Chane Kampanatsanyakorn Wins APPT Seoul Main Event (?150,000,000)!
After an epic final day of the PokerStars.net Asia-Pacific Poker Tour Seoul Main Event, it was Chane Kampanatsanyakorn who took home the trophy, the glory and the first-place prize of ?150,000,000 ($142,200).
The third day of play started with 24 players, and it took almost 15 hours before Kampanatsanyakorn could finally smile for those classic celebratory pictures. Kampanatsanyakorn finished second in this exact same event last year to Aaron Lim, and to make this victory even sweeter he also became the first-ever APPT winner from Thailand.
With 24 players returning to action, many had to go before the final table was reached. Along the way, such names as Takahisa Watanabe, Kelvin Beattie, Raiden Kan, and Andy Chan fell before 10 players remained. This is where start-of-the-day chip leader Jeffrey Holbrook headed out the door in 10th place.
The blinds at the final table were rolled back to a 40-big blind average, as is a custom on the APPT, but right away two players were in an all-Japan clash. Shinya Umano knocked out both Kosaku Akashi (9th - ? 15,433,200) and Makoto Yoshimichi (8th -? 20,560,000), which brought the field down to seven quickly.
In seventh place, Sugimoto said his goodbyes when he ran ace-five into Cohen's ace-queen suited. The board brought no help and Sugimoto took home ?25,700,000.
Four double ups took place after Sugimoto was knocked out, then Marshall was the next to go. The American based in South Korea ended up all in holding ace-jack against Winfred Yu's ace-queen and that did not turn out in his favor. Marshall took home ?32,550,000 for his sixth-place finish. Then, after a tough battle for fifth place, it was ultimately one of the more experienced players who hit the rail in Yu. He took home ?41,120,000 for his fifth-place finish.
A few hands after Yu's bust out, Shinya Umano was eliminated fourth place for ?49,690,000. This prompted the final three players to play for about 10 minutes before a deal was discussed.
| Name | Chip Count | Deal Amount (?) | Amount (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Haggart | 2,655,000 | ?130,000,000 | $123,240 |
| Chane Kampanatsanyakorn | 1,965,000 | ?120,000,000 | $114,000 |
| Sam Cohen | 900,000 | ?86,610,000 | $82,000 |
After making the deal, there was still ?30,000,000 ($28,500), including an HK$100,000 package for the ACOP Main Event in November, waiting for the winner. Cohen would not be the winner, though, as she hit the rail just moments after the deal was made.
When heads-up play started, Kampanatsanyakorn had a decent lead with 2.95 million versus Christian Haggart's 2.1 million. After about 90 minutes, it was all over as Kampanatsanyakorn kept Haggart at a distance before knocking him out holding pocket aces. Haggart was gracious in defeat and complimented his opponent with his excellent play before Kampanatsanyakorn finally hoisted the trophy he so desperately wanted.
| Place | Name | Country | Payout in ? | Payout in $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chane Kampanatsanyakorn | Thailand | ?150,000,000 | $142,200 |
| 2 | Christian Haggart | Canada | ?130,000,000 | $123,240 |
| 3 | Sam Cohen | United States | ?86,610,000 | $82,000 |
| 4 | Shinya Umano | Japan | ?49,69,0000 | $47,155 |
| 5 | Winfred Yu | Hong Kong | ?41,120,000 | $39,022 |
| 6 | John Marshall | United States | ?32,550,000 | $30,889 |
| 7 | Keiichiro Sugimoto | Japan | ?25,700,000 | $24,389 |
| 8 | Makoto Yoshimichi | Japan | ?20,560,000 | $19,511 |
| 9 | Kosaku Akahi | Japan | ?15,433,200 | $14,646 |
Thank you for following the PokerNews live coverage from the Paradise Casino Walkerhill in Seoul, South Korea. Check back with us for more APPT coverage as the Macau Main Event kicks off on May 21 and runs through May 25.