First Heroes Of Eden Awakens

The first of the newly forged Gods of Poker trophies were hoisted today as five players emerged victorious at opening day of Eden Awakens. Officially launching at LES A Casino, in Jeju Island, South Korea, with games scheduled to run from December 5 to 14, 2025, here is how the inaugural titles were claimed and the results of GOP The Opener Day 1.

GOP The Opener: Yi Jui Chen Bags Overall Day 1 Lead

Yi Jui Chen

The first key event of GOP Eden Awakens took center stage today, with four Day 1 flights drawing a combined 167 entries. Familiar contenders filled the tournament floor, each seeking a share of the KR₩ 100,000,000 (~USD 68,000) guaranteed prize pool. 

• Buy-in: ₩500,000 (~USD 340)
• Entries: 167
• Prize pool: ₩100,000,000 (~USD 68,000)
• ITM: 24 players

When all of the heats finally concluded, 24 players survived led by Taiwan’s Yi Jui Chen, who rose to the top of the ranks at Flight A and could not be toppled. In a brief chat with Chen, he expressed his thoughts on the Cronus Structure,

“It is my first time experiencing this structure in my four years within the poker circle. I feel very comfortable with it." 

While the opening flight bagged up, a three-way showdown took place at Flight B with Shao Shuai Li sweeping up. This sent his stack soaring to 780,000 which was more than enough to earn him second rank in the overall Day 2 list. 

Moments after, fellow countryman Jin Bo delivered the bubble with John Costiniano taking the fall. Bo also shared his thoughts on the Cronus Structure:

“I've been looking forward to playing this completely new blinds structure. Having experienced it today, I feel that it's absolutely great! Completely different as compared to the other blinds that is available elsewhere. I'm satisfied!” 

Over at Flight C, Maria Argao, a rare sight outside of her home country the Philippines, built a fortress early and held command throughout to close as the heat's chip leader. Down the rung, another Filipino also secured a Day 2 spot when Jan Jason Leoncio knocked out Naohiro Matsuda on the bubble. 

The final flight of the GOP The Opener was a battle that would not yield. As the bubble round dragged on, with blinds escalating, shoves were seen at nearly every hand. USA's Ronnie Tate staged the most impressive comeback from just five big blinds while Brazil's Patrick Liang was unable to survive the heat with 10 ♣️ 10 ♦️ cracked by A ♠️ 3 ♥️ ace on the board to fall on the bubble. 

After the count, China's Yang Yi topped the heat's final survivors with a stack that earned him third in the overall Day 2 lineup. 

The survivors will return to action on Saturday, December 6 at 12:45 PM for the final race to the first Silver Spartan Trophy and the largest cash prize of ₩24,040,000 (~USD 16,360). 

For the full list of survivors and seat draw, click here.

For the full payouts, click here. 

Day 1 Champions

Magsakay Seizes Spartan And Shield Trophies On Opening Day

Vamerdino Magsakay

Filipino hero Vamerdino Magsakay arrived in Jeju early this morning, and despite running on almost no sleep, he brought thunder down on the high roller tables to seize two Gods Of Poker trophies. After his second takedown, Magsakay was beyond ecstatic,

“I completed it! I won the Spartan trophy earlier and now I have the Shield! These trophies are so nice and I feel very good. Now let’s go for the Main Event!"

At the start of the day, Magsakay battled through a tight field at Event #3: Single Day High Roller that included decorated pros such as Meng Ling Lin, Ryan Plant, Brian Green, and Joris Michl. Magsakay captured the first Gold Spartan Trophy of the series along with a payout of ₩12,150,000 (~USD 8,270).

To close out the night, Magsakay defeated Taiwan’s I-Wen Chu at Event #6: Hyper Turbo High Roller. Chu risked it all on the turn with K ♥️ 4 ♥️ only to discover he was far behind Magsakay’s Q ♣️ Q ♠️ on a board that completed 4 ♣️ 6 ♥️ 2 ♠️ 6 ♣️ 7 ♠️. This gave Magsakay another ₩6,220,800 in winnings to emerge as the day's biggest earner. 

Big O Shield For Zhun Wang

Zhun Wang

Avid mixed game specialist from China, Zhun Wang, became the proud owner of the first GOP Shield trophy of the series after rising to the top of Event #2: Big O. Wang defeated Daniil Shalaev at heads up to collect the ₩2,087,600 (~USD 1,420) top prize.

Head Held High For Jie Chen At Big O Turbo Bounty

Jie Chen

Australia’s Jie Chen also conquered the Omaha arena, cutting down multiple opponents in Event #5: Big O Turbo Bounty that included China’s Ze Bin Huang at heads up. Chen’s triumph earned him a GOP Shield Trophy and a payout of ₩3,880,800 (~USD 2,640). 

A Shield Of Joy For Lester Edoc

Lester Edoc

Immediately after claiming victory in Event #6: Turbo – High Roller, Filipino pro Lester Edoc lifted the GOP Shield Trophy, embraced it with both hands, and planted it with a winner’s kiss saying,

“I love it! This trophy is so different.”

This may be the first of more to come in the days ahead for the enthusiastic pro. Along with the first GOP hardware to add to his altar of trophies, Edoc earned a cool ₩5,529,600 (~USD 3,760) in winnings.

Ze Bin Huang Redeemed At Double Board

Ze Bin Huang

China's Ze Bin Huang fell one spot short of the title at the Big O Turbo bounty event but it didn't stall his march for a title, jumping in Event #7: Hyper Turbo - Double Board Single Winner. In just a quick few hours, Huang closed it out to capture the final GOP Shield trophy of the night. Impressively, he turned his ₩450,000 buy-in into a ₩1,992,400 payday which he added to his earlier runner-up finish of ₩2,055,300 (~USD 1,400).

For the full list of GOP Eden Awakens results, click here.