Jinlong Hu APT Main Event Champion

Jinlong Hu of China emerged victorious in the VND 36,000,000 APT Phu Quoc Main Event, taking home VND 4,710,000,000 ($185,430). He outlasted a field of 795 entries (400 unique), dominating the heads up match against South Korea’s Junseok Oh. With a 5:1 chip lead, Hu quickly sealed the win, while Oh earned VND 2,865,000,000 ($112,795) for his runner-up finish.

With an online bracelet and nearly USD 600,000 in live tournament earnings already to his name, Hu can now add an APT title to his growing list of accomplishments. This win not only secures his second major live tournament victory but also advances him 36 places on the China All-Time Money List, landing him at #59.

APT Host Gregory "Greg Goes All In" Liow had a chance to speak to Hu, via the aid of a translator, after his momentous victory:

I think the biggest challenge for me is that in my previous two main event final tables, I finished at ninth and eighth place, and both performances were poor. So, this time, I obviously hoped to break through and challenge myself to win the championship.

I think there are two key moments for me. The first was when I made a re-jam with ten-eight suited from the big blind. There was an Indian player (Deepankur Gupta) who opened, and I re-jammed. He snap-called with ace-king. But this hand with ten-eight suited, I had pushed it three times before, and each time I won it at the final table. So, I was confident this time as well, and I ended up winning with two pairs.

The second key moment was when my biggest competitor, David, and I both had strong hands. I opened with ace-queen suited, and he re-jammed. We were heads up, and I called, and I won. After I won that hand, I felt that I was definitely going to win because I had a huge chip advantage, and my toughest competitor was out.

I think, firstly, the Golden Lion trophy is one of the best-looking trophies I have ever seen, second only to the WSOP gold bracelet. Secondly, because APT is the Asia Poker Tour, it represents the highest level of poker competition in Asia, so it holds a very special meaning for me.

Final Table Action

In just five hands, Pham Ngoc Bao from Vietnam saw himself walking towards the payout counter when his ace-jack offsuit bumped into the champion’s ace-queen suited which turned a two-pair eliminating Bao early in the Final Day. Bao went home with a significant ninth place cash prize of VND 352,000,000 (~$13,860).

Despite having doubled up twice, China’s Chuhao Zhang found himself in a pinch when he tried to steal the blinds on the button by jamming with ace-eight offsuit, only to be called by Vietnam’s Do Tien Vu, who won with ace-ten high. Instead of the blinds, however, Zhang was able to snatch a well-deserved reward of VND 445,000,000 (~$17,520) for finishing eighth.

Another finalist who attempted to stay in the game through several double-ups was India’s Deepankur Gupta. In a pivotal hand for the champion, Gupta went all-in with ace-king, hoping for another double-up against Hu’s ten-eight suited. Although Gupta was ahead until the flop, fortune turned against him when Hu hit a pair on the turn, eliminating him from the tournament in seventh place. Gupta walked away with VND 642,500,000 (~$25,295).

David "Spade" Erquiaga

Haozhao Wang from China, struggling after being blinded out due to a lack of playable hands, was forced to shove all-in for his tournament life with jack-six offsuit. The action unfolded in a battle of the blinds against Vu, who called with king-ten offsuit. Vu paired his king on the turn, sealing Wang's fate and sending him to the payout counter to collect his sixth place prize of VND 902,500,000 (~$35,530).

David Erquiaga from the Philippines, who entered the final table as the chip leader, lost a crucial hand that shifted the chip lead to Hu. From there, a series of unfortunate exchanges followed, culminating in Erquiaga shoving all-in with pocket deuces against Hu’s ace-queen suited. Hu paired his queen on the flop, sealing Erquiaga’s fate. Erquiaga exited in fifth place, taking home VND 1,202,500,000 (~$47,340) to some time in the sun and beach.

Australia’s Minh Truong Trang defended his blind by shoving all-in with king-nine offsuit in response to Hu’s aggression. After a brief tank, Hu called with ace-eight suited and caught two-pair on the flop, adding Trang to his list of eliminations and widening the gap between Hu and the remaining two players. Trang exited the tournament in fourth place, earning VND 1,525,000,000 (~$60,040).

Down to three players, Hu’s lead was double the combined stack of Vu and Oh. With that ratio, it wasn’t that long before Vu became the next casualty in Hu’s felting spree.

Hu, holding queen-eight offsuit, strategically trapped Vu into believing he had a weak hand, despite hitting two-pair on the flop. Vu, taking the bait, shoved all-in with jack-ten, hoping to complete his straight draw. Missing his draw entirely, Vu exited in third place with VND 2,025,000,000 (~$79,725).

On to heads-up! The match lasted an hour and a half, during which Oh found himself mostly card dead. Unable to find the right spot or hand to shove, he eventually took a stand with eight-six suited against Hu’s king-seven suited. Hu’s hand held up without improvement, securing the win. Despite his elimination, this marked Oh’s biggest achievement and milestone in his poker journey.

Jinlong Hu

So who won in the end? None other than Hu who took home VND 4,710,000,000 ($185,430) and the prestigious 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event Trophy. Congratulations to all the players!

China's Jinlong Hu Wins the VND 36,000,000 APT Main Event. A full recap will follow shortly.

Junseok Oh

Hand 160 Oh shoved all-in on the button, putting his tournament life on the line. Jinlong Hu snap-called.

Junseok Oh: 8 6

Jinlong Hu: K 7

Oh's face dropped as he saw Hu’s king-high hand, but he remained calm, awaiting the flop.

The board came down: Q J 2 . Hu was still in the lead, while Oh hoped for a miracle to stay alive, though he feared the worst.

The turn was the 3 , and the river came 2 .

Neither card helped Oh, and Hu’s king-high held strong, sending Oh to the payout counter in second place for a very tasty VND 2,865,000,000 (~$112,795).

Junseokn Oh Doubles Up

Hand 150 Hu got a walk.

Hand 151 Hu shoved all-in with Q 4 on the button. Oh folded.

Hand 152 Hu got a walk.

Hand 153 Hu shoved all-in with Q 8 on the button and Oh folded.

Hand 154 Oh shoved all-in with T 7 and Hu folded.

Hand 155 Hu went all-in with K 6 and Oh folded.

Hand 156 Hu got a walk.

Hand 157 Hu went all-in with K 8 on the button and Oh called for his tournament life with 7 3 .

The flop dropped 7 2 T giving Oh a pair.

The turn A and 3 improving Oh to two-pair, doubling him up.

Junseok Oh

Hand 143 Jinlong Hu limped with 7 7 on the button and Junseok Oh with J 9 checked his blind. The flop dropped 4 K J got a check-check all the way to the turn of T . On the river Q , Oh check-called Hu's bet of 500,000 and won the pot with his flush.

Hand 144 Oh with A J on the button raised to 700,000 and got called by Hu with J 8 . The flop revealed 9 K 4 which Hu checked. Oh continued with 350,000 and Hu folded.

Hand 145 Hu limped with T 4 and Oh checked :&c: 5 The flop Q 6 9 got check-called by Oh after Hu shot 400,000 into the pot. The turn 5 was checked by both players. The river 3 went check-check and Oh scooped the pot.

Hand 146 Oh limped on the button with A 3 . Hu woke up with A A and raised to 800,000. Oh not to be outdone, three-bet to 2M. Hu flat-called. The flop Q 9 7 was checked by Hu. Oh continued with 800,000. Hu raised to 2M and Oh folded.

Hand 147 Hu jammed all-in with K 3 on the button and won the pot.

Hand 148 Oh limped with K 6 on the button and Hu responded with a jam all-in with A 5 . Oh folded and Hu scooped the pot.

Hand 149 Hu shoved all-in with 9 5 on the button and won the pot.

Hand 136 Junseok Oh limped with 6 5 and Jinlong Hu checked the blind with 8 4 . The dealer flopped 4 2 9 . Hu check-called Oh's bet of 450,000. The turn 8 got another check from Hu. Oh continued with 1.2M. Hu responded with an all-in shove. Oh folded.

Hand 137 Hu limped with 8 7 and Oh checked the blind with J 3 . The players checked the flop 7 6 T Hu bet 500,000 on the turn A after Oh checked. Oh mucked and Hu scooped the pot.

Hand 138 Oh limped with K 2 and Hu checked his J 6 . The flop 3 3 J got a check-check. Hu check-called the turn A after Oh bet 450,000. The river 7 was checked by both players again. Hu won the pot.

Hand 139 Hu limped in with 8 4 and Oh check J 8 to see the flop of K J T . Both players checked through the 5 turn and 7 river. Oh won the pot.

Hand 140 Hu got a walk.

Hand 141 Hu limped in with 6 2 and Oh checked his Q 8 . The flop dropped 8 T A . Both players rode the flop to see the turn of K . With action passed to Hu, Hu bet 900,000 and scooped the pot after the immediate fold of Oh.

Hand 142 Oh, on the button, raised to 900,000 with K 9 . Hu woke up with Q Q in the big blind and shoved all-in. Oh folded. and Hu won the pot.

Hand 129 Jinlong Hu in small blind completed with A K and Junseok Oh checked his big blinds with 9 7 . The flop dropped 8 5 9 and got checked by both players. Oh bet 525,000 on the turn 4 . Hu folded.

Hand 130 Oh completed on the button with eight-seven offsuit. Hu with ace-jack suited raised to 850,000 and won the pot.

Hand 131 Hu shoved all-in with :Kc 4 on the button and Oh with A 4 folded.

Hand 132 Oh with A 4 on the button opened for 640,000 and got called by Hu with 8 5 . The flop dropped 3 4 6 . Hu bet 700,000 and Oh called. The turn T got an all-in shove from Hu. Oh tanked and eventually made the call. The river T doubled Oh up.

Hand 133 Hu raised to 600,000 on the button with K 3 . Oh called with K Q . The dealer flopped A 6 5 Oh check-raised to 950,000 after Hu bet 450,000. Hu folded.

Hand 134 Oh with K Q on the button raised to 900,00 and won the pot.

Hand 135 Hu raised to 600,00 on the button with A 7 and won the pot.

The final two players, Jinlong Hu and Junseok Oh, are back at the table, ready to battle it out for the title of champion. Only one will emerge as the last player standing.

There is a 10-minute break to set up the heads-up stage.

Do Tien Vu in 3rd Place

Hand 128 Vu raised on the button with J T , and Hu called from the big blind holding Q 8 . The flop came down 8 A Q , giving Hu two pair. Hu checked to Vu, who made a continuation bet of 525,000 into the pot.

Hu flat-called, and the turn was the 7 . Again, Hu checked, and Vu, thinking Hu might have a weak hand, shoved all-in for his tournament life. Hu quickly called, eager to see the outcome.

Both players tabled their hands, with Vu holding a straight draw and Hu holding two-pair. The river came the 3 , which didn’t improve Vu’s hand, and he was eliminated in third place.