The first-ever Master Poker Series (MPS) Main Event ran from December 21 to 24 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association in Taiwan. The buy-in was NTD 15,000 (US$485) for a prize pool of NTD 1,414,260 (US$45,900) and a total of the top 15 players made money in the tournament.
The Main Event ran for 4 days and ended with Taiwan’s very own Luke Lee emerging as the winner to take home NTD 364,560 (INR 8.32 Lac), a shiny Champions Trophy and an exclusive MPS ring.
Final Table Action
The final table of the event was live streamed on the CTPClub Twitch Channel and hundreds of players from around the world tuned in to watch the action in Taiwan. The sole woman on the final table was Hsiao Tsui Han, who played really well and eventually finished 5th for NTD 106,800.
The final table began with Hsiao Tsui Han and Lee taking turns to eliminate the FT players. First, it was Han who sent Tzu Wei Wang (9th) to the rail to take the chip lead. Han had Ad Qd over Wang’s As 10c. Lee then eliminated Jun Zhou (8th) with his 9c 9h, which beat Zhou’s Kc 9d. The next elimination came in Chen Wei Hsun (7th). Very soon, Lee then eliminated Vincent Li (6th place).
Both Han and Lee amassed massive stacks with Lee being slightly ahead. Then, came a hand where Han 3-bet with Jd Jh. Lee shoved all in with 7c 7h and Han snap-called. The board ran 6h 5d 7d 3c 8s, giving the pot to Lee to eliminate Han in 5th place. After taking a huge 4:1 advantage over his opponents, Lee then knocked out Cheli Lin (4th) and Po Hao Liao (3rd) was eliminated by Huang Chang Hau. The heads-up lasted for just one hand, and Lee finally won it for NTD 364,560.
Final Table Payouts:
1st Luke Lee – NTD 364,560
2nd Huang Chang Hau – NTD 250,000
3rd Po Hao Liao – NTD 164,000
4th Cheli Lin – NTD 133,000
5th Hsiao Tsui Han – NTD 106,800
6th Vincent Li – NTD 83,500
7th Chen Wei Hsun – NTD 65,800
8th Jun Zhou – NTD 50,200
9th Wei Wang Tzu – NTD 36,800