Buyanjargal Bold Wins MPC20 Red Dragon champion for HK$1,487,000
The 20th installment of the Macau Poker Cup proved to be the biggest and best yet as 3,443 players took to the felt over 12 days and 13 events. After a record-breaking opening weekend, the Red Dragon Main Event saw 995 players create a prize pool of HK$9,651,500 (USD $1.25 million), which easily surpassed the HK$8,000,000 guarantee.
"It's amazing to look at the twenty Macau Poker Cups that started as a 33-player Red Dragon event to the now 995-player field." said Danny McDonagh, Director of Live Poker Operations in the Asia-Pacific. "I'm really proud of our team and I'm looking forward to what we can achieve over the next twenty Macau Poker Cups."
After six days of intense play, Mongolia’s Buyanjargal Bold emerged victorious to capture the Red Dragon and HK$1,492,000 first-place prize.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (HK$) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buryanjargal Bold | Mongolia | $1,492,000 w/ HK$100,000 ACOP seat* |
| 2 | Percy Yung | Hong Kong | $1,159,000* |
| 3 | Victor Teng | Australia | $1,498,000* |
| 4 | Richard Hu | China | $597,000 |
| 5 | Akash Malik | India | $430,000 |
| 6 | Fei Xie | China | $334,000 |
| 7 | Xiao Lin | China | $263,000 |
| 8 | Terry Fan | Chinese Taipei | $191,000 |
| 9 | Jianhong Liu | China | $143,000 |
*Denotes three-handed deal.
According to the PokerStars Blog, action recommenced in Level 23 (20,000/40,000/5,000) and it took about 30 minutes for the first elimination to occur. It happened when 28-year-old Jianhong Liu, who was the short stack, opened for 80,000 from early position and Richard Hu called from the big blind. When the flop fell 10♣Q♦8♦, Hu checked, Liu bet 120,000, and Hu made the call.
After the dealer burned and turned the 3♥, Hu checked for a second time and Liu bet 140,000, leaving himself about 200,000 behind. Hu responded by check-raising all in and Liu tank-called.
Liu: K♠10♣
Hu: J♣9♥
Liu was actually drawing dead as Hu had flopped the nuts. The meaningless 7♦ was run out on the river for good measure, and then Liu made his way to the payout desk in ninth place to collect HK$143,000.
After Terry Fan, the defending champ, and Xiao Lin were sent to the rail in eighth and seventh place, respectively, 32-year-old Fei Xie, who had finished fourth in the previous Red Dragon Main Event, followed them out the door. It happened in Level 25 (40,000/80,000/10,000) when a short-stacked Xie moved all in with the A♦4♣ only to run into the A♣Q♥ of Percy Yung. The board ran out 2♥10♠3♠8♥7♠ and Xie was sent packing in sixth place for HK$334,000.
Not long after, Akash Malik was eliminated in fifth place for HK$430,000, and then Hu followed him out the door in fourth. It happened in Level 26 (50,000/100,000/10,000) when Hu moved all in and watched action fold around to Bold in the big blind. Minutes passed before Bold called, and he was glad he did as his pocket pair was ahead.
Bold: 4♥4♦
Hu: A♦3♦
The 9♥8♦10♣ flop was no help to Hu, but the Q♦ turn delivered him a flush draw. Unfortunately for him, the K♣ blanked on the river and he had to settle for fourth place and HK$597,000 in prize money.
At this point the three remaining players negotiated a chip-chop deal, and then action resumed.
In Level 28 (60,000/120,000/20,000), Victor Teng was eliminated in third place for HK$1,498,000, and that left Yung and Bold to do battle heads up. The former held a nearly 2-1 chip lead, but it wouldn’t matter as over the next two hours Bold whittled down his opponent.
In what would be the final hand, Yung moved her short stack all in from the button and Bold made the call.
Yung: K♥9♣
Bold: A♦8♦
Yung’s supporters called for a king and nine, but their cries would go unheard as the dealer ran out A♠4♣6♠4♠2♠. Yung had to settle for second place and HK$1,159,000 in prize money, while Bold became the first-ever player from Mongolia to win the Red Dragon, which came with a HK$1,487,000 first-place prize.
For a look at the Side Event Results from the MPC20, please click here.
*Photos courtesy of the PokerStars Blog.
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