The emblematic Red Dragon Main Event, part of the Macau Poker Cup 22, was completed on Friday. The event, as well as the whole tournament, was held at the PokerStars LIVE Macau poker room at the City of Dreams. Chinese player Yuguang Li emerged victorious over a total of 987 players to win the sum of HK$1,848,000 (US$240,000)
He entered the HK$80,000 High Roller event immediately after and won that one, too, to add HK$1,647,000 (or $212,000 USD) to his overall live earnings.
Li’s two consecutive victories were called one of the most memorable moments in the history of Asian poker.
Prior to finishing first in the above-mentioned two events, the player had only three more winnings recorded. And they all were from Macau-held tournaments. Back in 2014, he finished fifth in two No Limit Hold’em events where he was paid the amounts of HK$96,300 (US$12,421) and HK$90,200 (US$11,635).
A total of 67 players took part in the HK$80,000 High Roller event. Bryan Huang, who is a Team PokerStars Pro, as well as David Steicke, Mikal Blomlie, and Rono Lo were among the prominent entrants.
Day 2 of the event saw 34 players returning and it started with Japanese Masayuki Hakoda holding the majority of chips. Of those 34, only 7 were paid. The bubble burst with the elimination of Thomas Ward from New Zealand, who finished eighth.
When he was gone, the final table was set. UK-based player Stephen Chidwick, who is well-known in the world of poker, started this final stage of play as the chip leader.
And it was exactly Chidwick that Li needed to face in the heads-up play. It, too, began with the first holding the majority of chips. In fact, he had two times more chips than Li.
On what turned out to be the final hand in the game, Chidwick had [Ks][Kh] and his opponent tabled [Qd][3d]. With the board showing [Ad][8s][7d][2d][10s], Li made a flush and thus, became the champion of the High Roller event.
Chidwick, therefore, finished second and received the amount of HK$1,048,000 (US$134,954). Russian player Andrey Kotelnikov took the third position and was paid HK$699,000 (US$90,012).
And as mentioned above, Li took home the sum of HK$1,647,000 (US$212,000). Thus, his live earnings now amount to HK$3,495,000 (US$450,000).
PokerStars LIVE Macau will next play host to the ACOP Platinum Series, scheduled to kick of on April 21, and to the APPT Macau, which will be held between May 20 and May 31.
