The first-ever APT Taiwan 2019 series at the Chinese Texas Hold ‘em Association (CTP) Club in Taipei ran from 20th February to 3rd March 2019. The series proved to be a grand success with a total 3,251 entries coming in across various events and generating TWD 65,200,000 in total prizepool.
The 2019 APT Taiwan festival played out 23 tournaments with the biggest highlights being its Main Event and Championships Event that concluded yesterday. The Main Event ended last week crowning its champion in Hong Kong’s Chow Cliff who emerged victorious from a strong field of 523 entries to claim the first-place prize of a whopping TWD 2,443,800 along with a beautiful APT trophy. He beat the well-known pro Alan King Lun Lau in heads-up. Both players agreed to a heads-up deal with Cliff earning TWD 2,443,800 (INR 56,38,406) and Luu settling for TWD 2,800,000.
Championships Event
The Championships Event that concluded just yesterday found a champion in China’s Chen Dong who outlasted a field of 288 entries to earn the top prize of TWD 2,955,000 (INR 67,88,382).
Dong reached heads-up with Jennette Tan who fought well but could not go all the way. Tan bagged TWD 1,970,100 as his second place prize. With of TWD 49,500 buy-in, the tournament created a whopping TWD 12,571,200 (INR 2,88,79,226) in prizepool, which was shared by top 29 finishers.
Day 3 of the event began with 45 players returning to action. It saw quick eliminations and only 8 players remained in the field after 10 hours of play. After Phachara Wongwichit (9th for TWD 307,800) and Yunsheng Sun (10th for TWD 256,500) exited, the 8-handed final table was set with Chen Dong (3,430,000) leading the final 8. Following him were Matthieu Lamagnere (2,730,000) and Alex Lindop (2,515,000). The eventual runner-up Jennette Tan (1,035,000) had started 6th in chips.
The final table was played out on the fourth and final day. The first elimination came in Jack Nai Yuan Hu (8th). The next 3 players – Wei Cheng Yin (7th), En Hao Chan (6th) and Matthieu Lamagnere (5th) were eliminated by Taiwan’s Pete Yen Han Chen. UK’s Alex Lindop (4th) was next to fall. He moved all in with king-nine and Dong called with king-deuce. The board give Dong a straight.
Dong had got the chip lead after the hand and he further extended his lead when he knocked out Pete Yen Han Chen (3rd). The latter moved all-in As 8h and Dong Ad 5h called. The board favoured Dong as it ran out 2s 5c Jc 7s 2d. Dong took down the pot, thus ending Chen’s run in third place.
The heads-up between Dong and Jennette Tan began with Dong leading the way. While Dong was the chip leader, Tan played well and kept a good pressure. Eventually, Tan shoved all-in with Ah 3h and Dong called with Ad Qh. The board ran 5s 9h 7d 2s Jc where Dong won the coveted title.
Final Table Payouts (TWD)
- Chen Dong – TWD 2,955,000
- Jennette Tan – TWD 1,970,100
- Pete Yen Han Chen –1,369,600
- Alex Lindop – TWD 989,200
- Matthieu Lamagnere – TWD 739,800
- En Hao Chan – TWD 570,900
- Wei Cheng Yin – TWD 453,400
- Jack Nai Yuan Hu – TWD 369,400
Alan King Lun Lau Wins APT POY
The 2019 APT Taiwan also featured APT POY, which was won by Alan King Lun Lau, who had finished runner-up in the Main Event. The Hong Kong pro earned 1,186 points to claim the APT Player of the Series with two runner-up finishes and a deep run. He won a POS ring, an exclusive watch, and $800.
Canada’s Lok Gino who scored 975.40 points with six cashes finished runner-up in the APT Player of the Series race, while Korea’s Jeonggyu Cho finished third with 969.82 points from his five cashes.