The 2012 Macau poker Cup Championship began on Wednesday and saw 270 players pony up HK$20,000 over two Day 1 flights, creating a prize pool HK$4,818,960.
After four massive days of poker, the field has been whittled down to just nine players, with the below players set to fight it out on Sunday for the HK$1,108,500 first-place prize.
Let's take a closer look at the final table of 2012 MPCC Main Event.
Seat 1: Ryan Hong (Melbourne, Australia) - 425,000 chips
Their are two Australians who have made the final table, one of which is Ryan Hong. The 25-year old university student has been playing poker for eight years, with many accomplishments over that time. In a very successful 2012, Hong finished third in both the Melbourne Championships Main Event, and the APT Manila Main Event, collecting almost US$100,000 for those scores alone. Hong started Day 3 as the chip leader with 430,000 in chips and brings just a small less than that into the final table.
Away from poker, Hong enjoys getting away for a holiday and enters the final table in seventh chip position.
Seat 2: Sunny Jung (Seoul, Korea) - 888,000 in chips
Originating from Seoul, Korea, Sunny Jung has been playing poker for 18 years, taking it up professionally in 2005. Normally a cash game player, it was a last minute decision to stay in Macau and play the MPCC Main Event, after originally planning to leave on Thursday.
After a solid third day, Jung was the first man to reach the one million chip mark. He said that a bluff against Ryan Hong early on gave him the momentum to accumulate a big stack. When he's not playing poker, Jung enjoys eading and traveling to get his mind away from the game. He will come into the final table in second chip position.
Seat 3: Kevin Kung (Los Angeles, USA) - 469,000 in chips
Making the trek from Los Angeles in the Unted States, Kevin Kung has gone by in this tournament fairly unnoticed, but thanks to handy double up in the late stages of Day 3 - where he won a flip holding A-Q vs his opponents pocket eights - he has secured himself a spot on the final table.
With numerous cashes throughout the USA, including multiple WSOP cashes, this 28 year old, is looking to add a major tournament title to his growing poker resume.
Seat 4: Yosuke Sekiya (Matuyama, Japan) - 624,000 chips
Yosuke Sekiya is certainly no stranger to Macau Poker Cup events. Earlier this year Sekiya beat out a field of 236 players in the $2,250 Knockout Bounty event on the Macau Poker Cup: Red Dragon schedule. That win was good for HK$94,600 - which interestingly enough is slightly less than what he is already guaranteed for making the final table of the 2012 MPCC Main Event. That isn't the only claim to fame for Sekiya though, with a career spanning four years seeing him earn over $100,000 in tournament winnings. It's a good thing Sekiya says that he got started in poker because he "wanted to make money."
While Sekiya says that he got "lucky" to make it to the final table, he has certainly shown during this event and in the past that he has what it takes to play tough poker. Interestingly, if Sekiya finishes second or better at the final table, he will move to the top of the Asia Player of the Year leader board, while a third place would see him virtually tied with the current leader, Nicky Tao Jin.
Seat 5: Jessica Ngu (Pennsylvania, USA) - 461,000 in chips
One of two females at the final table, Jessica Ngu has made a name for herself here in Macau, with numerous impressive scores over the last few years. The 28 year old has only been playing poker for three years, but in that time has made two major final tables, placing third in APPT Macau's HK$10,000 No Limit Hold'em event back in 2010, and then seventh in last years HK$11,000 No Limit Hold'em Red Dragon Event during the Macau Poker Cup.
With a double up towards the end of Day 3, holding aces against her opponent's pocket kings, Ngu will be looking to close in on that maiden Macau title.
Seat 6: Lisi Wei (Beijing, China) - 713,000 chips
The second of two ladies in the field, Lisi Wei has played tough poker over the last few days and has proven she deserves a spot in the final nine. Having only played poker for one year, Wei began playing with friends in a Beijing poker club and here she is now at the final table of one of the biggest events in Macau.
A defining moment in Wei's tournament was perhaps when she held pocket aces and managed to eliminate Victor Chong, who held pocket jacks. Regardless of what happens at the final table, this will become Wei's largest tournament score to date.
Seat 7: Robert Streatfeild (Perth, Australia) - 159,000 chips
Every year the Western Australia Poker League (WAPL) brings a team of players to Macau to take part in the MPCC. Robert Streatfeild has proudly worn a WAPL shirt throughout the entire tournament and will surely wear it with pride at the final table. Perhaps the best part of the 57-year old's tournament is the fact that he even got to play at all. After some international banking errors, Streatfeild was having trouble withdrawing the HKD needed to enter the tournament. Scrambling around for an ATM and doing multiple long distance cash transfers, eventually Streatfeild was able to enter the tournament with just 20 minutes left in late registration. Better late than never!
Streatfeild will start the final table as the short stack, but will be looking to use all that he has learned from fellow poker friends Frank Maley and Michaele "The Butcher" Catalano to make his way to a victory.
Seat 8: Rui Chen (Anhui, China) - 1,325,000 chips
Rui Chen became the hero of his remaining eight competitors when he managed to deal a double elimination at the end of Day 3, ushering in the final table. With that massive hand giving Chen the final table chip lead, it's hard to argue that there could be any bigger turning point for a player in a tournament. However, Chen says that there was no real defining moment in his tournament as he never had to commit more than one third of his chip stack.
The 37-year old from the Anhui province in China will be looking to use his chip lead to catapult himself into the record books as a Macau Poker Cup Championship victor.
Seat 9: Wenlong Jin (Shanghai, China) - 184,000
It's been a rollercoaster ride for 36 year old Wenlong Jin from China. After building a sizable stack early on Day 3, a table change saw him battle it out with Sunny Jung during the final two levels, to drop him to the second smallest stack.
Not shy of big occasions, Jin has cashed in countless WSOP events over the last 4 years, and also placed second in a PokerStars Sunday Millions. Jin will come into the final table in eighth chip position.