Haoran Sun Emerges Victorious in the Debut WPT Prime Thailand Tournament Exposition Finale
2025 WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition Championship: A New Era for Poker in Thailand
The world of poker witnessed a significant milestone in July 2025, as the 2025 WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition Championship took place at UOB LIVE inside EMSPHERE Mall in Bangkok, marking Thailand's first world-class poker festival.
This event, held from July 30 to August 5, 2025, was a momentous occasion that coincided with Thailand legally recognizing poker as a sport. The tournament was the first ever World Poker Tour (WPT) branded event in Thailand, and it set a world record with 2,337 entries, making it a landmark for poker participation globally and in Thailand.
The venue EMSPHERE, a luxury entertainment and shopping complex located on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, was the perfect setting for this historic event. The event's success aligns with Thailand's vision to develop casinos within entertainment complexes by 2030.
The buy-in for the tournament was THB 37,000 (~USD 1,050), and the prize pool was guaranteed at THB 37,000,000 (~USD 1.05 million). The total travel fund prize pool reached approximately THB 75,488,000 (~USD 2.3 million) due to the massive entries. Despite not being an official WPT event, the tournament attracted a global poker audience and players, including Haoran Sun from China, who emerged as the champion.
Sun's winning hand was King♣ 7♣, clinching the title after a marathon tournament that marked a new era of poker in Thailand. The heads-up of the tournament was short, with Sun taking the remainder of the chips on only the second hand. Other notable international players participated, making the event a prominent platform for the Asian poker scene.
The tournament saw several eliminations, with Nikhil Kedia and Amit Ashkenazi being the first two players to go. Alex Lee was eliminated on the very next hand after a double-up against him, leaving only four players in the hunt. Hong Cai and Duhan Lee were critically low on chips and were eliminated in quick succession, leaving the final table with only two players.
The final table was set in less than half an hour on Day 4, with Philipp Zukernik being the runner-up after losing to Haoran Sun. Sun was hyper-aggressive throughout the tournament and never dropped out of the top chip counts. Allen Nielsen was also eliminated by Sun. Due to regulations, the event was played over four days, with each day limited to six hours of play.
This championship symbolizes Thailand’s shift towards legalizing and promoting poker as a competitive sport, attracting a global poker audience and players. It also illustrates WPT's expansion into new markets with Thailand as a key frontier. The success of the 2025 WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition Championship is a testament to the growing popularity of poker and the potential for future events in the region.
References:
- World Poker Tour
- EMSPHERE
- Thai Legal Framework for Gambling
- Thailand Recognizes Poker as a Sport
- Haoran Sun Wins WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition Championship
The 2025 WPT Prime Thailand Exhibition Championship, held at UOB LIVE inside EMSPHERE Mall, was not only the first world-class poker event in Thailand but also coincided with the legal recognition of poker as a sport in Thailand. This significant event featured various casino-games, including poker, and attracted a global audience, with Haoran Sun from China emerging as the champion in a game of poker. The success of this tournament marks a new era for casino-and-gambling in Thailand, aligning with the country's vision to develop casinos by 2030, and it highlights the World Poker Tour's expansion into new markets, particularly Asia.
