The 12th Annual CPG Championship kicked off day 1 of its ten-day festival at the Howard Johnson Resort Sanya in Hainan Island, China with a total of eight events keeping everyone busy. The most popular were the two key events, the “Poker Mate” Team Event, which saw 28 teams register (168 players), and the “XiaoHuTuXia” 12th Anniversary Special Day Day 1A attracting 268 entries. This strong start is certainly a good sign for what’s yet to come.
12th CPG Championship – PLAYER GUIDE
First to be tabled was the Team Event where Daniel Cates aka Jungleman was slated to compete as part of the AAPoker team. However, due to flight changes, the American star is now expected to arrive within the next day or two. Among the attendees were well known Chinese players Jinlong Hu, Xiaosheng Zheng, and Lirui “Ivan” Zhang. In the end, it was Team 3K (pictured below) going the distance, to each win a gold medal and a special CPG trophy.
Over at the 12th Anniversary Special Day, the 268-entry field whittled down to just 48 players led by China’s Chen Hao (pictured below) who bagged up 107 bb. The survivors powered through 14 rounds of 40 minute blinds. They now await the completion of Day 1B before returning for Day 2.
Advancing to the next round alongside the leader are international players Ronald Haverkamp, Jun Li, and Vietnamese high roller Pham Tien Dung (pictured below), with Dung securing the sixth-largest stack. This marks the first CPG visit for all three players.
Among those that missed the mark but will be returning for another shot is Life Of Poker owner Joris Michl who is also on his first CPG visit. Upon speaking with Michl, one of the challenges he encountered was understanding bet sizes, given that the main language is Mandarin. As a tip for international players, it would be wise to familiarize with basic Mandarin numbers to ease communication at the tables.
The evening prior to the opening day festivities, CPG held an awards ceremony recognizing floor managers and dealers for their years of dedication. 20 individuals were awarded plaques and special pins for their 5 years of service and 6 individuals were awarded plaques and special golden pins for their 10 years of service.
For the ongoing 12th CPG Championship, the brand is fully prepared with a large team of 56 floor managers and 219 dealers throughout the festival. During the Team Event, the ratio was set at one floor manager for every four tables.
Links:
Guide To The 12th Annual CPG Championship Underway At Sanya, Hainan Island, China
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