The last Day 1 of APT Incheon is officially in the books, meaning that we’re less than 24 hours before the real game begins on Day 2. We had 123 entries in the final flight, bringing the total number of entries up to 709, which means we have officially smashed the APT Incheon Main Event guarantee! So far the tournament has collected over KRW 1.4 billion, but we’re yet to add in the online entries and late registration is open until the start of Day 2, so you still have time to hop in if you want a piece of the action.
Day 1d Action
Ben Loo was among some of the big names to play in the early stages of this flight, looking to improve on his performance in the record-breaking APT Taipei Main Event where he finished 8th for $35,010. While he managed to bag, he’s got a lot of work to do tomorrow, as he only brought forward 19,600 chips - less than half the starting stack!
Repeat Entrants
We saw a number of repeat names take their seats early on, as this is the last chance that anyone has to run up a stack for Day 2. APT Da Nang Summer Series High Roller winner Daniel Brugman was among those looking to get something going late in the Main Event, as was Huidong Gu and Joseph Talamayan who were eliminated earlier in Day 1c.
Unfortunately for Gu, he was unable to find a bag for Day 2, busting in the penultimate level at the hands of Punnat Punsri, when his JJ ran into the AK of the Natural8 pro. Both Brugman and Talamayan were able to make it through to Day 2, although Talamayan will be the happier of the two; he’ll be taking 116,600 through while Brugman barely got above starting stack and will be playing off 41,300.
Natural8 Team Hot - Punnat Punsri
Natural8’s very own Punnat Punsri, who took down a staggering $365,270 as well as the coveted APT Taipei Main Event trophy back in May, is looking to add another Main Event title to his already glittering resume, and he ended the day as one of our chip leaders.
Punsri managed to bag the second-biggest stack of 201,300 chips - partly thanks to that big all-in confrontation with Gu late in the day. He’s going to be a force to be reckoned with as we get deeper into this Main Event, so you better hope he’s not at your table!
One Outer For Your Life
In the last level of the day, we saw one of the sickest hands of the Main Event so far. With the blinds at 600/1200, Tetsuya Enoki got their last 21,700 into the middle with pocket kings, only to have Eiji Kano wake up behind with AA and reshove. Naoki Matsumoto had AJs and covered the pair, so he decided he was getting a good enough price to gamble, only to be disappointed when the hands were turned over.
However, the flop of 844 gave Matsumoto a potential flush draw and a decent chance of knocking the other two players out of the tournament. Kano was still in a good position with their aces until the K hit the turn, giving Enoki the best hand. The 2 on the river meant that Enoki tripled up right at the end of the day.
Neither Kano nor Matsumoto were able to progress to Day 2, but after winning that hand, Enoki bagged 62,100 to take through to Day 2.
Chip Leaders
We saw some real powerhouses at the top of the leaderboard when the final level was complete, as 16-time APT title winner Mike Takayama bagged the chip lead with 205,000 chips. Natural8’s Punnat Punsri finished just behind him with 201,300 chips, and both of them are going to be extremely dangerous on Day 2.
Japan’s Kazuhiko Yotsushika rounds out our top three, bagging 175,400 chips. Yotsushika is also an extremely accomplished player in his own right, with over $2.3 million in tournament winnings as well as two PokerGo Tour titles and a first-place finish in a €25,000 buy-in High Roller tournament at EPT Barcelona.
It seems like Day 1d was the hardest flight of them all, so congrats to everyone who made it through! We can’t wait to see how the action will play out on Day 2, so make sure you subscribe for all of the latest action from APT Incheon.
Image Source: The Asian Poker Tour
