2014 was a great year for Asian Poker with a ton of epic poker moments. As we say goodbye to 2014 and look forward to another exciting year of poker in Asia, let’s have a look at the Top 5 moments over the past 12 months.
20th Anniversary of Macau Poker Cup
Started in 2008, Macau Poker Cup completed its 20 editions this year. Do you remember in 2008 only 33 players took part in the first-ever Red Dragon Main Event at Macau Poker Cup? Then it was Kenny Leong who won that tournament and since then has forever been titled as the first champion of the Red Dragon Main Event.Throughout the last six years, the Macau Poker Cup has transitioned through multiple poker rooms and crowned 19 more champions before reaching this landmark 21st birthday. It is a landmark because 2014 Macau Poker Cup was the first one to take place in PokerStars LIVE Macau’s brand-new space at the City of Dreams.
Sam Razavi wins APT Player of the Year for third consecutive year
British Poker player Sam Razavi has one more time won 2014 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Player of the Year award making it a hat-trick. This POY title brings him $8,000 worth of APT buy-ins for the 2015 tournament events. Razavi has shown his toughness specially in the Asian poker with several titles and money finishes every year. In 2012, Razavi won three APT events which include the Main event of APT – Asian Series, Goa. These titles combined with 14 money-finishes earned him 1,955.80 points which was enough to dominate the competition of POY. Razavi took his game to another level of excellence in 2013 winning 5 titles and 21 money finishes in APT events throughout the year. In 2014, Razavi sealed 4 APT wins and 15 money-finishes which fetched him almost double the point of the runner-up Feng Zhao. He won a whopping PhP 1,535,000 as the first place prize in the Main Event of APT – Asian Series, Manila.
Australian poker players dominate the WSOP APAC
Earlier, there were only a few Australian WSOP bracelet winners before the first-ever WSOP APAC in 2013. Aaron Lim was the only non-international player to win a bracelet at that first WSOP APAC and number of Aussie bracelet winners remained limited. However, this year saw six Australian winners at 2014 WSOP APAC. Six WSOP bracelets were awarded to five new players AJ Antonios, Rory Young, Sam Higgs, Scott Calacgno and Luke Brabin while sixth one was bagged by Jeff Lisandro who won his sixth bracelet. In 2014, the number of Australian Bracelet winner doubled making it a memorable year for those from down under.
Danny McDonagh and the APPT run the first-ever Beijing Millions
Poker in Macau has been the shining light of the poker world. In 2014, Mainland China saw the resounding success of first-ever Beijing Millions with gigantic numbers hitting the poker scene in the country. In Beijing Millions, there were a total of 2,732 entrants which became the largest-ever tournament field outside of America. This historic record will soon change the future landscape for poker in China.
City of Dreams opens second live poker room in Asia
Pokerstars, the operator of the world’s biggest online poker sites, has launched its second live poker room in Asia at the City of Dreams Manila. This live poker room has been opened on the second level of the City of Dreams Manila casino, and offers cash games and tournaments at 14 tables. These 14 tables may be expanded for special events such as the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila Poker Festival. PokerStars opened its first live poker room popular Grand Lisboa Casino in Macau. This grand poker room in continental Asia consist of 22 tables set for some Texas Hold’em poker tournament performance and the 24-hour cash games.