The first major poker tournament in Thailand was a hit, drawing 2,337 entries to the WPT Prime Thailand Championship event in Bangkok.
Thailand's poker debut comes on the heels of its government officially recognizing poker as a sport, a move that allows tournaments to run within the country. The new status is part of a larger push by Thailand to appeal to a younger generation of travelers.
The WPT Prime Thailand Championship featured a 37,000 Thai Baht buy-in (~$1,114) and the 2,337 entries stacked up a prize pool of 75,488,000 THB (~$2.3 million). Prizes were paid out in travel funds, as gambling is still technically restricted within the country.
Sun dominates fast finale
Regulations caused other quirks in Thailand's maiden tournament, like a restriction of just six hours of play on weekdays. Levels were shortened and the final day's play moved quickly.
Haoran Sun took home the top prize of 11,477,000 THB ($353,497) after outlasting the final 14 players who survived to the last day of the tournament. Canada's Philipp Zukernik finished second and South Korea's Duhan Lee finished third. In addition to the top prize, Sun earned a $10,400 seat for the 2025 WPT World Championship at this Wynn later this year.
Aggressive play was the move for Sun, who ran hot on the livestreamed final table. He knocked out seventh-place Allen Nielsen's suited queen-jack with pocket kings to extend his lead, while Zukernik took care of the others while Sun's pressure kept stacks short. They eventually met at the end, but the lead was insurmountable for Zukernik.
WPT Prime will now take its show to Taiwan on the heels of a successful event in Thailand. Taiwan's series will run from August 6-19 with a TWD 35,000,000 (~$1.1 million) guarantee for its 35,000 (~$1,171) buy-in championship event.
2025 WPT Prime Thailand Championship final table results
| Place | Player | Prize (THB) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Haorun Sun | 11,477,000 | $353,497 |
| 2 | Philipp Zukernik | 7,620,000 | $234,699 |
| 3 | Duhan Lee | 5,658,000 | $174,269 |
| 4 | Hong Cai | 4,231,000 | $130,317 |
| 5 | Alex Lee | 3,201,000 | $98,592 |
| 6 | Astunobu Konishi | 2,442,000 | $75,215 |
| 7 | Allen Nielsen | 1,879,000 | $57,874 |
| 8 | Amit Ashkenazi | 1,458,000 | $44,907 |
| 9 | Nikhil Kedia | 1,142,000 | $35,174 |
Images courtesy of WPT.
