Xiaobo Zhou Takes Down Inaugural OPC Main Event Title ($184,939)
This inaugural Oriental Poker Championship had two flagship events: the HK$100K High Roller, and the HK$16,500 Main Event. And if it wasn’t for our new Main Event champion Xiaobo Zhou, the same player would have won them both.
Ivan Leow’s performance this week will be remembered for a while. Having entered the finale as the chip leader, he would go on to finish second out of a 513-strong Main Event field to win HK$1,016,700 ($129,588), just four days after he won the High Roller for HK$1,442,300 ($183,833). That’s one hell of a good week.
But in the end, it was Zhou who emerged victorious, claiming the title, the trophy, and HK$1,451,000 ($184,939). At one point down to just ten big blinds, Zhou rose to the top of the counts three-handed, then gained a 5:1 chip lead heads-up after he busted Chang Bo Feng in third place.
“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.”
The heads-up battle didn’t take long, with Leow dropping a chunk of chips the first hand of heads-up. Three hands later, it was all over when Leow moved all-in for his last 1.2 million from the button holding king-four off and Zhou made the call with queen-jack. The flop came queen-jack-jack giving Zhou the nuts and the win.
“My biggest score came back in 2011, when I came third in the APPT Red Dragon,” Zhou said afterward. “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 believed his biggest asset today was his tenacity. “Even when I was down to ten big blinds, I didn’t give up,” he added.
OPC Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Winner | Country | Prize in HKD | Prize in USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xiaobo Zhou | China | HKD 1,451,000 | $184,946 |
| 2 | Ivan Leow | Malaysia | HKD 1,016,700 | $129,589 |
| 3 | Chang Bo Feng | China | HKD 653,900 | $83,346 |
| 4 | Wayne Zhang | China | HKD 483,700 | $61,652 |
| 5 | Austin Walton | United States | HKD 362,800 | $46,242 |
| 6 | Sang Hwang | Hong Kong | HKD 291,100 | $37,103 |
| 7 | Yazhou Chen | China | HKD 242,600 | $30,922 |
| 8 | Yuefeng Pan | China | HKD 193,300 | $24,638 |
Final Table Action
Let’s rewind to the start of the day. Eight players returned to the Venetian Macau Poker Room. With several short stacks, the tournament lost a few players early. Yuefeng Pan was the first to exit, shoving when he turned second pair but running into the flopped trips of Feng. Yazhou Chen followed soon after in seventh, when he shoved with queen-ten and couldn’t hit to beat Austin Walton’s pocket eights.
Sang Hwang was the sixth-place finisher. Short-stacked, he shoved over an Ivan Leow open with jack-six suited, but Leow would call with ace-five off and held. Austin Walton fell in fifth, when a three-bet jam with eight-nine suited over two players was called by Zhou holding pocket jacks. The pair held up.
One of the most dangerous players at this final table would depart in fourth. Wayne Zhang’s stack was getting whittled down, and with just seven big blinds he shoved with pocket threes. Zhou made the call, but then Leow moved all-in for 2 million more, and Zhou let his hand go. Leow had pocket kings, and Zhang couldn’t improve.
Feng had the chip lead three-handed, but several big pots didn’t go his way, and he found himself all-in with king-jack off versus Zhou’s pocket queens. Feng hit a king on the flop, but one of the two remaining queens landed on the turn to leave Feng drawing thin. Only a diamond would save him, but alas, the diamond never came.
Leow couldn’t overcome Zhou’s chip lead, nor could he win his second tournament of the OPC 2018.
Congratulations to the inaugural OPC Main Event champ, Xiaobo Zhou, and thanks for reading the PokerNews coverage this week from Macau. Until next time!
