The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Phu Quoc 2024, held in partnership with the Vietnam Poker Tour (VPT) at the luxurious Corona Resort & Casino from November 8-17, wrapped up with a grand success. The 10-day festival was one for the books as it saw 840 unique entries from 47 countries draw 5,938 total entries across 78 Trophy Events, amassing a record VND 104.42 billion ($ 4.11 million) prize pool. This marks an 86% increase in entries and prize money compared to the last year, thus cementing its place as the APT’s most successful Phu Quoc event yet.
Vietnam is one of the favorite battlegrounds for Indian players and they proved it once again by delivering incredible performance at APT Phu Quoc. Team India scored over an impressive 20 final table appearances and six victories. The Indians saved the best for last days, with the four of the six titles for India coming in the final stretch of the series.
Kunal Patni Wins Fourth APT Trophy & Akhand Shukla Scores His First Live Title In The Final Stretch
Kicking off things for India at the just concluded series was none other than the Natural8 India director and ambassador Kunal Patni, who won Event 37: VND 4 Million Tick Tock BOOM for his third APT title and VND 93,449,200 (INR 3.11 Lakhs). Following in his footsteps was fellow Mumbai pro Avneesh Munjal, who took down Event #29: VND 60 Million High Roller – Double Stack for a career-best VND 1,541,930,000 (INR 51.34 Lakhs).
Indians continued their winning streak into the final stretch of the series, with Kunal Patni and Akhand Shukla starting the weekend by lifting trophies for India. The former investment banker turned poker pro Patni proved himself a super star by conquering Event #57: VND 110 Million Baby Superstar Challenge for his career’s fourth APT title. This was his second title of the series for Patni who overcame a field of 47 high rollers to claim his second title of this series, earning an impressive VND 1,436,070,000 (INR 47.78 Lakhs).
Patni eventually overcame Malaysian young gun Sean Ooi in heads up. The final hand saw Patni’s A-7 suited going up against Ooi’s A-K off. Patni rivered a flush, claiming the title and his best cash of the series. Ooi, who was looking for his first title, had to contend with the runner-up for VND 1,037,170,000 ($40,820). Vietnam’s Pham Thanh Nghia rounded out the podium finishes, taking home VND 661,060,000 ($26,020) for his efforts.
BABY SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Kunal Patni | VND 1,436,070,000 |
| 2nd | Zhi Jian Sean Ooi | VND 1,037,170,000 |
| 3rd | Pham Thanh Nghia | VND 661,060,000 |
| 4th | Nelson George Dong | VND 501,490,000 |
| 5th | Dylan Wayne Foster | VND 387,520,000 |
| 6th | Justin Tsui | VND 296,340,000 |
| 7th | Biao Guo | VND 239,350,000 |
After his second victory at the series, Patni went on to cash two more events, including Event #76: VND 40 Million High Roller – Last Chance where he finished third for VND 220,000,000 ( INR 7.32 Lakhs). The event was eventually won by Malaysia’s Win Meng Tan, who bested Australia’s John Perry, claiming the title and the VND 498,660,000 ($19,626) top prize.
It was a memorable series for Patni as he was the only Indian to capture two trophies at this series. He ended up as the most consistent Indian performer, notching up over seven cashes and amassing VND 1.990 Billion in winnings, making him the highest-Indian earner at the festival
Event #65: VND 4 Million Super Hyper Turbo
While Patni proved him a super star with his Baby Superstar Challenge victory, Akhand Shukla seized glory by claiming his first-ever live title in Event #65: VND 4 Million Super Hyper Turbo. Shukla overcame a field of 42 entries and pocketed VND 48.205 Million (INR 1.60 Lakhs) – his biggest live score. With two more deep runs in the series, Shukla’s total winnings climbed up to VND 59.955 Million (INR 1.99 Lakhs).
China’s Zhang Wangcheng, who had won his first APT title at this festival, placed as the runner-up for VND 33,320,000 ($1,312), while fellow countryman Jiachuan Yang placed third, earning VND 21,270,000 ($853).
SUPER HYPER TURBO FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Shukla Akhand | VND 48,205,200 |
| 2nd | Zhang Wangcheng | VND 33,320,000 |
| 3rd | Jiachuan Yang | VND 21,270,000 |
| 4th | Georgios Skarparis | VND 16,300,000 |
| 5th | Yuko Takahashi | VND 12,760,000 |
| 6th | Sumpatha Jadee | VND 9,920,000 |
Kumar V C Kishor and Anurag Rawat Claim Victories On The Final Day
The final day saw Team India achieve an impressive 11 cashes, including two titles, ending their APT Phu Quoc remarkable run on a grand note. Shining for India on the final day of the series were Kumar V C Kishor and Anaurag Rawat.
Kishor overcame a competitive field of 114 entries in Event #75: VND 6 Million Micro Main Event. He eventually defeated Switzerland’s Remo Marti in heads-up to score his maiden live title and APT trophy. He took home a career-best VND 146.892 Million (INR 4.89 Lakhs). With this victory, his total series winnings soared to VND 203.142 Million (INR 6.76 Lakhs).
MICRO MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Kumar V C Kishor | VND 146,892,400 |
| 2nd | Remo Marti | VND 99,260,000 |
| 3rd | Qi Shun Nian | VND 64,520,000 |
| 4th | Prommin Talordpong | VND 53,420,000 |
| 5th | Sumpatha Jadee | VND 43,090,000 |
| 6th | Tran Khac Tuong | VND 33,980,000 |
| 7th | Alexey Ledenev | VND 25,980,000 |
| 8th | Akopian Mikael | VND 19,560,000 |
| 9th | Ho Yin Wong | VND 14,600,000 |
Event #81: Hyper Turbo
Another Indian to make headlines on the final day was Anurag Rawat. Following his podium finish in Event #70: VND 3 Million Turbo – Bomb Pot for VND 18.35 Million, he went on to achieve his first live title by winning Event #81: Hyper Turbo. Rawat overcame a competitive field of 46 entries to take home a career-high VND 66,748,000 (INR 2.22 Lakhs). The first live victory took his series winnings to VND 85.098 Million.
Fedor Mamaev from Russia finished as the runner-up spot with a prize of VND 46,140,000 (~$1,817), while Thailand’s Bun Uthaitirat rounded out the podium, taking home VND 29,450,000 ($1,159) for his efforts.
Adding to the Indian success in Event #81, Harsh Bharti finished fifth for VND 17.67 Million (INR 59,000). This marked his fourth cash of this APT series, taking his total earnings to VNd 81.72 Million (INR 2.72 Lakhs).
HYPER TURBO FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Prize |
| 1st | Anurag Rawat | VND 66,748,000 |
| 2nd | Fedor Mamaev | VND 46,140,000 |
| 3rd | Bun Uthaitirat | VND 29,450,000 |
| 4th | Meedech Meepolprapai | VND 22,580,000 |
| 5th | Bharti Harsh | VND 17,670,000 |
| 6th | Jongyeon Kim | VND 13,740,000 |
Amit Kaushik Makes Waves With A Podium Finish In APT High Roller
While Kishor and Rawat shone brightly with victories, Amit Kaushik made waves with an incredible run in the VND 2.50 Billion GTD Event #67: VND 80 Million APT High Roller. The Haryana lad who took down Event #5: VND 3.4 Million Turbo at USOP Da Nang last November, played some top-notch poker finishing third for VND 1.044 Billion (INR 34.72 Lakhs) – the biggest Indian score on the final day of the series. Unfortunately, his pocket eights got beaten by the eventual runner-up Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang’s pocket sevens in the final stages, leading to his exit in third-place. This marked his fifth cash and third final table score of the series, bringing his series winnings to VND 1.40 Billion (INR 46.58 Lakhs) and making him one of the top Indian earners.
Another Indian to cash in the High Roller was Ankit Ahuja, a two-time GPI (India) Player of the Year, who finished 18th for VND 130.08 Million (INR 5.12 Lakhs). This took his total series earnings to VND 167.13 Million ( INR 5.56 Lakhs), earning him valuable points for the GPI POY (India) 2024 race.
The VND 80 Million APT High Roller title ultimately won by Malaysia’s Jason Lau, who claimed a career-best VND 2.330 Billion ($91,730) along with the coveted Bronze Lion APT High Roller Trophy.
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Image Credit: Asian Poker Tour
