Andrew Kim wins APPT Seoul Season 5 Main Event
-
- PG News March 11, 2012
-
3 Minutes Read
Paradise Walkerhill Casino further cemented itself as the country’s premier poker destination as 268 players from 37 countries arrived in Seoul for the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Main Event from March 8-11.
The entries for the KRW 3,000,000 (US $2,600) buy-in feature tournament represents the largest poker event ever held in Korea for both field size and prize money — which was an impressive KRW 717,489,000 (US $642,000) that paid the top 28 players.
As the main event’s final count for entries came in, an animated Dom Choi said, “It’s sensational!” and the PokerStars Asia Affiliate Manager added, “The team at Walkerhill has been an absolute class act…Korean nationals can’t enter casino venues so this record really represents a synergy of PokerStars’ presence in Asia with the venue’s dedication and commitment to outstanding results.“
After 3 grueling days it was American Andrew Kim (cover image) who would emerge victorious for the APPT Seoul Season 5 title making him KRW 145,000,000 (US $129,719) richer for his weekend effort.
Sunday began with 16 players but that number was quickly reduced to 9 with 2012 Aussie Millions runner-up Ken Wong entering the final table as the short stack. Coming into Day 3, Wong declared “I feel real good about winning.” and that “This is more about the title than the money.” but a coin toss would land the wrong way ending his title chase in 9th place.
Japan’s Daisuke Endo was the overnight chip leader with hopes of repeating his fellow countryman’s feat when Yoshihiro Tasaka won APPT Seoul in Season 2. Unfortunately, an ill-timed bluff would knock him out in 8th place.
Canada’s Mike Kwon would be next to fall in 7th before Germany’s Moritz Ortmann proceeded to KO Panama’s Jose Severino (6th) and Croatian Sasa Zorc (5th).
The remaining players would then take a brief break to strike a deal that would alter the Top Four payouts. When the final four resumed play, there was plenty of all-in action where Kim and Rubianes would alternate eliminating Spain’s Rafael Sans (3rd) and Ortmann (4th) respectively to set-up an all-American heads up battle for the title.
Kim held 3 million chips to Rubianes’ 2.1 million to begin the dual and that lead more or less held as the last hand arrived. After a series of pre-flop raises and re-raises both players were all-in and revealed their cards with Kim’s AK up against Rubianes’ pocket tens.
The flop of A-2-8 gave the Seattle-resident of Korean descent top pair and his victory was sealed with a meaningless 5 and 3 on the turn and river. Kim was playing his first ever live tournament and approached the high stakes of Sunday night’s final table “One step at a time“. When asked about Kim’s skill and strategy towards playing Rubianes, the newly crowned champion was humble saying “It’s all luck at this point.“.
Main Event Final Table Results
| Position | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Andrew Kim | USA | ₩145,000,000 |
| 2nd | Vincent Rubianes | USA | ₩90,500,000 |
| 3rd | Rafael Sans | Spain | ₩94,500,000 |
| 4th | Moritz Ortmann | Germany | ₩106,000,000 |
| 5th | Sasa Zorc | Croatia | ₩43,000,000 |
| 6th | Jose Severino | Panama | ₩34,000,000 |
| 7th | Mike Kwon | Canada | ₩27,000,000 |
| 8th | Daisuke Endo | Japan | ₩21,400,000 |
| 9th | Ken Wong | Hong Kong | ₩15,889,600 |
For a recap of the APPT Seoul Main Event please visit the PokerStars Blog.
- Categories Latest News,Feature
- KeywordsTags: Andrew Kim, APPT Seoul Season 5, Paradise Walkerhill Casino, PokerStars, Asia Pacific Poker Tour, Live Poker
Popular on PokerGuru
Related Stories
Subscribe
Please login to comment
0 Comments
