The U Series of Poker (USOP) Hai Phong is in full swing. Among the recent big winners, China’s Tianhao Zheng triumphed in Event #11: $660 Championship Event for a payout of VND 2.2 billion (~$89,630), while Romanian player Munteanu Bogdan Andrei captured the second Elite trophy in Event #17 for VND 1.7 billion (~$65,885). Here is a recap of the two events.
Event #11: Championship Event
The event no.11 drew 775 players, generating a total prize pool of VND 10,927,500,000 (~$445,200), with the top 98 players collecting a payout. Among the 98 players, there were two Indian players, but unfortunately, they failed to reach the final table.
In the three-handed battle, both Tianhao Zheng and Nguyen Trung Ha held almost even stack, while Jun Zhao was the table short. Zhao needed double-ups to stay alive in the tournament, but it never came. Zhao bowed out in 3rd place after going all-in with A-4 against Zheng’s Q-J. Zheng’s Q-J held up against the middling hand of Zhao.
The heads-up battle lasted for over one hour, with several fourth-and-back battles between the Chinese and Vietnamese players. Zheng climbed the chip ladder and made a 4:1 lead against Nguyen. Nguyen tried to close the gap, but he couldn’t.
In the final hand, Zheng called the BB with 10s-8h, and Nguyen checked with his Jh-7d. The flop was revealed to be 6d-Jc-9d. Nguyen hit a pair and check-raised, Zheng called the raise. Both of them checked on the turn of 5d. The Qc on the river gave a straight to Zheng. Nguyen bet, and Zheng shoved. Nguyen made the call, ending his tournament life.
Team India Performance
Following Abhinav Iyer’s third-place finish in the Super Challenge, India’s Gagandeep Malik, fresh off from his 12th place finish in the 2024 WPT Cambodia Main Event, scored 88th place in this event, banking VND 27,500,000 (~$1,125). Another Indian, Bhavik Harshibhai Khatsuria, who made a 74th-place finish in the 2024 Deltin Poker Tournament Main Event, bowed out in 85th place in the USOP Hai Phong Championship Event for VND 27,500,000 (~$1,125).
| Rank | Player | Prize (VND) |
| 1st | Tianhao Zheng | 2,200,000,000 |
| 2nd | Trung Ha Nguyen | 1,400,000,000 |
| 3rd | Jun Zhao | 911,500,000 |
| 4th | Jongbea Jang | 666,000,000 |
| 5th | Van Doan Nguyen | 512,800,000 |
| 6th | Alex Christopher Lindop | 412,500,000 |
| 7th | Hoang Duy Nguyen | 330,400,000 |
| 8th | Kyongrok Moon | 261,000,000 |
| 9th | Dac Dung Duong | 220,000,000 |
Event #17: High Roller Championship Event
The VND 150 million (~$6,000) buy-in High Roller attracted 34 (28 unique) players, nearly doubling the VND 2.5 billion ($101,850) to VND 4.47 billion (~$182,295). The final 9 was formed with players from Asian and European countries.
The top 5 players left the table with a payout. Germany’s Tommy Kemter busted out on the money bubble after his pocket aces failed to beat William Jia’s K-J. Another German player, Max Buschmann, soon followed Kemter to the rail for a 5th place finish and collected VND 400 million (~$16,315).
The four-handed play soon became three after Bogdan Munteanu knocked out Minh Le in 4th place. Minh Le was table short and went all-in with Ac-7c against Munteanu’s Kd-Jh. The board came out 7d-Kh-4c-3c-Jd, giving Munteanu two pairs. Minh Le received VND 529 million for the 4th place finish.
With this elimination, Munteanu extended his chip stack and held nearly 70% of the final table. Recent WSOP bracelet winner Konstantin Held was in the danger zone of being eliminated, so he soon moved all-in with Qs-Jh but ran into Munteanu’s Ah-Kd on the board. Held bowed out in 3rd for VND 745 million (~$30,350).
Going into the heads-up play, Munteanu held a 6:2 chip lead against William Jia. Before the heads-up play began, both players agreed to an ICM deal chopping up the remaining cash prize a little.
The final hand of the tournament was filled with thrill. William Jia moved all in holding Ah-Qc, and Munteanu called it with pocket sevens. The flop came out 2s-4s-10d, with Munteanu pocket sevens looking to seal the deal. But the As on the Turn flipped the game, giving Jia the top pair of aces. However, the game soon changed after the river card came out 7s, and Munteanu hit a set.
Australia’s William Jia banked VND 1.19 billion (~$49,690), and Munteanu Bogdan added VND 1.61 billion (~$65,885). With this victory, Munteanu crossed $450k in live earnings. This summer, he scored a 3rd place finish in the 2024 WSOP Event #98: $1,500 for a career high-score of $261,170.
| Rank | Player | Prize (VND) |
| 1st | Munteanu Bogdan Andrei | 1,610,000,000* |
| 2nd | William Jia | 1,190,000,000* |
| 3rd | Konstantin Held | 745,000,000 |
| 4th | Ngoc Minh Le | 529,000,000 |
| 5th | Max Buschmann | 400,400,000 |
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates and results from the ongoing USOP Hai Phong.
