Hong Ru Zhang
China's Hong Ru Zhang topped the count of Flight B in the KRW 600,000 APT Kickoff after bagging up 480,000 chips. There were 137 entries (123 unique) recorded with just 20 players making it through to Day 2. Combined with the earlier Flight A, the total number of entries stands at 288 (203 unique) with the prize pool sitting at KRW 175,000,000 and a first prize of KRW 35,060,000 (~$26,450).
Zhang had built up a stack early on but lost a huge flip holding ace-queen against Tae Hoon Han's pocket fives before winning back some of those chips in a later hand when his ace-six held against the king-queen of Han. A crucial hand then played out between three players that saw Zhang's pocket tens eliminate Han, who held king-four, and also scoop a big side pot against the ace-jack of Taiwan's Chao Ting Cheng which propelled the Chinese player into the chip lead.
Sixteen-time APT title holder Lester Edoc brings through the second-biggest stack of 444,000 as he looks to add another trophy to his cabinet. Edoc picked up chips after his pocket jacks eliminated Igor Kan after the Russian flopped a pair of eights holding king-eight but didn't manage to find any of his outs which sent the Filipino player well on his way toward the top of the leaderboard.
Lester Edoc
Chao Ting Cheng also brought through a respectable stack after bagging up 257,000. The Taiwanese player has two APT titles to his name to date and has racked up over $600,000 in live tournament cashes.
APT Taiwan Main Event Final Tablist Joshua Tan also qualified for Day 2 and will have 162,000 chips to play with. Malaysia's Tan finished ninth in the record-breaking Main Event in Taiwan and will be looking to continue that success here in Incheon.
Some notables to make it through were Naoki Yashiro (121,000), Marc Rivera (92,000), Sho Saika (78,000), and Andy Li (40,000).
The top ten stacks can be found below.
A full APT Kickoff Flight B Survivor List can be found by CLICKING HERE.
A full APT Kickoff Payout List can be found by CLICKING HERE.
Join us tomorrow from 12:15pm local time as the remaining players from both flights meet for the first time and play down to a champion.