Pete Chen from Taiwan has won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Asia Player of the Year (POY). The #3 Ranked All-Time Taiwanese Money Earner kicked off WPT Season XVI in style beating a 400-entry field to win WPT Beijing Main Event for $299,485. Chen then notched up decent scores at WPT Korea, making 2 final tables in side events, winning one and finishing 5th in another. Chen also cashed in a side event at the first-ever WTP India series, which took place in November at Deltin Royale, Goa.
It was for the first time that WPT held Asia POY and hosted a series of poker tournaments to qualify players for the same. The tournaments took place in Beijing, Korea, Japan, India, and Sanya. While thousands of players fought for the POY title, it was Chen in the end who won it.
While it was for the first time that the WPT launched a POY race in Asia, it was not the first time that Chen won a POY title. Back in 2014, PokerStars has named him the Asia Player of the Year.
Chen is one of the most respected poker players in Asia and has over $1.8m in live earnings with a runner-up in a $5,000 event at the 2017 WSOP for $382,122, which is his biggest live cash till date. He is ranked #79th in the world on the Global Poker Index (GPI) and #1 in Taiwan GPI rankings.
Chen received a WPT trophy during the Tournament of Champions (TOC). Additionally, he got $15,000 WPT package usable in the Asian events, including accommodation and ground transport.