Kyung Min Lee Captures Gauntlet at GOP Incheon Main Event

The Gods of Poker Incheon Main Event ran from May 18 to 23 at Paradise City Casino in South Korea, drawing 356 entries across five starting flights for a prize pool of KRW 700,000,000 (~USD 480,000).

After six days of action and 51 players paid, Kyung Min Lee emerged victorious to claim the KRW 148,280,000 (~USD 98,000) top prize and became only the fourth player in GOP history to win the Black-and-Gold Gauntlet.

It was the perfect birthday present for the Korean pro, who turned a deep run that began with the Day 1B chip lead into the biggest victory of the festival.

Final 9 Payouts

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Early Chaos at the Top

Main Event final 9 players

The final table opened with nonstop movement across the leaderboard as nearly every player took a turn controlling the action.

Haisheng Qiu entered as chip leader but quickly found himself challenged by both Woo Hyon Shin and Dong Yan, who each surged into the top spot during the early levels. Evgenii Chzhen then looked poised to take command himself before Kyung Min Lee began quietly building momentum.

Even short-stacked Chien Te Lee briefly threatened to steal the spotlight after a huge hero call against Shin, exposing a bluff and dragging a massive pot.

Just when it looked like the momentum had moved elsewhere, Qiu stormed back into the lead once again and re-established himself as the player to catch.

Kyung Min Lee and Yi Cheng Lo Takeover

Kyung Min Lee

The turning point came when Kyung Min Lee eliminated Yan in 8th place with pocket tens over pocket eights to vault near the top of the counts.

Not long after, Yi Cheng Lo exploded into contention after winning a huge cooler against Chien Te Lee - making a straight against Chien Te Lee's set in a massive pot that sent Lo soaring up the leaderboard.

From there, the final table gradually became a two-man race.

Yi Cheng Lo

Lee and Lo repeatedly traded the chip lead while steadily distancing themselves from the rest of the field. Lo widened his advantage after Chzhen jammed directly into his flush then Qiu fell to Kyung Min Lee in 6th place to retake the lead. Lo answered with the elimination of Shin in 5th place.

Hiroki Karatsu and Chien Te Lee Refuse to Fall

Chien Te Lee

While Lee and Lo dominated the spotlight, at four-handed, Hiroki Karatsu and Chien Te Lee produced two of the grittiest performances of the final day.

Both players survived all-in after all-in that repeatedly kept them alive despite being on the brink of elimination. Several times both players looked destined to fall, only to escape again.

Hiroki Karatsu

Karatsu’s run finally ended in 4th place against Kyung Min Lee, leaving just three players very close to the title.

Hand of the Day

Then came the hand that rocked the shock.

Three-handed, with blinds at 120,000-240,000 ante 240,000 Lo limped from the small blind before Kyung Min Lee raised to 735,000 out of the big blind. Lo called and they saw a flop of 8 ♥️ 3 ♦️ 2 ♥️.

Lee continued for 555,000 and Lo check-called. The turn 9 ♥️ saw Lo lead for 850,000 before Lee raised to 2,000,000. Lo called, swelling the pot to 34 big blinds.

When the river landed 5 ♦️, Lo checked once more. Lee moved all in and Lo tank-called for his tournament life.

Lee tabled A ♣️ 4 ♣️ for a rivered straight which was a roughly 4.5% two-outer at the turn. Lo could only stare at the board revealing A ♥️ 8 ♣️ to bow out in 3rd place.

Seven Hands to History

Kyung Min Lee champion of the GOP Main Event

Kyung Min Lee entered heads-up against Chien Te Lee with a commanding 120 big blinds to 22 big blinds, roughly 6:1 in his favor.

On the seventh heads-up hand, Chien Te Lee raised to 2 big blinds on the button holding K ♥️ 10 ♠️. Lee moved all in and Chien Te Lee called.

Kyung Min Lee: A ♦️ K ♣️

Chien Te Lee: K ♥️ 10 ♠️

An all diamond flop landed K ♦️ 8 ♦️ 7 ♦️ giving Kyung Min Lee top pair and a flush draw. The turn 5 ♦️ completed the flush and the Black-and-Gold Gauntlet had its fourth champion.

Congratulations to Kyung Min Lee on his victory!