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Deng Jiwei wins Baby Dragon for HK$942,000!

Deng Jiwei has overcome a record-breaking Baby Dragon field of 793 to take home the trophy, the title, and HK$942,000 after a heads up deal. We’ll have a full wrap up of today’s proceedings soon on the PokerStars Blog.

Congratulations to Deng!

MPC27 Deng Jiwei.jpg

12:50am: Xiangling He eliminated in 2nd place (HK$941,000*)
Level 26: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

As is often the case when players split the money this heads up match was all over almost as quick as it began.

Both Xiangling He and Deng Jiwei showed they weren’t shy getting all the chips in the middle and they did exactly that again in the final hand of the tournament.

This time they got to the turn first at least, with somewhat of a cold deck responsible for the end of proceedings. The board read 8♠ 2♠ 7♥ Q♥ and He and Jiwei piled their stacks in.

He: 9♥ 5♥
Jiwei: A♥ 8♥

He had a flush draw and a gut shot straight draw but unfortunately for him most of his outs were dead as Jiwei held the nut flush draw. The 10♥ river completed their flushes but Jiwei’s was good enough to close out the tournament.

Xiangling He collects HK$941,000 after the heads up deal.

MPC27 Xianglin He.jpg

Xianglin He (left) gracious in defeat

12:45am: Huge pot sees Jiwei seize lead
Level 26: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

Deng Jiwei now has a commanding chip lead after both players picked up pair but Jiwei’s was too good. Jiwei and Xiangling He pushed all the chips in the middle preflop with He the slight chip leader at the time.

Jiwei: 7♠ 7♣
He: 5♣ 5♦

Jiwei’s pocket sevens held when the cards fell 10♣ K♦ 10♥ 4♣ 4♥ to see him double up to 6,890,000 to He’s 1,040,000.

12:40am: Deal struck!

Heads up play is now underway after players have agreed on a deal. They will chop first and second prize almost directly down the middle with the prestigious Baby Dragon left to play with. Here’s what they’ll take home.

Deng Jiwei: HK$942,000
Xiangling He: HK$941,000

12:30am: Deal discussions

Heads up is yet to begin as the two players have almost identical stacks and are currently discussing a deal. Here’s how they stack up.

Deng Jiwei: 3.975 million
Xiangling He: 3.955 million

MPC27 Baby Dragon heads up.jpg

12:15am: Qicheng Du eliminated in third place (HK$443,000); heads up set
Level 26: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

The last few eliminations have been lightning fast and Qicheng Du’s was no exemption. His came at the hands of a cold deck when he picked up 8♥ 8♦ three-handed but had the worst of it against Deng Jiwei’s 10â™  10♥ .

The two of them got all the chips in preflop and the 3♦ 6♣ 6♦ 4♥ K♦ board brought no help for Du. He picks up HK443,000 for his third place finish.

That takes us to heads up between Jiwei and Xiangling He. They’ll be commencing the heads up battle momentarily.

MPC27 Qicheng Du.jpg

Qicheng Du

12am: Danny Tang eliminated in 4th place (HK$321,812)
Level 26: Blinds 50,000/100,000 (10,000 ante)

Another ten minutes gone and another final tablist down as Danny Tang joins the casualty list. He had found himself super short and ended up all in holding 9â™  2♣ . Deng Jiwei was the man he had to beat and Tang was live against Jiwei’s Qâ™  6â™  .

The 3♣ 10â™  Q♥ flop, however, was a death knell for Tang, and he couldn’t catch running cards to remain among the action when the 4♦ turn and Aâ™  river arrived to signal the end of his Baby Dragon run.

Tang takes home HK$321,812 for his deep run this week.

MPC27 Danny Tang.jpg

Danny Tang

11:50pm: Chun Hung Chan eliminated in 5th place (HK$216,000)
Level 25: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Players are finishing fast on this final table with Chun Hung Chan following Fan Xing out the door. Chan pushed his last 440,000 into the pot preflop and was called in two spots by Qicheng Du and Xiangling He.

The two active players checked on the 10♥ 6â™  9â™  flop before the A♥ landed on the turn. Du checked it over to He who announced all in with enough to cover Du’s 835,000 behind. Du went into the tank before flashing the A♦ and letting it go.

Chan quickly saw he was in trouble, tabling J♥ J♣ which were behind He’s A♣ Q♦ . Only a jack on the river could save Chan but the deck refused as the Qâ™  completed the board.

Chan would have to be content with fifth place and HK$216,000.

11:40pm: Fang Xing eliminated in 6th place (HK$166,000)
Level 25: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

It was a one-two punch that brought about the demise of Fang Xing who lost back-to-back hands to hit the rail.

The first pivotal hand was a preflop all-in confrontation with Deng Jiwei where Xing’s A♦ K♥ couldn’t hold against Jiwei’s Aâ™  Qâ™  when the latter made a flush on the 6♦ 9â™  3â™  8♦ 8â™  runout.

That knocked Xing down to 650,000 and he pushed them all in the middle the very next hand with K♣ 10♣ . Again it was Jiwei who was after Xing’s chips, he called with A♥ J♦ to put Xing at risk.

Xing picked up an open ended straight draw on the 4♠ J♠ Q♣ flop but the 5♠ turn and 4♣ river bricked off to knock him out in sixth place. He collects HK$166,000 for his efforts here this week.

MPC27 Fang Xing.jpg

Fang Xing

11:30pm: Jun Li eliminated in 7th place (HK$127,500)
Level 25: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Just a few minutes after Zhang hit the rail in eight place it was Jun Li’s turn to go in seventh after a coinflip with Xiangling He.

Qicheng Du brought it in for a raise to 210,000 before He three-bet to 500,000 from the cutoff. Li was in the small blind and he committed his 540,000-chip stack before it folded back to Du.

Du deliberated for a few minutes before ultimately giving it up and He called off the small difference.

Li: J♠ J♥
He: A♥ K♦

Li faded danger on the 6♦ Q♠ 9♥ and the railbirds were super animated crying out for all types of bricks. Unfortunately for the cheer squad the K♥ fell on the turn to damped the mood and with no jack on the 6♥ river it was all over for Li.

MPC27 Jun Li.jpg

Jun Li (right)

11:25pm: Bobby Zhang eliminated in 8th place (HK$110,700)
Level 25: Blinds 40,000/80,000 (10,000 ante)

Australia’s Bobby Zhang won the first Baby Dragon event back in 2014 but he couldn’t pull off another victory here tonight after falling in eight place.

Zhang was in the big blind and down to around 575,000 when he called off for his tournament life after Xiagling He moved all in from the small blind with enough to cover.

Zhang: A♥ 7♥
He: 9♠ 9♦

Zhang was looking for an ace or a few hearts and while he found a gut shot draw to Broadway on the turn with the board showing 3♥ K♦ J♦ 10♣ the 4♥ river meant his tournament was done.

MPC27 Bobby Zhang.jpg

Bobby Zhang

11pm: Mike Huang eliminated in 9th place (HK$94,100)
Level 24: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (5,000 ante)

Mike Huang was the first to fall on the final table after a brutal rollercoaster runout sent him packing in 9th place.

It was Qicheng Du who opened the action with a raise to 140,000 before Huang three-bet jammed next to act for 225,000. Despite having six high Du felt he was pot committed and flicked in a call.

Huang: K♠ 6♣
Du: 6♦ 4♦

Not only did Huang have Du dominated but he even hit top pair on the K♦ 3♣ A♠ flop. Huang just had to fade running cards to stay alive and double up but the 10♦ turn brought a flush draw for Du and the 7♦ river card completed it.

A sick way to go for Huang means he’ll have to be content with HK$94,100.

Baby Dragon Final Table Draw

Seat 1) Xiangling He – 1,200,000
Seat 2) Bobby Zhang – 625,000
Seat 3) Jun Li – 510,000
Seat 4) Chun Hung Chen – 875,000
Seat 5) Danny Tang – 920,000
Seat 6) Fang Xing – 1,300,000
Seat 7) Qicheng Du – 1,100,000
Seat 8) Mike Huang – 200,000
Seat 9) Deng Jiwei – 850,000

MPC27 Baby Dragon final table.jpg

10:20pm: Yang Liu finishes 10th; final table set
Level 24: Blinds 30,000/60,000 (5,000 ante)

The Baby Dragon is now firing up as Yang Liu was eliminated in 10th place.

Liu was short and moved all in under the gun for 250,000 before Jiwei Deng next to act moved all in over the top. The rest of the table got out of the way and the cards went on their backs.

Liu: A♠ 10♣
Deng: A♣ K♦

Liu was dominated and things got worse as the dealer spread the 2♥ 9♣ K♥ flop. The 8♠ turn meant Liu was drawing dead and the 4♥ river made everything official.

We’ll have a final table draw up as soon as possible.

MPC27 Yang Liu.jpg

Yang Liu sweats his fate

10:10pm: Lo done by Du
Level 23: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (4,000 ante)

Players are leaving in rapid succession now with the seven eliminations since the dinner break.

This time it was Jeffrey Lo’s time to go after he moved all in for 330,000 from the small blind on a flop of 9♥ 5♦ 8â™  . Qicheng Du was the other active player and he tanked for a couple of minutes before committing the chips.

Lo sheepishly turned over 7â™  5♣ for bottom pair and a gut shot draw but was behind Du’s K♦ 8♦ middle pair. The K♣ saw Du improve to two pair and while Lo did the same on the 7♦ river it was too little too late to save him.

10:05pm: Chen chopped down
Level 23: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (4,000 ante)

Dongliang Chen was down to less than 2.5 big blinds and he put it all in the middle when it folded around to him in the small blind. Jun Li was in the big blind and made it clear he was calling with any two cards when the hands were revealed.

Dongliang Chen: J♣ 10♣
Jun Li: 6♦ 3♠

Chen was ahead but Li was live as he proved by pairing his six on the K♥ 7♠ 6♥ flop. It was all over by the 6♣ turn as Chen was drawing dead before the K♠ river even appeared.

10pm: Ogita gone
Level 23: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (4,000 ante)

Players are falling quickly as the blinds increase with Daisuke Ogita making his way to the rail.

Ogita got his chips in dominated with Q♥ 9♥ and was dominated by Fang Xing’s Aâ™  9♦ . Ogita was dead to a flush by the turn as four diamonds landed in the middle and Ogita left the tournament area just a few places shy of the final table.

9:45pm: Spets sent home
Level 23: Blinds 20,000/40,000 (4,000 ante)

Roger Spets is the latest Baby Dragon casualty after losing the last of it to Yang Lin.

The story goes that Spets held 6â™  2♣ and while he hit a six it was no match for Lin’s Kâ™  K♦ . That elimination brings us one closer as we approach this final table.

9:30pm: Final two table draw
Level 22: Blinds 15,000/30,000 (4,000 ante)

Table 1

Seat 1) Roger Spets – 415,000
Seat 2) Jun Li – 585,000
Seat 3) Kuan Hsiang Huang – 330,000
Seat 4) Chun Hung Chen – 660,000
Seat 5) Danny Tang – 990,000
Seat 6) Xiangling He – 680,000
Seat 7) Yawei Wang – 135,000
Seat 8) Dongliang Cheng – 270,000
Seat 9) Zhang Chen – 150,000

Table 2

Seat 1) Bobby Zhang – 650,000
Seat 2) Fang Xing – 560,000
Seat 3) Jung Fu Ma – 345,000
Seat 4) Mengqi Chen – 55,000
Seat 5) Qicheng Du – 570,000
Seat 6) Yang Lin – 440,000
Seat 7) Daisuke Ogita – 250,000
Seat 8) Jiwei Deng – 620,000
Seat 9) Jeffrey Lo – 440,000

9:15pm: Li leaves us; final two table redraw
Level 22: Blinds 15,000/30,000 (4,000 ante)

Only 18 remain now after Andy Li took a rough beat with pocket aces to past Baby Dragon champion Bobby Zhang. Li was all in preflop with A♥ A♣ and in great shape to double through Zhang who held K♦ Q♣ but the K♥ Q♠ 8♦ flop left Li chasing assistance.

Li still had a few outs to stay alive but he couldn’t find one as the 3♥ turn and 5♥ river rolled off to seal his fate.

That elimination brings us down to just two tables. We’ll have a full redraw and chip counts coming shortly.

7:50pm: One-hour dinner break
Level 21: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

The one-hour dinner break begins. Be sure to join us when we return to see who is crowned the Baby Dragon champion!

7:35pm: Dinner break plans
Level 21: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

The announcement has been made that players will commence a dinner break following the conclusion of this level. They’ll get an hour to eat before returning to play down to a champion.

There are 20 still in the hunt at the moment with a redraw planned when we hit our final 18. That will take us down to just two tables.

7:20pm: Huang hits the rail
Level 21: Blinds 10,000/20,000 (3,000 ante)

Ming Huang has left us after finding himself dominated and unable to improve versus tablemate Jung Fu Ma.

Huang was all in preflop with Q♦ Jâ™  and in a dangerous position against Ma’s A♦ J♦ . Huang added one extra out on the A♥ 4â™  10â™  but couldn’t spike the gut shot to Broadway when the 5♦ turn and 3â™  river arrived to end his deep run in the Baby Dragon.

Huang heads for the exit while Ma makes his stack grow to 395,000.

6:55pm: More fall as the field thins further
Level 20: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

The pace has been thick and fast today and ever since the bubble burst the eliminations haven’t really let up.

A few more players that won’t be making a final table appearance include Anuj Kumar, Terry Gonzaga, Junhong Park, Atul Nagpal, Adones Carmona and Sheng Hong Yu.

We’re now down to just 25 remaining.

6:40pm: Spets shoots up the counts
Level 20: Blinds 8,000/16,000 (2,000 ante)

Sweden’s Roger Spets now sits with a huge stack after spiking a set and eliminating Guanyuan Zhang in a recent hand.

It appeared that the money went all in on the flop of 10♦ 8â™  4â™  with the 8♥ 8♣ of Spets way out in front against Zhang’s 9♣ 9♦ . Spets needed to dodge a nine or running straight cards to secure the mountain of chips and he was successful as the A♣ turn and 3♣ river proved no trouble.

That pot cost Zhang his tournament life and saw Spets shoot to 635,000 in chips.

6:20pm: Last Team Pro falls
Level 19: Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

There are no more Red Spades left in the field as the sole survivor Randy ‘nanonoko’ Lew has also been relegated to the rail.

Lew had been nursing a short stack for a few orbits and finally moved in under the gun for his last 46,000. It folded around to the big blind who called it off to put the Team Pro at risk.

Lew: K♣ 5♠
Big blind: A♣ 9♣

Lew needed some help, and while he received some on the 4♥ 4â™  5♣ flop, he couldn’t fade danger as the 8â™  turn and 9♦ river ran out to see his two pair become inferior.

MPC27 Randy Lew gg.jpg

Randy Lew

6:05pm: Start of day chip leader Lee exits
Level 19: Blinds 6,000/12,000 (2,000 ante)

James Lee started the day with a commanding chip lead but he’s now out of the hunt after running into Mengqi Chen’s pocket aces.

It folded around to Lee on the button and he moved all in for around 130,000 only to be snapped off by Chen in the big blind. Lee’s A♣ 8♣ was in rough shape versus A♥ A♦ and he couldn’t overcome the odds when the cards fell 2â™  7♦ 4♥ K♥ J♦ .

Lee leaves us as Chen stacks a new total of 310,000.

MPC27 James Lee.jpg

James Lee

5:30pm: Break time

It’s time for a scheduled break. Play resumes in 15 minutes.

5:25pm: Lew low after losing one
Level 18: Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Randy Lew is now in the dangerzone after losing around half his stack.

We arrived at the table to see the 2â™  5♣ 9♦ 8♣ 7♣ runout already completed with Lew holding K♥ Qâ™  . That couldn’t beat his opponent’s Aâ™  9â™  and Lew was forced to ship 69,000 in chips across the table.

That pot leaves Lew hovering around 75,000 and with the blinds about to go up again he’s going to need some run good to stick around.

5:05pm: Tough luck for Wongwichit
Level 18: Blinds 5,000/10,000 (1,000 ante)

Phachara Wongwichit has departed after a rough beat saw Xu Zhou Chang end up with all of his chips.

Wongwichit checked from the cutoff on a flop of 8♣ Q♦ 3♦ and after Chang fired for 45,000, Wongwichit pushed all in for 149,000. Chang didn’t look too happy but he still called it off with just a gut shot straight draw.

Wongwichit: A♦ 6♦
Chang: J♥ 10♥

Wongwichit was ahead with ace high and the nut flush had a few of Chang’s outs dead but while the 8â™  turn was a brick, the 9â™  river completed Chang’s straight and signalled the end of Wongwichit’s tournament run.

4:45pm: Down to 36
Level 17: Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

The field continues to thin with only 36 players remaining now from the starting field of 793 yesterday.

Some of those who have made a recent exit include Dongpeng Wang, Chengbei Li, Cheng Xin Wang, Chi Yuan Lee, Bao Qiang Ho, Nishan Sharma and Jianlin Jiang.

With the way things have been going so far it might not be a late night. Stay tuned.

4:20pm: Bobby blazing a trail
Level 17: Blinds 4,000/8,000 (1,000 ante)

Bobby Zhang won the Baby Dragon back in 2014 and today the Australian is well on his way to claiming a two-time victory. He started the day with 103,900 in chips but after back to back big pots he now sits with close to triple that 290,000.

The second of those saw an all in preflop confrontation where Zhang held 9♥ 9♣ against his tablemate’s Aâ™  9â™  . It was an ace-free 5♦ J♥ 8♣ 10♣ 6â™  runout with Zhang’s pocket nines holding to rocket him up the chip counts.

We’ll be keeping an eye out to see in Zhang can claim another Baby Dragon title later in the night.

4pm: Lee loses a chunk to Kamei
Level 16: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Start of day chip leader James Lee is now down to 145,000 after a cold flop saw him make top pair top kicker against Kentaro Kamei’s middle set.

It was J♠ 9♦ 2♦ spread in the middle and Kamei was all in for 105,000 which Lee called off before seeing the bad news.

Lee: A♥ J♣
Kamei: 9♠ 9♥

Lee needed running cards to win the pot but he was already drawing dead by 7♦ turn. The inconsequential 6♠ arrived on the river and Kamei doubled up to 285,000.

3:40pm: Celina Lin leaves us
Level 16: Blinds 3,000/6,000 (1,000 ante)

Team PokerStars Pro Celina Lin won’t be making back to back final table appearances after a coinflip saw her exit from the tournament.

We only managed to catch the end of the hand with the community cards spread Jâ™  7♣ Q♥ 4â™  K♦ and Lin sitting with 8â™  8♣ face up in front of her, no good against her tablemate’s K♣ Qâ™  .

“I’m not folding for your stack,” said Lin’s opponent as the two discussed the hand in the aftermath.

That leaves just Randy Lew representing the PokerStars contingent and he’s near the top of the current counts with close to 300,000 in chips.

MPC27 Celina Lin Baby Dragon Day 2.jpg

Celina Lin

3:15pm: Scheduled break

It’s time for a 15-minute break. Coverage will resume shortly.

3:10pm: Zhang dominated and done for
Level 15: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Yifan Zhang has fallen by the wayside after moving his short stack all in preflop only to find himself dominated by Tianhong Su.

Zhang stuck his 41,000 in the middle under the gun before Su made the call from the button. The blinds got out of the way and the cards went on their backs.

Zhang: A♠ Q♣
Su: A♣ K♠

Zhang needed help but he wouldn’t get it as the board ran out 3♦ 8♥ 2♦ 9♦ 6â™  to see him eliminated.

2:50pm: Open the floodgates
Level 15: Blinds 2,500/5,000 (500 ante)

Players are flying out the door now since the bubble burst and all the clinging on for a payday is complete. We’ve lost over 25 players already in almost as many minutes since Wang Hui departed in 100th place.

Some of those to hit the rail in the money include Kentaro Somekawa, Cheng Chen, Bong Kai Yuan, Dhanesh Chainani and Pengfei Liu.

As it stands right now there are still 74 players in contention.

2:30pm: Bubble bursts as Hui hits the rail
Level 14: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

The Baby Dragon is now in the money as Wang Hui falls at the hands of Jeffrey Lo.

There were a few very short stacks and one player with just half a big blind on a neighbouring table so play had tightened up dramatically when Lo opened to 10,500 under the gun. It folded around to Hui on the button and he committed his total of 23,000. Lo flicked in the difference and the railbirds gathered around to sweat the action.

Hui: A♣ Q♦
Lo: K♦ 7♦

Hui was leading but the 4♥ K♥ 8♥ flop brought a stop to that as the crowd let out a collective gasp. The 5â™  turn and 6♥ river couldn’t save Hui and he was sent packing one shy of a payday.

As for the remaining 99 players they’ve all locked up at least HK$15,000 (~$2,000).

MPC27 Baby Dragon bubble Wang Hui.jpg

Hui after spying that fateful flop

2pm: Hand for hand begins
Level 14: Blinds 2,000/4,000 (500 ante)

The tournament has just hit 100 players remaining and with 99 places paying we are now hand for hand. There are a few short stacks among the pack so we’re not expecting the duration of the bubble to be too excruciating.

1:40pm: Hao hanging on
Level 13: Blinds 1,500/3,000 (400 ante)

Peng Hao is sticking around after doubling his short stack through Xiangling He.

He was the initial raiser making it 6,600 from under the gun before Hao pushed his last 16,200 into the middle next to act. It folded around to He and he called the remainder to put Hao at risk.

Hao: 8♣ 8♦
He: A♣ J♣

They were off to the races and Hao would end up with the best of it after the 5♦ 9♣ 5♣ 7♠ 2♠ runout. His pocket eights held to see him secure the double up to 37,000. That hit to He means he now has 89,000 in play.

Get your hands on a trophy the easy way

The Macau Poker Cup is renowned for two of the best-looking trophies in poker, and now you can get your hands on one without winning a tournament.

PokerStars are giving away mini Red Dragon trophies to the first 1,500 players registered in the MPC27 Red Dragon this week – and with a huge alternate list tonight for the Baby Dragon we recommend getting in quick before the trophies run out!

MPC27 trophy promo.jpg

1pm: Cards in the air

Day 2 is now underway.

Baby Dragon Day 2 set to commence

Welcome back to PokerStars LIVE Macau where the MPC27 Baby Dragon final day is almost underway! This record breaking field of 793 was whittled all the way down to 124 yesterday and tonight we’ll play down to a champion. That eventual winner will take home the title, the trophy and HK$1,163,000 (~$150,000).

The man in pole position to start the day is the USA’s James Lee who leads the charge with 212,100. Also still in contention are Team PokerStars Pros Celina Lin and Randy Lew. Lin finished runner-up in this event last time at MPC26 so she’ll be looking to go one better and take this one down.

Play recommences at 1pm local time (GMT+8) so join us then for all the action live from the tournament floor! In the meantime you can check the full table draw right here.

Live reports from Macau by Brad Kain. Photos by Kenneth Lim Photgraphy courtesy of PokerStars LIVE Macau.

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