Thursday, 28th March 2024 08:50
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8:50 pm: Congratulations to Yue Feng Pan, winner of the MPC23 Red Dragon (HK$2,108,000)!

China’s Yue Fang Pan has overcome a field of 945 players to close out the MPC23 Red Dragon. Pan started the final table third in chips and picked his spots wisely to navigate the victory.

Not only does Pan receive HK$2,108,000 as the new MPC Red Dragon champion, but he takes home the prestigious Red Dragon trophy.

1st: Yue Feng Pan (China) – $2,108,000
2nd: Shao Po Liu (China) – $1,239,520
3rd: Tse Jui Tsai (Chinese Taipei) – $750,000
4th: Zhixiong Tan (China) – $539,000
5th: Ming Min Wu (China – $269,500
6th: Xong Xin Liu (China) – $269,500
7th: Huafeng Gu (China) – $225,500
8th: Huafeng Gu (China) – $196,000
9th: Bin Wen Ren (China) – $166,500

Thanks for following our coverage all this week. You can read all about today’s action and Pan’s victory here.

Also be sure to return tomorrow as we bring you the conclusion of the HK$80,000 High Roller event. Stay tuned!

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Yue Feng Pan celebrates his victory
8:45pm: Shao Po Liu eliminated in 2nd place (HK$1,239,520)

It’s all over!

Yue Feng Pan is our champion after Shao Po Liu committed the last of his chips and couldn’t catch up.

The flop read 6♣ 10â™  10♥ and after a check from Pan, Liu made a bet of 375,000 from the button. It was then that Pan raised it up for 450,000 on top. Liu wasn’t done, however, putting in another raise to 1,625,000.

After some time, Pan moved his 10 million in chips into the middle and Liu called off for his tournament life.

Liu: Q♥ 6♠
Pan: 10♦ 4♥

Liu needed some serious help to keep the tournament going. With only running sixes or running queens to save him, Liu got a glimmer of hope as the Q♦ turn rolled off. The 6♣ river saw him make a full house but Pan’s tens full were too good and closed out the tournament surrounded by a boisterous rail.

Liu finishes runner up for HK$1,239,520.

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Runner up – Shao Po Liu
8:40pm: Power play for Pan

After a number of back and forth small pots Yue Feng Pan has broken away again as considerable chip leader.

Pan initially raised the button to 260,000 and Shao Po Liu called to see a flop of 6♠ 6♣ 7♣ .

After a check from Liu, Pan made a bet of 310,000 in chips, only to face a raise to 750,000. Pan clicked it back once more to 1,450,000 and Liu threw his hand away.

That hand brings Pan back up to over 10 million in chips.

8:25pm: Things are evening up

The chip stacks are getting close to even now in this heads up match after Shao Po Liu took down another sizable pot.

Liu raised on the button preflop and Yue Feng Pan called to see a flop of 6♣ [9D]J♠ .

After a check from Pan, Liu continued for 350,000 and was met with another call. The Kâ™  turn saw another check from Pan and another bet from Liu, this time for 625,000.

Pan gave the hand up and dropped to 8,000,000 in chips while Liu brings his stack up to 6,400,000.

8:15pm: Liu fighting back

The first pot of significant value in this heads up clash has gone the way of Shao Po Liu.

Liu limped on the button before calling Yue Feng Pan’s raise for 225,000 more. The flop landed 10â™  3â™  Q♥ and Pan continued for 300,000. Liu called and the dealer turned the J♣ .

Pan shut down and Liu took the betting lead for 525,000. After a moment of thought Pan mucked and Liu chipped up to 4,600,000.

8:10pm: Heads up play begins

The final two players are back at the table and cards are in the air.

Blinds are going up in a couple of minutes to 60,000/120,000 with a 20,000 ante.

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The final two – Shao Po Liu and Yue Feng Pan
7:50pm: Heads up chip counts

We’ve just reached heads up play.

It’s almost time to crown a champion! Here are the counts going forward.

Yue Feng Pan – 10,045,000
Shao Po Liu – 4,100,000

The two remaining players have just taken a short break before play resumes.

7:40pm: Tse Jui Tsai eliminated in 3rd place (HK$750,000)

Heads up play is set after Tse Jui Tsai just hit the rail in third place.

On a flop of 9â™  K♦ 4â™  Yue Feng Pan check-raised Tsai’s bet of 350,000 up to 725,000 in chips. Tsai made the call and the dealer turned the A♣ .

Pan then moved all in pretty quickly to send Liu deep into the tank. Liu deliberated for several minutes before eventually Pan called the clock. About 20 seconds into the countdown Liu announced call and saw the bad news.

Liu: J♦ J♣
Pan: K♠ 9♦

Liu was down to two outs but the 4♣ river arrived to signal the end of his tournament.

And with that we’re down to heads up. We’ll have an updated chip count momentarily.

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3rd place – Tse Jui Tsai
7:25pm: Big pot for Liu

Shao Po Liu almost doubled his stack after a confrontation with chip leader Yue Feng Pan.

Pan opened the action from the small blind with a raise to 275,000 and Liu called from the big blind to see a flop of 5♣ A♥ 4♥ . Pan continued for 325,000 and Liu made the call.

The 10♦ turn saw Pan bet 400,000 and after a while in the tank, Liu decided to call once more. The river brought the 7♠ and Pan snap-checked over to Liu. Liu cut out a million in chips but ultimately announced a bet of 700,000.

Pan ended up making the call and tossed his hand in the muck when Liu tabled A♦ Q♦ to win the pot. With that pot Liu climbs to 3,600,000 in chips.

7:10pm: Play resumes

The remaining players are back from the break with blinds at 50,00/100,000 (10,000).

There hasn’t been much movement of chips lately but here’ an updated stack count.

Yue Feng Pan – 9,755,000
Tse Jui Tsai – 2,430,000
Shao Po Liu – 1,960,000


7:00pm: Time for a break

The final three players have stepped away from the tournament area momentarily for a scheduled break.

They’ll be back to the action in 10 minutes.

6:50pm: Pan pushes further in front

Yue Feng Pan has taken down the first decent sized pot of three-handed play after taking some chips from Tse Jui Tsai.

Tsai raised to 225,000 from the button and called Pan’s small blind three-bet to 750,000. The flop came 5â™  K♥ Aâ™  and after a check from Pan, Tsai took the betting lead with a wager of 625,000.

Pan called and then checked on the 8♣ turn. Tsai tried to continue for another 650,000 but a string-bet meant he was capped at 150,000. Pan called that and both players checked on the Q♦ river.

Pan showed K♠ Q♥ which was good for the pot and takes him up to over 10 million in chips of the 14 million in play.

6:45pm: Final three chip counts

Here are how the remaining three players stack up.

Yue Feng Pan – 8,000,000
Tse Jui Tsai – 3,800,000
Shao Po Liu – 2,400,000

6:40pm: Zhixiong Tan eliminated in 4th place (HK$539,000)

The action is really ramping up now with the latest casualty being Zhixiong Tan.

It folded around to Tan in the small blind and he moved all in for 900,000 in chips. Tse Jui Tsai woke up with pocket kings in the big blind and snapped it off with Tan in rough shape.

Tan: K♠ 8♣
Tsai: K♥ K♦

Tan needed a lot of help but the 2♣ Jâ™  6â™  flop meant he’d need running eights or running spades to stay alive. The board repeated on the J♦ turn to seal Tan’s fate before the river bricked off.

The elimination boosts Tsai’s stack up to 3,800,000.

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4th place – Zhixiong Tan
6:30pm: Long Wen Zhu eliminated in 5th place (HK$367,000)

Long Wen Zhu just finished four shy of the title here after running into the bigger pair of Shao Po Liu.

Zhu moved all in from under the gun for around 600,000 before Liu isolated with a rejam from the cut off for two million in chips. With everyone else out of the way the cards went on their backs.

Zhu: 3♥ 3♠
Liu: 9♠ 9♥

Zhu would need a three to keep his tournament hopes alive but the board came down 6♣ A♣ 8♣ 6♥ J♠ to see Liu pocket nines hold.

For his 5th place finish Zhu scores HK$367,000.

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Long Wen Zhu (left) shakes the hand of his eliminator
6:20pm: Shao Po scores some chips

Shao Po Liu still has a shot at taking down the title here after recently doubling through Yue Feng Pan. Liu was all in preflop for 800,000 and in danger against the chip leader Pan.

Liu: A♦ 10♠
Pan: K♥ J♠

Liu was ahead and stayed that way through the A♣ 5♠ 10♣ 6♦ 6♣ run out. He climbed to 1,700,000 in chips while Pan, who had been running over the table, still sits as chip leader with a stack of 6,500,000.

6:05pm: Tan still in the hunt

Zhixiong Tan just received a much-needed double up after commiting his short stack preflop.

Tan moved all in from under the gun for his last 450,000 before Long Wen Zhu decided to call from the small blind.

Tan: A♠ J♦
Zhu: Q♠ 10♦

Tan was in front and gave a double fist bump upon seeing the ace on a A♥ 3♦ 6♦ . Then 9♥ turn meant he was a lock on the hand and as the 9♣ river rolled off Tan celebrated with high-fives all around for the railbirds.

With the double up Tan is back over a million in chips while Zhu falls to 1,250,000.

5:45pm: Ming Min Wu eliminated in 6th place (HK$269,500)

There hasn’t been much action lately, at least that was until Ming Min Wu found himself all in and behind on the flop against Yue Feng Pan.

It folded around to Pan in the small blind and he raised it up to 265,000. Wu called from the big blind and the flop landed Q♣ J♥ 9♦ .

Pan continued for 300,000 and Wu moved his last 700,000 into the middle. Pan made a quick call and the players turned their hands face up.

Wu: A♥ J♠
Pan: Kâ™  Qâ™ 

Wu needed to find an ace or jack to stay alive but the Q♦ would put an end to his tournament run. The inconsequential A♠ rolled off on the river and We was eliminated in 6th place.

Pan is currently the table chip leader with a stack of 6,300,000.

mpc23 wu bust out.jpg

6th place – Ming Min Wu
5:20pm: Wu gets a lucky double

We were nearly down to five players until a lucky river peeled off to keep Ming Min Wu’s tournament dream alive.

Wu moved all in from the cut off for 525,000 and when it folded around to Zhixiong Tan in the big blind he called to put Wu at risk.

Wu: A♥ 2♥
Tan: A♦ Q♣

Wu needed to improve to stay alive and the 5â™  J♦ 9♥ flop didn’t do much to help his cause. The 4â™  brought a little hope with a wheel draw before the 2♦ river landed to make him a pair of deuces.

The crowd roared and Wu high-fived Long Wen Zhu before raking in the over one million chip pot. Tan took a hit down to 900,000 in chips.

5:00pm: Back to it!

Players are back at the table for Level 27. Blinds are 40,000/80,000 with a 10,000 ante.

Here’s how the final six stack up.

Yue Feng Pan – 3,600,000
Tse Jui Tsai – 3,400,000
Zhixiong Tan – 2,650,000
Long Wen Zhu – 2,200,000
Shao Po Liu – 2,150,000
Ming Min Wu – 795,000


4:50pm: Break time

The final six players have stepped away from the table for their first break of the day.

Play resumes in 10 minutes.

4:40pm: Xong Xin Liu eliminated in 7th place (HK$225,000)

Players are flying out the door now with Liu’s elimination marking the third of the day.

Liu jammed all in for 675,000 after an under the gun open to 150,000 from Yue Feng Pan and when it folded back to the initial raiser he snapped it off.

Liu: A♥ Q♦
Pan: K♥ J♣

Liu was in front until the 7♠ K♦ Q♥ flop saw Pan spike a king to take the lead. The K♣ turn meant Liu was drawing dead before the Q♠ river even arrived.

For his 7th place finish Liu earns HK$225,000. He finds the exit while Pan stacks up a total of 3,600,000 in chips.

mpc23 liu bust out.jpg

7th place – Xong Xin Liu
4:30pm: Huafeng Gu eliminated in 8th place (HK$196,000)

Only 15 minutes after the first casualty of the day and we’ve seen our second elimination.

The hand began with Huafeng Gu opening to 140,000 from the button before Long Wen Zhu played back at him from the big blind with a raise to 330,000. Gu opted to four-bet all in for a total of 985,000 and Zhu called it off to put Gu at risk.

Gu: A♠ 3♣
Zhu: 8♦ 8♣

Gu needed some help and got a little on the J♦ Q♥ 10♦ flop with a king now improving him to Broadway. The 5♦ turn brought a flush draw for Zhu and made Gu’s chances of survival even worse. With the 6♥ river peeling off Zhu’s pocket eights held to eliminate Gu in 8th place.

Zhu brings his stuck up to around 2,300,000 in chips.

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8th place – Huafeng Gu
4:15pm: Bin Wen Ren eliminated in 9th place (HK$166,500)

Well it took just over an hour for our first elimination with Bin Wen Ren finding the rail first here today.

It folded around to Tse Jui Tsai on the button who put in a raise to 175,000. Yue Feng Pan made the call from the small blind before Ren moved all in for 820,000 from the big blind.

Tsai decided to call it off and after counting out a call and tanking for quite some time, Pan also committed the chips. Ren celebrated with a fist pump at the chance of tripling up as the players turned up their hands.

Ren: 6♣ 6♠
Tsai: A♣ J♠
Pan: K♥ Q♦

There was still a chance for a side pot but Tsai and Pan ended up checking the hand down as the board ran out A♦ 5♣ 4♦ 10♦ 8♠ .

Ren failed to dodge all four overcards and with that he is eliminated in 9th place for HK$166,500. The hand makes Tsai the new chip leader with over 4,000,000 while Pan drops to 2,700,000.

mpc23 ren bust out.jpg

9th place – Bin Wen Ren (Pictured right)
4:00pm: Liu stays alive

Xong Xin Liu just caught a double up to stay in the Red Dragon race after getting his short stack in preflop.

Liu jammed for his last 415,000 in chips and it folded around to Zhixiong Tan in the big blind. Tan asked for a count and after a moment deliberation he announced a call to put Liu at risk.

Liu: J♥ 2♦
Tan: 9♦ 7♠

Liu had the lead and faded danger through the 6♠ A♣ 5♠ flop. Tan improved to a gut shot straight draw but the 10♥ turn and J♠ river bricked off to see Liu double through.

With that Liu brings his stack to over a million while Tan drops down to 1,950,000 in chips.

3:50pm: Pan charging ahead

Yue Feng Pan has just increased his chip lead after defending his big blind against Bin Wen Ren.

Ren opened to 150,000 under the gun and it folded around to Pan who called from the big blind. The J♦ J♣ 2♦ flop prompted a check from Pan before Ren continued for 200,000.

Pan made the call and the dealer turned the 10♦ . With another check from Pan, Ren cut out 375,000 in chips and pushed it into the middle. Pan called the bet and the river landed the J♠ .

Both players quickly checked and Ren turned over 9♦ 9♠ but was trumped by Pan holding A♣ 10♥ for a higher full house. Ren drops down to 950,000 while Pan adds more to his big stack for a total of 3,300,000.

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Current chip leader Yue Feng Pan
3:35pm: Level 26 begins, blinds are 30,000/60,000 with a 5,000 ante

3:30pm: The first clash

The slow start to proceedings has been broken with Tse Jui Tsai and Yue Feng Pan clashing in a recent pot.

The action began with Zhixiong Tan raising to 85,000 before Tsai came along from the button. When it got to Pan in the small blind, he opted to raise it up 155,000 more.

Tan got out of the way but Tsai made the call to see a flop of Q♦ J♦ 2♥ .

Pan checked quickly and Tsai took the betting lead with a wager of 160,000. A call from Pan brought the 7â™  turn before Pan checked again. Tsai continued for 200,000 and once again Pan made the call.

The J♥ river paired the board and both players checked with Pan tabling K♣ Q♣ to scoop the pot. That hand drops Tsai down to 1,800,000 in chips while Pan climbs to 2,550,000.

3:20pm: Slow start

It’s been a slow start here so far. We’re not sure whether players are gun shy or no one has had a big hand yet but there hasn’t been much action.

We did see the first three-bet of the day in a recent hand. Yue Feng Pan opened to 95,000 from middle position and it folded around to Long Wen Zhu in the small blind. Zhu popped it up to 125,000 more and after giving it some thought Pan threw his hand away.

With blinds set to increase to 30,000/60,000 shortly, we expect to see fireworks soon!

3:00pm: Let’s go!

The final table players have just been introduced as a rail gathers around the side barriers and the nearby bar.

Play resumes with 30 minutes left of Level 25. Blinds are 20,000/40,000 with a 5,000 ante.

It’s final table time!

The MPC23 Red Dragon final table is finally upon us.

When it all began there were 945 hopefuls who pulled up seats here at PokerStars LIVE Macau. Now after three days of play only nine remain. They’ll take to the felt from 3:00pm to play for the prestigious Red Dragon trophy and the HK$2,108,000 top prize.

Now that we’ve reached the final table the blind levels have been extended to 75 minutes. That will take effect as soon as the current 20,000/40,000 (5,000) level finishes.

Leading the way for the start of the day is Taiwan’s Tse Jui Tsai with 2,495,000 in chips. You can see the full seating draw and chip stacks below, and for profiles on all the players you can click here.

Final Table Seating Draw
Seat 1: Tse Jui Tsai (Taiwan) – 2,495,000
Seat 2: Yue Feng Pan (China) – 1,945,000
Seat 3: Bin Wen Ren (China) – 1,715,000
Seat 4: Xong Xin Liu (China) – 540,000
Seat 5: Huafeng Gu (China) – 1,310,000
Seat 6: Ming Min Wu (China) – 1,115,000
Seat 7: Long Wen Zhu (China) – 1,490,000
Seat 8: Shao Po Liu (China) – 1,425,000
Seat 9: Zhixiong Tan (China) – 2,110,000

The players are now arriving and unbagging their chips before we get underway. Stay with us for all the action as we prepare to crown another MPC Red Dragon champion!

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The final nine just before the action kicks off

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