The excitement is brewing at the ongoing WPT Cambodia 2024 in Southeast Asia, with only four days left for the event to conclude. Already boasting more than 10 final table finishes and two live titles in their kitty, Indians are making a significant impact. Following Aayush Arya‘s recent victory in Event #18: Deepstack 20/15/10/5, Shivam Shukla made headlines for winning India its second title.
Notably, Shukla’s victory holds a special significance as it coincided with the 75th Republic Day on January 26. A well-known name in India’s poker circle, Shukla bested a field of 55 competitors in Event #30: PLO Hyper Turbo, clinching his maiden live title and a $3,455 (INR 2.87 Lakhs) prize. He eventually defeated Myanmar’s Aike Ing in the heads-up, with the latter banking $2,054 for his efforts.
The tournament had a buy-in of $200 and generated $9,336, which was finally distributed among the top 9 finishers hailing from five different countries, India, Japan, Australia, Myanmar, and Philippines.
Event #30: PLO Hyper Turbo Payouts (USD)
| Place | Player | County | Payouts (USD) |
| 1 | Shivam Shukla | India | $3,455 |
| 2 | Aike Ing | Myanmar | $2,054 |
| 3 | Peter John Dupre | Australia | $1,260 |
| 4 | Yusuke Moriyama | Japan | $887 |
| 5 | Thang Minh Truong | Australia | $700 |
| 6 | Yusuke Uchimura | Japan | $560 |
| 7 | Martin Gonzales | Philippines | $420 |
Seven Indians Qualify from Day 1B of WPT Cambodia Championship
The key attraction of the festival, the WPT Cambodia Championship, is creating ripples. Featuring a $3,500 buy-in, the event exceeded exceptions, drawing in 760 entries, generating a record prize pool of $2.43 Million. This set a new WPT Asia record, solidifying the event’s global reputation.
Day 1A drew an impressive 373 entries and crushed the $1 Million guarantee mid-way through the day, and Day 1B surpassed the heat with 387 entries, taking the total prize pool to a sizzling $2.43 Million. From Day 1B, 113 players qualified, with Japan’s Nozomu Shimizu leading with 519,500 chips. Korean players Hun Tae Choi (462,000), and Hyeonho Shin (460,500) rounded out the top three stacks.
An impressive seven Indians had qualified from Day 1A, led by Amit Kaushik in chips counts. Team India continued this momentum into Day 1B, where once again, seven Indians qualified for Day 2. The well-known pro Apoorva Goel topped the Indian chip counts with a stack of 269,500 chips. Following him in chips were India’s Kaushal Vasa (221,000), Ritwik Khanna (181,500), Aditya Agarwal (160,000), Pocket52 Team Pro Dhaval Mudgal (127,500), Raju Jaruplavath (78,500), and Vikaash Shah (71,000).
Day 2 of the WPT Cambodia Championship is set to unfold at 11:30 AM (local time) on Saturday (January 27) and will see a total of 231 players return to the felts. Thailand’s Punnat Punsri (528,500) will begin as the chip leader. The event pays out a total of 95 places, with a min cash worth $6,054.
Top 5 Chip Counts – WPT Cambodia Championship Day 2 Qualifiers
| Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 5,28,500 |
| Nozomu Shimizu | Japan | 5,19,500 |
| Trung Ha Nguyen | Viet Nam | 4,89,000 |
| Hun Tae Choi | Korea | 4,62,000 |
| Hyeonho Shin | Korea | 4,60,500 |
Among other standout performances from Team India, Amit Kaushik and Maulik Bharatkumar Shukla, made cash finishes in Event #29: Superstack Turbo. Kaushik finished eighth for $1,511, bagging his fourth cash in the series. Shukla secured ninth place for $1,370, which is his fifth series score. The event was finally won by UK’s Robert Andrew Sherwood who took home $13,694.
.Among other winners, China’s Quan Qiu took down Event #28: Shootout, outlasting g 89 competitors (80 unique) for a $6,166 top prize. Hungary’s Bihari Michael Adam finished runner-up, earning $4,111.
South Korea’s Hyeonsik Yun got his hands on the second WPT trophy in the series. Following his victory in Event #15: 8 Max Survivor 2K Bounty, South Korea’s Hyeonsik Yun picked up his second WPT trophy by winning Event #31: Mini HR Hyper Turbo for $22,700. Erick Alex Goni Marcos (2nd) from Peru and Allen Aidino Nielsen (3rd) from Denmark took home $19,000 each, courtesy three-way deal.
Image Credit: WPT & SMP
