The Asian Poker Tour is headed to Hanoi to close out the season in style with the brand new APT Hanoi Billions 2023 boasting VND 60 billion (~USD $2.5M) in guaranteed prize money and promising to be one of the biggest poker festivals in the tour’s 15-year history.
The APT Hanoi Billions 2023 is running December 1-10 at the iconic National Convention Center (NCC) – Hanoi's largest conference center – in partnership with the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP)
"APT Hanoi Billions is going to be the biggest poker event that Vietnam has ever seen. Hanoi's National Convention Center is where the most important gatherings occur in Vietnam so it's only appropriate that we make poker history there," said VSOP CEO Terry Nguyen.
This marks the APT’s third visit to Hanoi in 2023, and fifth visit overall, with three APT records broken on the last trip – the APT Summer Series Hanoi 2023 – which saw 869 unique players from 31 countries ante-up 4,341 entries and compete for a sizable VND 79,072,072,000 (~$3,368,980) in prize money over the ten-day Series.
APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023 Main Event Champion Dinh Duc Linh
It was Vietnam's Dinh Duc Linh who claimed the Main Event Title, the coveted 24K Golden Lion trophy, and a career-best score of VND 3,401,355,000 (~$145,500) for his first major title victory on the last visit.
However, the APT’s upcoming visit to Hanoi will eclipse this by some margin, with the festival set to rival both the record-breaking APT Taipei 2023, which is the biggest and richest series in APT history with 1,989 unique players from 42 countries anteing up 9,898 entries and competing for a massive TWD $225,123,032 (~USD $7,357,920) in prize money, and the recent APT Incheon, which boasted the tours largest-ever schedule and saw 1,127 unique players from 40 different countries ante-up 6,967 entries and compete in the APT’s richest-ever South Korean tournament series for a hefty KRW 8,567,468,300 (~USD $6,498,715) in prize money over a sizable 69-trophy event schedule.
The APT has gone from strength to strength in 2023 with both the APT Taipei and APT Incheon proving to be the two largest events the tour has ever run, both in terms of player numbers and prize pools, and the upcoming APT Hanoi Billions 2023 is expected to finish the year on a high, and hopefully break some more records.
Of course, the highlight of the Series will be the VND 36M (~USD $1,500) buy-in Main Event – boasting a VND 25 billion (~USD $1M) prize pool guarantee, with the Series also offering ten high roller events, including the VND 120M APT Super High Roller, the VND 250M Superstar Challenge, and VND 80M APT High Roller – all boasting billions in prize pool guarantees!
Add in an eclectic spread of mixed games, pot-limit Omaha, and No Limit Hold’em variations and it is deciding what events to play that will be the biggest challenge facing players making the trip to Hanoi. Read on for a more in-depth look at some of the marquee events that you should be penciling into your diary:
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
APT Main Event (VND 25BN/~USD $1M GTD): Dec 4-9 – VND 36M/~USD $1,500 buy-in
The biggest draw will be the APT Main Event and its hefty VND 25 billion (USD $1 million) guarantee, running Monday, December 4 to Saturday, December 9, which comprises four opening flights Dec 1-3. Flight A boasts the longest level length of 60 minutes, with Flight B (45 minutes) and Flights C & D (30 minutes for the first 6 levels, 40 minutes thereafter) speeding up the action. Level length is 60 minutes from Day 2 onwards.
It is worth noting that both previous APT Main Events in Taipei and Incheon surpassed their prize pool guarantees by significant margins; Taipei’s TWD $62,594,100 Main Event prize pool was a 108% increase over the TWD $30,000,000 guarantee, and Incheon’s KRW 1,867,347,000 Main Event prize pool was a 43% increase over the KRW 1,300,000,000 guarantee, and the Hanoi Billions is expected to be in the same ballpark. Will Linh defend his title or will a new champion be crowned? Join us in Hanoi and it could be you claiming the coveted 24K Golden Lion flagship trophy.
Vietnam National Cup (VND 3BN/~USD $126K GTD): Dec 1-2 – VND 5M/~USD $200 buy-in
Boasting the biggest value on the schedule when it comes to buy-in vs guarantee, the Vietnam National Cup comes with a VND 5 million (~USD $200) price tag for a shot at a guaranteed prize pool of at least VND 3 billion (~USD $126,000. The two opening flights of the VND 3 billion guaranteed Vietnam National Cup get underway at 11am and 4.15pm local time respectively on Friday, December 1, with the tournament concluding on Saturday, December 2. Players receive a 30,000 starting stack and compete over 30-minute levels (25 minutes on Flight B) to claim the first marquee title on offer for the festival.
Mystery Bounty Hunter sponsored by Natural8 (VND 5BN/~USD $210K GTD): Dec 2-3 – VND 11M/~USD $450 buy-in
APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023 Mystery Bounty Hunter champion Alex Lee
The Mystery Bounty Hunter sponsored by Natural8 proved to be a record-breaker the last time around, with Singapore’s Alex Lee defeating a 320-strong field to claim the lion’s share of the VND 1.8 billion (~USD $78K) prize pool. The tournament boasts a VND 5 billion guarantee with two starting flights running on Saturday, December 2 at 11am and 4:15pm local time, concluding on Sunday, December 3. Starting stack is 30,000 with a 30-minute level length (25 minutes on Flight B).
APT Super High Roller (VND 4BN/~USD $168K GTD): Dec 2-3 – VND 120M/~USD $5,000 buy-in
APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023 Super High Roller champion Shung Er Sua
The VND 4 billion guaranteed APT Super High Roller – 8 Max boasts the second-largest buy-in on the schedule and sees the first of the Series flagship trophies – the coveted pewter lion – and a ten-figure prize pool on the line. Players receive a 250,000-chip starting stack and compete over 40-minute levels. Will Malaysia’s Shung Er Sua defend his title and claim a second lion or will a new champion arise?
Sunday Super Stack (VND 2BN/~USD $84K GTD): Dec 3 – VND 9M/~USD $420 buy-in
The VND 2 billion guaranteed Sunday Super Stack was another previous record-breaker, with Chile's Tomas Molina defeating a 318-strong field back in May to claim a VND 313,238,000 (~USD $13,390) top prize. A fast-paced event with a good, single-day structure that plays out in a day, players start with a 100,000-chip stack and compete for 25 minutes for 10 levels and 20 minutes for the succeeding levels.
Superstar Challenge (VND 4BN/~USD $168K GTD): Dec 4 – VND 250M/~USD $10,200 buy-in
Boasting the biggest buy-in on the schedule, the VND 4 billion guaranteed Superstar Challenge was another record-breaker back during the APT’s last visit, setting a new Vietnam prize pool record for the tournament with Australia’s Alan Pham claiming the trophy and the VND 1,985,390,000 (US$84,640) top prize. The tournament’s last outing in Incheon broke the record for both field size and prize pool with Singapore’s Jun Hao Wu winning a career-best score of KRW 177,660,000 (~$134,130), and the APT Hanoi Billions 2023 could set yet another record.
Mini Main Event (VND 3.5BN/~USD $147K GTD): Dec 9-10 – VND 10M/~USD $500 buy-in
Boasting almost the exact same structure of the Main Event with a slightly lower buy-in of VND 12,000,000 (~USD $500), the Mini Main Event was first introduced in February 2023, during APT’s first trip to Hanoi, with the tournament’s current record for field-size coming in at 464 entries – set back during APT Taipei 2023. Players start with a 40,000-chip stack with Flight A boasting 30-minute level length (25 minutes for Flight B).
APT High Roller (VND 5BN/~USD $210K GTD): Dec 9-10 – VND 80M/~USD $3,350 buy-in
APT Incheon, South Korea 2023 High Roller champion Thanisorn Saelor
The last of the Series flagship trophies is up for grabs in the VND 5 billion guaranteed APT High Roller, with Day 1 getting underway on Saturday, December 9 and the tournament concluding on Sunday, December 10. It was Thailand’s Thanisorn Sealor the man to claim the coveted bronze lion APT High Roller trophy and a KRW 171,939,500 (~$130,420) top prize after defeating a 207-strong field at the recent APT Incheon.
For APT Hanoi Billions 2023 full event schedule, please CLICK HERE.
For further information, please contactpress@theasianpokertour.com