Running from May 14 to 21 in the Won Majestic Hotel at Sihanoukville, Cambodia, the 2025 Won Poker Cup III drew 1,448 entries, awarded more than USD 1.34 million in prize money across 22 exciting events, and concluded with Azerbaijan’s Khayal Abbasov as the main event champion.
Running from May 17-21, the biggest event of the series (Main Event) featured a buy-in of $1,320 and drew 415 entries across four starting flights for a share of the $600,000 guaranteed prize pool. In the end, the lion’s share went to Khayal Abbasov who defeated Australia’s Armon Van Wijk in heads-up, claiming a career-high $116,500, the coveted Trophy and the exclusive W Ring. The victory was his first live title of 2025 and took his live earning to $251k.
Abhijith Cheruku Takes 3rd in Won Poker Cup III Main Event To Win $53K
The biggest story for India was Abhijith Cheruku, who won the Single Day High Roller event earlier in the series. He started the main event final table fifth in chips but was looking in good shape to win the title. Despite his valiant efforts, his run unfortunately ended in 3rd place, good for $53,300 – his largest career score surpassing his previous best $51,197, which he had earned for 2nd – place finish in the WPT Cambodia Mini High Roller last year.
Apart from Cheruku, there were two more Indians to cash in the Main Event. Satellite qualifier Neeraj Gajra finished 42 for $3,050, while veteran poker pro Vineet Kumar took the 51st spot, earning $3,050.
2025 Won Poker Cup III Main Event Quick Recap
Only 52 survivors made it to Day 2 with each guaranteed a minimum payout of $3,050. The second day of the event culminated after a final table of 9 was reached. The final 9 players then returned for the third and final day of the event yesterday, with Khayal Abbasov in lead, holding around 30% of the chips in play. The first two casualties from the final table came in Vietnamese players with Kyle Bao Diep and Mikayel Balabekyan falling in 9th and 8th places, respectively. They were followed by Filipino Adrian Brion (7th).
Up next, the game belonged to Khayal, who scored his first elimination by busting Mikaeyl Balabekyan in 6th place and then took out two players in the same hand, Ngoc Thai Huynh (5th) and Viet An Nguyen (4th). He continued on elimination spree, busting India’s Abhijit Cheruku in 3rd place, taking a massive 8:1 chip lead into heads-up. Cheruku risked his stack with A-J against A-8. Unfortunately for him, the board ran with three nines and an eight on the river, giving Abbasov a full house to win the pot and bust Cheruku in third place.
The heads-up began with Khayal Abbasov holding a towering 11,085,000 against the desperate 1,365,000 of Van Wijk from Australia. While Van Wijk managed to double-up but he could not go all the way. Eventually, it all ended with Wijk pitting his Jc 6h against the pocket kings of Abbasov. The board ran out 8d 5s Jh 9d 8s where pocket kings’ reigned supreme over Wijk’s top pair, thus ending the Australian’s run for the title in second place.
2025 Won Poker Cup III Main Event Final Table Payouts (USD)
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize |
| 1 | Khayal Abbasov | Azerbaijan | $116,500 |
| 2 | Armon Van Wijk | Australia | $73,800 |
| 3 | Abhijith Cheruku | India | $53,300 |
| 4 | Viet An Nguyen | Vietnam | $43,100 |
| 5 | Ngoc Thai Huynh | Vietnam | $34,100 |
| 6 | Mikayel Balabekyan | Armenia | $26,300 |
| 7 | Adrian Brion | Philippines | $19,600 |
| 8 | Hoang Anh Nguyen | Vietnam | $14,200 |
| 9 | Kyle Bao Diep | Vietnam | $11,500 |
Team India Performance At 2025 Won Poker Cup III
Following an impressive 2025 APPT Cambodia campaign, Team India made a strong impact at the recent Won Poker Cup III, winning a trophy and scoring several final table finishes in the series. Topping the charts for India was the rising star Abhijit Cheruku, who ended up as the biggest earner among the Indians. Cheruku kicked off the Indian campaign with the Single Day High Roller victory for $17,967 and then followed that score up with a third place finish for a career-high $53,300 in the main event.
Among other players who are making waves at the Won Poker Cup III in Cambodia included veteran poker pro Vineek Kumar and Neeraj Gajria. Kumar scored a runner-up finish for $2,115 in Event #6 – Hyper Turbo ($270) and followed that up with a 26th place for $1000 in Event #5 -Mystery Bounty and 51st place for $3,050 in the main event.
Speaking of Neeraj Gajria, he satellited his way into the main event and did amazingly well, turning his $150 satty into a $3,050 cash with a 42nd place in the Main Event.
Other Notable Winners From 2025 Won Poker Cup III
Among other notable winners at the 2025 Won Poker Cup III were Vietnam’s Hoang Hai Nam, who overcame a tough field of 59 entries in Event #9- W High Roller to claim $78,681, and Vietnam’s Duy Hien.
The latter (Duy Hien) won Event #5 MYSTERY BOUNTY (200$ TO BOUNTY POOL) after besting 263 entries. He walked away with a top prize of $20,836 after a heads up chop with Long Nguyen, who took home $31,435 as the runner-up. Here is a quick look at the top winners from the series.
Top 10 Winners From 2025 Won Poker Cup III Festival
| Event | Buy-In | Winner | 1st Prize | Entries |
| MAIN EVENT (#10) | $1,320 (1,200+120) | Khayal Abbasov | $116,500 | 415 |
| W HIGHROLLER (#9) | $5,000 (4,700+300) | Hoang Hai Nam | $78,681 | 59 |
| MYSTERY BOUNTY (#5) | $675 (600+75) | Duy Hien (DH) | $20,836 | 263 |
| Single Day Highroller (#4) | $2,300 (2,100+200) | Abhijith Cheruku | $17,967 | 21 |
| Mini Main (#18) | $450 (400+50) | Lining Tan | $16,256 | 187 |
| WARM-UP (#1) | $565 (500+65) | Neng Zhao | $16,475 | 177 |
| Sunday Deepstack (#13) | $340 (300+40) | Anzhela Vasylenko | $4,600 | 50 |
| Deepstack Turbo (#8) | $340 (300+40) | Mr Michael | $3,539 | 29 |
| Hyper Turbo (#17) | $340 (300+40) | Viet An Nguyen | $2,328 | 8 |
| Freezeout (#16) | $225 (200+25) | Jia Wang | $2,326 | 24 |
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Source: SoMuchPoker & Won Poker Cup Facebook Page
