SPC XVII

Event Report

SPC XVII took place over the weekend of June 13-15, packed with throngs of hopefuls looking to pick up some crystal-ware for their display shelves. Back on the high seas for a second post-COVID installment, the Aegean Paradise was abuzz with familiar faces and ambitious newcomers. Andrew Leathem swept the Mystery Bounty in his first-ever SPC voyage, while SPC veteran Lim Yan Ming etched for himself a piece of SPC history that we suspect will stand the test of time: An unprecedented two-trophy sweep in a single weekend.

High Roller:

The S$1,688 High Roller kicked off under the Friday night lights with 40 seasoned hopefuls and a simple promise: deep stacks, tough spots, and a trophy worth every sleepless hour. Fourteen survivors returned to chase the title, but by final table time, all eyes were on Jared Khor — whose early knockout of Lim Min Soon (KK > JT) marked him as the man to beat.

Warren Tang’s deep run ended in 5th when Jared’s ragged 59 found two pair to crush him. Louis Wong couldn’t survive much longer either — his K8 outdrawn by Jared’s 2-5 when the turn delivered elimination in 4th.

From there, Lim Yan Ming mounted the comeback of the night. Sitting short and with only three left, he found consecutive double-ups through both Louis and Jared to vault back into contention. As the blinds rose, Yan Ming settled in for a punishing small-pot squeeze, chipping away at Jared’s mountain of chips one pot at a time.

After an hour of heads-up, the momentum was all Lim’s. Jared, once untouchable, was forced to gamble light: he shipped it preflop with JsTs, only to find Yan Ming snap him off with K9. A clean runout, a dagger turn 9, and a blank river delivered Lim Yan Ming the SPC XVII High Roller crown and a cool S$22,000 for the trophy shelf — not that he was done yet.

Natural8 Main Event:

302 entries, three starting flights, and a bevy of ex-champions meant the SPC XVII Main Event was always going to be a street fight. Only 67 made it back for Day 2, and once the money bubble burst (to the collective cheer of the rail and the remaining field), the rush to the final table felt like a microcosm of the entire SPC — quick busts, hard doubles, and no prisoners.

Joshua Tan's first Main Event final table ended when his short stack found AQ in the hole to a UTG+2 shove from chip leader Jared Khor. Unfortunately for Johua, Jared turned over KK. The T64 board was no help to Joshua, and a K on the turn left Joshua drawing to 3 outs. A 9 on the river would send Joshua to the rails in 9th.

Short-stacked Daniel Wong was next to fall, his preflop shove met by Cheong Yun Rong, the latter’s A3 completely dominated by Daniel’s AK. Luck was not with Daniel however, as a rivered 3 sent him packing for a commendable 8th.

Yun Rong’s luck would soon run out however, as his UTG open met a 3-bet from Warren on the button. After a brief pause, Yung Rong moved all his chips in the middle. Warren snap called with AA, with Yung Rong’s QQ in grave peril. An AQ2 board flopped both players a set, which left Queens drawing to a single card; a 6 turn and 4 river eliminating the plucky Yun Rong in 7th.

As blinds climbed to 15k/30k, the action claimed short stacks in quick succession: Finale table regular Sean Tay’s final A7 shove ran headlong into Warren Tang’s AQ, while Zach Loh doubled once but couldn’t survive a big flip, busting in 5th when his sevens were no match for Lee Jia Shun’s AQ.

A series a skirmishes ensued, with Warren and Yan Ming going head to head post flop on several occasions. Yan Ming was edging the pots and was gradually building a stack to dominate the endgame

Next to depart the final table was Vincent Oh. Having avoided most of the collisions while being afflicted with a bad case of the cold deck, he finally found pocket tens in the hole. With Jia Shun having opened the pot, Vincent moved his chips into the middle. With action still to return to Jia Shun, Yan Ming took a long time to decide on his course of action, before reluctant making a call. Jia Shun, sensing danger, adroitly skipped out of the way. Yan Ming’s AA would comfortably hold against Vincent’s TT, and Vincent would walk away with a tidy $11,600 for his efforts.

Now with 60% of the chips in play, Yan Ming began to pile on the pressure. He was fortunate to eliminate Warren in 3rd when his A4 found a 4 on the flop to send Warren and his AK packing in 3rd. Another superb effort from Warren, who seems to glide effortlessly into final tables. He picks up $15,200 for his troubles.

As was for the heads-up contest in the High Roller, Yan Ming looked far more comfortable in this setting, constantly probing and asking his opponents difficult questions. Jia Shun however, had no intention of going quietly into that good night. He found a quick double up, but Yan Ming was relentless. In the matter of 30 minutes he had rebuilt an 8:1 chip advantage, before Jia Shun found another double up via K8.

The final hand saw Jia Shun get the lot in again with A7, and he must have been happy to see two overs against Yan Ming’s 44. The flop brought T3T, but Yan Ming was refusing to look, following the action only via floor commentary. The turn 2 kept him in the lead, and Jia Shun drawing to 6 outs. The announced river 4 saw Yan Ming exhale and punch the air, consigning Jia Shun to a superb runner up finish and a $20,000 payday.

Congratulations to Lim Yan Ming, who not only bags $54,000 in prizes over the weekend, but stands alone as the only player to have won both the High-Roller and the Main Event in a single SPC weekend!