obara.

Player Chips Progress
Huu Dung Nguyen vn
Huu Dung Nguyen
290,000
154,000
154,000
Huijie Zhou cn
Huijie Zhou
155,000
80,000
80,000
Jun Obara jp
Jun Obara
Busted
Mengdian Peng cn
Mengdian Peng
Busted
Fan Wu cn
Fan Wu
Busted

Tags: Dung NguyenHuijie ZhouJun Obara

Tsuji Bad Beats Wu

Level 14 : 1,500/3,000, 3,000 ante
Yake Wu
Yake Wu

Yasuyuki Tsuji raised from early position and called the three-bet by Yake Wu in the hijack to then open-shove the {9-Diamonds}{5-Diamonds}{2-Clubs} flop.

That took Wu by surprise and he tried to engage in table chat. "Do you have jacks?" Wu asked but received no reply. Eventually he called with a near identical stack and the cards were turned over.

Yasuyuki Tsuji: {7-Diamonds}{7-Hearts}
Yake Wu: {10-Diamonds}{10-Spades}

The {a-Spades} turn was a blank but the {7-Clubs} struck on the river to let Tsuji double for 49,500, leaving Wu with a mountain to climb.

In the meanwhile, the huge tower of chips in front of Dengfeng Yu appears to have grown even more as he jumped above half a million in chips.

Player Chips Progress
Dengfeng Yu cn
Dengfeng Yu
600,000
200,000
200,000
Yasuyuki Tsuji jp
Yasuyuki Tsuji
150,000
85,000
85,000
Yan Rao cn
Yan Rao
110,000
60,000
60,000
Jin Su cn
Jin Su
100,000
-100,000
-100,000
Bin Di cn
Bin Di
30,000
-40,000
-40,000
Yake Wu cn
Yake Wu
7,000
-40,000
-40,000

Tags: Dengfeng YuYake WuYasuyuki Tsuji

Double Knockout For Cheung

Level 15 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Sparrow Cheung
Sparrow Cheung

The seats that formerly belonged to Feng Chen and Tsun Ming Chan are now vacant as Sparrow Cheung scored a double knockout.

Whether or not it was Chen that pushed or another player that was moved there already remains unknown but the button got it in with the {j-Diamonds}{9-Diamonds} and Chan was all in from the small blind for a nearly identical stack with the {a-Hearts}{4-Diamonds}. Sparrow made the call with {j-Clubs}{j-Spades} and the board came {q-Spades}{7-Spades}{2-Hearts}{4-Hearts}{3-Diamonds} to reduce the field by two.

Player Chips Progress
Sparrow Cheung hk
Sparrow Cheung
210,000
100,000
100,000
Tsun Ming Chan hk
Tsun Ming Chan
Busted
Feng Chen cn
Feng Chen
Busted

Tags: Feng ChenSparrow CheungTsun Ming Chan

Lettau Busts With Kings to Kings

Level 15 : 2,000/4,000, 4,000 ante
Andre Lettau
Andre Lettau

"You want to hear a sick bad beat story?" Andre Lettau said as he headed out of the tournament area.

"I got it in pre with kings versus kings and he had the {k-Clubs} to hit the flush," Lettau added. A quick look at his former table confirmed who had done the damage as Szymon Wysocki was now sitting on a stack of nearly half a million.

"I am actually disgusted, Andre and I had a nice chat," Wysocki pointed out.

That won't change much about the unfortunate outcome of the clash as Lettau is out before the money while Wysocki has a decent shot at a deep run.

Player Chips Progress
Szymon Wysocki pl
Szymon Wysocki
460,000
185,000
185,000
Andre Lettau de
Andre Lettau
Busted

Tags: Andre LettauSzymon Wysocki

Former Red Dragon Champion Zheng Eliminated

Level 16 : 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Yifan Zheng
Yifan Zheng

Jiayi Jin raised and Alvin Yifan Zheng moved all in for what appeared to be 116,000. Szymon Wysocki looked him up from one seat over and Jin folded.

Yifan Zheng: {k-Spades}{q-Spades}
Szymon Wysocki: {a-Diamonds}{k-Diamonds}

The board came {7-Diamonds}{6-Spades}{2-Hearts}{9-Hearts}{j-Diamonds} and that spelled the end for Zheng's hopes to become a two-time champion.

Player Chips Progress
Szymon Wysocki pl
Szymon Wysocki
650,000
190,000
190,000
Yifan Zheng cn
Yifan Zheng
Busted

Tags: Szymon WysockiJiayi JinYifan Zheng

Enoki Loses Flip in Dramatic Fashion

Level 16 : 2,500/5,000, 5,000 ante
Tetsuya Enoki
Tetsuya Enoki

Tetsuya Enoki got his stack of around 160,000 in preflop against Tianyuan Tang and it was a big flip that decided over his fate.

Tetsuya Enoki: {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}
Tianyuan Tang: {a-Clubs}{k-Hearts}

The Japanese hit the {a-Spades}{q-Hearts}{j-Clubs} flop to reduce the outs of Tang to four tens or running cards for a full house. Right away, the {10-Hearts} hit on the turn and the {2-Diamonds} river came a blank. Both players took out their smartphones to grab a picture of what happened and Enoki then headed to the rail.

Player Chips Progress
Tianyuan Tang cn
Tianyuan Tang
420,000
205,000
205,000
Tetsuya Enoki jp
Tetsuya Enoki
Busted

Tags: Tetsuya EnokiTianyuan Tang

Former Champion Dengfeng Yu Bubbles

Level 18 : 4,000/8,000, 8,000 ante
Dengfeng Yu
Dengfeng Yu

In a remarkable turn of events, the second-ever Red Dragon champion Dengfeng Yu has become the bubble boy. Two spots shy of the money bubble he had lost a pot of more than a million and was left with an above-average stack, which he then shipped in against Hideyoshi Tanaka and was called.

Dengfeng Yu: {9-Hearts}{9-Spades}
Hideyoshi Tanaka: {q-Clubs}{q-Diamonds}

The board came {8-Diamonds}{8-Clubs}{5-Spades}{7-Spades}{10-Spades} and the stacks needed to be double-checked. It turned out that both players had exactly 292,000 and that made Yu the bubble boy.

Player Chips Progress
Hideyoshi Tanaka jp
Hideyoshi Tanaka
600,000
260,000
260,000
Dengfeng Yu cn
Dengfeng Yu
Busted

Tags: Dengfeng YuHideyoshi Tanaka