Kunal Patni Leads Final 9 of the GOP Main Event In Phnom Penh

GKunal Patni

The Gods of Poker Main Event has locked up its final nine players and is now one step closer to crowning its first champion at NagaWorld Phnom Penh, in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Meet the Final 9 of the GOP Main Event

From a field of 289 entries, with 41 returning for Day 2, it was India’s Kunal Patni who bagged up the largest stack of 7,905,000. When action resumes, his stack will be worth 79 big blinds, giving him a 21 big blind cushion over his closest rival.

Photo: Kunal Patni, Peng Sen Wu, Feng Yang

While Patni built his stack through a series of key pots, the last push came when he eliminated Japan’s Takuma Terada in 11th place with pocket Aces over pocket Nines. 

Finishing the day ranked second was Taiwan's Peng Sen Wu with a stack of 5,805,000. During the final two tables, Wu seized the lead after eliminating Fabian Rolli (15th) and Zeyu Sun (14th) until Patni surged ahead at the other table. 

Just one big blind behind Wu was China's Feng Yang in third rank with a stack of 5,780,000. Yang's biggest hand was at 18 players remaining when he doubled up with pocket Kings over pocket Queens. To close out the day, Yang knocked out Qi Li in 10th place. 

Photo: Miyoung Cho, Murata Haruto, Alen Bakovic

The lone lady remaining was Korea's Miyoung Cho with a stack of 5,285,000. Cho was in stealth mode at the table, and was the demise of both Gleb Ershov (21st), and Micha Hoedemaker (33rd). Cho delivered the sickest bad beat of the day when she cracked Manabu Sato's pocket Aces with a turned set of tens.

Japan's Murata Haruto bagged up 3,450,000, putting him right in the middle of the pack ranked fifth. Haruto picked up momentum on a double up during the final three tables with an overpair against Thang Tran Minh. 

Ranked sixth in the pecking order was Canada's Alen Bakovic with 2,225,000. Bakovic was very active at his table, and while he eliminated Apoorva Goel (28th), he earned his final table seat on pure grinding.

Photo: Rohit, Wei Yan, Le Ngoc Khanh

India's Rohit entered Day 2 as the overall second-in-chips and maintained course until he suffered a big hit on a cooler against Feng Yang. He recovered by eliminating Thang Tran Minh in 18th place. 

China's Wei Yan bagged 1,330,000 to secure eighth rank. His biggest hand was a hero-call against Bakovic with third pair for his tournament life.  

Completing the final 9 was Day 2's entering chip leader, Vietnam's Le Ngoc Khanh with 865,000. Le maintained a healthy stack for a majority of the day but drained down during short-handed play. During the final table bubble, Le was denied a double up when the board completed a straight to split the pot. 

All of the finalists are now guaranteed a minimum of $11,595 with the champion's cut of the $500,000 prize pool worth $109,540 and the Black-and-Gold gauntlet, to be decided on the final day. Action resumes on Saturday, April 4, 2026 starting at 12:30PM.

Remaining Payouts

For the Day 2 live updates, click here. 

For the Day 2 results, click here.

To follow the Final Day action, click here.