The inaugural Oriental Poker Championship (OPC) taking place at Venetian Macau between 23-28 May featured 2 flagship events: the HK$100K High Roller and the HK$16,500 Main Event. It was Malaysia’s Ivan Leow who won the HK$100K High Roller title for HKD $1,442,300 (~US$183,740) and he was again on the roll to win the concluding event of the series – HK$16,500 Main Event, as he emerged as the chip leader on Day 1C, Day 2 and then even Day 3 of the Main Event.
Coming into the final table as the chip lead, Leow was looking to create a history by winning back-to-back titles, but the Chinese player Xiaobo Zhou shattered his dream. Zhou took down the Main Event title for HK$1,451,000 ($184,939). At one point, Zhou was down to just ten big blinds in the tournament but he gained a 5:1 chip lead into heads-up after busting Chang Bo Feng in third place.
The heads-up lasted for a few hands. Just after three hands, it was all over with Leow moving all-in with Kd-4s for his last 1.2 million, and Zhou calling with Qc-Js. The flop opened Qs-Jd-Qh, thus giving Zhou a fullhouse. The turn 5 and river 7 were just a formality as Zhou had already won the title. He beat a strong field 513 entries to win the coveted title, the trophy, and the top prize HK$1,451,000
“I come from Beijing, I’ve been playing for nine years, and this is my first big score. It means so much to me. I want to thank my family for being by my side,” he said. He believed his biggest asset was his tenacity. “Even when I was down to ten big blinds, I didn’t give up,” he added.
Final Table Payouts:
- Xiaobo Zhou – China – HKD 1,451,000 (~INR 1.25 crore)
- Ivan Leow – Malaysia – HKD 1,016,700
- Chang Bo Feng – China – HKD 653,900
- Wayne Zhang – China – HKD 483,700
- Austin Walton – USA – HKD 362,800
- Sang Hwang – Hong Kong – HKD 291,100
- Yazhou Chen – China – HKD 242,600
- Yuefeng Pan – China – HKD 193,300