APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023: The Preview

The upcoming APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023 is the first Series scheduled to run since the APT new era relaunch and promises some spectacular summer poker action.

Running May 26 – June 4 and taking place at the Grand Loyal Poker Club located at the luxurious Grand Vista Hotel, Hanoi, Vietnam, the 10-day 45-trophy event poker festival boasts an eclectic spread of tournament poker variants including Limit Badugi – Triple Draw, Super 3-card Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, Short Deck and Crazy Pineapple, and over VND 24 billion (~USD $1,000,000) in guaranteed prize money, with the highlight of the action-packed poker series the VND 35 million (~USD $1,500) buy-in Main Event with its VND 12 billion (~USD $500,000) prize pool guarantee.

With so many quality poker tournaments on offer over the festival, we’ve taken a close look at the schedule to highlight some of the marquee events that you should be pencilling into your diary. It is important to note that while the Summer Series is not on the same scale as the APT Taipei 2023 with slightly lower buy-ins, expectations are high for a decent turnout.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

• APT Kickoff (VND 1BN/~USD $40K GTD): VND 7,000,000 (~USD $300) Buy-in, Running May 26-27 The action gets underway at 12pm local time on Friday, May 26 with the two opening flights of the VND 7,000,000 (~USD $300) APT Kickoff (VND 1BN/~USD $40K GTD), with the tournament concluding on Saturday, May 27. Players receive a 30,000 starting stack and will compete over 30-minute levels (20-minutes on Flight B) to claim the first title on offer for the festival. The last APT Kickoff at APT Taipei 2023 was the largest in the tour’s 15-year history, drawing 751 entries and generating a TWD $6.55M (~USD $213K) prize pool, with Taiwan’s Chia Yun Wu walking away with a TWD $1.25 million (~USD $41K) top prize. February’s APT Hanoi Kickoff drew 452 entries and generated a VND 3.5 billion (USD $147K) prize pool, with Vietnam’s Phan Minh Duc taking a VND 520.52 million (~USD $22.38K) top prize.

• Mystery Bounty Hunter Sponsored by Natural8 (VND 1.5BN/~USD $65K GTD): VND 10,000,000 (~USD $430) Buy-in, Running May 27-28 The VND 10,000,000 (~USD $430) Mystery Bounty Hunter Sponsored by Natural8 Natural8 (VND 1.5BN/~USD $65K GTD) boasts two stating flights; running Saturday, May 27 at 12pm and 6pm local time with the tournament concluding on Sunday, May 28. The starting stack is 30,000 with 30-minute level length (20-minutes on Flight B). The previous Mystery Bounty at the APT Taipei 2023 broke the record for largest field with 670 entries competing for a TWD $9.35 million (USD $304K) prize pool (including TWD $3.21M6 in bounties), while the Mystery Bounty at APT Hanoi 2023 attracted 419 entries and generated a VND 3.65 billion (~USD $157K) prize pool, including VND 1.257 billion in bounties.

• APT Super High Roller 8-Max (VND 2BN/~USD $86K GTD): VND 120,000,000 (~USD $5,150) Buy-in, Running May 27-28 Catering to those with bigger bankrolls, APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023 offers nine high roller events, with the first of these – the VND 120,000,000 (~USD $5,150) APT Super High Roller 8-Max (VND 2BN/~USD $86K GTD) – running concurrently with the Mystery Bounty Hunter. The tournament boasts a 250,000-chip starting stack, with 40-minute levels. A previous similarly priced High Roller event in Hanoi drew 46 entries and featured some of the cream of the Asian poker scene; while player numbers are lower than the more standard buy-ins, both the prize pools and skill levels on display are some of the highest on offer, with the tournament promising some scintillating live poker action.

• Sunday Super Stack (VND 1BN/~USD $43K GTD): VND 7,000,000 (~USD $300) Buy-in, Running May 28 A recent addition to the APT schedule, the Sunday Super Stack plays out in day – perfect for those weekend poker warriors looking to test their mettle. The VND 7,000,000 (~USD $300) Sunday Super Stack (VND 1BN/~USD $43K GTD) boasts a 100,000-chip starting stack and players compete over 25-minute levels. The previous iteration of the Sunday Super Stack – the Sunday Special – that ran back in February’s APT Hanoi 2023 drew a 285-strong field with China’s Yucheng Xiao taking the VND 332.5M (~USD $14K) top prize.

• APT Main Event (VND 12BN/~USD $500K GTD): VND 35,000,000 (~USD $1,500) Buy-in, Running May 29-June 3 Of course, the biggest draw will be the VND 35,000,000 (~USD $1,500) APT Main Event (VND 12BN/~USD $500K GTD), which comprises four opening flights running Monday, May 29 to Wednesday, May 31, concluding on Saturday June 3. Players start with a 40,000-chip stack, with level length varying. Flight A boasts the longest level length of 60-minutes, with Flight B (45-minutes) and Flights C & D (30-minutes) speeding up the action. Level length will be 60-minutes from Day 2 onwards. The previous APT Hanoi 2023 Main Event saw 654 entries compete for a VND 15.85 billion (~USD $666K) prize pool, with Vietnam’s Hai Nam Hoang winning the VND 2.79 billion (~USD $119K) top prize.

• Double Stack (VND 1.5BN/~USD $65K GTD): VND 10,000,000 (~USD $430) Buy-in, Running June 2-3 Formerly branded the Monster Stack, the VND 10,000,000 (~USD $430) Double Stack (VND 1.5BN/~USD $65K GTD) has two starting flights both running on Friday, June 2, with the tournament concluding on Saturday, June 3. Players start with a 60,000-chip stack with Flight A boasting 30-minute level length (20-minutes on Flight B) with the two flights getting underway at 12pm and 6pm local time respectively. The previous APT Hanoi 2023 Monster Stack saw 330 entries compete for a VND 3.2 billion prize pool (~USD $135K) with Vietnam’s Hoan Cong Le claiming the VND 623.81 million (~USD $16K) top prize.

• Mini Main Event (VND 1BN/~USD $43K GTD): VND 8,000,000 (~USD $350) Buy-in, Running June 3-4 Boasting almost the exact same structure of the Main Event with a slightly lower buy-in of VND 8,000,000 (~USD $350), the Mini Main Event (VND 1BN/~USD $43K GTD) is always a popular draw and we expect the APT Summer Series Hanoi, Vietnam 2023 to be no exception. Players start with a 40,000-chip stack with Flight A boasting 30-minute level length (20 minutes for Flight B). First introduced at the recent APT Hanoi, the Mini Main Event attracted 250 entries on its Vietnamese debut, who competed for a VND 1.94 billion (~USD $81,757) prize pool with Hong Kong’s Kelvin Tan claiming the VND 389 million (~USD $16,338) top prize.

• APT High Roller (4BN/~USD $172K GTD): VND 80,000,000 (~USD $3,500) Buy-in, Running June 3-4 Last, but by no means least, is the VND 80,000,000 (~USD $3,500) APT High Roller (4BN/~USD $172K GTD) which gets underway for Day 1 on Saturday, June 3 and concludes on Sunday, June 4. The previous APT High Roller at APT Hanoi 2023 saw an impressive 204 entrants compete for VND 9.89 billion (~USD $415.5K) prize pool with Latvia's Aigars Plivcs claiming his second APT High Roller title and the VND 2.19 billion (~USD $92K) top prize.

While the APT Summer Series Hanoi won’t be on the same scale as the record setting APT Taipei 2023, it will be a great opportunity to enjoy a summer of shove so circle the dates in your diary and we’ll see you in Hanoi!