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Akshay Nasa returns from deficit to win APT Vietnam Main Event!

What a fantastic night it must be for Akshay Nasa, who has just triumphed at the APT Vietnam Main Event taking place at the Pro Poker Club in Ho Chi Minh. Today was the final day of the Main Event which began with 8 players in contention and two Indians on the FT including Nasa and Ankit Wadhawan.

There were some talented players on the FT including 888poker brand ambassador Sofia Lovgren who eventually got sent to the rail in 5th place by Vincent Chauve who had A2 against Lovgren’s AJ. Luckily for Chauve, he spiked a 2 on the river and a dejected looking Lovgren left the final table after a fantastic run at the APT Main Event.

Quite a few Indian supporters were at the Pro Poker Club showing their support to Wadhawan and Nasa but ultimately, Chauve started taking everyone out. He was building a massive stack and his next victim was Wadhawan, the latter shoving with pocket Fives and getting a call from Chauve.

The French national called with AJ and hit an Ace on the flop itself, taking Wadhawan out in 4th place and entering 3-handed with 67% of the tournament chips in play. Wadhawan has been enjoying a great run in live poker, recently making a few final tables with big scores in Goa. We caught up with him regarding this consistency and now, he’s taken it one step further by winning VND 608,730,000 (~INR 18.79 Lakh) and his first live poker cash outside India. Well deserved, for sure!

Nasa on the other hand soon lost a few pots and before we knew it, he dropped below 1 million chips, left with just about 9 BBs. However, he fought his way back and got a useful double up with KQ against Wilson Choi’s AT to get back to 1.7 million chips. Nasa turned his back and didn’t watch the cards but his friends on the rail were quick to yell ‘King, King’ when the flop opened.

Less than a minute later, Choi was eliminated by Chauve, losing with K5 against Chauve’s pocket Jacks. That took Nasa to heads-up of the APT Vietnam Main Event, but he entered with a massive chip deficit of over 1:4. Over the heads-up session, Nasa’s ‘back to the cards’ superstition turned out to be a popular one with his opponent, as Chauve also joined in in a 65 vs A8 PFAI situation, where Nasa won with a pair of Eights and doubled up to 3.5 million chips.

With all his antics and fun at the table, Nasa finally managed to get a hold of the chip lead, winning with A6 suited over 89 suited, with nothing but Ace-high. There were a couple of shared pots too but eventually, he got what he wanted, bringing home the APT Vietnam title which is also his first major title overseas. He brings home a trophy, an APT ring, luxury watch and plenty more prizes!

The players went on a break and discussed an ICM deal when Chauve was still ahead by a big margin. So even though Nasa became the champion, Chauve took home a larger prize. In the final hand, Nasa was quick to make the all-in call and saw he was ahead with pocket Jacks against Chauve’s KT. All waited in anticipation and the board bricked out with 9 8 2 9 A, giving Nasa the victory and a massive bankroll addition of VND 1,486,560,000 which is also his largest ever live cash. Chauve took home VND 1.54 billion and wouldn’t be too disappointed about finishing second.

He beat a field of 436 entries in all and we know the party will go till late tonight in Vietnam. His previous live cash was at the APPT Manila series last year, where he finished 2nd in the APPT National for $53,197. Remember, Vietnam has always been good for Indians, with Dhaval Mudgal winning the WPT ME here last year and Abhinav Iyer winning the APT Main Event here earlier in 2019.

Final payouts:

• Akshay Nasa – VND 1,486,560,000 (deal) (~INR 45.97 Lakh)
• Vincent Chauve – VND 1,544,200,000 (deal) 
• Choi Eng Loong – VND 842,780,000
• Ankit Wadhawan – VND 608,730,000
• Sofia Lovgren – VND 455,230,000
• Bien Duc Nguyen – VND 351,340,000
• Cuong Nguyen – VND 279,000,000
• Jaesh Balachandran – VND 227,310,000

The last Indian to win a title in Vietnam went on to win a bracelet for India in Las Vegas. Can Nasa do the same next year? Keep reading GutshotMagazine.com to know that and much more from the world of poker!

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Image Courtesy: Asian Poker Tour

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