Russia’s Natalia Rozova triumphed in Event #51: Zodiac Classic at the just concluded 2024 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Phu Quoc, scoring her second APT title, securing a payday of VND 1,550,470,000 (~$61,040). Rozova won her first APT title a year ago at the APT Hanoi 2023 in the Single Day Mystery Bounty. The win pushed her live poker earnings career earnings over $548k.
The VND 50,000,000 ($2,040) buy-in drew 148 entrants, easily crushing the VND 2,500,000,000 ($102,000) GTD, generating a total prize pool of VND 6,460,200,000 (~$254,340). The six-figure prize pool was shared among the top 20 players, with the top 2 finishers collecting a bigger piece.
2024 APT Phu Quoc Event #51: Zodiac Classic Final Table Recap
41 Players returned to Day 2 of the tournament, and it took nearly seven hours to make it into the money. During that play, Natalia Rozova took the lead, which she held until the final hand. She entered the final table with a slight lead over Phuong Ngoc Nguyen. The final table saw three quick eliminations, as William Teoh, Youkan Li, and Tianhao Zheng were eliminated in 9th, 8th, and 7th place, respectively.
Rozova extended the chip advantage and held the lead. Win Meng Tan, who has been crushing at the 2024 APT Phu Quoc, scored the next elimination, knocking out The Hung Nguyen in 6th place, for VND 361,130,000 (~$14,220). Rozova further narrowed the field, sending out Ngo Khoa Anh in 5th place for VND 460,610,000 (~$18,135). Despite the elimination, Win Meng Tan was left short and missed the chance of scoring his third APT title, ending his deep run in 4th place, banking VND 573,670,000 (~$22,585).
Rozova soon started the heads-up duel, scoring her second elimination of the final table, eliminating Hayato Kitajima in 3rd for VND 694,470,000 (~$27,340). The hand in question saw Rozova force short stack Hayato into an all-in position with Qc-3c against Hayato’s Kc-Qh. The board ran 3h3s2h4c10d, giving Rozova trips of three.
Phuong Ngoc Nguyen stayed among top stacks throughout the final table action but entered the duel with a massive chip disadvantage. While everyone expected a long two-handed battle, it lasted for only one level, as Nguyen called off the last of his stack holding Qh-3h against Rozova’s 5h-4h.
The board brought 4sKcKh5d3s, giving Rozova two pairs and denying Nguyen his third APT title. However, Nguyen pocketed his career-best payday of VND 1,053,010,000 (~$41,460).
The only Indian to cash this event was Avneesh Munjal, who had earlier won Event #29: VND 60 Million High Roller – Double Stack for VND 1.541 billion (INR 51.34 Lakhs). He exited in 15th place a few places short of the final table, taking home VND 103,360,000 for his efforts.
Zodiac Classic Final Table Payouts
| Rank | Player | Prize (VND) | Prize (USD) |
| 1st | Natalia Rozova | 1,550,470,000 | $61,040 |
| 2nd | Phuong Ngoc Nguyen | 1,053,010,000 | $41,460 |
| 3rd | Hayato Kitajima | 694,470,000 | $27,340 |
| 4th | Win Tan | 573,670,000 | $22,585 |
| 5th | Ngo Khoa Anh | 460,610,000 | $18,135 |
| 6th | The Hung Nguyen | 361,130,000 | $14,220 |
| 7th | Tianhao Zheng | 270,680,000 | $10,655 |
| 8th | Youkan Li | 200,270,000 | $7,885 |
| 9th | Teoh William | 155,040,000 | $6,100 |
A Quick Look at Other Female Champions From 2024 APT Phu Quoc
However, Rozova was not the only woman claiming the title at the just concluded series as we saw several other women etch their name as the APT champions, including Australia’s Jennifer Cassell. Here is a quick look at all prominent winners!
| Winner | Country | Event | Entries | Prize (VND) |
| Yuen Shan Chui | Hong Kong | Event #72: Hyper Turbo | 52 | 6,99,16,000 |
| Jennifer Cassell | Australia | Event #40: Women’s Event | 43 | 10,09,65,200 |
| Nattamon Kaweesorasak | Thailand | Event #31: NL Hold’em – Single Re-Entry | 85 | 30,60,85,000 |
| Monjan Krittaporn | Thailand | Event #32: Women’s Event, | 50 | 6,72,30,000 |
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Image Credit: Asian Poker Tour
