Valeriy Pak Takes Down WPT Korea Main Event For KRW 63,620,000 (~$57,058)

Valeriy Pak has taken down the WPT Korea Main Event! The player topped a strong field of 283 entries to claim his first major victory on the live poker circuit for KRW 63,620,000 (~$57,058).

The Main Event took place at Paradise City Incheon, Korea. It started quickly after the first-ever WPT Global Teams Event where Team China won the title after beating Team Hong Kong in heads-up.

The KRW 1,100,000 (US$983.65) Main Event saw a total of 283 entries joining in, including the four members of the winning Team China who won free seats to the tournament. From Team India, Adda52 Pros – Kunal Patni, Amit Jain, Nikita Luther and Dhaval Mudgal were also seen in action. However, none of them managed to bag chips to enter Day 2. Patni re-entered through Day 1B and made Day 2 with a stack of 32,500. Luther, Jain and Mudgal also entered Day 1B but they failed to progress further in the tournament. Patni was the lone Indian challenger to run deep in the event.

Patni did brilliantly well on Day 2 and chipped up nicely. Unfortunately for him, he ended his run just close to the money line finishing in 31^st place. A total of 27 places were paid out in this event with a min- cash of $1,695. New Zealand’s Paul Hockin made it all the way to 18th for $3,484, while Markus Garberg made it to the final table. Other notables who finished in the money included Russel Thomas (15th for KRW4,640,000), Taewook Kwon (14th for KRW4,640,000),Sho Saika (11th for KRW5,400,000), and Kitty Kuo (10th for KRW5,400,000) who bubbled the final table.

 Paul Hong started the FT as the chip leader with 2,215,000 and the eventual winner Valeriy Pak (1,710,000) was second in chips. However, Pak chipped up nicely to move into heads-up with Tsugunari Toma. Both players kept chipping up and down until the final hand where Pak raised to 350,000 and Toma shoved with Kh Qc. Pak made a snap-call with Ac 5c. The board ran out 10d 10c 5h Jc 5s. Pak won the final hand to claim the title, while Toma settled for a runner-up finish.

Final Table Payouts

1. Valeriy Pak – KRW 63,620,000 (~$57,058)
2. Tsugunari Toma – KRW 44,700,000 (~$40,090)
3. Hiroyuki Noda – KRW 28,135,000 (~25,233)
4. Markus Garberg – KRW 17,180,000 (~$15,408)
5. Kevin Ayow – KRW 13,215,000 (~$11,852)
6. Paul Hong – KRW 10,950,000 (~$9,821)
7. Tatsuki Nakamura – KRW 9,405,000 (~$8,435)
8. Yisha Chen – KRW 7,830,000 (~$7,022)
9. Yuichiro Harada – KRW 6,365,000 (~$5,709)