APT Taipei Poker Classic is the Largest & Richest Poker Series in Taiwanese History Breaking Multiple Tour Records

APT TPC 2024 SCHEDULE| OFFICIAL RESULTS | IMAGES | WINNERS | PLAYER LISTS

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, October 7, 2024 – For the fourth festival in a row the Asian Poker Tour has broken a country/region record, beating the previous Taiwanese poker record set during APT Taipei 2024 back in March and is officially the largest and richest tournament series ever to play out in Taiwan.

Run in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold'em Poker Club (CTP) from September 27 to October 8 at the Asia Poker Arena — Asia's largest permanent poker room — and the CML (Chinese Mahjong League 華人麻將競技聯盟), the 11-day festival saw 2,776 unique players from 48 combined countries & regions generate 16,787 total entries over 98 Trophy Events, competing for a staggering TWD 388.25 million (~USD 12.18 million) in prize money.

In addition to making Taiwanese poker history, the festival drew 3 four-figure fields, with the APT Main Event the biggest of these – and the richest tournament ever to run in Taiwan.

APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 By The Numbers

An impressive 12 records were broken during the series with the TWD 50,000 APT Main Event beating the previous record for largest and richest in the region, set during APT Taipei 2024, with the tournament also awarding a new all-time Taiwan record for prize pool & first-place prize.

The Event #10 Mystery Bounty Hunter - Sponsored by Natural8, Event #89: Mini Main Event, and the Event #97: Micro Main Event all set new APT records for field size, unique players, prize pool, and first place prize, while the Event #77: Double Stack set a tour record for prize pool and first place prize.

For a breakdown of prize money, player numbers, and records set during the festival you can view the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Festival Breakdown by Prize Pool HERE — note the two tabs — with a graphic available HERE.

While the tour's two other signature events, the APT Super High Roller and APT High Roller, did not set tour records both generated TWD eight-figure (USD six-figure) prize pools; the pewter lion APT High Roller trophy is headed back to Thailand with Phanlert Sukonthachartnant, with the other two award-winning lion trophies both heading to Germany.

Just over a fifth of the series prize money (22.2%) was awarded in the record-breaking Main Event, which saw 1,991 entries (1103 unique) from 39 countries & regions compete for Taiwan's richest prize pool of all time – a sizable TWD 86,011,200 (~USD 2,724,460).

It was Germany's Rene von Reden claiming the largest first-place prize ever to be awarded in the region – a mammoth TWD 14,413,200 (~USD 453,960) top prize!

For APT Main Event Breakdown by Country & Region please CLICK HERE and view as graphic HERE.

The next largest event in terms of prize pools was the APT Super High Roller, which saw 275 entries made up of some of the Asia-Pacific's top players compete for a TWD 26,136,000 (~USD 820,080) prize pool, with Germany's Martin Sedlak claiming the bronze lion APT High Roller trophy and the fourth largest first place prize of the festival – a chunky TWD 5,244,000 (~USD 164,850).

The TWD 80,000 Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8 generated the third largest prize pool of the festival, with the tournament attracting 354 entries who competed for TWD 24,468,480 (~USD 775,055) in prize money.

As mentioned above, Thailand's Sukonthachartnant claimed the APT Super High Roller pewter lion trophy to claim the lion's share of the festival's fourth largest prize pool of TWD 22,392,450 (~USD 709,295) after seeing off challenges from the 81 entry field to take the third-largest first place prize of the series – an impressive TWD 5,793,950 (~USD 183,530) score.

The TWD 800,000 Superstar Challenge rounded out the festival's top five largest prize pools, with 27 entries competing for a TWD 20,454,525 (~USD 79,500) purse with Taiwan's Chih Wei Fan claiming the second-largest first place prize awarded during the series – a hefty TWD 8,590,525 (~USD 272,110).

Micro Main Event Redemption as Dhanesh Chainani Sweeps Record Field for TWD 1.1M (~USD 36K) Win

Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani defeated a record Micro Main Event field to claim his third career APT title

Main Event finalist Dhanesh Chainani has conquered the largest APT Micro Main Field ever assembled to etch his name into the annals of APT history, claiming victory in the TWD 11,000 Event #97: Micro Main Event - TWD 3,000,000 GTD.

Chainani overcame a record field of 635 entries (393 unique) to take the lion's share of the TWD 5,967,984 (~USD 187,260) prize pool — a tour record for this event — after defeating the UK's Gregory Campbell in a lightning-fast heads-up battle which the Singaporean entered into with a two-to-one chip lead.

In what proved to be an cathartic redemption arc for the Singaporean player, who came into the festival's record-breaking Main Event with the chip lead only to fall in fifth place, Chainani put on a dominant final table performance to claim the baby lion trophy and a TWD 1,154,984 (~$36,240) top prize — the largest this tournament has ever awarded.

In addition to granting Chainani a third career APT title — his first of the new era — this result represents the Singaporean's largest-ever title score, although his largest-ever career cash came in the APT Main Event.

Campbell claimed TWD 714,000 (~USD 22,400) for his runner-up finish, with Taiwan's Chao Kun Liao rounding out the podium, taking a career-best TWD 510,000 – (~USD 16,000) for his third-place finish.

Natural8 India Ambassador Kunal Patni closed out his festival with a final table appearance, banking TWD 120,000 (~USD 3,765) for his eighth place finish with the final table paying out as follows:

MICRO MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS

For Micro Main Event Results please CLICK HERE

All 90 returning Micro Main Event players were guaranteed a place in the paying positions, with other notables to claim a share of the record prize pool including India's Dhaval Mudgal (13th for TWD 64,000), start-of-day chip leader Percy Chao (16th for TWD 52,000), Hong Kong's Sparrow Cheung (25th for TWD 34,000), Thai TV host and former APT Main Event finalist Napat Chokejindachai (78th for TWD 18,000), and Hong Kong's Hon Cheong "Ivan" Lee (80th for TWD 18,000).

You can read about how all the action played out on the APT Blog. All tournament information can be found on the Micro Main Event Final Day tournament page.

Taiwan's Kuo Wei Kao Closes Out Series With TWD 453K (~USD 14K) The Closer Victory

Taiwan's Kuo Wei Kao claimed a career-best score and maiden APT title in The Closer

It was the TWD 10,000 Event #108: The Closer - TWD 1,000,000 GTD winding up the record-breaking festival action, with the tournament drawing a field of 262 entries (200 unique) on its tour debut, making it the largest event of the final day of the series.

With a prize pool of TWD 2,238,528 (~USD 70,240) on the line, and a TWD 453,528 (~USD 14,230) first place prize for the champion, the action was fast-paced and frantic as players attempted to grab the last of the silver lion silhouette trophies on offer.

It was Taiwan's Kuo Wei Kao who closed out the win, defeating Hirotoshi Nakabo heads-up to deny the Japanese player his maiden APT title while claiming his own — earning a career-best score in the process.

The excitable Nakabo was forced to settle for second-best, taking TWD 298,000 (~USD 9,350) for his runner-up finish to grant the Japanese player a top ten career tournament score.

Beng Ker rounded out the podium, with the Singaporean earning TWD 218,000 (~USD 6,840) for his first APT final table appearance, with the top nine places paying out as follows:

THE CLOSER FINAL TABLE RESULTS

A total of 39 players made the paying positions, with Taiwan's Wei Hao Huang narrowly missing out on making their APT final table debut, and other notables to cash including Hong Kong's Wing Bor "Paul" Cheng (11th for TWD 39,000), and Event #90 Dealer's Choice champion James Greenlee (20th for TWD 24,000).

For The Closer Player List please CLICK HERE

For The Closer Results please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on The Closer tournament page.