Eiji Kimura (pictured above) has done it, winning the first-ever WPT Japan Main Event! Kimura defeated a field of 460 entries to win the $10,000 WPT Multi-Passport top prize.
Day 3 of the WPT Japan Main Event started with the event’s last 14 players taking their seats on Sunday. The field quickly cut things down to the final nine, with Eiji Kimura as the standout chip leader with more than 2.4 million in chips, exceeding a quarter of the total chips in play. Kimura never gave up the chip lead, dominating play at the final table and moving to heads-up play with a 9-1 advantage. Heads-up play lasted just one hand, and with that it was Kimura emerging as champion.
WPT Japan Main Event Final Table Results
1st: Eiji Kimura – $10,000 WPT Multi-Passport
2nd: Ryo Omori – $4,000 WPT Multi-Passport
3rd: Makoto Yokoyama – $2,000 WPT Multi-Passport
4th: Takayuki Zushi – $2,000 WPT Multi-Passport
5th: Kazuhiko Yotsushika -$1,500 WPT Multi-Passport
6th: Fumihiro Yasoshima – $1,500 WPT Multi-Passport
7th: Junya Yamada – $1,000 WPT Multi-Passport
8th: Keigo Fujimoto – $1,000 WPT Multi-Passport
9th: Youbeen Lee – $1,000 WPT Multi-Passport
Of note, the WPT Japan Main Event helped generate more than 5,000 qualifying entries for players attempting to win their way into this inaugural tournament.
In addition to the WPT Japan Main Event coming to an end, both the WPT100 and WPT200 side events played out.
In the WPT100 event, 68 entries were tallied and Hiroyuki Mochizuki (pictured below) won first place. Mochizuki took home a $4,000 WPT Multi-Passport for the win. Brandon Strickland earned a $2,500 WPT Multi-Passport for second place, and Kunihiro Ishida won a $1,500 WPT Multi-Passport for third place.
In the WPT200 event, 63 entries were generated. Masayoski Kono (pictured below) earned the $4,000 WPT Multi-Passport first-place prize, beating Ken Okada in second place. Okada took home a $2,500 WPT Multi-Passport for his runner-up finish. In third place was Akitoski Okuda for a $1,500 WPT Multi-Passport, and Masaharu Tomita took fourth place to win a $1,100 WPT Multi-Passport.
Lastly, in the WPT Nightly Turbo that concluded the WPT Japan festival, 44 entries were totaled. Kunihiro Ishida (pictured below) won the event for a $1,500 WPT Multi-Passport, and Tatsuhiko Okada took second for a $500 WPT Multi-Passport.
The World Poker Tour would like to issue much credit and a special thank you to the Japan Poker Union Corporation for the partnership on this historic event. Japan Poker Union Corporation’s professional team and setup at Bane Bagus venue in Shibuya were absolutely outstanding and the WPT cannot wait to return to the vibrant city of Tokyo.