The inaugural Vietnam Poker Tour (VPT) Championship 2025 wrapped at the stunning Corona Resort & Casino on Phu Quoc’s Pearl Island this past Sunday, crowning China’s Yankai Zhang as the Main Event champion. Zhang overcame a field of 983 entries in the VND 15 Billion (~US$ 600K) GTD event to take home a career-best VND 3,720,375,000 ($143,195) and his first major live trophy. From Team India, it was Amit Kaushik who made his mark, finishing sixth for VND 585.60 Million ($22,540).
This 38-event poker festival featuring a massive VND 35 Billion (~$1.40 Million) guarantee saw several other big winners through its run from April 5 to 13, including Toan Chan Truong who overcame a field of 355 entries in Event#27: VPT Championship, claiming VND 2,745,000,000 ($105,655). Among other big winners of the series was Vietnam’s very own Nang Quang Nguyen who emerged victorious from a field of 161 entries in Event#9: Super Stars, banking VND 1,939,580,000 ($74,655).
Nishant Sharma Headlines India’s Final Glory at VPT Championship
Vietnam has been one of the favourite hunting grounds for Team India and the team once again delivered some power-packed performances with Deepak Bothrra and Kunal Patni kicking off things with wins in the early going of the series. Adding to India’s impressive run in the series, Mumbai’s Nihsant Sharma and Kurukshetra’s Amit Kaushik shone for the country in the final phase of the series.
Sharma, who holds a world record of three Poker Dream Main Event titles, overcame a competitive field of 52 entries in Event #30: VND 33 Million Single Day High Roller 8-Max, claiming third victory for India, following victories of Bothra and Patni. This was his first live title of 2025 and earned him the VND 470.40 million ($18,105) and impressive 9th live trophy of his career, taking his live cashes close to $1.5 million.
Vietnam’s Manh Hao Nguyen fought hard in the heads-up but could not overcome Sharma, eventually settling for second place for VND 317.80 Million ($12,230). China’s Quan Qiu took home VND 213.40 million for his remarkable third-place finish in the Single Day High Roller event.
VPT Championship Event #30: Single Day High Roller Final Table
| Rank | Player | Prize (VND) | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | Nishant Sharma | VND 470,400,000 | $18,105 |
| 2 | Manh Hao Nguyen | VND 317,800,000 | $12,230 |
| 3 | Quan Qiu | VND 213,400,000 | $8,215 |
| 4 | Tom Henricus Wilhelmus Verbruggen | VND 160,400,000 | $6,175 |
| 5 | Duc Chien Le | VND 121,100,000 | $4,660 |
| 6 | Sung Jin Jun | VND 90,800,000 | $3,495 |
| 7 | Tien Thanh Dinh | VND 75,700,000 | $2,915 |
| 8 | Thanh Nghia Pham | VND 63,600,000 | $2,450 |
Amit Kaushik Shines In The VND 15 Billion GTD VPT Main Event
The highlight event of the 2025 VPT Championship was the VND 25 Million buy-in Main Event, which drew a massive field of 983 entries, surpassing its VND 15 Billion guarantee and taking the prize pool to a whopping VND 21.454 Billion (~$860,000). In the end, the lion’s share of the prizepool went to China’s Yan Kai Zhang who took home career-high VND 3.72 Billion. He started the final table second in chips and expertly crushed it after beating Vietnam’s Do Tien Vu in heads-up. Vu earned a hefty VN₫ 2.337 Billion ($89,950) for his runner-up finish.
The biggest story for India in the Main Event was that of Amit Kaushik, who finished in a strong sixth place for VND 585.60 Million ($22,540).
VPT Championship 2025 Main Event Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Payout (VND) | Payout (USD) |
| 1st | Zhang Yankai | 3,720,375,000 VND | $148,815 |
| 2nd | Do Tien Vu | 2,337,000,000 VND | $93,480 |
| 3rd | Eruquaga David | 1,532,500,000 VND | $61,300 |
| 4th | Yuan Xin | 1,052,600,000 VND | $42,104 |
| 5th | Pham Tien Thanh | 740,100,000 VND | $29,604 |
| 6th | Kaushik Amit | 585,600,000 VND | $23,424 |
| 7th | Nguyen Kinh Huyen | 484,800,000 VND | $19,392 |
| 8th | Hoang Van Khoa | 403,500,000 VND | $16,140 |
| 9th | Dang Duc Dong | 337,900,000 VND | $13,516 |
Kaushik has numerous deep runs across Asia to his name. Prior to this final table finish, he, also made to the to final table in Event #23: Single Day High Roller 8-Max in the recently concluded series, finishing sixth there too for VND92.50 Million ($3,560). Another Indian to shine in this event was Ranjeet Negi who finished runner-up to Vietnam’s Van Duong Ngo (1st place for VND 479,600,000- $18,460) and earned VND 323,900,000 ($12,465) for his remarkable runner-up finish in the tournament.
However, Kaushik was not the only Indian to cash in the Main Event. Eight others also scored, including Anuj Wadhwa (14th for VND 237.20 Million), Aman Parakh (28th for VND 109.40 Million), Ranjeet Negi (31st for VND109.40 Million), Sanjay Khanna (37th for VND 97.10 Million), Bhavik Khatsuria (49th for VND 87.50 Million), Vishal Ojha (61st for VND78.90 Million), Alaparthy Prasad (69th for VND 71.40 Million), and Megastack High Roller winner Kunal Patni (72nd for VND 71.40 Million).
Team India’s Dominant Run At 2025 VPT Championship
Overall, the 2025 VPT Championships turned out to be a memorable series for Team India with the Indians claiming three trophies and scoring over 16 final table scores. The major highlights for India came from Deepak Bothra, Natral8 India director and ambassador Kunal Patni and Nishant Sharma.
Patni continued his epic momentum and claimed his third live title of 2025 by winning Event #15: VND 44 Million Megastack High Roller 8-Max for VND 960 Million ($36,980)- the biggest Indian score in the series. Patni showcased amazing consistency, cashing an impressive four events.
Kunal Patni Scorecard:
| Rank | Event | Prize (VND) |
| 1 | Event #15: Megastack High Roller 8-Max | 960,800,000 VND |
| 4 | Event #2: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 76,800,000 VND |
| 9 | Event #5: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 62,200,000 VND |
| 72 | Event #13: Main Event | 71,400,000 VND |
Deepak Bothra made a triumphant return, breaking a 7.5 year title drought with a victory in Event #5: VND 33 Million Single Day High Roller 8-Max for VND 562.30 Million ($21,805) – his second-biggest live cash. Besides, he also cashed three other tournaments of the recent series
Deepak Bothra Scorecard:
| Rank | Event | Prize (VND) |
| 1 | Event #5: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 562,300,000 VND |
| 5 | Event #1: Kick-Off | 187,200,000 VND |
| 6 | Event #22: Hyper Turbo High Roller | 21,400,000 VND |
| 2 | Event #34: Hyper Turbo High Roller | 42,700,000 VND |
Team India Victories & Final Table Scores From 2025 VPT Championship
| Rank | Player | Tournament | Prize (VND) |
| 2 | Jaydeep Dawer | Event #2: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 16,76,00,000 |
| 4 | Kunal Patni | Event #2: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 7,68,00,000 |
| 1 | Deepak Bothra | Event #5: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 56,23,00,000 |
| 9 | Kunal Patni | Event #5: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 6,22,00,000 |
| 5 | Deepak Bothra | Event #1: Kick-Off | 18,72,00,000 |
| 1 | Kunal Patni | Event #15: Megastack High Roller 8-Max | 85,00,00,000 |
| 2 | Harsh Bubna | Event #22: Hyper Turbo High Roller | 7,92,00,000 |
| 6 | Deepak Bothra | Event #22: Hyper Turbo High Roller | 2,14,00,000 |
| 6 | Amit Kaushik | Event #13: Main Event | 58,56,00,000 |
| 2 | Ranjeet Negi | Event #23: Single Day High Roller 8-Max | 32,39,00,000 |
| 6 | Amit Kaushik | Event #23: Single Day High Roller 8-Max | 9,25,00,000 |
| 5 | Anuj Wadhwa | Event #24: NL Hold’em | 1,19,00,000 |
| 1 | Nishant Sharma | Event #30: Single Day High Roller 8 Max | 47,04,00,000 |
| 3 | Aman Parakh | Event #31: Double Stack | 13,19,00,000 |
| 7 | Pratik Jain | Event #31: Double Stack | 4,98,00,000 |
| 2 | Deepak Bothra | Event #34: Hyper Turbo High Roller | 4,27,00,000 |
| 3 | Jaydeep Dawer | Event #36: Super Stack | 3,28,00,000 |
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Source: SMP and Vietnam Poker Tour Social Media
