Asian Poker Tour Cancels Series In Middle Of Main EventCause Remains Unknown, Remaining Players Paid Out |
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Players in the Asian Poker Tour Hanoi Billions were greeted with some unwelcome news on Friday when the tour announced that the remainder of the tournament stop was canceled.
The series was expected to run Dec. 1-10 and the stoppage included the series’ main event, which had already reached the fourth day of action. No reasons for the announcement were offered and comments on the group’s Twitter post were turned off.
“The decision to cancel the remaining days of the festival has not been made lightly,” tour officials noted. “It is rooted in extenuating circumstances that have arisen, ones that, despite our utmost efforts, we are unable to overcome.”
“The safety and well-being of our players and staff are of paramount importance to us, and we must prioritize these concerns above all else. We are truly sorry, and we appreciate your understanding during this challenging situation.”
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT
Dear APT Members,
The Asian Poker Tour regrets to announce the cancellation of APT Hanoi Billions 2023 for the remainder of the series from December 9-10, 2023.
All player funds are secure and the method for receiving funds has been detailed below*.…— Asian Poker Tour (@AsianPokerTour) December 9, 2023
Players Left Puzzled
The cancellation left many players perplexed by the move and also frustrated at some of the expenses involved with flying to the tournament venue, taking time off work, and more.
“I’ve wasted two days of leave and money to fly out here,” one player revealed on Twitter.
Some players speculated that the stoppage may have been forced by the government of Vietnam, but that hasn’t been confirmed, and a successful Triton series played out in the country with no reported issues in March, as well as a WPT Prime series in May.
There were still two days remaining in the series and the cancellation came after several side events were also shelved in the days preceding the announcement.
As part of the tour’s post on Twitter, the APT announced that player refunds were expected to be sent starting on Sunday. Payouts would be made for the 47 players who were still in contention in the main event according to their chip count.
Van Sang Nguyen, of Vietnam, was declared the main event winner based on having the most chips when the tournament was paused, earning the top payout of just over $180,000.
A double stack tournament had also been underway and John Costiniano, of the Philippines, was named the winner for about $12,150.
Prior to shutting the series down, APT officials touted the main event as the largest field size and prize money in the tour’s 17-year history. The tournament produced 2,350 entries for a bit over a $3 million prize pool.
*Photos by APT
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