Yin Tao Wins WPT Korea Main Event; Steve O'Dwyer Takes Down Alpha8 One Drop
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It's been an exciting week of tournament poker action in South Korea with the World Poker Tour (WPT) Korea stop taking place at Jeju Shinhwa World. In the KRW 3,400,000 (USD $2,643) buy-in WPT Korea Main Event, China's Yin Tao who walked away with the trophy and $232,667 in an event that drew 758 entrants.
Meanwhile, high-stakes crusher Steve O'Dwyer got his second seven-figure score of the year by taking down the KRW 17,000,000 buy-in WPT Alpha8 One Drop for just over $1 million.
“What an incredible experience Jeju has been, from the player turnout to the celebrations and all-around atmosphere,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said in a press release. “Thank you to our partner Jeju Shinhwa World for the exceptional hospitality and for putting on a world class event. And congratulations to Yin Tao for becoming our WPT Korea champion.”
Read About Jonathan Jaffe's Victory In the WPT Alpha8 for One Drop at Wynn!
An Emotional Victory
The WPT Korea Main Event paid out the top 95 finishers with a prize pool of KRW 2,246,947,400, or USD $1,746,343. Tao played for the victory after a three-handed ICM deal with Valeriy Pak (2nd - $197,332), who previously won the 2018 edition of WPT Korea in Incheon for $56,893, as well as Chao Ting Cheng (3rd - $251,595), who had the chip lead when the deal was made to take home the largest sum.
Tao's victory was an emotional one as the final cards were dealt against Pak during heads-up play.
"It is a dream come true," Tao told WPT, speaking in Chinese. "It's really a dream. It was very difficult to be Main Event champion. It's really a dream come true."
Other players who made the six-handed final table include fourth-place finisher Jian Guo Shu ($115,545), Chun Hao Zhang (5th place – $86,994) and Toshihide Sawada (6th place – $64,673). The full final table action can be viewed on WPT's YouTube channel.
WPT Korea Main Event Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yin Tao | $232,667* | |
| 2 | Valeriy Pak | $197,332* | |
| 3 | Chao Ting Cheng | $251,595* | |
| 4 | Jian Guo Shu | $115,545 | |
| 5 | Chun Hao Zhang | $86,994 | |
| 6 | Toshihide Sawada | $64,673 |
*Denotes three-handed ICM deal.
There were a few notables who ran deep in the WPT Korea Main Event, including Teen Wolf star Arden Cho (80th - $4,858), and O'Dwyer, who finished 29th for a relatively small sum of $9,470 before his seven-figure score in the One Drop event.
O'Dwyer, who had $36.7 million in Hendon Mob earnings headed into the WPT Alpha8 One Drop, got through the select field of 18 entrants for his second seven-figure score of the year after a third-place finish in the Triton Cyprus $100,000 Super High Roller in May for $1.2 million.
"I'm just really happy," O'Dwyer told WPT. "I haven't played much poker this summer and I've got to win the ones that I do play. So it's nice to win."
"It's a great cause and once I busted the Main Event ... I went right on in and registered (the One Drop) and it was a rough start, but the last few hours of the tournament I ran really, really hot."
*Images courtesy of WPT.
After wrapping up in South Korea, the WPT team will now head to the Star Gold Coast for the WPT Australia on September 22, while stops at bestbet Jacksonville (November 10), Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood (November 24), and the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas (December 12) still remain in 2023.
Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
WPT Global also offers new players matched deposit bonus of 100% up to a maximum of $1,200. Any new player who deposits $20 or more will automatically receive this deposit bonus.
The playthrough requirements for this bonus is fairly straightforward with each $2.50 increment of the bonus being unlocked every time you generate $10 of rake. This rake can come from either tournaments or cash games. The bonus expires after 90 days starting from the date of your first deposit.
To further sweeten the deal, WPT Global will also award you some tournament tickets. The exact reward depends on whether you are a new player and how big your deposit was.
| Players | Deposit No. | Min Deposit | Reward | Total Rewards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New only | 1st | $20 | $11 Mini Slam ticket | $11 Mini Slam ticket |
| New and Existing | 2nd | $20 | $11 Mini Slam ticket | 2x $11 Mini Slam tickets |
| New and Existing | Deposit of $300+ | $300 | $110 Sunday Slam ticket | $11 Mini Slam and $110 Sunday Slam ticket |
| New and Existing | Deposit of $1,200+ | $1,200 | 2x $110 Sunday Slam tickets | $11 Mini Slam and 3x $110 Sunday Slam tickets |
