Jae Kyung Sim Wins 2013 PokerStars.net APPT Cebu
For the first three days of the 2013 PokerStars.net Asia-Pacific Poker Tour Cebu Main Event, Jae Kyung Sim was content with sitting back and letting his opponents take each other out. Sim rode a short stack for much of Day 3, and he only collected chips late in the night to set himself up for Saturday's final table. However, Sim turned it on for the last day of play, knocking out six of his eight opponents on route to winning the event, along with PHP 3,948,000 ($96,646 USD).
2013 APPT Cebu Final Table Payouts
| Place | Name | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | Jae Kyung Sim | 3,948,000 |
| 2 | Magnus Karlsson | 2,538,000 |
| 3 | Anthony Wright | 1,480,000 |
| 4 | Jim Collopy | 1,128,000 |
| 5 | Daniel Spence | 917,000 |
| 6 | Bawod Hyunshik Yun | 705,000 |
| 7 | Timo Kohijoki | 564,000 |
| 8 | Michael Allmrodt | 458,000 |
| 9 | Andrew Nguyen | 352,920 |
The first player to bow out at the final table was Andrew Nguyen, and it happened less than 15 minutes into play. Nguyen lost a chunk of his stack on the previous hand, then moved all in preflop holding the A♣Q♥. However, he was up against the A♥K♦ of Sim. Nguyen got no help as the board ran down 5♥2♠2♣2♥ 6♣, and he was the first player gone on the day.
Michael Allmrodt was the severe short stack coming into today. He started out with just over four big blinds. Despite that, he hung on long enough to advance one spot, before ultimately bowing out in eighth. It was Sim who did the damage again, with his Q♣J♠ besting the K♠6♠ of Allmrodt after the flop came queen high.
The eliminations kept coming. Next to go was Finnish player Timo Kohjoki just five minutes following Allmrodt's bust. Sim continued his string of knockouts when his A♥10♠ held up against the J♥10♣ of Kohjoki after the two got all the money in preflop.
Twenty-seven-year-old Bawod Hyunshik Yun started the day second in chips, but thanks to a preflop cooler, bowed out in sixth place. Daniel Spence started the action by raising to 24,000, and Sim made it 94,000 in the small blind. Yun tanked for about 45 seconds in the big blind before moving all in, and while Spence folded (he said after he had queens), Sim instantly called with A♦A♥. Yun was in a world of hurt with A♣K♦, and the board never gave Yun hope, coming down J♠5♠7♦4♣3♠.
Play was five handed for quite some time, over two hours in fact, before the next two players fell in a matter of 10 minutes. The first to leave was Day 3 chip leader Spence. After doubling up with pocket aces, then getting doubled through on the next hand against pocket aces, Spence shoved his last 100,000 in the middle preflop with the 8♦5♦. Unfortunately for him, Magnus Karlsson made the call with the A♦Q♣, and after the flop missed both, the Q♥ on the turn sealed the hand for Karlsson.
Jim Collopy started the day as chip leader, but nothing went his way the entire day. No better was this fact on display then in his bustout hand, when Collopy got the rest of his short stack in preflop holding the Q♠Q♥. Unfortunately for him, Anthony Wright had one of the two hands that had him beat — the A♠A♥. The board ran down nine high for Collopy, who had to settle for a payday of PHP 1,128,000.
There was hardly anything to report during three-handed play, save for a couple all-in pots where the short stacks were in dominating shape. There was a period of an hour where only one turn card was witnessed, but that quickly changed when Wright busted to Sim in a classic coin flip. Wright held the 6♦6♣ and Sim had the A♥K♣. Sim missed the flop of 5♠8♠10♠, but the A♦ on the turn changed things dramatically. Wright couldn’t catch a miracle on the river — the 8♦ — and he bowed out in third place, taking home just under 1.5 million Pesos for his efforts.
After 90 minutes of three-handed play, heads-up play lasted all of three hands. Karlsson raised it up to 60,000, and Sim made the call. The flop came 4♦7♥5♠, and Sim checked to Karlsson, who bet out 65,000. First Sim cut out the chips for the call. Then he cut out raising chips, and began shuffling both of them separately. Eventually, he put the raise in to 155,000. Karlsson moved all in after 30 seconds of thought, and Sim instantly called.
Sim: 8♦6♦
Karlsson: 10♠6♥
Sim's rail erupted when they saw that Sim had flopped the nuts, but Karlsson could still catch an eight for a chop. The 7♦ on the turn didn't do that, and the 3♥ on the river sealed it.
Huge congratulations to Jae Kyung Sim, who interestingly enough was the shortest stack in the field when play was on the money bubble, sitting on just eight big blinds. Well, he rode those eight blinds all the way to the title. If that's not amazing enough, Sim also final tabled this very same event last year, finishing in eighth place.
Photo courtesy of Kenneth Lim from the PokerStars Blog.
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