China’s Sha Chengchun overcame a massive field of 913 entries and defeated his fellow countrymen Xiaosheng Zheng in the heads-up battle to win the WPT Championship for a massive prize of $175,542 and a WPT World Championship package valued at $12,330.
Chengchun was nearly busted out in 9th place but made a big double up to stay alive to emerge victorious in the main event.
2024 WPT Cambodia Championship Quick Recap
2024 WPT Cambodia Passport to The World Championship main event featuring a buy-in of $1,300 and $500k guarantee drew a field of 913 entries across the three starting flights, generating a guaranteed prize pool of $1,040,592.
The staggering field was narrowed down to only 136 players returning for Day 2. Ultimately, the day ended with 17 players remaining for Day 3, including 2 Indian players, Gagandeep Malik with the third largest stack and Vishal Ojha with the lowest stack holding just 8 bb stack.
The final and third day began with Zhang Cheng holding the chip lead among the final 17 players. With 10 minutes into the final day, the table saw its first elimination. Short-stacked Travis Endersby went all-in hoping for a pay jump but got knocked out in 17th place for $7,600.
India’s Vishal Ojha entered the final day with the lowest chip stack and was the second player to be eliminated on the final day. Ojha finished 16th place, earning $9,200. He was followed by Zhihao Chen (15th – $9,200), and Junpeng Pan (14th – $11,260).
India’s last hope for the main event title was Gagandeep Mailk, but his stack dwindled after his A◆6♠︎ couldn’t withstand Sha Chengchun’s pocket queens. Ho Tuan then knocked out Mailk in 12th place for $13,960. Mailk was followed by Van Dan Nguyen (11th – $13,960) and Joshua Tan (10th – $17,510), setting up the final table.
$1,300 NLHE WPT Championship Event Final Table Recap and Standings
| Rank | Player | Prize |
| 1st | Sha Chengchun | $175,542 |
| 2nd | Xiaosheng Zheng | $117,030 |
| 3rd | Zhang Cheng | $86,360 |
| 4th | Ho Tuan | $64,410 |
| 5th | Adrien Berger | $48,560 |
| 6th | Pham Bao | $37,010 |
| 7th | Yamamoto Kazuo | $28,250 |
| 8th | Thi Bao Nguyen | $22,220 |
| 9th | Trung Ha Nguyen | $17,510 |
Xiaoshen Zheng entered the final table as the chip lead, followed by Pham Bao and Sha Chengchun. Sha Chengchun was quickly short-stacked but moved back into the lead after scoring the first elimination at the final table, sending out Trung Ha Nguyen in 9th place for $17,510.
Thi Bao An Nguyen plunged after losing a hand against Pham Bao. She went all-in the next hand, with Q♣︎J♠︎, Xiaosheng Zheng call from the small blind with A◆3♠︎. Bao’s hand couldn’t improve on the board, ending his deep run.
The table saw some quick elimination with Kazuo Yamamoto (7th – $28,520), Pham Bao (6th – $37,010), Adrien Berger (5th – $48,560), and Anh Tuan Ho (4th – $64,410), kicking off the three-handed play.
The three handed play was long and interesting. After nearly one hour of three handed play, Zhang Cheng shoved all-in with K♥︎Q♣︎. Chengchun moved all-in with his pocket jacks, and Xiaosheng Zheng holding the pocket aces chose to call.
The board came out J◆8♠︎6♠︎9♣︎Q◆, giving Chengchun a set, sending out Cheng in 3rd place ($86,360), and making Zheng short stacked.
In the heads-up play, Chengchun held an enormous chip lead against Zheng. Despite his efforts, Zheng’s 4 BB were no match for Chengchun’s 87 BB.
In the final hand, Chengchun holding Q♠︎J◆ shoved, putting Zheng in an all-in position. Zheng called it with his Pocket Deuces. The board ran out 5♠︎J♣︎8♠︎8♣︎J♠︎, ending Zheng’s deep run. Xiaosheng Zheng walked away with a prize of $117,030 and a seat to the 2024 WPT Prime World Championship worth $1,100.
The top 115 places made the money in the tournament, with a min cash worth $2,130. Apart from Ojha and Malik, many other Indian pros cahsed, including Nikesh Chawla (19th for $7,600), Amit Kaushik (28th for $5,380), Dhaval Mudgal (34th for $4,620), Pradeep Nudurumati (39th for $4,620), Siddharth Karia (43rd for $4,010), Somashekar Nahadeva (59th for $3,140), Somasekhar Sanampuri (76th for $2,590), Raju Jaruplavath (82nd for $2,410), Jatin Sablani (94th for $2,230), Sumit Sapra (103rd for $2,130), Faiz Alam (106th for $2,130), and Bagaria Vardhan (113th for $2,130).
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