USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay Main Event Champion Thi Minh Hong Pham Becomes First-Ever Female Champion

USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay Main Event Champion Thi Minh Hong Pham Becomes First-Ever Female Champion

Vietnam's Thi Minh Hong Pham emerged victorious at the USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay 2026 Main Event, conquering a field of 1,520 players to claim VND 6,200,000,000 (approximately 340 million KRW, ~$235,000). The Main Event (Event #58), which concluded on June 1st at the InterContinental Ha Long Bay Resort, saw Pham defeat fellow Vietnamese player Minh Thang Tran in heads-up play. With this victory, she etched her name in the USOP Main Event history books as the first-ever female champion.

First Female Champion in USOP Main History

The significance of this win lies in the record itself. Pham is the first woman to claim the Main Event title since the USOP began hosting its series in Vietnam. By outlasting a massive field of 1,520 players and accumulating all the chips at the final table, she has become a symbolic figure, elevating the standing of female players in the Southeast Asian live poker scene. The final heads-up match was a showdown between two Vietnamese players, with Pham ultimately overcoming chip leader from Day 1, Minh Thang Tran, to secure the championship.

Final 27 Included Numerous High-Profile Players

The final 27 players remaining on the Main Event final day included a host of decorated titleholders. Junjie He, the APT Macau Main Event Champion, was among the top contenders with 3,565,000 chips. Duy Thuc Nguyen, the 2023 WPT Prime Main Event Champion and winner of the May 2026 VPL Main Event, was close behind with 3,375,000 chips. China's Ledong Zhou, aiming to overcome his runner-up finish at the USOP Grand Finale Hai Phong, entered the final day with 3,335,000 chips, and WSOP bracelet winner Guoliang Wei from China was also still in contention. With such a formidable lineup, Pham's victory is seen as a testament to skill rather than luck.

All-Vietnamese Podium Highlights Ha Long Bay's Strong Local Player Base

The fact that both the champion, Pham, and the runner-up, Minh Thang Tran, are Vietnamese players underscores the Ha Long Bay venue's role as a powerful hub for the local Vietnamese player base. This Main Event 'Vietnam Derby' follows the trend set by the series' first major event, the Madness Kickoff, which also featured an all-Vietnamese heads-up final between Van Lam Nguyen and Tien Dat Nguyen. The USOP Vietnam Ha Long Bay 2026 ran for 14 days from May 19th to June 1st, with a total guaranteed prize pool of VND 120,000,000,000 (approximately 6.5 billion KRW), and the Main Event successfully met its guarantee of VND 30B.

Pham's victory once again confirms Vietnam's position as a key center for the Asian live poker scene in May-June. With USOP scheduled to host the season-culminating USOP Grand Championship Vietnam at the same InterContinental Ha Long Bay Resort from October 22nd to November 4th, with a guaranteed prize pool of VND 160B, the narrative of a female champion's triumph is poised to drive interest for the upcoming fall season.