This year’s APT Taipei has come to a close with several records shattered once again by the thriving live tournament tour. A total of 115 events have wrapped up with a massive 13,153 entries collected across the twelve-day schedule. Another successful partnership with Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) was showcased throughout the festival with the concluded action at the Asia Poker Arena and Chinese Mahjong League, Taipei, Taiwan, an experience to remember. Over NTD 383,492,594 (~USD 12,198,160) in combined prizes were awarded with Main Event champion Daisuke Ogita claiming the country’s largest top payout.
Festival Highlights
Dates: February 28 – March 10, 2024
Location: Asia Poker Arena and Chinese Mahjong League, Taipei, Taiwan
Festival prize pool: NTD 383,492,594 (~USD 12,198,160)
Events: 115
Entries: 13,153
Main Event prize pool: NTD 72,232,020 (~USD 2,287,160)
Main Event champion: Daisuke Ogita – Japan – NTD 12,944,020 (~$409,730)
Biggest single event payout: Daisuke Ogita – Japan – NTD 12,944,020 (~$409,730)
Largest field: Event #4: APT National Cup – 2,305 entries
Multi-winner: Edward Chun Ho Yam – 3, Mark Furniss – 3, Yu Tang Wang – 3, Aindrey George Hawil – 2, Atsushi Takeuchi – 2, Bao Qiang Ho – 2, Craig Anthony Cooper – 2, Hiu Tung Chan – 2, Jeong Yeol Yu – 2, Keita Kitamura – 2, Teng-Kuei Hsu – 2, Yuehchiao Yang – 2, Yuji Watanabe – 2
Most final tables: Mark Furniss – 8
Trophy by Flag: Taiwan – 28, Japan – 20, Hong Kong – 19, Australia – 8, Philippines – 6, South Korea – 5, England – 3, USA – 3, Austria – 2, Singapore – 2, China – 1, France – 1, Germany – 1, Italy – 1, Malaysia – 1, Netherlands – 1, Norway – 1, Republika Srpska – 1, Switzerland – 1, Thailand – 1, UK – 1, Vietnam – 1
APT Taipei 2024 Main Event
This season’s APT Taipei Main Event was geared to hit amazing numbers right off the bat with the tour posting its largest guarantee of all-time at NTD 65,000,000 (~USD 2,050,000). After four rounds of live qualifiers, the headlining event drew in a staggering 1,182 entries, ballooning its prize pool to become the country’s richest NTD 72,232,020 (~USD 2,287,160). Japan’s Daisuke Ogita emerged victorious, banking NTD 12,944,020 (~$409,730) in winnings along with the coveted award-winning 24K Gold APT Lion Trophy.
Multi-Series Titles
Hong Kong’s Edward Chun Ho Yam and Australia’s Mark Furniss emerged as the festival’s players to beat with each holding down three series titles. Yam made five final table appearances to go along with his wins, including a ninth place finish in the Super High Roller event for NTD 4 Million (~USD 128K). On the other hand, Furniss navigated through an impressive eight final tables and locked in three victories, all from mix game variants.
Edward Chun Ho Yam
Event 7: Turbo – High Roller
Event 70: Hyper Turbo – High Roller
Event #95: Turbo – NL Single Draw 2-7
Mark Furniss
Event 5: Limit Triple Draw Lowball Mix (A-5, 2-7, Badugi)
Event 25: 8 Game (Limit H-E-R-O-S, + PLO, NLH, 2-7 Triple Draw)
Event #88: Hyper Turbo – NL Single Draw Mix
Record Breaking Events
The twelve-day success exceeded everyone’s expectations through and through with a list of records broken yet again across the brand’s latest offerings. Listed below are new event records, setting the bar as high as ever.
- Event #4: APT National Cup – New APT record for opening event field size & prize pool
- Event #23: Superstar Challenge – New APT event record for prize pool & top prize
- Event #31: Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 – New APT event record for prize pool & top prize
- Event #33: APT Super High Roller – New APT event record for prize pool & top prize
- Event #39: APT Main Event – New all-time TAIWAN record for prize pool & top prize
- Event #83: Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 – New APT event record for field size & top prize
- Event #90: Double Stack – New APT country event record for field size & prize pool, new APT event record for top prize
- Event #99: Mini Main Event – New APT event record for field size, prize pool & top prize
- Event #101: APT High Roller – New APT event record for top prize
USA’s Stanley Weng tops APT High Roller
The two-day High Roller event collected 160 entries, each vying for the lion’s share of the NTD 21,728,000 (~USD 690,940) prize pool and the Bronze APT Lion Trophy at stake. With the astounding turnout, the payout board listed the brand’s largest High Roller top prize to be awarded at a massive NTD 5,053,000 (~USD 160,685).
USA’s Stanley Weng kicked off the final table festivities with a commanding chip lead and not once relinquished this advantage. Weng coursed through seasoned contenders Sparrow Cheung, Taiwan’s Chen An Lin, and former APT Main Event champion Dicky Tsang, to lock in the victory and claim his maiden APT title. A dominating performance indeed, Weng secured a career second best cash for his latest win.
Date: March 9-10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 150,000 (~USD 4,760)
Entries: 160
Guarantee: NTD 11,000,000 (~USD 349,780)
Prize pool: NTD 21,728,000 (~USD 690,940)
ITM: 23 places
Event #101: APT High Roller Final Table Results
Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
1st | Stanley Weng | United States | NTD 5,053,000 |
2nd | Dicky Tsang | Hong Kong | NTD 3,422,000 |
3rd | Moonho Seo | South Korea | NTD 2,281,000 |
4th | Tsz Him Chan | Hong Kong | NTD 1,869,000 |
5th | Martin Sedlak | Germany | NTD 1,499,000 |
6th | Quang Thai Ha | Vietnam | NTD 1,162,000 |
7th | Leo Pang | Hong Kong | NTD 860,000 |
8th | Sparrow Cheung | Hong Kong | NTD 632,000 |
9th | Chen An Lin | Taiwan | NTD 504,000 |
Final Day Winners
Taiwan’s Mao Lun Yu clinches richest Mini Main Event title
One of the last few chances to snag a trophy, the Mini version of the Main Event raked in a combined 678 entries across two flights with only 96 runners returning to the felt for the Final Day. Spotted in the middle of the action were former APT Main Event champions Renniel Galvez and Christopher Mateo, both of which missed to make a final table appearance. In the end, Taiwan’s Mao Lun Yu and Canada’s Michael Smith cut an ICM heads up deal for the bulk share of the richest Mini Main Event NTD 13,021,668 (~USD 414,225) prize pool, earning Yu a career best NTD 2,213,418 (~USD 70,365) payday.
Date: March 9-10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 22,000 (~USD 700)
Entries: 678
Guarantee: NTD 6,000,000 (~USD 190,790)
Prize pool: NTD 13,021,668 (~USD 414,225)
ITM: 96 places
Event #99: Mini Main Event Final Table Results
Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
1st | Mao-Lun Yu | Taiwan | NTD 2,213,418 |
2nd | Michael Smith | Canada | NTD 1,867,250 |
3rd | Sin Ren Chen | Taiwan | NTD 1,097,000 |
4th | Kenta Izutani | Japan | NTD 831,000 |
5th | Tuan Vu | Vietnam | NTD 661,000 |
6th | Curtis Moh | Canada | NTD 508,000 |
7th | Tracy Crisostomo | Philippines | NTD 367,000 |
8th | Tsz Hin Chow | Hong Kong | NTD 251,000 |
9th | Shoichiro Tamaki | Japan | NTD 199,000 |
South Korea’s Yonghyun Lee bests Micro Main Event
Date: March 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 11,000 (~USD 350)
Entries: 393
Guarantee: NTD 1,500,000 (~USD 47,690)
Prize pool: NTD 3,732,045 (~USD 118,720)
ITM: 55 places
Event #107: Micro Main Event Final Table Results
Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
1st | Yonghyun Lee | South Korea | NTD 677,540 |
2nd | Masashi Tamaru | Japan | NTD 512,500 |
3rd | Edgar Asehan | Philippines | NTD 332,000 |
4th | Powen Fang | Taiwan | NTD 268,000 |
5th | Ugawa Yuto | Japan | NTD 212,000 |
6th | Chi Wei Lin | Taiwan | NTD 163,000 |
7th | Rui Lu | Taiwan | NTD 122,000 |
8th | Zheming Zhu | Australia | NTD 88,000 |
9th | Felix Von Rahden | Germany | NTD 71,000 |
Vietnam’s Quang Huy Nguyen ships Last Chance – High Roller
Date: March 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,170)
Entries: 42
Prize pool: NTD 3,666,600 (~USD 116,630)
ITM: 6 places
Event #109: Last Chance – High Roller Full Payouts
Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
1st | Quang Huy Nguyen | Vietnam | NTD 1,245,600 |
2nd | John Perry | Australia | NTD 862,000 |
3rd | Yoon Koo Kang | Australia | NTD 550,000 |
4th | Edward Chun Ho Yam | Hong Kong | NTD 422,000 |
5th | Ping Hsien Chan | Taiwan | NTD 330,000 |
6th | Kwun Ngai Vincent Li | Hong Kong | NTD 257,000 |
Hong Kong’s Hiu Tung Chan secures second series title in Event #111: Limit Triple Draw Mix (Badacey,Badeucey)
Hong Kong’s Hiu Tung Chan was the last player to join the list of multi series winners, having followed up his previous win in Event 93: Limit R-O-S-E (Razz, Omaha Hi-Lo, Stud, Stud Hi-Lo) – 8 Max, with another victory in the final day on schedule. Serving as his sixth festival cash, Chan added another NTD 70,761 (~USD 2,250) in winnings to his tally after defeating local runner Li Ta Hsu in heads up play. Chan takes along with him a career second APT trophy to cap the series.
Date: March 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 8,000 (~USD 250)
Entries: 17
Prize pool: NTD 146,761 (~USD4,670)
ITM: 3 places
Event #111: Limit Triple Draw Mix Full Payouts
Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
1st | Hiu Tung Chan | Hong Kong | NTD 70,761 |
2nd | Li Ta Hsu | Taiwan | NTD 47,000 |
3rd | Tu Christopher Tran | Australia | NTD 29,000 |
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