The inaugural Oriental Poker Championship, hosted by Manilla’s Poker King Club, kicks off today at one of Asia’s most luxurious resorts, The Venetian Macau Resort & Hotel. The first edition of the poker festival starts with an exciting HK$500,000 GTD Opening Event, but its highlights include the HK$100,000 High Roller and the HK$16,500 Main Event, which offers a guarantee of HK$5 million.
Running from May 23 through May 28 at The Venetian Macau Resort & Hotel in Macau, the championship comes with a total of 11 events that will certainly attract hundreds of players. Game action already started at the tables for the No-Limit Hold’em Opening Event, which has a buy-in of HK$5,000 and a guaranteed prize pool of HK$500,000. Players start with stacks of 15,000 and levels last 30 minutes, but those who bust early in the competition can enjoy unlimited re-entries until the beginning of Level 7. By the end of the day, the tournament will crown its champion, making him or her the first Oriental Poker Championship winner in history.
Players who prefer the higher stakes, however, can take part in the second event of the festival, the HK$100,000 High Roller, which starts later today. The first cards of the satellite for the High Roller were dealt an hour after the Opening Event kicked off and 15 players tried to earn seats for much less than the entry fee of HK$100,000. The player who comes out victorious in the satellite qualifies for the High Roller for just HK$11,000, which is quite an attractive offer for all high-stakes tournament players.
The first poker pro to ate up for the High Roller was Xia Qing Li, followed by UK’s Matthew Moss and France’s Cyril Andre, along with several others. Soon, 22 players from all across Asia and even Australia joined the fight for the prestigious High Roller title. The short-stacked Yue Feng Pan became the first casualty of the game and there are currently 19 players still in the competition, led by Andre who has the largest stack of over 100,000. Nothing can be certain, however, as there are several more levels in which players can re-enter if they want. Day 2 of the event continues Thursday when the champion will be determined.
Oriental Poker Championship Main Event
The most exciting tournament during the first edition of the Oriental Poker Championship will certainly be the HK$16,500 Buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. Players who make it to the money will cash out their share of the massive guaranteed prize pool of HK$5 million. The tournament kicks off with three starting flights on May 24 and May 25, and all those who survive the competition will qualify for Day 2 on Saturday, May 26. There will be also three HK$2,000 buy-in Main Event Satellites, the first of which starts early this evening.
Players will start the Day 1s of the Main Event with stacks of 30,000 and the levels will be 40 minutes for Day 1A and 1B, while for Day 1C, levels will be 30 minutes. When cards are in the air on Day 2, survivors will play in 60-minute levels. The champion will be crowned Monday, May 28. The Oriental Poker Championship offers poker players several types of games, including the classic No-limit Hold’em tournaments, as well as 6-Max Turbo events, Hold’em Freezeout games, Head Hunter games with bounties, and a Flip to Win tourney.
