The new Asian Poker King Club has crowned its first tournament champion. South Korea’s Il Woong Yoo was one of a large Korean contingent that made the trip to Macau for the Asian Poker King Tournament, and their presence proved to be dominant indeed – no fewer than 8 of them made the final table.

Yoo outlasted 174 other players to take down the event, culminating in a two-hour heads up battle with fellow countryman Soo Bum Kim. Not only did Yoo take home the HK$284,200 on offer for first place, he is also the proud new owner of a special edition Corum Royal Flush Automatic 2006 watch.

Despite coming to the table as chip leader, some aggressive early play from Kim saw the latter take the chip lead until Yoo’s slow-played Pocket Aces won him a 400,000 pot to put him back in front.

The final hand saw Yoo move all-in on a 8♠-5♣-2♣-Q♣-K♣, tabling A♣ J♥ for the nuts. Kim quietly mucked his hand, taking home HK$155,000 for his three days of hard work.

This was the first major tournament for the Poker King Club, located on the third floor of the StarWorld Casino in Macau, and already the turnout has exceeded expectations – the HK$750,000 guarantee was easily exceeded, with over HK$870,000 in prize money on offer. The players and organisers also found time to contribute to a worthy cause, with one percent of the tournament prize pool – or HK$8,700 – being donated to charity. The next instalment of the Poker King Tournament will be held in March, with a HK$1 million guaranteed prize pool.