The WPT Korea 2024 Championship Event, held at Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, South Korea, culminated in a thrilling showdown that saw Hungary’s Mate Hanusi emerge victorious after four intense days of play. Outlasting a field of 1,065 entries, Hanusi entered the final table with the small stack of 15 big blinds and showcased exceptional skill, overtaking the chip lead by the heads up against China’s Ma Li. After over seven hours of final table play, he secured the top prize of KRW 434,936,000 (USD 323,500), the coveted trophy and the inaugural WPT Korea Main Event Ring.
Interestingly, Hanusi’s entry into the Main Event came from a $110 online satellite at WPT Global, making his triumph even more remarkable and memorable. His outstanding performance throughout the tournament solidified his status as a formidable force in the world of live poker.
WPT Korea 2024 Championship Final Day
The final day of the WPT Korea 2024 Championship Event saw only nine in contention for the top prize and title. Vietnam’s Nguyen Duy Pham Khanh was the first casualty among the final nine. He called with Ac 7s against a shove from China’s Dai Linghui with better Ad Jh and lost to fall in ninth place.
Following him was Russia’s Valeriy Fokin who shoved his last five big blinds with Ad 10d running into Hanusi Mate’s pocket kings. Up next, Ding Yayu open shoved seventeen big blinds in with Ac Jc and was called by Zhang Chi with As Kd. Ding lost her chance at the title and exited shortly in seventh place. Just minutes later, Azerbaijan’s Aghayev Farhad followed behind, after losing a flip to China’s Zhang Chi.
Down to five players, final table chip leader Fang Po Wen committed his last eight big blinds with Kc 3c on the small blind. Big blind Dai Linghui called off with Qd 9d and won the race to knock Fang out from the tournament. Up next, Dai risked it all with pocket tens against Zhang’s 2s 2c. Dai was out of luck after the flop peeled a set for his opponent and he was eliminated in fourth place.
Down to three handed, Zhang eventually pushed with pocket jacks and ended up losing against Ma Li’s Ad Qc.
Ma began the heads up with a commanding 3:1 advantage vs Hanusi but soon lost her lead within the first ten hands. Eventually, it all ended with Hanusi securing the win with 8h 8d against Ma’s Ad 9s. Hanusi banked a career best payout of KRW 434,936,000 with Ma settling for KRW 290,150,000 (~USD 215,800) as the runner-up.
Hosted from March 28 to April 2, 2024, the KR₩ 2,800,000 buy-in WPT Korea 2024 Championship Event featuring KR₩ 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 1,500,000) in guaranteed prize pool collected a massive prize pool of KR₩ 2,603,286,000 (~US$ 1,936,270). A total of 134 players cashed, with Hanusi taking home the lion’s share of the prize pool.
WPT Korea 2024 Championship Event Final Table Results
| Rank | Player | Prize (KRW) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | Hanusi Mate | 434,936,000 | $323,500 |
| 2 | Ma Li | 290,150,000 | $215,800 |
| 3 | Zhang Chi | 214,400,000 | $159,460 |
| 4 | Dai Linghui | 160,100,000 | $119,080 |
| 5 | Fang Po Wen | 120,750,000 | $89,810 |
| 6 | Aghayev Farhad | 92,050,000 | $68,460 |
| 7 | Ding Yayun | 70,950,000 | $52,770 |
| 8 | Fokin Valeriy | 55,250,000 | $41,090 |
| 9 | Nguyen Pham Duy Khanh | 43,500,000 | $32,350 |
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