Korea has triumphed at the inaugural JBet Battle Of The Nations event being held as part of the ongoing 2009 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Macau Festival after remaining dominant throughout the event.
A team consisting of Brandon Wong and Poker Pack pros David ‘Chino' Rheem and Steve Sung garnered 106 points to win the overall team championship and a cheque for $52,386 before the final table even began.
A team representing Vietnam, which was composed of brothers Nam Le, Tommy Le and Allan Le, finished in second spot with 89 points.
"We're all delighted that the Korean team picked up first place and that our win was so comprehensive," said Rheem.
"Halfway through, I really thought it was going to be our day. It is always fantastic to win any poker tournament but it gives you something extra when national pride is at stake too."
However, the top two individual awards went to members of the Vietnamese contingent. Allan Le won the top player prize and $12,346 while his brother and Poker Pack member Nam picked up $6,734 for second. Third place and $3,367 went to Rheem.
The JBet Battle Of The Nations was the ninth side event of the 2009 APT Macau Festival. Other participants included 888Poker Team Australia, which was sponsored by 888.com and captained and managed by James Potter. The Aussie line-up also included 2009 Aussie Millions main event winner Stewart Scott.
A team representing Hong Kong featured the likes of 2009 APT Macau High Rollers winner David Steicke and the legendary Johnny Chan while Vivek Rajkumar led the line for India. David Chiu was a key member of Team China, while Theo Tran was a flag bearer for Canada.
Team USA and Vietnam featured Poker Pack stars JC Tran, Quinn Do and Nam Le while Belarus, which featured PartyPoker.com online qualifiers, was a surprise package alongside Japan.