Andrew Moreno opened to 2,500,000 on the button and Jinho Hong made the call.
Action checked through the flop to the turn. Hong then led out for 2,300,000 and Moreno, after some consideration, flatted.
The river paired the board but that did not slow Hong down as he pushed 5,900,000 into the middle. Moreno counted out his stack, shook his head and then called. Hong showed down for rivered trips and Moreno, who, judging by his exasperated face had likely been outdrawn, mucked.
Jinho Hong raised to 1,900,000 and Andrew Moreno called.
The dealer spread the flop, Moreno checked, and Hong bet 1,100,000. Moreno then raised to 4,100,000, Hong moved all in, and Moreno called for his remaining stack.
Andrew Moreno:
Jinho Hong:
Moreno ran into Hong's kings and needed to improve to stay alive. The turn left him needing a queen or deuce, but the completed the board to send the South Korean rail into a frenzy, while Moreno was eliminated as runner-up for $460,529 following a great run.
South Korea's Jinho Hong has defeated Andrew Moreno in heads-up play to win $696,011 and the Wynn trophy in the 2022 Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship.
Stay tuned for a full recap.
2022 Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship Final Table Results
The Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship attracted 1,428 entrants, generating a prize pool of $4,605,300. On Tuesday, June 28th, just 24 players returned for Day 3, all looking to outlast their competitors to claim a $696,011 first-place prize.
Once the dust settled after a grueling 15 hours of play, South Korean ex-pro gamer turned poker player Jinho Hong emerged victorious, besting 2021 Wynn Millions winner Andrew Moreno in heads-up play.
"I feel great," said Hong when asked what the win meant to him. "I have been to Vegas three times and this is the time I actually got some results".
This tournament was not the primary reason for Hong's visit, who says he now has his eyes set on loftier goals. "Hopefully this win will lead to another win in the WSOP Main Event," he said. "I'm going to go for the bracelet".
Hong attributes much of his recent success in poker to his background as a gamer, specifically playing Starcraft.
"I think it's definitely helped being a pro-gamer because it requires a lot of multi-tasking," He points to other successful poker pros such as Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier, who first played Starcraft before transitioning into poker as examples of what he sees as a wider trend.
2022 Wynn Summer Classic Championship Final Table Results
Place
Player
Country
Prize (in USD)
1
Jinho Hong
South Korea
$696,011
2
Andrew Moreno
United States
$460,529
3
Diego Sanchez
Mexico
$316,407
4
Ankush Mandavia
United States
$224,508
5
Arsenii Karmatckii
Russia
$165,791
6
James Romero
United States
$129,041
7
Stephan Nussrallah
United States
$103,850
8
Daniel Smiljkovic
Germany
$86,119
9
Jampa Dothar
United States
$72,764
With a number of short stacks coming into the day, it was no surprise that play began fast-paced with a slew of eliminations in the first couple of levels including Michael Rossitto (22nd - $30,483), Terence Reid (16th-$40,068) and Nicolas Noguera (15th - $46,159). Once stacks had flattened out somewhat and pay jumps became a bigger consideration, that pace slowed down considerably. Still, the final table of nine was set before the dinner break when Yuki Kashihara (10th - $61,950) got the rest of his chips in with a dominated ace against Hong and failed to improve.
Final Table Action
A look at the final table.
Jampa Dothar was one of the shorter stacks coming into the final table and ultimately fell when his ace-jack could not overcome Hong's cowboys. German online phenom Daniel Smiljkovic was the next to go, first losing the majority of his stack when, in a blind-on-blind confrontation, his pocket threes could not improve against James Romero's pocket tens, and then hitting the rail after running his remaining stack into Diego Sanchez's rockets.
Just a couple of hands later, Stephan Nussrallahhit the rail after losing a flip against Moreno. At that point, the remaining six players discussed a deal but no consensus could be reached and so play continued.
What followed was one of the major turning points at the final table and in the tournament in general. Romero and Hong got their two large stacks all in preflop in a classic race with Hong's ladies holding against Romero's Big Slick to propel the Korean into a massive chip lead while sending Romero home.
Soon after that huge confrontation, Arsenii Karmatckii was rivered by Moreno and as a result was forced to the exit. Following the Russian's elimination, deal negotiations resumed but as before, no agreement was reached.
The short-stacked Ankush Mandavia was the next to fall, getting most of his chips in preflop with pocket sixes against Moreno, who held ace-ten and ended up turning a full house to force Mandavia out of the tournament in fourth.
Andrew Moreno
Three-handed play continued for quite some time with Sanchez, who began and consistently remained the short stack, repeatedly finding ways to survive, most notably when his ace-six put a beat on Hong's pocket tens. His luck did eventually run out, however, when he lost a flip for the rest of his stack against Moreno.
Moreno entered heads-up play with a nearly 2:1 chip advantage. That did not seem to bother Hong, who gradually wore away at Moreno's stack. It was mostly a battle of attrition, with the two settling into exchanging many small pots. With the blinds ever-increasing, eventually, something had to give and that happened when Moreno got the rest of his chips into the middle with bottom pair on the flop only to see Hong turn over pocket kings for the overpair. The kings held, handing Hong victory and his largest-ever live cash. Moreno, meanwhile, was forced to settle for a not too shabby $460,529 consolation prize.
Congratulations to Jinho Hong on winning the Wynn Summer Classic $3,500 NLH Championship. The 2022 Wynn Summer Classic continues — click here for a look at the remaining schedule — and PokerNews will return on July 17 to offer live updates from the $1,600 Mystery Bounty.
flop saw Moreno check-call for 1,600,000, and both players checked the 
turn.
completed the board, Moreno checked, and Hong moved 3,600,000 over the betting line. Moreno thought about and ultimately put in the calling chips.
which was good for the pot and the lead as Moreno mucked.
flop to the 
turn. Hong then led out for 2,300,000 and Moreno, after some consideration, flatted. 
for rivered trips and Moreno, who, judging by his exasperated face had likely been outdrawn, mucked.
flop, Moreno checked, and Hong bet 1,100,000. Moreno then raised to 4,100,000, Hong moved all in, and Moreno called for his remaining stack.
turn left him needing a queen or deuce, but the 
completed the board to send the South Korean rail into a frenzy, while Moreno was eliminated as runner-up for $460,529 following a great run.
