The highlights of the opening stop of the World Poker Tour 2026 in Cambodia are two main attractions: WPT Prime Cambodia with a buy-in of $1,100 and a $750,000 guarantee, and the subsequent WPT Cambodia Championship for $3,500, boasting a massive $1,500,000 guarantee. Alongside these, the festival offers other big draws – the $1,000 Mystery Bounty (200,000$ GTD), the $800 Survivor (200,000$ GTD), and the recently concluded Championship Warm Up, which served as the perfect launching pad for any game enthusiasts.
The Championship Warm Up Easily Surpassed Its Guarantee
Event #4 Championship Warm Up ($600) demonstrated that Phnom Penh is eager for poker from the outset. The tournament's guarantee was $150,000, but the overwhelming interest nearly doubled it – three starting flights collected 472 entries and the resulting prize pool reached $247,234. Day 2 saw 96 players return, with financial rewards awaiting the top 55 (a min-cash of $1,187).
As the tournament transitioned into the final day after a demanding Day 2, the pace was exactly what a Warm Up should be – brisk and relentless, with no room for errors. Qi Li from China led the table as the chipleader, closely followed by Abhishek Ramesh from India in second.
Vannarith Nget was the first to fall from the final table, soon followed by Mykyta Ishchenko. Ung, who took him out, was the next to hit the rail, and after Abhishek's departure, the tournament moved into the decisive heads-up phase.
The showdown between two Chinese players started with Yonghong Si holding the advantage, but Qi Li turned the tables in one major hand. Before the flop, the players went into a classic flip – Li with A d T c against Si's pair of 5 h 5 d. The flop of A h T d 7 s gave Li two pairs, suddenly putting him in command. Moments later, it was over: in the final hand, Si pushed his chips all-in on a flop of 7 h 6 d 2 h with 8 d 6 c, but Li snap-called with J d 7 d.
The Turn and River changed nothing, and it was decided – Yonghong Si finished 2nd with $33,624, while Qi Li emerged as the champion, taking home the trophy, $54,772, and a $1,100 seat into the WPT Prime Championship.
Final Table Results:
| Place | Player | Country | Amount |
| 1 | Qi Li | China | $54,772 |
| 2 | Yonghong Si | China | $33,624 |
| 3 | Abhishek Ramesh | India | $21,880 |
| 4 | Somphone Ung | Canada | $16,416 |
| 5 | Mykyta Ishchenko | Ukraine | $12,609 |
| 6 | Vannarith Nget | USA | $10,137 |
After this tournament, it's clear that the action in Cambodia will intensify day by day. The mentioned WPT Prime will take place from January 30 to February 3, culminating in the Main Event, the WPT Cambodia Championship, which will commence on February 4 and conclude with the final table on Monday, February 9.
For a detailed live report and photo gallery of this event, visit our partner SoMuchPoker here
