Welcome to the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia $1,100 Main Event

For the third time, the World Poker Tour is returning to the five-star NagaWorld Integrated Resort in the heart of Phnom Penh, the capital of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The luxurious venue has become one of the rising hotbeds for live poker in the South East Asia region and hosted several international competitions throughout the last few years already.

The first-ever WPT-sponsored event in the Kingdom of Cambodia took place back in 2017 at the Queenco Casino and Hotel in Sihanoukville, a popular tourist destination at the coast. Frenchman player Benjamin Gonzva topped the $1,500 WPT National  for a payday of $36,487.

Two years later, it was Brian Tougias who came out on top of a 750-entry strong field in the 2019 WPTDeepStacks Main Event here at NagaWorld, taking home the trophy and top prize of $131,430 for his efforts.

After the global pandemic slowed down and international traffic picked up again, the WPT returned to the Kingdom of Cambodia in August 2022 for the first edition of the WPT Prime series at this venue. It would be a stellar turnout that set a new record for Cambodia thanks to 1,050 total entries, which led to the first ever seven figure prize pool in Phnom Penh.

The top 131 finishers earned their share of the $1,008,100 prize pool and David Erquiaga continued his hot run in the Asia-Pacific region with another victory in a three-way deal. He defeated Taiwan’s Chi Jen “Justin” Chu in heads-up to walk away with $137,008. Chu had to settle for $120,980 while fellow Filipino player Junnie Pamplona also took home six figures worth $106,482.

Many poker enthusiasts from near and far are expected once more to take part in the festival and the early figures have been promising. Whether or not the attendance record for a WPT Prime Main Event will be surpassed remains to be seen as at least 1,225 entries would be required for that.

A total of three starting days await from March 16 to 18, each of which kick off at 1pm local time in the conference room at Naga 1. There is very little doubt that the $500,000 guarantee for the 2023 WPT Prime Cambodia $1,100 Main Event will be surpassed.

All participants start with 30,000 in chips and the levels on Day 1 last 40 minutes each with a 15-minute break every three levels. The late registration for each flight closes at the start of level seven after approximately 4.5 hours of playing time and each Day 1 is playing down into the money with one in eight entries securing a cash prize (approximately 12.5% of the field).

As of Day 2, the WPT Action Clock comes into play and the penultimate tournament day will whittle down the field to the nine-handed final table for the grand finale. On top of a six-figure cash prize, the winner of this event will also receive a $10,400 entry to the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas with airfare and accommodation provided by the global brand.

The WPT.com live reporting team will on the floor for the entire duration of the flagship tournament of the festival until a winner has been crowned.