19 Players Remain for the Final Day of the 2022 Poker Dream Vietnam Main Event
Only 19 players out of an 822-entry strong field remain in contention after Day 2 of the 2022 Poker Dream Vietnam VND 25,000,000 (~ $1,019) Main Event at the luxury five-star Hoiana Resort & Golf near Hoi An. The money bubble burst throughout the 12 levels of 50 minutes each with dozens of players heading to the payout desk. However, the biggest slice of the VND 17,940,150,000 (~ $722,083) prize pool will be up for grabs in the grand finale on Sunday, October 23, 2022.
The two chip leaders Dinh Tien Van (3,000,000) and Tien Minh Ngo (2960,000) are separated by one big blind only while there is already a decent gap to third-placed Nam Hoang Nguyen (1,985,000). Indian poker pro Dhaval Mudgal (1,520,000) and David Erquiaga (1,100,000) reside in the top ten and especially the latter continues his hot run in 2022.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 2
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dinh Tien Van | Vietnam | 3,000,000 | 60 |
| 2 | Tien Minh Ngo | Vietnam | 2,960,000 | 59 |
| 3 | Nam Hoang Nguyen | Vietnam | 1,985,000 | 40 |
| 4 | Dennis Ng | Australia | 1,710,000 | 34 |
| 5 | Minh Anh Nguyen | Vietnam | 1,550,000 | 31 |
| 6 | Dhaval Mudgal | India | 1,520,000 | 30 |
| 7 | Hazel Chui | Hong Kong | 1,165,000 | 23 |
| 8 | Hsien Ren Koh | Malaysia | 1,130,000 | 23 |
| 9 | Ha Thanh Duong | Vietnam | 1,125,000 | 23 |
| 10 | David Erquiaga | Philippines | 1,100,000 | 22 |
Hong Kong's Hazel Chui is the last woman standing in the field and returned to live poker after a few years absence with a deep run right away. She will return with 1,165,000 in chips, good enough for seventh place on the leaderboard. Winfred Yu (1,010,000), Day 1a chip leader Hojin Kim (815,000), and Zong Chi He (660,000) are also among the notable finalists as well.
The UK's Grant Gardner, who currently resides in Asia, reached the final three tables but bowed out in 21st place. Other notables who were sent to the payout desk during the late stages were Seung Yeol Kim, Richard Marquez, and Sanat Mehrotra.
Among the early casualties in the money were several big names who are known beyond the Asia-Pacific poker scene such as Abhinav Iyer, Chin Wei Lim, Neel Joshi, and Jack Wu. The money bubble itself also featured a WSOP bracelet winner as Kartik Ved was the last player to leave empty-handed when he ran his queens into aces.
Raiden Kan, Sung Joo Hyun, Ying Lin Chua, Mike Takayama, Super High Roller runner-up Devan Tang and recent GGPoker WSOP Online Main Event runner-up Kannapong Thanarattrakul were also among those to lose all their chips without any cash prize to show for.
Eventual chip leader Van's rise to the top of the leaderboard was cemented during the last four levels of the night. Already holding a decent stack, he knocked out several opponents including Tse Ian Lee and Win Meng Tan. On the final three tables, he then dispatched Huyen Kinh Nguyen and Jaehyun Kim in quick succession to make his claim for the overnight lead.
The final day will continue at 1pm local time with level 25 at blinds of 25,000-50,000 and a big blind ante of 50,000. With 13 contenders hovering just above or below 20 big blinds upon restart, this may prove to be a frantic yet tense affair en route to crowning a champion.
All levels will last 60 minutes each from now on and the PokerNews team will be on the floor to provide all the action from Hoi An until a winner has been determined.