Prepare to witness the thrilling end to the Main Event, the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals enters its final day. After days of competition, only 9 players remain out of the hundreds who had signed up for this tournament. These lucky return to the NagaWorld Integrated Resorts in Phnom Penh, Cambodia to compete in the final table.
The prize at stake in this competition is the ultimate honor: claiming the prestigious title of Main Event Champion. Aside from that title, they will also receive the PokerStars shard trophy, symbolizing their excellence and skill, and an impressive cash prize of US$ 120,300. As of now, it seems like Junnie Pamplona is leading the race, but if this poker tour has shown anything, it is that there is always room for surprises.
Recap of the Main Event So Far
Before we talk about the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals, we should start with the events that lead up to it. This festival began on May 12 with a wave of excitement among players. 476 players signed up for this competition in three flights. These players joined for a chance to win the prize pool that has grown to a massive US$ 623,322.
During the preliminary rounds, 133 skilled players advanced to Day 2. This tournament lasted over 12 hours with players competing and eliminating each other. Among the most fascinating of these events was when Adrien Tantaro, displayed eliminated WSOP bracelet holder, Abhinav Iyer, right before entering the prize bubble.
Following that, Pamplona showed his skill by eliminating Jun Lai in 11th place. This was swiftly followed up by Torres who ousted Philip Tan, securing the 10th place and leaving only 9 players to advance to the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals.
Finalists of the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals
As of now, the leader of the race is Junnie Pamplona with an impressive collection of 101 big blinds which will give him a big advantage during the tournament. This Philippine poker star isn’t a stranger to these final tables as he has been a long-time visitor of NagaWorld. He managed to score a remarkable third-place finish at the highly competitive 2022 WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event. Now, with the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals happening, Pamplona is hoping to replace his bronze trophy with a gold one.
But as determined as Pamplona is, he isn’t the only one who wants that award and trophy, and his rivals won’t make it easy for him.
Not far behind him is the second leading player Eric Tsai from Taiwan. He is following with an impressive stack of 99 big blinds meaning that he is only 3 big blinds behind which shows just how close the competition is. Tsai has been performing incredibly well during the tournament which has earned him a spot among the final 9 players in the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals. However, he is just 1 of 3 players representing Taiwan, meaning that a third of the final table is Taiwanese players.
The other two finalists are Chao Ting Cheng who has a strong stack of 61 big blinds, while Hua Wei Lin reminds behind with a respectable 20 big blinds. These two are currently ranked as 5th and 8th place respectively.
From across the Pacific, Jimmy Torres is the only South American player to reach the final 9. Though this Colombian player is a continent away from his home, he has shown a lot of skill and was the one to eliminate the reigning champion Alexander Puchalski earlier in the match. He followed up that success by beating Philip Tan in 10th place, securing his spot at the highly-anticipated Final Table. If he wins, Torres will become the first-ever Colombian APPT champion. He is entering the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals with 91 big blinds, meaning he is not far behind.
Aside from these players, the other finalists of the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals include Curtis Lim and Kien Tat Heng who are representing Singapore. These two have a BB count of 28 and 27 respectively and have put up an impressive performance so far. The only Russian to advance this far is Evgenii Nekrasov who currently has a stack of 36 BB. While he is behind, Nekrasov is an excellent strategist so it would be a mistake to count him out.
And last but not least is Bien Mai from Vietnam who currently has the shortest stack of 14 big blinds. But while he might have the smallest stack, Mai’s tournament record is impressive. Before entering the APPT Cambodia Main Event Finals, he has been on a winning streak. Just three months ago, he emerged as the runner-up at WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event, highlighting his consistent performance, and before that, Mai won a number of side events in this poker series.
While the APPT Cambodia Main Event MightI is important, it isn’t the only event. There have already been some major events with winners that have finished and declared winners.
To read about three recent events and their winners, you can check our Event Update on APPT Cambodia.