The first-ever standalone Vietnam Poker Tour (VPT) Championship 2025 is running full steam at the stunning Corona Resort & Casino on Phú Quốc Island. Slated to run from April 5 to 13, 2025, the ongoing series features 38 action-packed events and boasts a record-breaking VND 35 billion (~$1.4 million) guarantee, making it Vietnam’s largest domestic event.
Just four days into the debut series in Phu Quoc, Team India is making waves with Natural8 India Director and Ambassador Kunal Patni and Deepak Bothra earning big victories, big payouts and bragging rights.
Kunal Patni Ships MegaStack High Roller for His 3rd Title of 2025!
Following two final table finishes in the ongoing series, the Mumbai poker pro Kunal Patni made a triumphant leap by shipping Event #15: VND 44 Million Megastack High Roller 8-Max of the series.
This prestigious second High Roller event of the ongoing series drew 94 entries and featured a juicy VND 1 Billion guaranteed prize pool. Only 20 made it to Day 2 and Patni outlasted them all to become the champion – after 15 players made it to the ITM list. The latest victory earned Patni a hefty VND 850 Million (~₹28.36 Lakhs) and the coveted gold trophy.
This was Patni’s third live victory of 2025, following previous victories in the APT Single Day High Roller ($52,271) and the APT Mystery Bounty Hunter ($14,068) at APT Manila Classic earlier this year. With the latest win, Patni has now scored an impressive three final table finishes in Phú Quốc alone.
- 4th place in Event #2: VND 22M Single Day HR 8-Max (VND 76.80M)
- 9th place in Event #5: VND 33M Single Day HR 8-Max (VND 62.20M)
- 1st place in Event #15: Megastack High Roller 8-Max (VND 850M)
With the latest win and two final table scores earlier, Kunal Patni’s total winnings from the series stand at a hefty VND989 Million (INR 33 Lakhs).
Deepak Bothra Breaks Title Drought with Victory in Single Day High Roller 8 Max
Before Patni’s title victory, it was Deepak Bothra who kicked off things for Team India. He overcame a field of 69 entries in Event #5: VND 33M Single Day High Roller 8-Max of the series, taking home VND 562.30 million (INR18.62 Lakhs). This marked his third live title coming after a long wait of over 7.5 years. This was also his second biggest live score, following his third-place for $45,501 in the APT Hanoi Championship Event in 2022.
Event #5: VND 33M Single Day High Roller 8-Max saw 69 entries for VND 2,007,900,000 ($77,870), nearly double the guarantee. Out of the 11 players who cashed, it was India’s Deepak Bothra who walked away with the lion’s share, claiming VND 562.30M and his first trophy of the year after beating Vietnam’s Minh Thang Tran in the heads-up battle. Thang Tran took home VND 387.5 million for his runner-up finish in the event.
VPT 2025 Single Day High Roller 8-Max Final Payouts
| # | Player | Prize (USD) | Prize (VND) |
| 1 | Deepak Bothra | $21,805 | VND 562,300,000 |
| 2 | Minh Thang Tran | $15,030 | VND 387,500,000 |
| 3 | Trung Chien Nguyen | $10,120 | VND 261,000,000 |
| 4 | Minh Phu Dao | $7,320 | VND 188,700,000 |
| 5 | Ngoc Minh Le | $5,765 | VND 148,600,000 |
| 6 | Koangho Lee | $4,595 | VND 118,500,000 |
| 7 | Guangrui Meng | $3,660 | VND 94,400,000 |
| 8 | Viet An Nguyen | $2,960 | VND 76,300,000 |
| 9 | Kunal Patni | $2,410 | VND 62,200,000 |
| 10 | Huu Tuan Nguyen | $2,100 | VND 54,200,000 |
| 11 | Huu Dung Nguyen | $2,100 | VND 54,200,000 |
Jaydeep Dawer a.k.a. ‘JD Bhaiya’ Finishes Runner-Up in Event #2
Among other Indians to score final table finishes in the series was Jaydeep Dawer aka ‘JD Bhaiya’, who featured in our recent interview. He came close to winning a second live trophy, finishing runner-up in Event #2: VND 22M Single Day High Roller 8-Max and banking VND 167.60M (₹5.55 Lakhs).
What’s Next: The Massive VND 15B Guaranteed Main Event!
The Vietnam Poker Tournament (VPT) 2025 continues the momentum, offering diverse events to cater to a wide range of poker enthusiasts. All eyes are now on the flagship Main Event, which features a massive VND 15 Billion (~$600,000) guaranteed prize with a buy-in of VND 25 Million (~$1,000). The Main Event kicked off on April 8 and runs till April 12.
Keep following PokerProNews for the daily updates and results from the VPT Championship in Phú Quốc!
Source: SMP and VPT Facebook Page
