Front (L-R): Lin Wei Che, Kristof Segers, Chin Hei Chan, Yi Ming Hong; Back (L-R): Tiin Yan Yim, Chung Tang Lin, Chang-An Chen, Hyundong Lee, Hon Leung Ip

Just into the tenth hour of play, the final table forms with 🇭🇰 Hon Leung Ip leading the counts with 4,045,000 in chips. His closest challenger is 🇹🇼 Kristof Segers and 🇹🇼 Chung Tang Lin, both with 3,450,000.

Final 9 – Chip Counts by Seat

⭐ Hon Leung Ip Dominates Day 2

Hon Leung Ip

Opening with 86 players out of a field of 565 entries returning for Day 2 of the Natural8 Open Main Event, the field quickly thins to nearly half within the first two hours of play. Among the early risers is 🇭🇰 Tin Yan Yim  who goes on to bad beat 🇹🇼 Chia Hsiang Ko to secure a seat at the final table.

Entering the day second in command is 🇹🇼 Kristof Segers who continues the strong pace to become the first player to cross into seven-digit territory. At 21 players remaining, 🇭🇰 Hon Leung Ip catapults up the counts after 🇹🇼 Kun Sen Liao punts off a massive stack in a failed bluff attempt. From that moment on, Ip stays in in control and goes on a tear, eliminating 🇰🇷 Young Jong Lee (14th), Kwon Tae Young (13th), and 🇰🇷 Hyeung Il Lee (11th) to soar past the four-million mark, equivalent to a jaw-dropping 140 big blinds.

Day 2 concludes with Segers delivering the final blow of the night, eliminating 🇭🇰 Mai Ko Ho in 10th place to officially set the nine-handed final table.

While the day produces plenty of thrilling moments, the hand of the day belongs to Chung Tang Lin who already stunned after his back-to-back Natural8 Open High Roller victory last night. In a three-way showdown, Lin cracks the nut straight of both players with a rivered full house. The miraculous turnaround drives him to the upper tier to secure his seat at the final table ranked second-in-chips, sharing the spot with Segers.

Read up on some of the day’s the thrilling action – and Lin’s magic hand – via the live updates down below.

Mai Ko Ho

Mai Ko Ho defends his big blind then jams his short stack on a flop of . Segers snap-calls and both turn over top pair.

Mai Ko Ho:

Kristof Segers:

Ho is in very bad shape with Segers holding top kicker. The turn changes nothing for Ho, and the river as well to end his hunt in 10th place, just missing the final table.

Yi Ming Hong

Yi Ming Hong is all in for 300,000 and Kristof Segers finds it cheap enough to call in hopes of ending the day right there.

Yi Ming Hong:

Kirstof Segers:

Hong is slightly ahead with his pair but still needs to fade paint. The board heeds his call with a spread landing to even improve him on the river.

Level 25 is underway with blinds of 20K-40K ante 40K. Only ten players remaining and are at hand-for-hand play until the final 9 is reached.

Table 2

Table 3

Chang An Chen

Chang An Chen wakes up with   and finds himself all in against Lin Wei Che who has . As soon as the flop comes , Chen nearly has it in the bag unless a runner runner jack for Lin arrives. The turn  brings a slight scare as the possibility is thin but exists nonetheless. The river comes, and it’s an  for a safe landing for Chen keeping his full house far ahead.

With ten players remaining, they enter hand-for-hand play.

Hyeung Il Lee

A preflop battle concludes with Hyeung Il Lee all in and at risk against the chip leader Hon Leung Ip. When the cards are on their backs, Lee shakes his head in disappointment as Ip’s pocket pair dominates.

Hyeung Il Lee:

Hon Leung Ip:

No miracles come on the board to end Lee’s run in 11th place.

On a board of , Kristof Segers bets 500,000 and Yi Ming Hong calls to fall for Segers’s trap. Segers shows trips and scoops up the pot as Hong plunges to 7 big blinds.

Hon Leung Ip says, “oh no he is catching up!”

Chia Hsiang Ko

Chia Hsiang Ko open-shoves 415,000 and goes head to head against Tin Yan Yim who successfully isolates the action.

Chia Hsiang Ko:

Tin Yan Yim:

Ko is looking prime for a double up with top kicker, and with the board running , he is nearly there until the river  delivers a bad beat blow to end his run in 12th place.

The final 12 payers are back from another break. Level 24 is underway with blinds of 15k-30K ante 30K. Below are the chip counts.

Table 2

Table 3

Kwon Tae Young

Small blind Kwon Tae Young raises and big blind Hon Leung Ip defends his big blind. Action continues on the flop with Kwon check-raising from 60,000 t0 160,000. Ip flats and they go another round to the turn .

Kwon leads out 160,000, Ip shoves his massive stack, Kwon tanks for three time extensions then calls.

Kwon Tae Young:

Hon Leung Ip:

Kwon has trips and needs the board to pair up or the last jack to overtake Ip’s flush but it’s not to be as the arrives on the river to finish in 13th place.

Chin Hei Chan

Chin Hei Chan three-bets 390,000 leaving himself 5,000 behind and initial raiser Kristof Segers pushes to put him all in. Chang proceed to use four of his time extensions as he awaits the action at the other table. With no one all in, he tosses in the last chip.

Chin Hei Chan:

Kristof Segers:

It’s the best scenario for Chan who is flipping. The flop quickly grants him the ace top pair   and it holds through the runout  to ship in the maximum.

Immediately after winning a big pot, action folds to Tin Yan Yim on the small blind, he pushes and big blind Chang An Chen snap-calls for his tournament life.

Chang An Chen:

Tin Yan Yim:

The board runs out . Chen’s kicker plays to ship a double up.

On a board at the turn with a big pot in the middle, three-way action sees Tin Yan Yim bet 200,000, Lin Wei Che calls, and Chung Tang Lin folds. On the turn , Yim jams 920,000 sending Lin to the think tank for two time extensions before folding.

Young Jong Lee has been struggling with a short stack for some time and finally risks it all after Hon Leung Ip four-bets all in.

Young Jong Lee:

Hon Leung Ip:

Lee needs a miracle but none arrive on a board to finish in 14th place.

Hyundong Lee

Lojack player Tin Yan Yim’s 50,000 raise is met with a re-raise of 150,000 from hijack player Hyundong Lee. Yim punches back with a four-bet to 350,000 and Lee flats to tame the action.

At the flop , Yim checks, Lee puts him to the test with a 200,000 bet, Yim folds.

Chao Wei Wang

The hand kicks off with a min-raise from Yi Ming Hong at under the gun then action folds around to the big blind Chao Wei Wang who three-bets all in for 350,000. Hong makes the call with a covering stack and wishes Wang “good luck”.

Chao Wei Wang:

Yi Ming Hong:

Wang is ahead with snowmen and hoping for low cards. The flop keeps him ahead until the turn  and with the river , Wang exits in 15th place.

Lin Wei Che

Heavy preflop betting action opens with a min-raise from Hyundong Lee at cutoff, next door neighbor Lin Wei Che takes a peek then three-bets to 120,000. After the blinds fold, action swings back to Lee who four-bets to 280,000, and Lin tames the heat with a call.

The barrage of bets continues at the flop with a c-bet of 160,000 from Lee which Lin answers with a shove. Lee snap-calls.

Lin Wei Che: 

Hyundong Lee:

Che is ahead with trips but not out of the woods yet with Lee drawing to a flush. The turn changes nothing and the river  as well for Lin to rake in a full reload.

Level 23 is underway with blinds of 10K-25K ante 25K. Only 15 players remain from a starting Day 2 field of 86 players out of a total of 565 entries. Action continues until the final table of nine is reached.

Single raised pot preflop with two players remaining, the flop comes . lojack player Tin Yin Yim continues for 40,000, hijack Dennis Kim raises to 110,000, Yim repops to 240,000, Kim four-bet jams, and Yim snap-calls turning over a straight.

Dennis Kim:

Tin Yan Yim:

Not looking good for Kim whose best hope is to split but it is not to be with the turn and river to end his run in 16th place.

Tin Yan Yim opens on the button but is denied an easy pot with big blind Chang An Chen defending with a three-bet all in. Yim calls with a covering stack to place Chen on the ropes.

Chang An Chen:

Tin Yan Yim:

Looking bleak fro Chen with Yim backed by the better kicker however not for long as the flop helps out for Chen to improve to a pair. The turn and river  keep Chen safe to stay in the game with a double up.

Action folds to the cutoff Minwoo Kang who jams holding and button player Kristof Segers calls with    and a covering stack to put Kang at risk of elimination.

Kang is given hope on the flop as he takes the lead with a pair however the turn quickly burns it. With the river , Kang finishes in 17th place.

Chung Tang Lin continues to cause havoc at the table and on the bitter end is Su Po Yu who packs up in 18th place. Yu is all in holding , Lin has  , an ace in the window with a seven in tow for an instant two pair to Lin.

Yu rests his hopes on a two-outer which doesn’t materialize on the turn and river , to exit in 18th place.

Another 15-minute break has come and gone. The final 18 players are back in their seats with cards now flying at Level 22 with blinds of 10K-20K ante 20K.

As retold by Kristof Segers, Jieun Yang shoved with pocket sixes and got called by Hyundong Lee with ace-three diamonds who proceeded to win with a backdoor flush.

Chung Tang Lin

Su Po Yu opens from under the gun, button player Chia Hsiang Ko calls, and big blind Chung Tang Lin tops up. At the flop , Yu c-bets 30,000 and still Ko and Lin stick around to the turn .

Following Lin’s check, Yu bets a much larger 180,000, Ko calls while Lin tanks. After a minute, Lin jams and in a snap Yu and Ko call.

Chung Tang Lin:

Su Po Yu:

Chia Hsiang Ko:

Yu and Ko both have the nuts while Lin has slim outs to improve. And voila, it’s magic as the appears on the river for Lin to ship a triple up with a jaw-dropping full house.

Yi Ming Hong gets a boost from Young Jong Lee with able to dodge on a ten-high board to double through.

Lin Jui Chia finishes in 20th place after his falls behind on the turn with a ten on the board to pair up Su Po Yu with .

Hon Leung Ip can’t believe the turnout of the hand however, more chips is always welcome. The hand kicks off with a raise from under the gun Young Jong Lee that’s called by Kun Sen Liao in middle position. Action folds to the big blind Ip who three-bets 135,000 which gets Lee to fold while Liao tanks before shoving his sizable 625,000 stack. Ip calls and has the covering stack.

Upon revealing their hands, Ip is shocked when Liao opens bluff. Ip is way ahead with . No bad beat lands on the board to end Liao’s run on a bluff as Ip ships the big gift.

With a pot of 140,000 in the middle and the board at its max showing , Chung Tang Lin has  full house and assesses how much to bet to get more value. He pulls out 50,000 and it’s just enough to get Lin Wei Che to call and then ship the pot with his winning boat.

Following Yohwan Lim’s bust, Kenta Urashima joins right after when his   shove doesn’t get lucky against Chang An Chen’s on a board of .

Yohwan Lim hangs his hopes on a two-outer holding against caller Lin Wei Che with  . The board doesn’t help out. throwing blanks to end his run in 23rd place.

Level 21 is underway with blinds of 10K-15K ante 15K. Only 23 players remain from a starting Day 2 lineup of 86 players out of the 565 total entries.

Tao Wei Chang

The day’s entering chip leader Tao Wei Chang isn’t able to match his dominance at Flight D, instead his chips slowly drain out. With just 81,000 behind, he opens for 80,000 then is pushed all in by Young Jong Lee. Chang tanks, using up four of his last five time extensions hoping to ladder up if he calls and busts however no change on the number of players remaining on the screens to risk his tournament life.

Chang is behind with , just one overcard to against Lee’s . The spread doesn’t help out to pack up in 25th place.

Chan Chin Hei opens at cutoff and the next three players call. They proceed to check it to the river where button player Kenta Urashima takes a chance for 60,000 and that does the job, picking up the pot easy.

Jieun Yang

Jieun Yang is all in with   and is on the ropes after Tin Yan Yim calls . Though Yang is ahead, she sweats it out until the board completes with no bad beat to double through.

With the board at its fullest showing and 264,000 in the pot, Yi Ming Hong goes all in for 131,000. After Chang An Chen spends time in the tank, he calls.

Both players have top pair, Hong and Chen . Hong’s kicker plays for a good double up.

Kristof Segers

Chip leader Kristof Segers limps in on the button, small blind Chan Chin Hei tops up, and big blind Kenta Urashima checks. Three-way at the flop   trims down to heads up with Segers 15,000 bet called only by Chan.

No bets land on the turn then Segers resumes on the river for 40,000. Again Chan calls then quickly mucks to Segers’s  .

Short stacked Ka Long Chan ships a reload off Dennis Kim with   staying ahead of on a board of .

The second break of the day has come and gone with cards now flying at the start of Level 20. Blinds are 6K-12K ante 12K with 32 players remaining from a field of 86 at the start Day 2 with 565 total entries.

Mao Lun Yu

Entering the day with running fourth in chips, Mao Lun Yu isn’t able to keep it intact to fall to Kwon Tae Young in 32nd place. Catching the hand on a flop of with 80,000 in the pot and Kwon check-raising 100,000 on top of Yu’s 45,000 bet.

Action back on Yu who tanks then shoves. Kwon snap-calls.

Mao Lun Yu:

Kwon Tae Young:

Yu is behind Kwon’s top pair and needs to find a spade to keep his run alive. The turn thins Yu’s hopes further with Kwon now sitting on trips. The river seals Kwon’s win as Yu misses his outs.

Kai Hung Hu is down to just ten big blinds and risks it all with and quickly lands a set to double up through Hon Leung Ip whose ace paired up on the river.

Two hands after, Hu survives again, this time with the better hand against Wen Chen Hsu’s  .  Overkill on the flop with Hu landing the nuts. The second double up follows with the runout .

Chen Shen Huang three-bets all in for 75,000 with   and initial raiser Lin Wei Che calls with and a covering stack.

The flop pairs both of Lin’s cards to thin Huang’s hopes to just a two-outer. The turn changes nothing, and the river ensures Huang’s fall with Lin improving further to a full house.

Chao Wei Wang

With action folding to the button Yi Ming Hong, he min-raises and it’s a three-way to the flop with both blinds defending. After the dealer fans , it’s checked to Hong who continues for 25,000 which only Chao Wei Wang calls.

Wang changes gears on the turn with a lead out bet of 39,000, Hong calls to fill the board with the river.

Wang fires again for a larger 110,000 bet. Hong tanks then gives up his stake in the pot.

Wnen Chun Hsu

From early position, Wen Chun Hsu, is all in for his remaining 115,000 and big blind Hyeung Il Lee doesn’t allow the steal and calls.

Hsu is ahead with ace-high however Lee has overcards  that he needs to dodge to avoid the rail.

Hsu’s hopes dim on a flop of with Lee improving to a pair. The turn offers Hsu slight help for an open-ended. The river grants it with arriving to ship a lucky double up.

Catching the action on the river with 125,000 in the pot and a board of , Lin Jui Chia checks to Wang Chihyuan who test-bets 65,000. Lin takes several seconds to assess then calls. Wang snap-mucks for Lin to claim the pot without a showdown.

Out of the hijack seat, Tin Yin Yam bets 25,000 onto a pot of 60,000 on a turn board . Nextdoor neighbor Kristof Segers makes the call for a river card . No slowing down for Yim who puts 80,000 out front to send Segers to the think tank. After burning through one time extension, Segers releases his hand.

Level 19 is underway with blinds of 5k-10K ante 10K. The field is down to 40 players out of a starting lineup of 86 Day 2 players with total entries of 565.

Kai Cheng Hsu is all in for his tournament life for 144,000 with Kwon Tae Young giving him a sweat.

Kai Cheng Hsu:

Kwon Tae Young:

Hsu doubles up when the board runs jack-high.

Chuyi Huang

Out of the cutoff seat, Chuyi Huang three-bets all in and initial raiser Lin Wei Che tops up. When the turn over their hands, it’s a flip with Huang ahead holding a pair.

Chuyi Huang:

Lin Wei Che:

The flop is clean for Huang   and the turn improves him to a set however he is still not out of the woods with Lin with a possible flush. The on the river isn’t a club for Huang to happily double up.

Wang Chihyuan min-raises from under the gun and nearly steals the blinds and ante until big blind Kwon Tae Young defends. The all-diamond flop  begins with a check from Kwon who then calls Wang’s 20,000 c-bet.

When the turn comes , Kwon switches up and leads for 55,000, Wang calls to complete the board with the river. Kwon goes back to checking, Wang bets 60,000, Kwon calls.

Wang reveals bluff to lose the pot to Kwon’s  straight.

Chao Ting Cheng opens for thirteen bigs amounting to 80,000 then finds himself backpedaling after button player Andrei Cherkashin jams with a covering stack. Cheng only has 26,000 behind but has five time extensions. After using up three to try to ladder up, he risks it and goes flipping.

Chao Ting Cheng:

Andrei Cherkashin:

Cherkashin quickly overtakes on the flop and drills in trips on the turn . With the river , that ends Cheng’s run in 44th place.

Su Po Yu min-raises and Wang Chihyuan calls. A few spots over, Ju Hyeon jang three-bets 100,000 and wins the pot with no one willing to tango. Jang flips over and scoops a small pot.

Players have returned from the first 15-minute break. Cards are now back in the air with Level 18 underway. Blinds are up 4K-8K ante 8K. 47 players remain out of a starting day 2 field of 86 entries and total 565 entries.

Jen Chun Wang open shoves his last 60,000, Wai Pong Chiu calls, then Ori Kossonogi joins in for his last 17,000.

Ori Kossonogi:

Jen Chun Wang: 

Wai Pong Chiu:

The at-risk players have one hopeful overcard that can help them get back in the game however the deck doesn’t produce as the board runs out for a dominating full house to Chiu for the sweep.

David Erquiaga four-bet jams with and still isn’t able to push out one of the day’s entering chip leaders, Wen Chun Hsu who defends with   . The flip goes Hsu’s way as he pairs up on the board to bounce out Erquiaga.

Ju Hyeon Jang

By the time the board reaches the turn , 119,000 is in the pot and more fuels in as Ju Hyeon Jang bets 60,000 after big blind Ori Kossonogi checks. Action back on Kossonogi who tanks then shoves all in. No hesitation from Jang who snap-calls risking his tournament life.

Ori Kossonogi:

Ju Hyeon Jang:

Kossonogi sees the bad news as Jang has him out-kicked. No bad beat on the river for Jang to ship a full reload as Kossonogi plunges.

Kristof Segers min-raises on the button and big blind Hon Leung Ip defends on the big blind. More chips find the middle on a flop of with Segers c-betting 11,000 and Ip with the flat-call.

Bets increase on the turn   with Segers firing 52,000 and Ip sticking to him like glue until the river where Segers barrels 124,000. Ip is restless in his seat and proceeds to burn through two time extensions saying frustratingly, “ugh, such a big hand.” Then releases his hand.

As Segers is collecting, Ip asks “you bluff?”

Segers answers, “no bluff”, getting a laugh from Ip.

Level 17 is underway with 64 players remaining and blinds up to 3K-6K ante 6K.

Kai Hung Hu kicks things off with a min-raise from under the gun then action erupts as his neighbor, Hyeung Il Lee three-bets to 25,000. Hang Su cold-calls and when it lands on the big blind, Uhsang Kim, he squeezes a 70,000 four-bet . The pressure proves too much for Hu and Lee, who quickly release their hands, while Su digs deep and makes the call.

At the flop , Kim’s aggression halts prompting Su to attempt a steal for 35,000. Kim calls and they continue to the turn . Again Kim leads with a check, this time, Su checks back for a free river card.

No more checking for Kim who announces all in for 134,000 that wins the pot with Su letting go of his hand.

Chen Shen Huang’s min-raise from middle position finds two callers that includes Chia Hsiang Ko on the small blind. After the dealer fans a flop of , Chen continues for 18,000 and only Ko calls to head to the turn.

The appears and again Chen dips in and pulls out 25,000. Ko gives it a quick thought then releases his hand to the muck.

Short stack Frank Cucchiara is all in preflop with and big blind Young Jong Lee defends on the big blind with . Lee runs lucky on a board to land the straight on the river to dust Cucchiara’s set.

With a pot of 137,000 in the middle action down to the river , Chao Wei Wang tanks to Kun Sen Liao’s shove who has a covering stack. After using up two time extensions, Wang can’t let go and call for his tournament life.

Upon revealing, Wang breathes a sigh of relief with his two pair far ahead of Liao’s .

Hung Chi Lin

Hung Chi Lin started the day with 100,000 and within the first fifteen minutes he catapulted to 650,000. Catching his biggest hands, the first one sees Shao Chien Ping open from lojack, called by hijack Jaemoon Seok, then Lin three-bets to 3,500. Both players callers for a three-way to the flop .

Lin continues the aggression with another 3,500 bet, and again, both players stick around to the turn .

On the turn, Lin wastes no time counting and jams which induces a fold from Ping while Seok calls to put Lin at risk of elimination.

Hung Chi Lin:

Jaeomoon Seok:

Lin is ahead with two pair and needs to dodge Seok’s open-ended outs and hearts. The deck grants it as the river comes .

A few hands after, Lin eliminates a player who jams on the big blind with and still unable to push out Lin who dominates with . Both players pair up on the board with Lin staying ahead throughout.

Cards are now flying at Day 2 of the Natural8 Open Main Event with 86 players back on the hunt. Good luck to all!

The Natural8 Open Main Event resumes today with 86 players returning out of the 565 total entries. The goal is to play down to the final table of 9 players. Players will be happy to know that the prize pool well exceeded the TWD 7 million guarantee and are now looking at a richer TWD 8,054,700. Everyone is set to collect a minimum payout of TWD 30,000 while awaiting the champion is a juicy TWD 1,350,000.

Cards in the air at 11AM.