With its 13-day festival, the 2024 U Series of Poker (USOP) Haiphong, in association with Crown Poker Club and Lucky poker Tour, has rocked the poker scene. Showcased at Vietnam’s opulent Dream Dragon Resort, the series presents 66 trophy-filled events together with the much sought-after USOP Player of the Series Ring. After the USOP Hanoi event was cancelled earlier this year, the festival made a great comeback.
Riding high in this esteemed event, Team India has been consistent with past tournament successes including APPT Manila, WPT Cambodia, and Poker Dream 11 Malaysia. Eight significant cash finishes in the series have already been obtained by Indian poker pros, therefore confirming their great presence on the international poker scene.
U Series of Poker: Abhinav Iyer Shines
Not one else but U Series of Pokerbracelet winner Abhinav Iyer, who finished third in the Event #12: VN₫ 120 Million Superstar Challenge, performed exceptionally well from India. Iyer’s great run brought him VN₫ 965 Million (~₹32.98 Lakhs), hence augmenting his outstanding poker record.
With the second biggest chip stack, Iyer positioned himself as a formidable competitor among the top nine players going into the last day of the event. Though he played brilliantly, his path to the top three was marred by a spectacular hand saw when he dropped a huge pot to the shortest stack at the final table.
U Series of Poker: A crushed cooler
Holding Ace-King, U Series of Poker’s Ryan Plant raised to 300K from the button in a key hand. Having pocket kings in the large blind, Iyer answered with a 3-bet to 1.2 million. Plant then 4-bet to 2 million; Iyer went all-in for 6.3 million. Plant called, and the board ran with an ace on turn to award Plant the win. This cooler left Iyer with just one large blind, therefore severely reducing his prospects.
Iyer moved all-in with Ace-Jack shortly after, but he couldn’t match Plant’s Ace-Queen, which resulted in his third place elimination.
Ryan Plant Triumphs in the Superstar Challenge
Ryan Plant finally outpaced a field of 68 entrants (47 unique) to win the Superstar Challenge. Plant marked his second USOP win with his outstanding performance, bringing home VN₫ 2.18 Billion ($88,600) and the recently instituted Elite Champions Trophy. Nguyen Van Binh of Vietnam came in second with VN₫ 1.454 Billion ($59,095).
Looking back on his triumph, Plant said, “This is my highest live poker score. Though this award is even more valuable, I won the Mini High Roller last USOP Danang. We joked among my buddies that since the trophy is so beautiful, it is what we truly wanted to play for.
Final Table Results of VN₫
- Ryan Plant – VN₫ 2,180,000,000
- Nguyen Van Binh – VN₫ 1,454,000,000
- Abhinav Iyer – VN₫ 965,000,000
- Max Buschmann – VN₫ 670,000,000
- Chen Yuanxi – VN₫ 480,000,000
- Do Xuan Huan – VN₫ 360,000,000
- Chang Tao Wei – VN₫ 295,000,000
- Nguyen Huu Dung – VN₫ 265,000,000
- Yang Xudong – VN₫ 250,000,000
Highlights from USOP Haiphong from elsewhere
Although Iyer performed brilliantly in U Series of Poker, the action did not stop there. In Event #1: VN₫ 9 Million Madness Kick-Off Sweden’s Johnni Nielsen secured his first-ever live poker title. Nielsen overcome a huge field of 1,324 applicants to bring home the USOP trophy and VN 1.65 Billion ($67,000). Jing Sun from China came second with VN₫ 1.132 Billion ($46,119).
Though brief, Nielsen’s heads-up fight with Sun was fierce. Nielsen landed a big double-up with a flush to catapult him to triumph. Nielsen said in his post-event interview, “I was focused throughout the tournament, especially on the second day,” attributing his victory on his discipline and concentration. I took care to shield my chips and steer clear of blunders.
