GOP Main Event - Flight A Day 2 - Reg. Open Till Start Plays to ITM (60 Mins) - KRW 700M GTD

Yoshiki Shibata

After losing a chunk in a previous hand, Yoshiki Shibata shoved and won the blinds and ante however on his next push, Richard Flach called to put him at risk of busting on the bubble.

On the big blind, Woo Hyon Shin reluctantly folded while saying he liked his hand J ♣️ 10 ♦️.

Yoshiki Shibata: Q ♣️ 6 ♦️

Richard Flach: A ♣️ Q ♥️

Shibata was in dire need of some luck with only the six to bank on. The board did not help out as it ran 3 ♦️ 4 ♣️ 9 ♦️ 10 ♠️ 10 ♣️ to end his hunt on the bubble.

Woo Hyon Shin

With a pot of around 114,000 brewed by the turn 9 ♦️ 9 ♣️ Q ♦️ 8 ♥️, Woo Hyon Shin bet a light 25,000 and Yoshiki Shibata slid out the call to bring the river 10 ♣️.

Shin fired again, making it 75,000, sending Shibata deep in the tank. After spending three time chips, he found reason to call and flipped open Q ♥️ 8 ♦️ two pair.

Shin had him beat with J ♣️ J ♠️ straight to scoop up the pot and take the lead.

Ryoma Yamamoto and Van Tuan Pham

Ryoma Yamamoto opened for 24,000 then tanked when Van Tuan Pham jammed for 198,000. Yamamoto spent a minute in meditation then emerged with a call. It was the right decision as he was ahead.

Van Tuan Pham: 7 ♠️ 7 ♥️

Ryoma Yamamoto: 8 ♦️ 8 ♥️

Only two outs for Pham to stay in but no such luck on a board of K ♥️ Q ♥️ 4 ♠️ 2 ♠️ Q ♠️.

The field is now down to 6 players. It is bubble time.

Hayato Kasuya

Yuxuan Deng moved all in for 164,000 and nearly stole the blinds and ante when Hayato Kasuya defended on the big blind with an ace on hand.

Yuxuan Deng: K ♦️ Q ♣️

Hayato Kasuya: A ♠️ 5 ♠️

Kasuya was ahead while Deng had hope with his live cards. However, the deck did not help out, instead the board ran out J ♠️ 2 ♠️ 6 ♦️ 3 ♣️ A ♦️ to end Deng's run just three spots to ITM.

Only 7 players remain.

Richard Flach

A rarity at the tournament, a royal flush came down and so did Shun Kuriki just four spots to ITM.

From early position, Kuriki opened 24,000 and big blind Richard Flach defended.

Action erupted at the flop J ♥️ A ♥️ 8 ♦️ with a bet of 18,000 from Kuriki, Flach pushed, and Kuriki snap-called.

Shun Kuriki: A ♣️ A ♠️

Richard Flach: A ♦️ Q ♥️

Shun Kuriki

Kuriki was far ahead with a set while Flach was optimistic with his one heart.

The turn 10 ♥️ added more outs for Flach with a straight flush possibility... then viola! The river K ♥️ the one outer for the royal flush. All Kuriki could do was shake his head as he walked away in disbelief.

Flach chatted up his referring to Kuriki,

"I knew he had something strong because he usually goes all in or raises big but this time just s min-raise."

Chia Yun Wu

The field is now down to one table of nine players after Chia Yun Wu met his end. But before doing so, he first got lucky on Van Tuan Pham with K ♦️ J ♠️ pairing the jack to survive K ♠️ Q ♣️.

A few hands after, he went all in again with just 53,000 and got called by Yoshiki Shibata on the big blind.

Chia Yun Wu: 2 ♣️ 2 ♦️

Yoshiki Shibata: K ♦️ 10 ♠️

The board was Q ♦️ J ♠️ 3 ♦️ 6 ♣️ 9 ♦️ for Shibata to improve to a straight.

Woo Hyon Shin

Richard Flach has been railroading his table to rise to around 800,000 when Woo Hyon Shin put the brakes on him.

The hand had Flach raise from cutoff for 20,000 and on the small blind Woo Hyon Shin three-bet 30,000. Flach called and they saw a flop of 10 ♦️ 7 ♣️ 9 ♦️.

Shin continued for 90,000 and with that, Flach folded. Shin turned over J ♣️ J ♦️, Flach said he had ace-king but didn't show.

Ryoma Yamamoto

Action folded to the small blind Ryoma Yamamoto who raised to 25,000 and big blind Van Tuan Pham called.

The pot continued to swell on the flop K ♣️ Q ♥️ J ♦️ with a 40,000 bet from Yamamoto called by Pham again.

On the turn A ♥️, Yamamoto slid out a lighter 32,000, Pham answered with a raise to 77,000, Yamamoto jammed, and won the pot after a snap-fold from Pham.

Richard Flach opened for 25,000 on the button and got to play the board with Yuxuan Deng defending on the big blind.

With a flop of 7 ♦️ 7 ♥️ 8 ♥️, Deng check-called Flach's 25,000 continuation bet for a turn card of J ♠️.

Deng switched up and led for 55,000, giving Flach something to think about. He called and they went to the final street where the Q ♠️ found the river.

Again Deng fired, betting 225,000. In a rare moment, Flach used a time-bank. After counting out the call-chips, and had plenty more behind, Flach opted to give up his stake in the pot.

Yoshiki Shibata

Players are back from a break and it was immediate action. Yoshiki Shibata min-raised 20,000 and big blind Hongxiang Chen called.

At the flop 8 ♠️ 4 ♣️ 8 ♥️, Shibata continued for 15,000 and again Chen stuck around to see the turn card 3 ♦️.

Another check from Chen was met with a 30,000 bet from Shibata, and with that barrel, Chen tossed his hand to the dealer.

Chia Yun Wu

Next hand at the same table, Chia Yun Wu raised 25,000 at cutoff and two players gave him action for a flop of J ♦️ 3 ♠️ 5 ♠️.

After a check,Wu jammed his last 81,000 and took down the pot uncontested.

Day 1A is down to ten players with only five players guaranteed an ITM spot. Richard Flach overtook Hongxiang Chen to take the lead at the end of the level.

Short handed play has seen Ryoma Yamamoto's stack swing a bit with a few lost pots then picking one up without a flop.

From under the gun, he opened for 16,000, Yoshiki Shibata three-bet to 35,000, Yamamoto four-bet to 116,000, then Shibata folded. Shibata later said he had ace-queen.

Richard Flach

Richard Flach is currently frontrunner with ten players remaining and only five to ITM. One of his latest pots was against Shun Kuriki who opened on the button for 16,000 and Flach called out of the small blind.

No action at the flop 10 ♥️ 3 ♣️ Q ♦️ with both players checking to the turn 5 ♠️ where Flach led for 20,000. Kuriki called and they went to the river where the 9 ♦️ arrived.

Flach fired again for 30,000 and this time Kuriki couldn't keep up with the aggression and folded.

Shun Kuriki

Yoshiki Shibata

Yoshiki Shibata raised 20,000 on the button and big blind Hongxiang Chen defended.

Both players passed up the flop Q ♦️ 3 ♥️ 10 ♦️, then Shibata fired a delayed c-bet of 25,000 on the turn 10 ♠️ but Chen didn't take the bait.

Shibata revealed 10 ♥️ 10 ♣️ quads and had to settle for the small pot.

Van Dao Duong

Van Dao Duong shoved with ace-jack and got looked up by Yuxuan Deng with ace-queen that held to speed off out of the tournament area.

Hayato Kasuya

Hayato Kasuya is on the rise, picking up two decent pots, both up against Ryoma Yamamoto.

The first hand was opened by Yamamoto from early position and Kasuya defended on the big blind.

Both players checked it to the turn 4 ♠️ Q ♥️ 2 ♦️ J ♣️ where Kasuya led for 20,000. Yamamoto called to complete the spread with the 8 ♣️ on the river.

Kasuya bet again, making it 20,000 to Yamamoto who called then mucked to Kasuya's Q ♠️ 10 ♥️ top pair.

On the next meet up, Hongxiang Chen opend 12,000, Yamamoto called, and the blinds called as well Kasuya and Chia Yun Wu.

At the flop 7 ♦️ 4 ♦️ 7 ♠️, it was checked to Yamamoto who attempted a steal for 21,000. Only Kasuya stuck around to the turn 6 ♥️ where both checked, and they checked the river A ♣️ as well.

Kasuya flipped open a winner with 5 ♠️ 6 ♣️ two pair.

Richard Flach

Richard Flach picked up back-to-back pots with another bluff takedown for the first hand against Yuxuan Deng.

The board showed J ♣️ 9 ♠️ Q ♠️ 8 ♣️ K ♠️ with around 66,000 in the pot. Flach bet 40,000 and Deng folded while showing ace-jack. Flach returned the gesture showing ace-five bluff.

Next hand, Flach raised and got called by the blinds. As soon as the flop landed J ♠️ 7 ♠️ J ♣️, he pointed to the jacks on the board for Deng then bet 15,000. The blinds folded and Flach had it this time showing J ♦️.

At 2PM, Day 1B got up and running with registration closing at 6:30PM.

Level 1 runs for 120 minutes.

Level 2 runs for 120 minutes.

Registration closes at the start of Level 3. Blinds increase every 35 minutes until ITM of 13.5% of the field is reached.

Hong Xiang Chen

Yuxuan Deng

"I am very lucky!" That was all Yuxuan Deng could say when he shipped max-value for the nuts.

Paying up was Daniil Khvan who opened from middle position for 12,000. Deng three-bet to 27,000 out of the cutoff seat, and Khvan defended.

At the flop 2 ♣️ 2 ♥️ 8 ♦️, Deng continued for 5,000 and Khvan check-called.

On the turn A ♥️, Deng's bet 14,000 was challenged with a check-raise to 40,000. Deng called and the river landed 10 ♠️.

Khvan lunged out with a shove that well covered Deng who snap-called with a big smile and excitedly turned over 2 ♠️ 2 ♦️ quads.

Khvan was bluffing with K ♣️ J ♣️.

Daniil Khvan

Richard Flach

On the big blind, Richard Flach turned up the heat on Jin Bo at cutoff with a 35,000 bet on a board of 7 ♠️ 3 ♣️ 10 ♦️ 4 ♥️ and 53,500 already in the pot.

Jin tank-called to see the river come 4 ♦️. Flach tested again with a 100,000 bet. Jin only had 30,500 behind and opted to preserve it for a better spot.

Flach flipped over 9 ♣️ 6 ♦️ bluff getting a "wow" from his tablemates. Jin said he had six-eight.

Slowly but surely, Chia Yun Wu has battled his way back into good health with another double up.

He shoved with J ♥️ J ♠️ and big blind Van Tuan Pham called with 9 ♦️ 9 ♠️. The board ran eight-high.

Van Tuan Pham

Starting the day as chip leader, Reon Kurata has become the ATM machine at this level paying two double ups to Ryoma Yamamoto and another chunk to Van Tuan Pham.

Catching the action on the river with a bet of 66,000 from Pham on a board of 9 ♥️ A ♣️ 2 ♦️ 10 ♣️ 2 ♣️ with 165,000 in the pot.

Kurata called then mucked to Pham's 9 ♦️ 9 ♣️ full house. Kurata is down to 11 big blinds.

Ryoma Yamamoto

After shipping a back-to-back double up, with a big smile, Ryoma Yamamoto expressed,

"I want to go to Day 2."

Yamamoto is running hot at the series with two wins already under his belt and with the recent pulls, he is on track here to advance.

Both double ups were courtesy of Reon Kurata. The first hand was all in preflop.

Ryoma Yamamoto: A ♣️ J ♣️

Reon Kurata: A ♦️ 9 ♠️

The board was 2 ♦️ 4 ♥️ J ♠️ 4 ♦️ J ♥️.

On the next hand, Yamamoto had A ♥️ J ♣️ again and Kurata got cheeky calling the raise out of the small blind with 4 ♠️ 7 ♠️.

The flop improved both 6 ♥️ 3 ♠️ J ♠️ and all the chips went in. Yamamoto dodged the spades on the turn A ♣️ and river 8 ♦️.

Chia Yun Wu will be sticking around having just doubled up on a flip against fellow Taiwanese player Chien Te Lee.

Wu kicked off the action with a 14,000 raise, Lee jammed, Wu called, risking his tournament life.

Chia Yun Wu: A ♠️ K ♥️

Chien Te Lee: 8 ♣️ 8 ♠️

The flop 7 ♥️ 3 ♣️ 10 ♠️ was no help to Wu until the turn K ♣️ gave him the jump ahead which held through the river 4 ♥️.

Hongxiang Chen

Hongxiang Chen ramped up the aggression and got paid by handsomely for it.

It opened with a min-raise by Chia Yun Wu at cutoff, Chen three-bet to 21,000 on the button, and after the blinds folded, Wu called.

Chen was unrelenting with a 15,000 c-bet at the flop Q ♦️ 6 ♣️ 10 ♣️ that was check-called by Wu.

Chen turned up the heat on the turn J ♦️ with a 40,000 bet and again Wu check-called.

The river 7 ♣️, Chen fired a third barrel of 100,000 and got the call. He turned over A ♠️ K ♦️ straight and Wu mucked in frustration as he plunged to just 5 big blinds.

Reon Kurata

Reon Kurata entered the day as chip leader and has widened his lead in a hand thanks to Chien Te Lee.

Lee kicked off the hand with a raise, small blind Kurata three-bet to 20,000, Lee called to bring the pot to 48,000.

More chips found the middle with a 12,000 bet from Kurata called by Lee on a flop of 3 ♥️ Q ♦️ 8 ♠️.

A larger bet from Kurata on the turn K ♦️ of 55,000 was again called by Lee then both players checked the river 10 ♦️.

Kurata turned over A ♦️ K ♣️ which was good for the win with Lee revealing one card Q ♥️.

Richard Flach

Shun Kuriki lost more than a third of his stack in an attempt to steal the pot off Richard Flach who opened from middle position for 8,000. Kuriki topped up on the big blind.

At the flop A ♠️ 7 ♥️ J ♥️, Kuriki check-called a 9,000 c-bet then took the reins on the turn 7 ♠️ with a 12,500 bet. Flach called and the river came 5 ♦️.

Again Kuriki led for 38,000, and after a brief tank, Flach called. Kuriki turned over 10 ♥️ 6 ♥️ bluff, awarding Flach the pot who had A ♦️ 8 ♦️

Chia Yun Wu

After the first bust of the day with Sascha Manns falling to Van Tuan Pham, Chia Yun Wu was all in next at the same table and turned over A ♣️ A ♠️. This was good for a double up off with Pham losing some of the chips he had just raked in.

Cards are back in the air for Day 1A! Another player has jumped in bringing the total Day 1A entries to 34 with 17 players seated and hunting down one of the five ITM spots.

For those that missed this flight, Day 1B kicks off at 2PM with registration running until the start of Level 3 at 6:30PM.