Kim Leads 21 Survivors After Day 1a of the 2022 APPT Cambodia $1,500 Main Event
The first of three starting days of the inaugural PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Cambodia $1,500 Main Event has concluded with 21 hopefuls out of 113 entries advancing after 14 levels of 40 minutes each. It took ten hours to wrap up the proceedings at the five-star NagaWorld Integrated Resort in Phnom Penh and the run good of Nam Hyung Kim during the series so far has continued.
The South Korean already reached four final tables in Side Events without earning a spadie trophy and finished the night with 410,000 in chips. Renniel Galvez from the Philippines follows in second place with 347,000 while the UK's Chris Backhouse (289,000) and Tzai Wei Phua (279,000) from Singapore are separated by a few big blinds only.
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 1a
| Position | Player | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds Day 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nam Hyung Kim | South Korea | 410,000 | 103 |
| 2 | Renniel Galvez | Philippines | 347,000 | 87 |
| 3 | Chris Backhouse | United Kingdom | 289,000 | 72 |
| 4 | Tzai Wei Phua | Singapore | 279,000 | 70 |
| 5 | Masamichi Hayashi | Japan | 246,000 | 62 |
| 6 | Jean-Robert Autran | France | 238,000 | 60 |
| 7 | Markus Garberg | Norway | 220,000 | 55 |
| 8 | Robbie Schiffbauer | United States | 165,000 | 41 |
| 9 | Daniel Smiljkovic | Austria | 155,000 | 39 |
| 10 | Zhao Feng | Singapore | 155,000 | 39 |
Among the bigger stacks in the first heat are also Frenchman Jean-Robert Autran (238,000), Markus Garberg (220,000), Robbie Schiffbauer (165,000), and WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Smiljkovic (155,000). Vincent Huang (108,000) and Eric Wasylenko (41,000) advanced with stacks in the bottom half.
Especially during the final stages, the eliminations came at a rapid pace and Day 1a all but reached the top 15% of its 113 entries, which consisted of 93 unique players and 20 re-entries. All participants are allowed to purchase one re-entry in each starting day and among those to do so but come up short of bagging up chips were Harry Ross, Victor Chong, Nang Quang Nguyen, Hwany Lee and Hoyt Corkins.
The rise to the top of the leaderboard for Kim started with the elimination of the always dangerous Florencio Campomanes when he four-bet five-four suited from an early position and turned a straight. Campomanes could not get away from top pair and top kicker and Kim remained near the top of the chip counts ever since.
Other notables to bow out on Day 1a included Sofia Lovgren, Natalie Teh, Akshay Kapoor, Koen Breed, Pete Chen, Paul Newey, Ori Elul, Zurvan Tumboli, and Vincent Chauve. Elul was involved in one of the most memorable hands of the day when he hit a one-outer to eliminate Corkins but didn't keep up the momentum to bust in the final level of the night.
All those who didn't bag up chips have another two chances to jump back into the action and battle for a slice of the $400,000 guaranteed prize pool, which is likely to be surpassed. Day 1b with levels of 40 minutes kicks off on Friday, November 11, at 1pm local time. The final turbo heat with a 20-minute level duration then follows as of 9pm local time.
Stay tuned right here on PokerNews to follow all the action from the Kingdom of Cambodia, which has become one of the up and coming destinations for live poker in the Asia-Pacific region.