The inaugural Jin Bei Cup Short Deck Main Event is in the books with UK’s Kobe winning the coveted title to bank the massive US$ 1,656,000 top prize.
The first-ever event garnered a lot of attention with its massive $5 million GTD. An impressive 105 entrants (including 7 add-ons), paid $53,000 each to participate in the tournament. As a result, the total prize money reached $5,250,000, making it the richest Short Deck tournament in the Asian region.
2024 Jin Bei Short Deck Main Event Final Day Recap
The Jin Bei Short Deck Main Event was a two-day tournament running from May 8 to 9, 2024 at the Jin Bei Palace. Organized by the Jin Bei Group, it was held in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. The strong turnout in this event resulted in a guarantee-busting prize pool of $ 5,250,000, which was distributed among the top 12 players, with China’s Ke Xu (12th) becoming the first player to make the money.
The final day saw 25 players led by Sun Da Seng who had won a big pot from Kobe on the final hand of Day 1. Among the re-entries were Daniel “Jungleman” Cates and Kenneth Kee. Surprisingly, Tom Dwan and Martin Nielsen did not come back. As the day began, Kobe quickly gained control by busting Ge Hua and Yang Yang. Meanwhile, Chinese pro Quan Zhou fell to Cates, falling on the unfortunate bubble.
The battle for a seat at the final table was fierce, with Ke Xu and Guang Hui Luo (12th place) being the first to cash out. Guang Hui Luo (11th) and Esti Wang (10th) were the next players to fall. Kobe then busted the next two, Gavin (9th) followed by Cates (8th), bringing the field down to final table.
Jin Bei Short Deck Main Event Final Day Final Table Action
The eliminations at the final table were incredibly quick, with players going all in constantly. Sun Da Seng, who had entered the final day with the chip lead, was ousted in 7th place by Kobe. Tao Zong was busted by eventual runner-up Aori. Joy, the only woman left, exited in 5th place after a tough hand with Kobe. Aori then busted Fei Xu (4th) and Liu Ming Zhong (3rd) to bring it down to the heads-up.
The final two players – Kobe and Aori – were guaranteed seven-figure prizes. While it looked like an easy win for the chip leader Kobe, it was not to be as Aori won two all-in showdowns to take the chip lead. However, Kobe regained the chip lead by doubling up with quads. Finally, it was all over with Kobe’s Qd Jh beating As Js of Aori on the board that read Ks 8d 6h Kd Qs.
2024 Jin Bei Short Deck Main Event Payouts
Kobe $1,656,000
Aori $1,022,000
Liu Ming Zhong $670,000
Fei Xu $461,000
Joy $327,000
Tao Zong $240,000
Sun Da Seng $181,000
Daniel Cates $181,000
Gavin $143,000
Esti Wang $143,000
Guang Hui Luo $113,000
Ke Xu $113,000
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Image Credit: Jin Bei Poker & SMP
