From August 6 to 16, players from all over the Asian region took part in the first Asia Poker League festival hosted in Hanoi, Vietnam. From kickoff, the APL Hanoi event was certain to be a big one with 562 charging in the Loyal Poker Club for the opener.

Wedged in the middle of the schedule was the brand’s star attraction, the VN₫ 16,500,000 Main Event 6BN guaranteed which also drew a spectacular field of 503 entries. The festival wrapped up with several events captured including the High Roller 4BN guaranteed and the Super Deepstack. We’ve got those results for you below along with other events that were claimed.

VN₫ 16,500,000 APL Hanoi Main Event – Sam Beesley

The APL Hanoi Main Event blew all expectations with the 6BN advertised guarantee well exceeded. Over the course of four starting heats, 503 runners crowded the room, and at VN₫ 16,500,000 (~US$ 700) each, it pushed up the prize pool to VN₫ 7,262,650,000 (~US$ 312,900). After seven days of competition, owning the throne was UK’s Sam Beesley who turned his VN₫ 1,650,000 (~US$ 70) satellite ticket to a substantial payday worth VN₫ 1,432,250,000 (~US$ 61,700)

Sam Beesley – APL Hanoi Main Event champion

The Main Event took place from August 9 to 15 with the final day witnessing the return of the last 9 players. Despite a heavily dominated local lineup with six of them representing the host country, it was Korean player Jang-Ho Moon who entered as chip leader. Trailing very close behind was Ngo Huy Viet.As the battle wore on, both Moon and Ngo couldn’t hold position and eventually fell 5th and 6th place respectively.

On the flip side, laddering up from the bottom half of the ranks were sixth positioned Hoang Minh Long and seventh positioned Beesley. Both players impressively drove their stacks to heads up to face off for the bragging rights inaugural Main Event title. Beesley won the crucial duel. With no prior stats in The Hendon Mob, it may well have been his first-ever live cash and live win. As for runner-up Hoang, he too did well for himself. He cashed in a cool VN₫ 1,004,400,000 (~US$ 43,200) for his largest live payout.

Final 9 payouts
Prize pool: VN₫ 7,262,650,000 – Buyin: VN₫ 16,500,000 – Entries: 503 – ITM: 63 places

1st Sam Beesley (UK) –  VN₫ 1,432,250,000
2nd Hoang Minh Long (Vietnam) – VN₫  1,004,400,000
3rd Lee Sangin (Korea) – VN₫ 645,900,000
4th Nguyen Quang Minh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 447,500,000
5th Jang Ho Moon (Korea) – VN₫ 343,500,000
6th Ngo Huy Viet (Viet nam) – VN₫  286,300,000
7th Luong Anh Tuan (Vietnam) – VN₫ 238,400,000
8th Nguyen Manh Tuan (Vietnam) – VN₫ 190,800,000
9th Doan Tien Thanh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 143,300,000

Other notable players reaching the money were: Cao Ngoc Anh (16th), Nguyen Huu Dung (34th), andDavid Erquiaga (38th).

Other Events

Event 14: VN₫ 43,000,000 High Roller 4b gtd – Tran Nam Trung

The VN₫ 43,000,000 (~US$ 1,900) buy-in High Roller event got busy on the last three days of the festival running from August 14 to 16. With the pot guaranteed at 4BN, 118 marched into action to pump up the prize pool to VN₫ 4,578,300,000 (~US$ 197,200). Capturing the enviable VN₫ 1,350,700,000 (~US$ 58,200) first prize was Vietnam’s own Tran Nam Trung after defeating Korea’s You Heung Youl at heads up.

Alike the Main Event champion, no prior stats can be found on Tran. This may well be Tran’s first live cash / live tournament victory. If so, overcoming a powerhouse field of well known Asian pros is nothing short of an incredible achievement.

Final 9 payouts
Prize pool: VN₫ 4,578,300,000 – Buyin:  VN₫ 43,000,000 – Entries: 118 – ITM: 15 places

1st Tran Nam Trung (Vietnam) – VN₫ 1,350,700,000
2nd You Heung Youl (Korea) – VN₫ 835,600,000
3rd Nguyen Quang Huy (Vietnam) – VN₫ 499,000,000
4th Rajesh Sabapathy (Australia) – VN₫ 320,500,000
5th Nguyen Hoang Huy (Vietnam) – VN₫ 242,700,000
6th Soo Jo Kim (Korea) – VN₫ 201,400,000
7th Phan Hoang Tu (Vietnam) – VN₫ 174,000,000
8th Nguyen Ngoc Dai (Vietnam) – VN₫ 153,400,000
9th Nguyen Tuan Hung (Vietnam) – VN₫ 135,000,000

Event 16: VN₫ 11,000,000 Super Deepstack- Nguyen Anh Minh

One of the last events to complete was the VN₫ 11,000,000 (~US$ 475) buy-in Super Deepstack which ran on August 15 to 16. A sizable 105 heated up seats to generate a prize pool of VN₫ 1,018,500,000 (~US$ 43,900). The top 14 spots earned, among them was Indian pro Sumit Sapra who found his way to the final 9 roundup only to be stopped in 8th place. Going the distance was Vietnam’s Nguyen Anh Minhafter defeating Australia’s Anthony Abram at heads up. Nguyen pocketed his largest live takedown worth VN₫ 305,600,000 (~US$ 13,200).

Final 9 payouts
Prize pool: VN₫ 1,018,500,000 – Buyin: VN₫ 11,000,000 – Entries: 105 – ITM: 14 places

1st Nguyen Anh Minh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 305,600,000
2nd Anthony Abram (Australia) – VN₫ 188,400,000
3rd Rober Birss (Scotland) – VN₫ 113,100,000
4th Nguyen Kim Thuong Son (Vietnam) – VN₫ 73,800,000
5th Tran Ngoc Binh (Vietnam) – VN₫ 57,000,000
6th Vu Trung Hieu (Vietnam) – VN₫ 46,900,000
7th Tran Huy Hoang (Vietnam) – VN₫ 39,700,000
8th Sumit Sapra (India) – VN₫ 34,600,000
9th Luong Anh Tuan (Vietnam) – VN₫ 30,600,000

Event 12: VN₫ 32,000,000 High Roller Short Deck
Entries: 16
Prize pool: VN₫ 465,600,000 (~US$ 20,000)
ITM: 2 places
Winner: Pham Minh Duc (Vietnam) – VN₫ 302,600,000 (~US$ 13,000)

Event 15: VN₫ 8,800,000 KO Bounty 2
Entries: 129
Prize pool: VN₫ 743,040,000 (~US$ 32,000)
ITM: 17 places
Winner: Nguyen Tuan Hing aka Macaron Tran (Vietnam) – VN₫ 209,940,000 (~US$ 9,000)

Event 17: VN₫ 5,500,000 Hyper Turbo 3
Entries: 35
Prize pool: VN₫ 194,000,000 (~US$ 8,300)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: Kang Min Woo (Korea) – VN₫ 79,600 (~US$ 3,400)

Event 18: VN₫ 8,800,000 6 Max Turbo
Entries: 45
Prize pool: VN₫ 349,200,000 (~US$ 15,000)
ITM: 6 places
Winner: Tran Viet Hoang (Vietnam) – VN₫ 136,200,000 (~US$ 5,800)