The Poker King Of Seoul Finds Redemption In Korea

A year after finishing runner-up at the APPT Seoul Main Event for $92,741, Thailand’s Chane Kampanatsanyakorn has found redemption at the same event having outlasted a field of 256 players, including Canada’s Christian Haggart heads-up, to claim the title and collect the US$142,200 first place prize.
After completing a marathon 15-hour final day of action to become Thailand’s first ever player to win an APPT Main Event, an emotional Kampanatsanyakorn, said: “I’m so grateful…I never gave up.”
The APPT Main Event was held at the Paradise Walker-Hill Casino in Seoul and attracted a wide array of players from all around the world to create a prize pool worth $542,512. Interestingly, though, there were no South Korean players in the tournament as they are forbidden from entering the country’s casinos under South Korean laws.
After the final table of nine had been reached, Shinya Umano was dealt pocket aces twice to eliminate his fellow Japanese competitors Kosaku Akashi in 9th ($14,646), and Makoto Yoshimichi in 8th ($19,511). USA’s Samantha Cohen (A-Q) then did likewise to another Japanese player Keiichiro Sugimoto (A-5) in 7th ($24,389), while Winfred Yu (A-Q) took care of USA’s John Marshall (A-J) in 6th for $30,889.
Unfortunately for Winfred Yu he was the next player to exit in 5th ($39,022), followed by last Japanese player standing Shinya Umano in 4th ($47,155), and after three-handed play was reached a deal was struck in which Haggart locked up $123,240, Kampanatsanyakorn $114,000, and Cohen pocketed $82,000, with $28,500 still to play for.
Chane Kampanatsanyakorn (A-Q) then sent Samantha Cohen (K-10) to the rail in 3rd to take a slight 2.95m to 2.1m chip advantage over Haggart into the heads-up phase of the competition. After a brief battle, the defining hand eventually came after both Kampanatsanyakorn (A-A) and Haggart (Q-J) were all-in preflop. The dealer subsequently put out a J-5-8-3-2 board to consign Christian Haggart to a runner-up finish worth $123,240, while Kampanatsanyakorn claimed the elusive title.
APPT Seoul Final Table Results:
1st Chane Kampanatsanyakorn (Thailand) $142,200
2nd Christian Haggart (Canada) $123,240
3rd Samantha Cohen (USA)        $82,000
4th Shinya Umano (Japan)        $47,155
5th Winfred Yu (Hong Kong)      $39,022
6th John Marshall (USA)         $30,889
7th Keiichiro Sugimoto (Japan)  $24,389
8th Makoto Yoshimichi (Japan)   $19,511
9th Kosaku Akashi (Japan)       $14,646