The beginnings of the Asian Poker Tour date all the way back to 2008 when the latest live poker series in Asia headed to the Philippines and Macau. Both countries have since remained very popular destinations for the operator, but another destination has gained a lot of importance throughout the last five years.
In cooperation with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association, the APT has visited one of the fastest-growing cities for live poker eight times so far and the stops were hosted in Taipei, known for it’s rich history, culture and paradise for food lovers. It all kicked off in 2019 and the upcoming stop in one month from now – APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 – will be the ninth edition to take place, once again split across two venues in partnership with the Chinese Mahjong League (CML) to accommodate the expected massive field sizes.
What were the field sizes like in the early years and how did it all change in the new era of the APT? Let’s dive into some of the key events over the years.
APT Taiwan From 2019 to 2022
There were a total of six APT Taiwan stops prior to the new era, all of which took place at the CTP Poker Club which back then had limited space to host large poker events. The field sizes were still quite impressive, albeit on a different scale than any live poker events after the global coronavirus pandemic.
Let’s take a look at the Main Event, for example. Hong Kong dominated the final table in February 2019 when the TWD 33,000 buy-in drew 523 entries with Cliff Chow coming out on top against Alan “King Lun” Lau – the victory was worth TWD 2,443,800 (~USD 79,382). Another two stops took place later that same year with Zong Chi He topping 285 entries and Zhou Yang laying claim to the Main Event trophy out of 319 entries.
The first APT Taiwan edition in 2019 saw just over two dozen trophies awarded and among the notable winners were Ting-Yi “Eric” Tsai, Hiroyuki Noda, Dong Chen, Ian Modder, and Adrian Attenborough.
In October 2019, the number of trophies was 20 in total, of which Mike Takayama claimed two in the TWD 11,000 Head Hunter Bounty and TWD 54,000 High Rollers Single Day. Daniel Tang won a TWD 15,000 Monster Stack whereas Sparrow Cheung won a TWD 10,000 Side Event. Former StarCraft pro and WSOP bracelet winner Jinho “YellOw” Hong took down the Championships Event in a field of 144 entries for TWD 1,697,300 (~USD 55,402).
The 2019 APT Taiwan Finale brought back some of the usual suspects into the winner’s circle. Pete Chen won the TWD 80,000 High Roller in a field of 37 entries for TWD 864,800 (~USD 28,362). Zong Chi He triumphed in the TWD 11,000 Head Hunter whereas Chi Jen Chen, Tobias Peters, Peter Chien, and Chao-Ting Cheng also all took home one trophy each.
In 2020, the APT was supposed to visit Taiwan on two occasions but the global pandemic only allowed for the top in March to go ahead before severe restrictions were put in place for most public events all over the world.
Australia’s Vincent Huang took down the opening TWD 16,500 Monster Stack and added another victory shortly after in the TWD 86,000 High Rollers, the latter of which saw him claim the top prize of TWD 663,500 (~USD 22,187).
New Zealand’s Hamish Crawshaw won the 82-entry strong TWD 33,000 Main Event for TWD 725,200 (~USD 24,243) and then added a second trophy in a TWD 54,000 High Rollers Single Day. The Aussie and Kiwi were toppled by Lok Ming Chan from Hong Kong, who won three trophies out of 24!
It would take almost an entire year for the APT (and many other international live poker events) to award trophies again in Taiwan, until February 2021. Hui Chen “Kitty” Kuo triumphed on home soil in the TWD 33,000 Main Event, which attracted a field of 196 entries and was rewarded with the top prize worth TWD 724,200 (~USD 26,011). Kun Han Lee won the APT Taichung Mini Main Event whereas Sasha Liu showed her PLO prowess in the opening TWD 8,800 Pot Limit Omaha Hi event for another female winner. It became a trio when Hua Wei Lin won the TWD 16,500 Monster Stack for TWD 171,600 (~USD 6,145) in a field of 47 entries.
The TWD 49,500 Championships Event drew a field of 89 entries and the top nine spots were paid. Chao-Ting Cheng was denied another APT Trophy in Taiwan as he finished third for TWD 279,600 (~USD 10,063). In a battle of Huang’s thereafter, Ping came out on top for TWD 603,300 (~USD 21,713).
Last but not least, there were a total of 21 trophy events in October 2022 and all but one of the winners hailed from Taiwan. The only exception was Kristof Segers from Belgium, who topped 32 entries in a TWD 27,000 High Rollers Event for TWD 292,200 (~USD 9,202).
The Main Event, saw the buy-in sliced down to TWD 16,500. That resulted in a field of 491 entries to generate a prize pool of TWD 7,005,130 (~USD 220,600). The biggest cash prize was awarded to Zhan Guo, who took home TWD 1,440,900 (~USD 45,376).
All attendance numbers in the stops thereafter skyrocketed, not only due to the new ownership but also thanks to the end of global restrictions as the pandemic days were all but over. Let’s take a quick look at what has happened since!
APT Taiwan Stops in the New Era
The upcoming APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 has big shoes to fill with many records being set in the previous two stops, but there is little doubt that the third iteration will be even bigger. Especially the blockbuster Main Event is looking for another four-figure field also thanks to the online Day 1s held on Natural8, which sends qualifiers directly into the money stages.
In May 2023, the new era kicked off with a gargantuan field of 1,434 entries and none other than Thai pro Punnat Punsri lifted the trophy for the winner shots, taking home TWD 11.21 Million (~USD 365,270) for his efforts from a TWD 50,000 buy-in.
Fast forward to March 2024, the price tag increased to TWD 70,000 and the field size dropped to 1,182 entries. However, Japan’s Daisuke Ogita snatched a bigger top prize than Punsri as he padded his bankroll with TWD 12.94 Million (~USD 409,730), a top prize record for the country.
Need an even bigger name as winner? None other than Isaac Haxton took down the APT Super High Roller in Taiwan earlier this year when he came out on top of a field of 137 entries for the biggest slice of the TWD 37,873,650 (~USD 1,198,712) prize pool. That was nearly four times the guarantee, of which Haxton claimed TWD 9,089,650 (~USD 287,690). One year prior, the same tournament cost TWD 150,000 to enter and drew a respectable field of 117 entries with Sam Lam defeating Jun Obara in heads-up for a top prize of TWD 3,997,.400 (~USD 130,077).
The APT High Roller in 2023 saw a massive field of 302 entries for the TWD 100,000 buy-in and Phachara Wongwichit was the last man standing for a top prize of TWD 4,800,900 (~USD 156,692). In 2024, the buy-in was increased to TWD 150,000 and it brought a field of 114 entries and 46 re-entries for a prize pool of TWD 21,728,000 (~USD 691,783). Previous runner-up Tsz Chan finished in fourth, fellow Hong Kong player Dicky Tsang fell in second (TWD 3,422,000 / ~USD 108,951) and Stanley Weng earned the trophy as well as TWD 5,053,000 (~USD 160,879).
Wongwichit also won a TWD 70,000 Single-Day High Roller in 2023 to take home two trophies in that series. Other notable champions included Yu-Chung “Nevan” Chang, Lun Loon, Ben Loo, Patrick Liang, and local Taiwanese regular Wu Chiayun. South Korean WSOP bracelet winner Daewoong Song topped an 146-entry strong field in a TWD 60,000 Single Day High Roller heads-up against Marie Kabaki to earn TWD 1,835,480 (~USD 59,764) as top prize.
Obara was not denied a trophy in March 2024 when he finished first in a 34-entry strong field in a TWD 25,000 Hyper Turbo High Roller for TWD 275,050 (~USD 8,757). It was a mighty showing for players from Japan as more than a dozen victories unfolded. Yuji Watanabe won two trophies, while the always jovial Nozomu Shimizu topped a TWD 50,000 Turbo High Roller out of 43 entries for TWD 637,950 (~USD 20,214).
Australia’s Jennifer Cassell won the Ladies Event in a field of 122 entries with other notable pros such as Pete Chen, Christopher Mateo, Edward Yam, Richard Marquez, Park Yu “Sparrow” Cheung, and Jarryd Godena all taking home trophies as well. Jun Li, recent finalist in the 2024 WPT Prime Taiwan Main Event, took down the 320-entry strong TWD 60,000 Zodiac Event in heads-up against Florencio Campomanes to claim the TWD 4,362,800 (~USD 138,310) top prize.
Many of these notables will be back in the seats of the Asia Poker Arena and Chinese Mahjong League when the cards go back in the air on September 27, 2024. The latest edition promises big fields once more and it remains to be seen which country and event records will be set this time.
*By Christian Zetzsche
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