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VPP Poker Room News
| PokerStars AsiaPacific Poker Tour Seoul - Monday, September 29, 2008 at 08:13
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The PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Seoul attracted 165 of the best poker players around the world. When all was said and done, Yoshihiro Tasaka of Japan prevailed, claiming the 1st place prize of $128,216 and the PokerStars APPT Seoul trophy.
The action was intense from start to finish as participants meticulously played their hands, revealing sudden bursts of eliminations throughout. As the final day of competition resumed, only 16 players returned to the Walker Hill Casino to battle it out.
Brian Kang of Canada came into the final day as the chip leader. Robert Campitiello, Terry Gardiner, Michiyuki Kondo and Diwei Huang came to the tables short stacked, and within a few hand of play, each left the PokerStar.net APPT in that respective order.
Hori Katsiyoshi was the next victim, taking a 12th place leave when his pocket 7s ran cold against the suited A-K of Dan Schreiber. Schreiber hit top pair with Aces on the Flop, and Katsiyoshi's 7s failed to set. Kwok Yeung then pushed all-in pre-flop with Ah-Kc, called by the As-10d of David Horvath. The board came down without pairing anyone, but four diamonds sealed Yeung’s 11th place fate, giving Horvath the unlikely Flush.
Wooka Kim, short-stacked through the day, bubbled out before the final table with an all-in push from the button. Sam Faqiryar called from the Big Blind with 7s-4s against Kim’s Ac-4c. The Flop gave Sam another 7 for the lead, and the Turn offered a number of outs for Kim, but another 4 wasn’t one of them. Faqiryar paired twice for the win, sending Kim to the rails to set the final table of nine.
Seat 1: Daniel Williams - 42,000
Seat 2: Daniel Schreiber - 253,500
Seat 3: Yoshihiro Tasaka - 226,500
Seat 4: Fam Kai Yat - 66,500
Seat 5: David Horvath - 124,000
Seat 6: Yuji Masaki - 13,500
Seat 7: Sam Faqiryar - 185,000
Seat 8: Brian Kang - 394,000
Seat 9: Hidenari Shiono - 269,000
Again, Brian Kang held a sizeable lead as the final table play commenced. The remaining players were very cautious at first, taking more than an hour and a half before Schreiber ousted Faqiryar in 9th. With the first move made, the timid field lost all reticence and it was all out war.
Daniel Williams pushed the few chips he had remaining pre-flop on an Ad-7c from late position. Two callers stood forth, Tasaka and Horvath. When the board failed to offer Williams as much as a pair, Tasaka’s pocket 8’s took the pot. Williams left the table in 8th.
Horvath followed suit, going all-in with 10-9, but ran into the A-10 of Kang. Once again, the board was no help, sending Horvath out in 7th. Sometime later, Schreiber called a raise from Kang to view the Flop, which dealt a J-High Straight to Schreiber. He confidently pushed his stack, called by Kang who had flopped a set with pocket Jacks. Schreiber still lead, but an 8 on the River paired the board, giving Kang the Full House and the win. Schreiber exited in 6th…
Masaki has played his short stack quite well up until this point, but an all-in versus chip leader Kang resulted in his 5th place demise. Under the gun, Fam Yat didn’t even give Kang a chance to finish stacking his new-found chips before pushing all-in under the gun with A-K off-suit. Hidenari Shiono dug deep and made the call with pocket 6’s. The board offered two 8’s on the Flop and another on the River, giving Shiono the Full Boat that would eliminate Yat in 4th place.
With only three competitors remaining, more than four hours passed before another move would be made. Tasaka and Shiono chipped away at Kang’s lead until finally, the Canadian found himself in a curious situation. Tasaka pushed all-in and without waiting for a call, flipped his hand, Ah-Qh. Kang had already been warned about flipping his hand prematurely earlier in the tournament, so he called for a floor manager. Tasaka received the same warning and was reprimanded with a one-orbit sit-out penalty. Regardless, Kang chose to call with Ks-7c - and unwise decision that left his stack severely crippled when the Turn paired Kang’s K’s, but sent the victory over to Tasaka with an Ace on the River.
The very next hand, Kang pushed his remaining chips into the pot with 10c-3c. Shiono called with Ks-4s as Tasaka took the first of his three-hand sit-out penalty. The board ran down with pair of 7s and a K on the Turn to send Kang home in 3rd.
Tasaka sat out the first two hand of heads-up, adding a couple of blinds to Shiono’s stack. Afterwards, nearly an hour passed before a victor would be crowned. On the final hand, Shiono Raise pre-flop, only to be re-raised by Tasaka. This encouraged an all-in from Shiono, but Tasaka wasn’t so certain anymore. After some contemplation, Tasaka stated, "It’s my favorite hand", and called to reveal 9h-2c. Shiono delightedly flipped As-4c and waiting for the board.
The Flop came 8h-6d-9d, giving Tasaka the lead. A Jd on the Turn was no help to Shiono, nor was a 3h on the River. Hidenari Shiono was the last to exit the table, taking a 2nd place cash of $80,135.
Japan native Yoshihori Tasaka, after three days of grueling cardroom combat, was crowned the champion of the www.PokerStars.net APPT Seoul Main Event, pocketing $128,216 for his skilled efforts.
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