Hosted at the Pullman Grand Hotel in Hai Phong, the 2024 U Series of Poker (USOP) Grand Finale has wrapped up with the conclusion of the VND 25,000,000 ($1,000) buy-in Championship Event. Running from December 9 to 11, the championship event offered VND 20 billion ($ 788,000) prize pool and drew record-breaking 1,059 entries across 4 flights, generating VND 22,376,700,000 in prize pool. While the top 133 players were paid out, the lion’s share finally belonged to John Matsuda of the Philippines, who walked away with VND 2,503,820,000 ($98,600) after a six-way deal and the coveted Championship champion title.
Matsuda is one of the rising stars in the Asian circuit. He has been cashing live poker tournaments since 2018. The latest victory marked his fourth live poker title of 2024 and grew his live earnings to more than $656k.
India’s Harsh Bubna Shines With A Career-Best Finish
Shining for India this marquee tournament was none other than the DPT May 2024 Mini Main Event Champion Harsh Bubna. The Kolkata based pro finished runner-up, taking home a career-best VND 1,908,930,000 ($75,170), the second best score by an Indian in the USOP Grand Finale.
Starting the final day placed 35th or 36th in stacks among the returning 133 players, Bubna played some top notch poker, picking up the right spots and growing his stacks to reach the final table with the second largest stack (38 BB), behind the eventual champion John Matsuda (50BB). He started off strong, winning a crucial pot against Jinlong Hu and continued his momentum until a six-way deal was reached to distribute the remaining prize.
The deal was reached following the elimination of Li Shankui (7th), Jinlong Hu (8th), Michael Falcon (9th) – all eliminated by none other than the eventual champion, Matsuda. At the time of the deal, Matsuda held the massive chip lead and so he earned the biggest share in the ICM deal and, more importantly, the coveted Championship Champion title. Bubna, who held the second largest stack at the time of deal, banked VND 1,908,930,000 ($75,170) to finish runner-up in this prestigious event.
2024 USOP Grand Finale Championship Event Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player Name | Prize (VND) | Prize (USD) |
| 1 | John Matsuda | 2503820000 | $98,600 |
| 2 | Harsh Bubna | 1908930000 | $75,170 |
| 3 | Hung Wan | 1757880000 | $69,225 |
| 4 | Luong Viet Bac | 1724570000 | $67,910 |
| 5 | Zhang Xun | 1715420000 | $67,550 |
| 6 | Lee Kun Han | 1232380000 | $48,530 |
| 7 | Li Shankui | 610000000 | $24,045 |
| 8 | Jinlong Hu | 480000000 | $18,920 |
| 9 | Michael Kim Falcon | 370000000 | $14,585 |
A total of 133 players entered the final day of the Championship event, including over a dozen of Indians headlined by Shravan Chhabria. (624,000). The other Indians to qualify for the final day were Abhijith Cheruku, Amit Kaushik, Karia Siddharth Aayush Arya, Ankit Jain Deepankur Gupta, Ashish Munot, Kunal Patni, Nageshwara Alaparthy, and Ashwin Vijayvergiya. As of now, there is no information regarding their finishing positions, but we will update it once the details are finalized.
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates and results from the world of live poker. Follow us on our social media platforms –Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube for all the interesting stories and updates from the world of poker!owing PokerProNews for daily updates from live poker events!
