GOP Phnom Penh: Day 2 Highlights As First Gauntlet Looms

The Gods of Poker raged through another day of action inside the luxurious Grand Ballroom of NagaWorld Phnom Penh in the Kingdom of Cambodia. Running from March 26 to April 5, 2026, the festival rolled into Day 2 with another full slate of events to conquer. 

Leading the charge was the GOP Olympians, which witnessed stunning showdowns and crushing defeats, with all the bubble executioners bagging the chip lead. At the close, seven champions rose to glory, which included Martijn Gerrits for his second series win.  

We’ve got all the highlights and more just below, starting with a preview of the upcoming first GOP Gauntlet challenge.

Coming Up… Demigods Challenge

Who will claim the first GOP gauntlet in Phnom Penh?

That question takes center stage on Saturday, March 28 at the Demigods Challenge, the festival’s first marquee high roller event. For those bold enough to enter, the buy-in stands at $12,600, making it the most expensive offering on the schedule.

To date, only two players have hoisted this magnificent wearable trophy - Seunghyun Nam (GOP Jeju) and Marc Rivera (GOP Taipei). To have a chance at the next one, be sure to sign up before registration closes at the end of Level 2. 

• Buy-In: $12,600
• Date: Saturday, March 28
• Starting time: 2:00PM
• Registration end: 3:45PM
• Starting stack: 120,000 (120 bb)
• Level 1: 500/1K - 30 minutes
• Level 2 - 1K/2K - 120 minutes

For the full structure, click here. 

GOP Olympians Closes At 294 Entries

Three-way on the Flight E bubble

With all six entry flights now completed, the GOP Olympians settled at a total of 294 entries for a prize pool of $84,672. Heading into the final day, the 42 survivors are all guaranteed to pad up their wallet as they hunt down the top prize of $18,476. 

• Date: March 26-28, 2026
• Buy-In: $330
• Entries: 294
• Prize pool: $84,672
• ITM/Final Day: 42 players

 

For the final day qualifiers and seat draw, click here. 

For the payouts, click here.

Good news for all of the returning players, the final day blinds open at 2,500-5,000 ante 5,000 which is an average of 84 big blinds! 

Recapping the last three flights, a cumulative 169 entries was pulled in with a combined 24 players locking up a spot in the ITM round. 

• Flight D: 98 entries, 14 survivors
• Flight E: 51 entries, 7 survivors
• Flight F: 20 entries, 3 survivors

Zibao Xie

At Flight D, China’s Zibao Xie seized the chip lead just four spots from the money with a snap-call that exposed Hsing Hsiung Tai’s bluff. 

From there, Xie went on a relentless run. He knocked out Taiwan's Hsu Shih Chieh by turning trip aces with ace-jack to crack pocket jacks, then delivered a devastating blow to Peru's Yohn Paredes on the stone cold bubble. Up against K ♠️ K ♣️, Xie's A ♥️ Q ♥️ spiked a shocking ace on the river. 

Bubble Round: Zibao Xie rivers Yohn Paredes

Xie bagged up 1,005,000 earning him second in final day pecking order, just under Japan's Takuma Terada with 1,050,000. 

At Flight E, a double elimination on the soft bubble sent  USA's Dakota Anderson catapulting to the top of the counts while Singapore's Jacson Feng and Cambodia's Rindra Norodom crashed out. 

Dakota Anderson after the double KO

Norodom was the hardest to fall with a stack over 20 big blinds when he three-bet shoved holding K ♦️ K ♠️ only for Anderson to reveal A ♣️ A ♦️. Anderson bagged 888,000, earning him third in the final day pecking order. 

Also advancing was Malaysia’s Chung Fai Ngeow, who pulled off a gutsy hero-call just four spots from the money. 

On a board of 7 ♠️ 10 ♥️ A ♣️ 9 ♦️ Q ♣️, with Ngeow betting preflop, flop, and turn, Korea's Sihyun Kim jammed on the river to send him tanking. After a minute or so, Ngeow hero-called with A ♠️ 4 ♣️ to dust Kim’s J ♠️ 10 ♠️ and send him out of the field. 

Somashekar Kurkhepally Mahadeva

The last flight concluded with India's Somashekar Kurkhepally Mahadeva earning the chip lead after he knocked out Malaysia's Yoke Chong Chai on the bubble. 

During the hand, Chai test-bet on a queen-high flop then snap-called for his tournament life when Mahadeva shoved. Chai had pocket twos, Mahadeva had top pair which held. 

Mahadeva bagged 615,500 in chips which was good enough for sixth in the final day lineup. 

Day 2 Winners

Kaoru Kishimoto

Out of the day's seven winners, only one spartan trophy was claimed and it went to Japan's Kaoru Kishimoto. This was redemption for Kishimoto who missed his first GOP trophy at the inaugural Jeju festival, falling in 3rd place at this same event. 

Among the shield winners, Martijn Gerrits claimed another one for his second series win in as many days. He also became the first player to achieve multi-wins at the series. The latest victory brings his total GOP trophy count to seven, tying him with Alfie Adam. 

Gerrits and Adam have also become the first players to be eligible for the Player of the Series title, with each one posting the required three cash minimum. Adam currently holds the lead.

For the POS leaderboard, click here.

Player Of The Series

Across 84 trophy events, players that cash, accumulate points towards the GOP Phnom Penh Player of the Series leaderboard. In order to be eligible for the title, players must have cashed in at least three events. 

The top three players in points at the end of the series win GOP prizes listed below: 

• 1st: GOP Crown trophy and $1,500 in GOP tournament credits
• 2nd: $1,000 in GOP tournament credits
• 3rd: $500 in GOP tournament credits

For all the details, click here.

Up Next

More events to conquer at GOP Phnom Penh - The Coiled Path with the festival running a total of eleven days from March 26 to April 5. 

Exclusive for the ladies, the Aphrodite Event gets on the felt on Saturday, March 28 at 3:00PM with registration open until 4:55PM. This event awards the custom Aphrodite Mirror. Yes, the trophy is really a mirror. 

The headliner, GOP Main Event, is still several days away, scheduled to hit the felt on March 30 featuring a $500,000 guarantee and the magnificent black-and-gold gauntlet. 

Be sure to check the schedule for all the details.

Links: 

• Schedule
• Photo Gallery
• Player of the Series (POS Leaderboard)
• News