Binh Nguyen Poker

Binh Nguyen Eliminated by Joseph Baghdadlian Main Tour WPT Gardens Poker Championship Season 2018-2019 2 1,000/500-1,000 Hand #45: Binh Nguyen Eliminated in 8th Place ($127,660) Main Tour WPT L.A. Poker Classic Season 2015-2016 5 5,000/15,000-30,000 Hand #44: Keating Doubles Thru Nguyen; Nguyen Down to One Chip Main Tour WPT L.A. Poker Classic Season 2015-2016 5 5,000/15,000-30,000 John. 2010 APPT Manila Champion Binh Nguyen is at it again. Lynn talks bubble strategy with Binh on Day 3 of the PokerStars.net APPT Macau Main Event.

• Binh Nguyen has won 0 bracelets and 0 rings for total earnings of $640. See all events where they placed in-the-money. The World Series of Poker has been the most.
• 'That left Binh Nguyen, who stormed to the chip lead heading into the heads-up match, and Cornel Cimpan who tread the path of survival to make the final two. The heads-up match lasted five and a half hours, with Nguyen running over Cimpan at the start, only to see Cimpan flop two pair when Nguyen had him dominated preflop to prolong the match.

11.10pm: Binh Nguyen wins PAGOR Chairman's Cup and $260,700
A pre-flop all-in show-down has resulted in Binh Nguyen eliminating Scotsman Gordon Huntly to be crowned champion. The action started with a 250,000 raise from Nguyen on the button before Huntly three-bet to 600,000. Nguyen then moved all-in and after some serious consideration Huntly called all-in. Showdown:

Nguyen: 7♣7♥
Huntly: K♣Q♥

The crowd got to their feet to watch this race unfold. The board ran a safe 9♣9♠2♠6♠8♦ for Nguyen.

Nguyen was swamped by all his supporters on the rail but fought his way free to shake his opponent's hand. Runner-up Gordon Huntly takes home $166,800 for his efforts.

A full wrap of today's exciting play will be with you shortly.

Binh Nguyen Poker 247

11pm: River bet does the trick
Nguyen raised his usual 200,000 even though the blinds have gone up. Huntly called to go to the 9♦4♠8♠ flop where he check-called a 200,000 bet. Both checked the A♣ turn before the Scot check-folded to 525,000 bet.

10.56pm: LEVEL UP
We couldn't believe it either. Anther level, this one number 28, and the blinds shift up to 50,000-100,000.

10.52pm: Nguyen more
Nguyen has taken another half a million chips of Huntly with king-high on a 6♥8♣4♠2♣2♥ board. Huntly could only muster queen-high. Nguyen up to 4.9 million.

10.45pm: Back to Nguyen
Is this the momentum swinging back towards Nguyen? He just took a pot from Huntly on a board of J♣Q♠T♣3♥5♣, showing queen-seven to Huntly's seven-eight. That gives Nguyen the chip lead again, 4,900,000 against Huntly 3,600,000.

10.35pm: Gets some back
Nguyen raised his usual 200,000 from the button and Huntly called. The flop was Q♣5♠8♥ where Nguyen c-bet for 200,000 and was called. The turn brought 9♠ and this time Nguyen bet 500,000 and was called again. Pot getting really big as the river came J♥. Huntly checked again to face an all-in bet from Nguyen, totaling 1,050,000. It did the trick as Huntly folded. Nguyen back up to three million.

10.31pm: Chips
The chip counts are now almost the opposite of when they started the heads-up. Huntly has 6,500,000 to Nguyen's 1,900,000.

10.30pm: Another flush for Huntly
Huntly called a Nguyen raise to 200,000. The flop came 8♣9♦A♠ and both players checked. Nguyen bet 300,000 on the T♦ turn. Call. The river was 8♦ and Huntly led out for 400,000. Nguyen though for a while, studied his opponent and called. Huntly showed Q♦3♦ for a flush and the pot. Nguyen couldn't believe it and throws his cards in the muck.

10.22pm: Trips for Gordon
Nguyen raised to 200,000 and was called by Huntly. The flop brought 7♣7♠T♥. Check-check. K♦ came on the turn and it was checked again. The river came 2♣ and Huntly led out for 400,000 and was called. The Scot tabled 7♥3♣ for trips and the pot as Nguyen tabled [q][t] for a pair of ten. Huntly extends lead and is up to 6.4 million.

10.15pm: First three-bet
The first three-bet pre-flop has come from the increasingly confident Gordon Huntly. He made it 1,050,000 when faced with a raise from Binh Nguyen. Nguyen folded and shook his head with a look of despair on his face.

10.10pm: Another pot for the Scot
Binh Nguyen raised to 200,000 from the button and was called by Gordon Huntly. They saw a T♣2♦K♠ flop and Nguyen bet 200,000. Call. The turn came 8♦ and both players checked to the 2♠ river. A third check from Huntly prompted Nguyen to bet 300,000. Huntly called with T♠4♥ for a pair of tens and the pot as Nguyen could only muster 6♥3♥.

Huntly now has 5 million to Nguyen's 3.5 million

10.05pm: Flush over flush
Binh Nguyen raised to 200,000 from the button and Huntly made the call. The flop came 3♦4♦6♣ and Huntly check-called a 250,000 bet. The turn came Q♦ this time Nguyen bet 550,000 when checked to him. Huntly moved all-in and was snap-called. To showdown:

Nguyen: T♦7♦ for a flush.
Huntly: K♦J♦ for a higher flush.

The river came J♥ and Huntly scooped the 4.5 million pot to take the chip lead.

PokerStars Blog reporting team in Manila: Stephen Bartley and Marc Convey.

We already liked this place before the final table began. But bias aside the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup got the final table it deserved today, and not only for the quality of its new champion.

There was the local interest, local heroes and a last Filipino. There was the PokerStars player with internet honours looking to add a live victory to his resume. There were a couple of guys playing their first live event, and a couple more who were roommates for this Manila trip and now sat two seats apart. Add in 'Mr Macau', a bunch of cameras, a load of spectators and a TV set built in the middle of a gaming Expo, and you had something about one rung below Christmas.

A short while ago Binh Nguyen from the United States won it all in a thrilling finale to an equally gripping tournament, defeating Gordon Huntly of Scotland in a roller coaster heads-up match.

It was easy to predict that someone like Bin Nguyen would do something special today. Always displaying a confident control of his stack, the American, who came second at the WPT LA Poker Classic in 2009, showed particular class and dominated the closing stages against the rookie Gordon Huntly and 'Mr Macau' Charles Chua.

As his advantage with the big stack grew bigger he dispatched first Choon Kwang Lim then Sunny Jung, and then Chua (who'd played the cursed short stack as best he could) to take a more than three to one advantage into the heads up against Huntly.

Huntly, though, was up for the fight, doubling up flush over flush to seize the lead and then hammering away at Nguyen who at times looked like he had lost his way, rubbing his eyes and forehead as Huntly, patient, waited him out, at one point reaching the three-to-one advantage Nguyen had started with.

But Nguyen regrouped, won back the chips he'd lost and in the last hand saw his pocket sevens survive a race with king-queen to bag his first major title.

Huntly had learned fast over four days of play. Among the chip leaders back on day one Huntly never lost the sheer sense of fun being here. 'It's been a blast,' he said before taking his seat for the heads-up and looked no different as runner-up, graciously leaving Nguyen to the limelight, the trophy and a cheque for $260,700.

This has been the record breaking week. Not only was the Chairman's Cup the largest event in Filipino poker history but it set new records for player numbers across Asia, its 430 players creating a prize pool of $1,042,750.

The day had got off to a shaky start. As President Efraim C. Genuino welcomed the players and the introductions were made, Manila was struck by an earthquake measuring 6.2 on the Richter scale. The city escaped damage but the set wobbled for a few moments, delaying the start and emotionalising a few out-of-towners.

'Jackal' Lee departed first. He moved in behind a Huntly raise with eights. Lee's ace-queen was put to bed by a set on the flop for Huntly, sealing Lee's fate in ninth.

Local hero Kirby Te, the last of the vast army of Filipino players to contest the Chairman's Cup on home soil, was busted in eighth place when his flush draw failed to materialise against the two pairs of Sunny Jung.

Chang was next out after the first break, getting unlucky when he shove with ace-king was trumped by Gordon Huntly's ace-eight, the eight first on the board to eliminate the American.

Choon Kwang Lim, playing his first major tournament, fell next when he attempted an audacious shove with ten-five that ran into Nguyen's queens.

Sunny Jung's demise was written after he lost most of his stack in a massive hand against Binh Nguyen. Down to 570,000 he lumped it in with eights only to find Huntly with kings.

Binh Nguyen Poker

Terrence Chan would depart in fourth place. At gifted player, with WCOOP and a same day double SCOOP victories online, Chan fell just short of a live tournament title when he shoved with his last 840,000 with pocket nines. Charles Chua called with ace-jack and caught the all important jack on the flop.

Chan, experienced at the bitter realities of a tournament business end, seemed to know no help was coming. Looking truly disappointed at his exit was not the only sign we saw from Chan today of a truly excellent player.

Chan's exit left three very different players. Huntly, a Scotsman now living in Asia, was playing his first final table, but despite one or two hiccups, and some luck against Victor Chang, he excelled under the lights, focusing only on the table in front of him and remaining oblivious to the cameras, the rail and the vast noise of the expo beyond the curtains.

But three handed this looked like Nguyen's tournament to lose and the man from Las Vegas, who onl came here on vacation with some friends, was not going to let it slip away.
'I wanted to have fun,' said Huntly. 'I didn't play great throughout but I watched them very closely but not close enough. A worthy champion.'

Nguyen couldn't contain his excitement. 'This might be the best vacation I've ever had.'

Congratulations to both players for a great final.

That then brings our coverage to an end. Recap on all the excitement of the day by clicking through any of the links below. You can also find all of the coverage from the PAGCOR Chairman's Cup in Manila here, start to finish, on the PokerStars Blog.

Final table profiles
Levels 21 and 22
Levels 23 and 24
Levels 25 and 26
Levels 27 and 28

Barry Greenstein, on his arrival in Manila to play day 1a, said he'd received one of the warmest welcomes he'd ever had anywhere. The same goes for us too - a last minute trip to see poker played at almost supersonic speed by some great people in a great location.

We can't leave this place and head out into the midnight humidity until we thank a few people. Thanks first to our photographer Luis Cruz, who acrobatically dodged cameramen and booms to get the pictures today. Thanks also to everyone who helped out on the Manila coverage this week, including tournament director Danny McDonagh, his staff and the locals, lots of them, who told us to stop worrying about the outdoors and go outside. We're glad we did and will likely to do so again in about two sentences from now.

That's your lot. From Marc Convey and myself, it's maganda gabi from Manila.