The nearly three-week festival in Phnom Penh is reaching its climax, and its crowning jewel is none other than the WPT Championship event with a $3,500 buy-in. The basic math of the tournament is clear: 425 entries created a $1,500,000 prize pool, with 54 players making it into the money.
At the top, there's a $294,200 reward for the champion, while the min-cash is set at $6,600.
Day 2 from 154 Players Down to ITM
Day 2 unfolded in typical WPT style: as the money got closer, the pace shifted from aggressive exchanges to a cautious game of survival. From the initial flights, 154 players entered Day 2, and in the final level, the countdown to the money was already underway.
Then it happened: the bubble burst during level 16, specifically with 33:53 minutes remaining, and organizers subsequently ended the day. The remaining 54 players bagged their stacks and return to the game today with a guaranteed cash.
The unenviable bubble story belonged to Kazuo Yamamoto, who pushed his 96,000 stack into play with the best possible hand A s A c. He faced off against Yuequan Jia with a pair of 9 s 9 c. It seemed the bubble might last longer, as both the flop and turn confirmed, but the river delivered a nine, turning a dream spot into the day's cruelest exit: Yamamoto busted in the worst possible way on the stone-cold bubble.
Coloma Leads, Sitbon Close Second
The biggest beneficiary of the day's finish was British player Pedro Coloma, who jumped to the chiplead with a 197bb stack after a massive 3-way all-in. Close in second is French pro Julien Sitbon (136bb), with Australian Joel Gaffney completing the top three (119bb). The global prestige of this event is further confirmed by the presence of players from eight countries in the top 10.
Current Top 10 Before Day 3:
| # | Name | Country | Stack | BB |
| 1 | Pedro Coloma | United Kingdom | 1,574,000 | 197 |
| 2 | Julien Sitbon | France | 1,085,000 | 136 |
| 3 | Joel Gaffney | Australia | 951,000 | 119 |
| 4 | Pang Kok Yong | Malaysia | 923,000 | 115 |
| 5 | Chengcai Pan | China | 845,000 | 106 |
| 6 | Mykola Ivanukh | Ukraine | 842,000 | 105 |
| 7 | Micheal Oneill | Ireland | 793,000 | 99 |
| 8 | Amin Riyazati | Australia | 784,000 | 98 |
| 9 | Neng Zhao | Australia | 766,000 | 96 |
| 10 | Abraham Ceesvin | Singapore | 729,000 | 91 |
Today, the WPT Cambodia Championship moves into Day 3, where not only are the next pay jumps in play, but also the battles before the decisive phase of the tournament. The real goal is clear: survive today with a stack that allows an attack on the final six on Sunday, who will play for the coveted title on Monday. It is on Monday when it will be decided who leaves Phnom Penh with a career-defining title, their name on the legendary trophy, and a reward of $294,200.
Sources – WPT, Flickr, SoMuchPoker
