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Home / Uncategorized / Red Dragon 2018 High Roller: Yin Gui Li is crowned champion and walks away with ₩285,010,000 (~US$257,500)

Following more than 16 hours of action-packed (we are not exaggerating) play, Yin Gui Li beat a field of 95 to take home the Jeju Red Dragon 2018: High Roller. The tournament more than tripled it’s ₩300,000,000 guarantee, near the beginning of Day 1 yesterday. The total prize-pool generated was a huge ₩1,073,500,000.

Yin Gui Li

The day began with Huahuan Feng in the chip lead out of 45 left but with late registration still open, it was a given that the 73-strong field would grow. In the end the 95 entries were made up of 65 uniques and 30 re-entries, one of which turned out to be our eventual winner.

Once late registration closed, players began to fall thick and fast and some big stacks started to emerge ahead of the pack. One was Li and it was in a tournament defining hand – against Baby Dragon 2018 winner James Won Lee – that set him on the trajectory that was to continue through to the very end. The hand involved three players, one who was relatively short and Li’s kings were behind Lee’s aces for the much bigger side pot. He ended up winning the lot, securing ten percent of the chips in play with around 40 players left, when he hit a king on the turn.

James Won Lee

We also lost some big names around this time, with Michael Soyza, Shan Huang, Chen An Lin and James Won Lee failing to convert a deep run into a cash.

The bubble burst in spectacular fashion with Li’s sensational run continuing in another three-handed mammoth pot, when there were 15 left. This time, Mikael Andersson and Yuan Li were the casualties. Li had got it all in on the flop with a flush draw for the main pot and a flush draw plus an over for the side pot. The river brought him the spade he needed to win it all and his stack soared to 2.4 million, which was over a quarter of the total in play.

Mikael Andersson

Not long after, John Juanda busted in 12th place for a ₩21,470,000 min cash and then two spots later we arrived at the final table bubble. Wei Zhao was the unfortunate person to narrowly miss out on a coveted final table seat, losing most of his chips in a flip to Chen Wei Lim that he couldn’t recover from.

John Juanda

Following a dinner break, it took three hours for nine to become three and, as had been the order of the day so far, Li was still in the lead. Xing Long Huang couldn’t make it beyond 3rd place after losing A9 to Li’s AK. He will be able to console himself with the ₩130,970,000 (~US$118,000).

Xing Long Huang

Then there were two and only Day 1 chip leader Feng stood in the way of Li’s taking 1st place. Feng put up a fight and did reduce the chip deficit he had when their heads-up battle began but in the end, it was too tough a challenge and he fell at the last. Feng got it in good with A8 versus A3 but Li managed to hit one of his three outs on the 23256 board to take down the title, the trophy and the cash. Feng goes home ₩198,060,000 (~US$178,000) better off as a result of his fantastic run.

Huahuan Feng

Speaking to our new champ shortly afterwards, the 36 year old from Beijing told PokerStars “I feel excellent! I knew I was going to win when there were 40 players left and I won a huge three-way pot with pocket kings after turning a set against Baby Dragon Champion Jimmy Lee who had aces, and another player with pocket sevens.” This is his second title and his largest ever score in a career that has spanned the last six or seven years. Long may it continue.

Yin Gui Li celebrating with friends

Event 8: High Roller KRW 300,000,000 GTD        
Date: Dec 3-4, 2018      
Buy-in: ₩12,000,000 (11,300,000+700,000)      
Players: 95      
Prize Pool: ₩1,073,500,000      
         
WINNERS        
         
Place First Name Last Name Country Prize
1 Yin Gui Li China ₩285,010,000
2 Huahuan Feng China ₩198,060,000
3 Xing Long Huang China ₩130,970,000
4 Zhou Tong China ₩102,520,000
5 Wei Hsiang Yeh Malaysia ₩82,660,000
6 Wen Ling Gao China ₩64,410,000
7 Jun Wah Yap Malaysia ₩50,990,000
8 Tian Jin China ₩39,720,000
9 Nan Wei Hong Kong ₩30,060,000
10 Chin Wei Lim Malaysia ₩23,080,000
11 Qi Luo China ₩23,080,000
12 Johnson Juanda USA ₩21,470,000
13 Wei Zhao China ₩21,470,000

1:10am: Li seals the deal to win the Jeju Red Dragon 2018: High Roller for ₩285,010,000
Level 24: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

In a heads up battle that lasted a little over half an hour, Yin Gui Li has eliminated the last person standing in his way to take down the Jeju Red Dragon 2018: High Roller.

Huahuan Feng finished in second place for ₩198,060,000. More details will follow shortly in the wrap.

12:55am: Feng putting up a fight
Level 24: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

There has barely been a showdown and chips have been passed back and forth for the last 20 minutes or so. In that time, Huahuan Feng went down as low as 1.68 million to Yin Gui Li’s 7.82 million. Just now he has been fighting hard and has pulled back to 3.18 million, reducing his chip deficit to 3:1. Could this be the beginnig of an upwards trend for Feng?

12:35am: Heads up is now underway
Level 23: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Yin Gui Li and Huahuan Feng will battle it out for ₩285,010,000 in prize money, the trophy and the title. Interesting to note, that Feng finished Day 1 as chip leader and Li has been the chip leader for the vast majority of the day.

12:25am: The clock is paused
Level 23: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

There will be a brief recess for our two heads up players before we pick up where we left off.

12:20am: Huang out in 3rd for ₩130,970,000
Level 23: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Yin Gui Li seems to be picking his opponents off one by one. The latest casualty to befall Li since he began his incredible run almost ten hours ago, is Xing Long Huang.

Huang got 2.2 million in with A9 only to find that he was out-kickered by Li’s AK.

Both Huang and Huahuan Feng got out of their seats in anticipation but Li looked cool and calm when the dealer laid out the board.

JA864

With no nine for Huang, he will have to console himself with a fantastic run. For Li, it is an envious position to be in…he will be entering heads up with a 4:1 chip lead with 7.275 million in chips to Feng’s 2.225 million.

Xing Long Huang

12:10am: Tong finishes 4th for ₩102,520,000
Level 23: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

As the table shortie, with under 12 big blinds, Zhou Tong decided to push the last of it from under the gun, which is also the cutoff when four-handed. Chip leader Yin Gui Li called from the button and the others got out of the way.

Yin Gui Li: AA
Zhou Tong: Q2

Tong looked a little deflated when he saw just how bad shape he was in against Li’s aces. The 36K43 runout was safe for the rockets and Li has extended his lead to 4.2 million. Whilst Tong was seen heading towards the payouts desk.

Zhou Tong

12am: Updated counts
Level 23: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

With another level under their belts, here are the updated counts for the last four.

Yin Gui Li – 3.2 million
Xing Long Huang – 2.4 million
Huahuan Feng – 1.9 million
Zhou Tong – 1.1 million

11:50pm: Yeu comes unstuck, busting in 5th place for ₩82,660,000
Level 22: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

After surviving numerous all-ins, Wei Hsiang Yeu has hit the rail. All the chips went in preflop and once again he was flipping for his tournament life.

Wei Hsiang Yeu: 77
Xing Long Huang: AK

Huang connected with the 84A flop and there was no seven to turn things around for Yeu, with a 3 and 8 on the turn and river. Huang has 2.6 million in front, his peak for the tournament so far.

This means there are only four players still left in contention. Things are heating up.

Wei Hsiang Yeu HR

11:30pm: Gao hits the rail in 6th for ₩64,410,000
Level 22: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

Wen Ling Gao’s deep run has come to an end. After showing a lot of determination with such a short-stack, she was unable to come back when she got it in behind with 76 against Huahuan Feng’s K8 and will have to settle for 6th place.

Wen Ling Gao

11:25pm: Yeu continues to yo-yo
Level 22: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

First he doubled with aces, then he lost pair v pair, now Wai Hsiang Yeu has doubled again, this time with QK against Yin Gui Li’s J8. He only started the hand with 395,000, so his double to 825,000 is still precarious as it’s less than 15 big blinds.

11:15pm: Level 22 is underway
Level 22: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (10,000 ante)

The six remaining players are back and ready to get stuck in again.

11:05pm: Another break
Level 21: Blinds 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Is it just us or does it seem like less than two hours since the last break? Well anyway, play is paused for the next 10 minutes. See you then.

10:55pm: Huang finds a double through Yeu
Level 21: Blinds 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Wai Hsiang Yeu open jammed the button for 920,000 with 22 and ran into Xing Long Huang’s over pair JJ.

Nothing untoward happened on the AQ935 board and Huang doubled up to 1.41 million, leaving Yeu with just 225,000.

10:45pm: Yap Eliminated in 7th place for ₩50,990,000
Level 21: Blinds 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Jun Wah Yap was still in some trouble, despite getting a double through Gao not long ago. He got all of his chips in preflop and found he was off to the races with Zhou Tong.

Zhou Tong: 88
Jun Wah Yap: A10

The flop brought out an interesting 10A8, giving top two pair to Yap and bottom set to Tong. Tong managed to avoid an ace or a ten when the dealer put 52 out to complete the board.

Tong climbs up the ranks with 1.475 million now, which is nearly average at this stage.

Jun Wah Yap

10:35pm: Back to back all-ins keep Gao in the game
Level 21: Blinds 25,000/50,000 (5,000 ante)

Blinds are up and with less than a big blind left, after Yin Gui Li opened, Gao put the remaining 5k chip in from the small blind. With no other players in, it was heads up and the two were in a coin flip situation, with Gao hitting a queen on the river, to win with Q5 against Li’s 44.

A few hands later and Gao found A5 when the action was unopened in front and she jammed 110,000, which was little more than 2 big blinds. Xing Long Huang made up the difference from the big blind and he was ahead with A10.

The dealer put out Q43 on the flop and there were an additional four outs for Gao to hit the wheel straight. It fell [ 2c] on the turn and and locked the hand up before the 3 river came. Gao has pushed up to 285,000.

10:25pm: Gao down to the wire
Level 20: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Jun Wah Yap was down to less than 10 big blinds and moved all-in for 340,000 from under the gun. No one seemed interested, that was until Wen Ling Gao found a hand in the big blind.

Wen Ling Gao: AK
Jun Wah Yap: 78

Was was the marginal favourite going into the flop and it came 478, giving Yap two pair. The 7 turn locked it up for the Malaysian and the 4 on the river had no bearing.

Yap has secured a double and is now sitting on 730,000, whilst Gao is pretty much left with a chip and a chair (35,000).

10:15pm: Tian busts in 8th place and takes home ₩39,720,000
Level 20: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

After a slow start to the level, we lost a player, making it seven left.

Jin Tian came to the table short and managed to get one ladder in before shipping her last 210,000. Huahuan Feng was the only player to call and Tian was the one in trouble with her tournament life on the line.

Jin Tian: A5
Huahuan Feng: AJ

The board fell Q910Q8, which was no help to Tian, who hit the rail. Meanwhile Feng has the second chip lead with 1.85 million in play.

Jin Tian

10:05pm: Short stack steals
Level 20: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

Given how large the blinds are now, it is no surprise to see the short stacks trying their best to stay nab the blinds where they can. So far no one has been called but with a few players extremely short now, it is unlikely to continue for long.

9:45pm: Levels up
Level 20: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (5,000 ante)

The blinds have increased and the average stack of 1.187 m is currently worth just shy of 30 big blinds.

9:35pm: Wei eliminated in 9th place for ₩30,060,000
Level 19: Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

We are down to eight players, following the exit of Nan Wei. Xing Long Huang got the ball rolling with a 65,000 open from under the gun. Both blinds defended, Wei Hsiang Yeu in the small and Nan Wei in the big.

The dealer laid 7Q10 on the flop and Yeu checked. Wei then moved all-in for 350,000. This was enough to push out the preflop aggressor but not Yeu, who called with 77. It was dominating Wei’s QJ, who needed running cards only to stay in the tournament.

Though another Q came on the turn, the 8 river was a brick and Wei leaves us in 9th. Yeu has chipped up to 1.4 million now.

Nan Wei

9:20pm: A quiet spell
Level 19: Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

The first 15-minutes back have been very quiet indeed, with no significant pots changing hands.

9:05pm: Plays resumes
Level 19: Blinds 15,000/30,000 (5,000 ante)

With everyone having fed and watered themselves (we hope), it is back to felt for some more poker.

8:05pm: Dinner Break
Level 18: Blinds 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Despite a number of short stacks coming into the final table, all nine are still in contention as they head out for their dinner break. We will return in 60-minutes.

7:50pm: Gao survives
Level 18: Blinds 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Weng Ling Gao has struggled for the last hour or so and found herself desperately short since reaching the final table. She managed to get one steal through, despite such a short-stack and then promptly moved all-in again the very next hand. Runaway chip leader Yin Gui Li made the call and everyone else moved aside.

Weng Ling Gao: KK
Yin Gui Li: AQ

Gao had managed to find a monster just when she needed it and Li must have been surprised to find himself the underdog with such a strong hand. The 10AK flop paired the ace for Li but it also made a set for Gao and she managed to fade the 94 turn and river to boost herself up to 340,000.

Weng Ling Gao

7:30pm: Back to the action
Level 18: Blinds 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Our final table is now underway and for the first time in the who tournament, we are playing nin-handed. Everyone has secured themselves at least ₩30,060,000. There are about 35 mins left of this level before players take a 60-minute dinner break.

7:10pm: The clock is paused once more
Level 18: Blinds 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Jeju Red Dragon High Roller Final Table

Seat First Name Last Name Country Count
1 Zhou Tong China 712,000
2 Wen Ling Gao China 156,000
3 Jun Wah Yap Malaysia 499,000
4 Yin Gui Li China 3,342,000
5 Wei Hsiang Yeu Malaysia 665,000
6 Nan Wei Hong Kong 413,000
7 Xing Long Huang China 1,103,000
8 Jin Tian China 380,000
9 Huahuan Feng China 1,753,000

So we have our final nine and whilst we do a the last redraw, collect chip counts and get a finalists photo, the clock has been paused.

7:05pm: Chin Wei Lim finishes just outside the final table
Level 18: Blinds 12,000/24,000 (4,000 ante)

Chin Wei Lim has had a roller coaster of a ride in the last twenty minutes or so. He just lost a big pot against massive chip leader, Yin Gui Li, after Li rivered a set and made a large value bet. This left Lim in poor shape and it wasn’t long before he moved all-in, finding one call from Xing Long Huang.

Chin Wei Lim: AQ
Xing Long Huang: KJ

Lim was ahead but Huang was very much live and though the 358 flop was good for our all-in player, the J turn and 7 river sent the chips Huang’s way.

Chin Wei Lim

6:50pm: Zhao out to Lim
Level 17: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Wei Zhao finished in 11th, taking home ₩23,080,000, after losing almost everything in a flip to Chin Wei Lim. Zhao raise-called Lim’s big blind jam vs his button open and they were off to the races.

Chin Wei Lim: 55
Wei Zhao: AQ

The 556 flop put an end to Zhao’s hopes with quads for his opponent. The turn and river made no difference and Zhao was left with just 34,000, meaning he needed something really special to happen in order to stage a comeback.

The very next hand he moved all-in and once again it was Lim who called. Lim’s A5 was slightly ahead of Zhao’s K7 and the runout didn’t change that. Lim has upped his stack to around 1.15 million.

6:40pm: Juanda out in 12th
Level 17: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

John Juanda is the latest casualty in the High Roller. He failed to progress past 12th after running pocket sixes into Day 1 chip leader Huahuan Feng’s dominating pocket nines.

Juanda will take home ₩21,470,000 to add to his $24 million lifetime tournment winnings.

John Juanda

6:30pm: In the money
Level 17: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

With a double bustout taking the field down to 13 players, we have reached the money. It was a dramatic hand that saw a crowd drawn around the table, to watch Yuan Li, Mikael Andersson and Yin Gui Li get tangled in a pot worth a quarter of the total in play.

The action really heated up on the 74J flop. Both Andersson and Yuan checked and Yin Gui bet 50,000. Andersson flatted and Yuan squeezed 392,000 all-in.Yin Gui was next to act and used three time bank chips deciding how to proceed, before reraising around 1.1 million all-in over the top. Andersson made a relatively quick call that had the crowd gasping as they turned their cards on their backs.

Yuan Li: AA
Mikael Andersson: KJ
Yin Gui Li: Q9

The pocket rockets needed to hold against top pair and a flush draw in order to scoop the main pot, whilst Andersson needed to fade spades or a queen to win the 1.2 million side pot.

The turn was a sweaty 10 and Yin Gui had improved, with an open-ended to add to his flush draw and the 2 river locked it up for him. It means we have to say goodbye to Yuan and Andersson who finish in 15th and 14th respectively, whilst Yin Gui soars to 2.4 million.

Yin Gui Li

6:20pm: Blinds are up
Level 17: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Blinds are up and there are still 15 left, which means the average stack is just over 30 big blinds.

6:05pm: Tian doubles through Huang
Level 16: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

The action is so fast and furious at the moment (unusual given how close we are to the bubble), that it is hard to keep up!

We were able to catch the moment Jin Tian got a double after finding KK against Xinglong Huang, who had ace-ten. The 48Q39 runout was safe for Tian and she has moved up to 470,000. Though it is still a way from the 633,000 average, it certainly gives her a little more breathing room.

Jin Tian

5:55pm: Huang reaches seven-figures
Level 16: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Xinglong Huang has just taken a significant pot. Both in size and the fact that it saw him reach 1 million in chips. It came at the expense of Jen Wah Jap, who was check-minraised on the 6K65 turn. On the 5 river, Huang set Yap all in and after using 1 time bank chip, Yap decided that fold was the best option. The set back put the Malaysian down to 370,000 in chips.

5:50pm: Long out
Level 16: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

We are now two off the money following Wenjun Long’s exit in 16th. He lost a flip for his last 70,000 with 88 against Wei Zhou’s KQ. Zhou paired his queen, which was enough to send Long to the rail.

5:45pm: Prizepool and payouts
Level 16: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

The numbers are in for Event #8 High Roller, with 95 total entries (65 uniques + 30 re-entries). This generated a ₩1,073,500,000 prize pool. The top 13 places will payout, with a min-cash worth ₩21,470,000 and the winner walking away with the ₩285,010,000 (~US$257,500) top prize.

5:42pm: Players are back in their seats
Level 16: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

With a slightly longer break than scheduled, due to a chip colour up. The final 16 are now ready to play. There will be another two hours of play in the next three levels, before a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 18

5:30pm: Grab yourself a cuppa
Level 15: Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

We will be back in 10 minutes after the second break of the day.

5:20pm: The clock is paused
Level 15: Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

With just 1 minute and 25 seconds left of the Level (and until the break begins), the clock has been paused for another table redraw. That means we are down to just 16 hopefuls, following a slew of eliminations in the last quarter of an hour.

5:05pm: Theo eliminated by Feng
Level 15: Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

Ming Juen Theo has just fallen at the hands of Huahuan Feng, running A10 into KK. All the money went in pre and the 52884 board favoured the preflop favourite, shifting some welcome chips Feng’s way. He is now back around 430,000.

4:50pm: Notable stacks
Level 15: Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

We are down to 19 players left and with so many bustouts taking place already today, there are some very big stacks emerging. There are 9.5 million total chips in play and the three players below are sharing a third of those.

Yin Gui Li – 1.4 million
Mikael Andersson – 1 million
John Juanda – 910,000

Mikael Andersson

4:30pm: Play resumes
Level 14: Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

All 24 players are in their new seats. There is less than half of this level, plus one more before we hit the next break.

4:15pm: The clock is paused
Level 14: Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

There are 24 players left, which means a redraw for the last three tables.

3:55pm: Soyza doubles next hand
Level 14: Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

It folded round to Michael Soyza in the small blind and he jammed 159,000 into Chuandong Zhu in the big, who called.

Michael Soyza: K7
Chuandong Zhu: AJ

Soyza was live but still needed to hit in order to stay in. The 107Q62 runout brought a pair on the flop for Soyza and he doubled up to 330,000.

Michael Soyza

3:50pm: Li continues to accumulate
Level 13: Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Yin Gui Li’s run shows no signs of slowing down, having just won a large pot in a hand that coolered Michael Soyza.

The 6Q3 flop was down and when Soyza checked, Li checked it back. On to the turn and it came 4. Soyza checked and Li bet 55,000, which Soyza called.

On the 8 river, following another check, Li made it a round 100,000 to play but Soyza wasn’t done there and upped it to 250,000. Li snapped and turned over 66 for a set, which beat Soyza’s top two pair with Q8.

“Good thing I made it 250,000” Soyza said to Shan Huang, who agreed. Not going all in saved Soyza from busting and instead he has 160,000, which as the blinds are going up for the next hand will give him 16 bigs to try to recover from.

Li has crushed today, he was still stacking his chips minutes later but it looked around 1.25 million. Very nice indeed.

3:30pm: Wei remains steady
Level 13: Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Finishing third in chips at the end of play yesterday, Nan Wei has had what appears to be a very steady start to Day 2. The former Badminton pro, who hails from Hong Kong, became the first men’s singles medalist for his country by winning a bronze medal in 2014 Asian Games.

He has now turned his attention to the world of poker and has chipped up a little in the last couple of hours, sitting with around 400,000 in front.

Nan Wei

3:15pm: We are back
Level 13: Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

The remaining players have returned from their break, ready to play another two hours of cards. Late registration is now closed and we will shortly post the all-important info for you, just as soon as the numbers have been confirmed.

3:05pm: Break time
Level 12: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

It’s the first break of the day, see you back here in 10 minutes.

2:55pm: Lee vs Li for the chip lead
Level 12: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

In a monstrous hand, near the end of the level, there was a lot of excitement over at James Won Lee’s table, we ran over to see that there had been a three-way all-in and Lee was kind enough to fill us in on the preflop action. Even kinder considering the cruel beat he had just suffered…

It began with an open from Yin Gui Li and Lee flatted behind. “I knew he [indicated to where a third player had been sat] was going to go all-in”. He was right, the other opponent squeezed and Li went over the top, with Lee over-calling.

James Won Lee: AA
Yin Gui Li: KK
Third opponent: 77

The J4J flop was safe for Lee but the K turn left him with just two outs. There was no ace on the 4 river and Li won a mountain of chips.

“That’s the worst beat I’ve taken…look at that stack” Lee said to his neighbour. It certainly was a bad one, worth over ten percent of the chips in play, with about 40 players left. With only 40,000 left to play with, Lee needs to find an incredible come-back if he is to turn his tournament around, either that or get it in fast and re-enter.

Yin Gui Li goes forward with a seven-figure stack as he has now surpassed the 1 million mark, four times the average.

Yin Gui Li

2:45pm: Update on Feng
Level 12: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Our Day 1 chip leader, Huahuan Feng has had a tricky start. After starting the day with 415,000, he lost a pot bluffing versus Wei Hsiang Yeu.

Play was on the flop when we joined the action and it read 69J. Feng check-called a 10,500 bet. On the 8 turn, Feng checked to Yeu, who bet 17,500 this time. Feng upped it to 42,000 and Yeu peeled, bringing a 10 out to complete the board.

Feng took one final stab at the pot, betting 62,000 and Yeu didn’t need long to decide, making a quick call and turning over QJ for the top straight. Feng showed 65 and now has 305,000, which is still very healthy indeed and well above average. Yeu is up to 441,000.

Huahuan Feng

2:35pm: Soyza building
Level 12: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Although we can’t give you more details, Michael Soyza has been steadily building throughout the day so far. Beginning Day 2 with just 67,500, the Malaysian has gained some serious momentum and now has 320,000 in front, which is one and a half times the average.

2:25pm: Last level of late registration
Level 12: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

There is around 45 minutes left of late registration, with the final call at the end of Level 12 (and this includes the break). For any would be contenders out there – this is your last chance to get involved in the action.

2:15pm: Li lives
Level 11: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Short stack Yin Nam Bjorn Li jammed 37,000 all in from the button and got a call from Tong Zhou in the small blind.

Yin Nam Bjorn Li: K2
Tong Zhou: A8

Li was in behind for his tournament life but that the 695QK runout made a pair for him on the river and he survives to play another hand.

“No re-entry yet” said Li with a smile as he scooped up 85,000 in chips. Tong Zhou was left with 93,000, which is almost 20 big blinds at this stage.

2pm: Strong start to Day 2 for Juanda
Level 11: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

There has been almost an hour of play and it has certainly been very productive for John Juanda. He finished with 213,500 last night and has built up to around 350,000 now.

John Juanda

1:50pm: Cooler for Park
Level 10: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

Christopher Young Park has just busted to Qi Luo, following an unfortunate cooler. It began with an open from Park to 8,500 and a 23,500 three-bet by Luo. Park made the call and it was heads up to the flop.

9910

Luo checked and Park checked back the flop. The 8 turn saw a second check from Luo and this time Park opted to bet, with a sizing of 23,000. It was a snap raise by Luo, who made it enough to cover his opponent and Park’s decision appeared easy too, when he made a very quick call.

Christopher Young Park: QJ
Qi Luo: 1010

It was easy to see why, with Park holding the top straight but sadly for him, he was drawing dead to the full house in Luo’s hand. The river was inconsequential and Park will need to re-enter to stay in the competition. Luo has increased his stack to 355,000.

1:35pm: The field grows to 80
Level 10: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

The Red Dragon High Roller continues to attract players, with 80 entrants and counting. This means we have now tripled the guarantee, with ₩904,000,000 in the prize-pool so far.

1:20pm: Back to back doubles
Level 10: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

Less than an orbit later, James Won Lee was sat in the big blind. Tianyuan Tang limped from the small and Lee set all of his 112,500 chips over the line. Tang asked for a count before quickly making the call and they flipped their cards on their backs.

James Lee: A8
Tianyuan Tang: A10

This time Lee was behind but that all changed on the 248 flop, which made a pair for Lee and left Tang with only three tens to win or running straight cards to chop. The 9 turn and 9 river were safe for Lee and he now has 230,000 to play with, whilst Tang is in bad shape on just 32,000.

James Won Lee

1:10pm: Double for Lee
Level 10: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

We didn’t have to wait long for the action to get started, with James Won Lee, current Baby Dragon champion, moving all-in just moments into the start of the day. It folded round to Lee and he shipped his 20 big blind stack from the button. He was called by one the small blind and Lee had the best of it with AK against his opponent’s AQ. The board was a favourabe 94J45 for Lee and he collected the chips.

1:05pm: Cards are in the air
Level 10: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

The second and final day of the High Roller has begun. Stay tuned for live updates that will take you through to the conclusion.


Today is Day 2 (and the final day) of the High Roller tournament. Yesterday 73 runners battled it out and after six hours of play, 45 of those survived and will continue their campaign today.

Landing Casino

Huahuan Feng finished top of the counts and will start the day with an impressive 415,000 and hot on his tail is Huang Shan with 412,500. They were the only two to exceed the 400,000 mark when the clock was paused but that could all change today, with late registration open until the end of Level 12 (at 3:10pm). Not only that but there are still some big names in contention. They include John Juanda, Chen An Lin and Michael Soyza.

The prize-pool generated is ₩824,900,000 and counting and we will confirm final prize-pool and payout figures once the registration period has closed.

The action will kick-off from 1pm this afternoon and like yesterday, Levels will be 40-minutes long and there will be two hours of play (three levels), followed by a 10-minute break. Join us then for live updates throughout, until a new winner is crowned.

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