Alexander Puchalski raised to 50,000 and was called by Markus Garberg in the big blind. On a flop, Garberg checked and folded when Puchalski made it 50,000 to go.
One hand later, the Canadian min-raised again and Nevan Chang came along from the big blind. They checked to the river on which Chang checked and folded to a bet worth 100,000.
On the tail end of a heads-up pot between Akshay Kapoor in early position and Chris Backhouse in the cutoff, both players checked the turn. The river was also checked by Kapoor and Backhouse checked it back to get shown the for the jack-high straight.
One hand later, Backhouse opened to 50,000 and Nevan Chang called from the big blind to then check the flop. Backhouse continued for 100,000 and won the pot right there.
Having forfeited his big blind and big blind ante, Michael Soyza then pushed all-in from the small blind to get called by the initial raiser Nevan Chang.
Michael Soyza:
Nevan Chang:
The flop gave Chang the top pair while Soyza had an open-ended straight draw. "Spade for a sweat," Soyza asked and received just that with the turn.
However, the river was a blank and the only former APPT Main Event champion in the field was eliminated in 9th place for $9,454.
Michael Soyza open-jammed in the first hand and collected the blinds and antes.
Nevan Chang then raised to 50,000 and folded when Alexander Puchalski three-bet in the big blind, making it 200,000 to go.
Akshay Kapoor opened to 50,000 in the small blind and was called by Puchalski in the small blind. Both checked the flop and Puchalski also checked the turn. Kapoor bet 95,000 for his opponent to call.
Both checked down the river and Puchalski's won the pot.
The second PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) stop in 2022 and first in the Kingdom of Cambodia is seeking a champion today in the Grand Ballroom of the award-winning world-class integrated resort of NagaWorld in Phnom Penh. Out of a field of 378 entries in the 2022 APPT Cambodia $1,500 Main Event, nine players remain and will be determining a champion as of 1pm local time.
The lion's share of the $494,991 prize pool is still up for grabs and all nine finalists are guaranteed a cash prize of $9,454 thus far. However, all eyes are set on the top prize of $96,028 for the eventual winner along with the golden shard trophy that comes along with it.
A late rush after the two table redraw propelled Yu-Chung "Nevan" Chang to the top of the leaderboard and he returns with 3,115,000 in chips. Known on social media channels as "winpokercouple" alongside his partner Hua Wei Lin, the Taiwanese poker pro has nearly $300k in cashes on the live poker circuit thus far and seeks a trademark victory.
Markus Garberg follows in second place with 2,420,000 while Alexander Puchalski (1,730,000) and Akshay Kapoor (1,465,000) are the only other contenders with an above-average stack, which sits at an impressive 50 big blinds. The UK's Chris Backhouse, currently based in Thailand like many other European poker players, is in the middle of the pack with 990,000 while four players are just above or below 20 blinds.
The quartet at the bottom includes Quoc Huy Phan (565,000), Quoc Dinh Nguyen (530,000) and Renniel Galvez (340,000) while the most accomplished finalist has the shortest stack. Michael Soyza from Malaysia is the only former APPT champion still in contention and aims to win an unprecedented second APPT Main Event title. However, he has just 165,000 at his disposal for a mere seven big blinds.
2022 APPT Cambodia Main Event Final Table Draw
Seat
Player
Country
Chip Count
Big Blinds
1
Quoc Huy Phan
Netherlands
565,000
23
2
Quoc Dinh Nguyen
Vietnam
530,000
21
3
Markus Garberg
Norway
2,420,000
97
4
Nevan Chang
Taiwan
3,115,000
125
5
Akshay Kapoor
India
1,465,000
59
6
Renniel Galvez
Philippines
340,000
14
7
Alexander Puchalski
Canada
1,730,000
69
8
Chris Backhouse
United Kingdom
990,000
40
9
Michael Soyza
Malaysia
165,000
7
The action will recommence at 1pm local time with nearly 50 minutes left in level 23, featuring blinds of 10,000-25,000 and a big blind ante of 25,000. All levels last 60 minutes each and a champion will be crowned in Cambodia today.
Stay tuned to find out who lifts the trophy for the winner shots as the PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all the key hands en route to a thrilling conclusion.