Nine Players to Battle for Inaugural WPT Prime Main Event Title in Ha Noi

The record-breaking WPT Prime Vietnam 2022 Main Event is nearing a conclusion and just nine players out of a 777-entry strong field remain in contention for the largest slice of the VND 17,131,373,700 (∼ $738,020) prizepool. In the first edition since the launch of the new mid-stakes format by the World Poker Tour, the marquee event of the stop at the Crown Poker Club in Ha Hoi with a buy-in of VND 25 million (∼ $1,088) has become the largest open WPT Event in Asia and narrowly missed out on also creating the largest prize pool for a WPT Event in Vietnam.

Among the final nine contenders for the top prize of VND 3,050,000,000 ($131,394) are six local players from Vietnam who all aim to keep the trophy on home soil. Two players from India and one South Korean will aim to avoid that as they all have their own hopes of becoming the first ever WPT Prim Main Event champion. Zarvan Tumboli

Leading the way with a stack of 6,550,000 is India’s Zarvan “Bawa” Tumboli. Thirty years of age, he was born and resides in Mumbai where he lives with his wife and daughter. The former student has been playing poker for four years and lists his current occupation as pro poker player, which he certainly made a case for after dominating with a big stack throughout the enter tournament so far.

Tumboli loves cricket and lists Daniel Negreanu as the favourite poker player. His biggest poker cash was worth $65,000 and he has entered a WPT Event for the fifth time. During one of these stops, he won the WPT Cup Event in Ho Chi Minh City right here in Vietnam back in 2018. His journey in poker started via Zynga poker and home games, which he has since parlayed in nearly $160,000 in cashes on the live poker circuit.

Minh Quang Nguyen

Minh Quang Nguyen, nicknamed “Royal Flush” and usually the one player at the Crown Poker Club to loudly announce when he reaches the final table, is the second-biggest stack for the nine-handed final table with 3,870,000 in chips. The 37 year old works as a banker for 12 years and has been playing poker for six years.

During the stop in Ha Noi, he already reached the final table of the Opener in which he finished in 6th place. However, his biggest poker accomplishment thus far is reaching the Main Event final table and he will aim to surpass his biggest live cash of approximately $30,000.

Trung Van Nguyen

Ahead of the nearest follower by one big blind only is the 40-year-old fellow Vietnamese Trung Van Nguyen, who enters the final table third in chips with a stack of 2,865,000 (57 big blinds). He bought in directly to the tournament and finished Day 1a as the chip leader, then steadily held onto his chips all the way. Nguyen was also responsible for the final elimination of Day 2 when his king-nine suited flopped two pair against Trung Van Pham.

Trung Nam Tran

Trung Nam Tran held the chip lead on several occasions throughout Day 2 and will enter the final table with a stack of 2,795,000, which is good enough for 56 big blinds and the fourth place on the leaderboard. The 38-year-old has been playing poker for four years and this is the second WPT Event he has entered. Among his hobbies are several sports with an affinity to football in particular.

Do Kwan Nam

Out of a large contingent of poker enthusiasts from South Korea, Do Kwan Nam was the one to make it all the way to the final and he will enter with a stack of 2,365,000 (47 big blinds). After spending the first part of Day 2 in the middle of the pack, Nam scored a crucial double-up through WPT Japan champion Shingo Endo with kings versus queens and retained his above-average stack from there on en route to reaching the final table.

The 39 year old lives in Vietnam for ten years and is currently based in Ha Noi. Nam is usually not a tournament player but prefers cash games instead. He recently started a YouTube channel about poker under his alias of “Chamhan” and will use some of the winnings to buy a gift for his wife. Tuan Anh Tran

One of the most excited players to make the final table is certainly the 35-year-old Tuan Anh Tran, who has been playing poker for three years. Throughout the entire tournament, Tran was spotted numerous times to vividly celebrate crucial all-in showdowns and burst out in emotions when the action concluded for the night as he high-fived with friends on the rail. His stack of 1,620,000 is good enough for 32 big blinds.

Tran entered his third WPT Event courtesy of a $150 satellite at the Crown Poker Club and his biggest accomplishment came in the Vietnam National Poker League (VNPL) with a high score of approximately $25,000.  He started playing poker in the clubs in Vietnam and describes himself as “lucky man”. If he was to win the first ever WPT Prime Main Event, Tran will use the money towards buying a house for his partner.

Denis Pham

Thanh Duy “Denis” Pham was born in Cluse and grew up in France but currently lives in Ho Chi Minh City. The 39 year old lists “poker business” as his occupation and is involved in the management of the poker news site Somuchpoker, which is a premier source for all things poker related in the Asia-Pacific region.

Pham lists Phil Ivey as his favourite poker player and enters the final table as one of the shorter stacks with 1,615,000 in chips (32 big blinds). He was among the bigger stacks on Day 1c in the middle and late stages but stayed under the radar throughout Day 2, carefully navigating his way to the final showdown.

Ashish Munot

The youngest finalist is also one of the most accomplished as Ashish Munot is a WPTDeepStacks champion. Born and raised in Chennai, the 28 year old came out on top of a 630-entry strong field in the 2019 WPTDS India Main Event at the Deltin Royale Poker Room in Panjim. His payday of p6,348,641 ($89,576) back then is the biggest score on the live poker circuit thus far but may be toppled if Munot was to go all the way.

He enters the final table with a stack of 1,025,000 and has been playing poker for five years. In just three WPT Events he entered, Munot has reached the final table for the second time even though he lists “nothing yet” in terms of greatest poker accomplishments. Michael Addamo is his favourite poker player and as many of his countrymen, he is a fierce enthusiast of cricket which is widely considered a national sport in India.

Tien Van Pham

Ha Noi based Tien Van Pham is the short stack among the final nine and will return with a stack of 545,000. While that only represents 11 big blinds, Pham will be full of confidence after nursing a severe short stack on the final two tables. He even made it through after plummeting to fewer than two blinds and survived an all-in against three opponents to keep his hopes alive.

Pham has been playing poker for five years and this is the first WPT Event he has entered. The biggest score in a live poker event was worth around $13,000 and he is a VNPL champion. The 38-year-old Pham works in telecommunications and his friends can look forward to a party in Ha Noi if he takes down the inaugural WPT Prime Main Event.

All nine finalists will return to the feature table at the Crown Poker Club at noon local time on May 30, 2022, to crown a winner. The live stream action can be followed on the WPT social media channels with cards-up coverage and commentary on a 30-minute delay.