GOP Incheon: Gary Moon Conquers Pandora’s Mystery Bounty for KRW 21.3 Million Haul

“That was hard! She folded twice to my pocket aces, twice to my pocket kings, and to my suited ace-king!”

Gary Hyemyong Moon could finally laugh about it after defeating Wing Yin Lee at heads up to win Pandora’s Mystery Bounty.

Moon outlasted the 77-entry field for a payout of KRW 12,115,000. He padded up that score with five mystery bounty pulls worth another KRW 9,190,000 for a combined payout of KRW 21,305,000 (~USD 14,200). Not only was he champion, he was also the biggest earner, drawing one of the biggest bounties.

Jin Bo Largest Bounty Earner

Jin Bo pulls two of the biggest bounties

While Moon won the tournament, Jin Bo collected the most bounties and bounty money. Out of the six bounties he pulled, two were the largest in the box, each worth KRW 4,610,000. In total, Bo earned KRW 11,740,000, and together with his 3rd place finish worth KRW 5,171,000, he walked away with KRW 16,911,000 (~USD 11,200), enough to surpass the runner-up's payout.

Between Bo and Moon, they won 11 out of the 13 total bounties in the chest.

Event Recap

Pandora's final table

13 players returned on the final day, each one guaranteed a cut of the KRW 66,528,000 (~USD 44,300) prize pool.

Jin Bo entered as chip leader and raced all the way to the final three where he shoved with ace-four offsuit. Moon called with pocket twos which held to knock him out. Moon expressed,

"That was a hard decision. That was for 13.5 big blinds and I had deuces."

Heads up kicked off with Moon far dominating Wing Yin Lee however both were still deep compared to the blinds.

Wing Yin Lee at heads up

Lee gained momentum, grinding her way into the chip lead without a single all-in showdown.

When it finally came, Moon held 8 ♥️ 8 ♠️ over Lee's 7 ♣️ 7 ♦️. Moon secured a crucial double up to reclaim control while Lee was down to just 3 big blinds.

The next three hands, Lee shoved and collected three back-to-back-to-back double ups to rise to 10 big blinds.

However, on her fourth shove, her luck finally ran out. Lee's K ♣️ 9 ♣️ was outdrawn by Moon's 8 ♥️ 7 ♣️ full house on a board of 8 ♣️ 7 ♠️ 2 ♦️ 2 ♥️ 7 ♦️.

For the results, click here.

Getting to Know the Champion

Gary Moon after his victory

Moon has been playing poker since 1998, spending most of his poker career as a cash game player before the pandemic prompted a switch to tournaments — a transition he has never looked back from.

"It's harder but I love it. Cash games are boring. Tournaments are exciting. I actually love studying poker more than playing."

A regular on the Japanese tournament circuit, Moon was thrilled to find a major international festival on his doorstep.

"I usually play all the Japanese events that come to town so I am glad this event is here. It is just a short drive from Seoul."

On the Cronus Structure, Moon was equally enthusiastic.

"I love it. I love that you don't have to spend so much time with a deep stack and play those small blinds. I also love that I was able to jump into other flights and events."

Payouts

Links:

GOP Incheon - Schedule
GOP Incheon - Photos
GOP Incheon - Champions