South Korea’s Choi Hun Tae has overcome a record-breaking field to emerge as the 2024 USOP Grand Finale Main Event Champion and take home a staggering VND 9.2 billion (~$362,705) and the trophy. The Korean amateur who began his poker career earlier this year cashed at both the WPT Cambodia and APT Phu Quoc, earning $20,000. This was Hun Tae’s first-ever live poker title as well as his first-ever six-figure payday.
The VND 35 Million (~$1,380) buy-in Main Event drew a record-breaking 1,958 entrants across four starting flights and crushed the GTD VND 40 Billion, generating a massive VND 57 Billion (~$2,283,660) total prize pool. From the gigantic 1,958 entrants, 240 players collected a piece from the seven-figure prize pool. Among those who cashed the tournament were several Indian professionals, including Deepankur Gupta (219th), Nageshwara Alaparthy (206th), Natural8 India director and ambassador Kunal Patni (191st), Aayush Arya (148th), Amit Kaushik (137th), Ritwik Khanna (136th), and Abhijith Cheruku (133rd)
2024 USOP Grand Finale Main Event Final Table Recap
The final table was formed on the final day, with the eventual winner Hun Tae leading the charge, followed by Yankai Zhang. Hun Tae extended his lead by eliminating UK’s Jun Li in 8th place and followed this by sending out Jon Rounce-Sue in 6th place. Zhou Ledong, who started the final table with the third in chip stack, played some top-notch poker knocking out Joris Michl (7th) place and Ian Modder (5th) kicking off the four-handed play.
During the four-handed play, Hun Tae held the chip lead, while Ledong was close behind him. Yankai Zhang, who started the final table as the second in chip stack, became a short stack and soon busted out in 4th place. Zhang went all in holding king-nine against the pocket deuce of Hun Tae. Zhang spiked his king on the flop, however, a Deuce on the turn gave Hun Tae a set. Zhang collected VND 3.1 Billion (~$122,216) for his impressive finish.
Zhi Buhui gave tough competition to the chip leaders but couldn’t overcome his middling stack and lost it all to Hun Tae during the three-handed play. Buihui picked up an ace deuce and shoved his stack into the middle. Hun Tae holding ace-nine snap-called. The ace-nine of Tae stayed strong on the brick board, eliminating Buihui in 3rd for VND 4.1 Billion (~$164,597).
Winning Hand
The final hand of the tournament came shortly after the third-place elimination. On the final hand, Zhou Ledong called with Qd 10d suited from the small blind. Hun Tae checked holding Kd 8c off suit. The flop ran 9d-7d-6c giving Ledong a flush and straight draw while Choi had a king high hand. Hun Tae checked the flop and Ledong bet. Hun Tae then re-raised all in Ledong. Zhou called, hoping for a diamond card to complete his flush. However, the poker god had other plans. The turn brought 4c and the Kc landed on the river to give Hun Tae a top pair to seal the coveted title. Ledong picked VND 6.1 Billion (~$243,446) for his remarkable runner-up finish.
Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Total Prize (USD) | Prize In VND |
| 1st | Choi Hun Tae | $362,705 | ₫9,200,000,000 |
| 2nd | Zhou Ledong | $243,445 | ₫6,175,000,000 |
| 3rd | Zhi Buihui | $164,595 | ₫4,175,000,000 |
| 4th | Zhang Yankai | $122,215 | ₫3,100,000,000 |
| 5th | Ian Modder | $90,675 | ₫2,300,000,000 |
| 6th | Jon Rounce-Sue | $70,820 | ₫1,796,380,000 |
| 7th | Joris Michl | $57,165 | ₫1,450,000,000 |
| 8th | Jun Li | $46,125 | ₫1,170,000,000 |
| 9th | Nguyen Tien Son | $36,270 | ₫920,000,000 |
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