The first World Poker Tour (WPT) festival of 2024 took place this month in Cambodia and featured the first-ever WPT Cambodia Championship, an event that drew 760 players from two starting flights for a prize pool of $4.6 million.
Konstantin Held earned $361,310 and the title of first WPT Cambodia champion after a three-handed deal with Joshua McCully (2nd – $277,291) and Florent Remi (3rd – $302,019). On top of the six-figure score, Held won a $10,400 seat into the 2024 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
When asked how he felt about the win, Held told WPT he was “over the moon.”
“It has been an insane journey to end up heads up with a good friend of mine,” he said in a winner’s interview. “We just enjoyed our time. We were all having a blast. And the experience here was great. I love the venue. I think NagaWorld is great. It’s been amazing to come to Cambodia.”
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WPT Cambodia Championship Final Table Results
| PLACE | PLAYER | PRIZE (IN USD) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Konstantin Held | $361,310* | |
| 2 | Joshua McCully | $277,291* | |
| 3 | Florent Remi | $302,019* | |
| 4 | Motoyoshi Okamura | $157,858 | |
| 5 | Amit Kaushik | $118,906 | |
| 6 | Kyle Bao Diep | $90,532 | |
| 7 | Jianfeng Sun | $69,678 | |
| 8 | Kou Vang | $54,212 | |
| 9 | Anthony Cierco | $42,647 |
*Denotes three-handed deal
First WPT Cambodia Champion Is Crowned
The $3,500 buy-in WPT Cambodia Championship — the first WPT Main Tour event to be held in southeast Asia — drew 373 players of Day 1a and 387 on Day 1b as the top 95 finishers were paid. Some of those who made deep runs include WPT champions Tony Dunst (14th), Valeriy Pak (57th), Masato Yokosawa (61st) and Punnat Punsri (89th).
The final table included Anthony Cierco (9th – $42,647), Kou Vang (8th – $54,212) and Jianfeng Sun (7th – $69,678). The elimination of Motoyoshi Okamura in fourth place for $157,858 brought the three remaining players to agree to flatten the payouts and play for the trophy and seat into the WPT World Championship.
Remi was second in chips when the deal was made but fell in third in a flush-over-flush cooler against the eventual champion, according to WPT updates.
Held was behind in chips as he entered heads-up play but found an immediate double with ace-king against McCully’s ace-eight. McCully then found a double of his own before Held pumped on the gas to put his opponent on fumes.
In the final hand, McCully moved all in with nine-seven and couldn’t improve against Held’s king-five as the latter player earned the title of first-ever WPT Cambodia Champion.
“WPT Cambodia was a special festival. Not only did it open the 2024 season, but it also marked the first time the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup was presented in Southeast Asia,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said in a press release. “Konstantin will forever be the first player to claim a WPT Champions Club title in the region.”
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*Photos courtesy WPT.