It has taken four thrilling days of action-packed poker to whittle the 1,182-strong APT Taipei Main Event field down to the final nine players.
These nine finalists are playing for a share of the largest prize pool the APT has ever awarded in Taiwan, with a sizable TWD 72,232,020 (~$2,286,275) in the purse.
All nine finalists are already guaranteed a payday of TWD 959,000 (~USD 30,360) with the eventual winner entering the annuals of APT history, walking away with a TWD 12,944,020 (~USD 409,730) top prize – the largest ever awarded at a Taiwanese poker tournament – and more importantly, the award-winning coveted 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy and all the accolades that go with it.
To see how we got to this point, you can check out the coverage on the APT Blog.
You can also view all the action as it played out via the APT Live Stream:
The stage is set, the curtains are raised, all that remains is to introduce the players, so let us take a look at the lucky few and examine the poker credentials of our potential future champions-in-waiting:
| Seat | Name | Country | Chips | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat 4 | Safwane Anwar Bahri | France | 11,925,000 | 75 |
| Seat 5 | Guo Zhang Xi | Taiwan | 9,720,000 | 61 |
| Seat 2 | Daisuke Ogita | Japan | 8,210,000 | 51 |
| Seat 7 | Steve Ng | Singapore | 3,345,000 | 21 |
| Seat 8 | Chi-Jen Chu | Taiwan | 3,260,000 | 20 |
| Seat 1 | Pitipong Posri | Thailand | 3,240,000 | 20 |
| Seat 6 | Jung Chuan Liao | Taiwan | 3,225,000 | 20 |
| Seat 9 | Seungmook Jung | South Korea | 2,305,000 | 14 |
| Seat 3 | Li Wei Sun | Taiwan | 1,960,000 | 12 |
Seat 1: Pitipong Posri is the final table’s sole Thai player and has USD 37,307 in live tournament earnings. Posri has made three career APT final tables, two at the record-breaking APT Taipei 2023, and the other in Hanoi, and will be looking to improve on his seventh place finishes in all three. Returning with 20 big blinds, Posri is already guaranteed the largest cash of his poker career.
Seat 2: Daisuke Ogita is from Japan and is making his APT final table debut with a stack valued at 51 big blinds. One of the more accomplished players at the final table, Ogita sits at #12 on Japan’s All-Time Money List with nine live tournament titles and USD 1,441,853 in live tournament earnings. Only a first place finish will beat his previous best cash of USD 338,65.
Seat 3: Li Wei Sun is from Taiwan and has five live tournament titles on his poker resume and USD 66,487 in live tournament earnings. Sun is already guaranteed to beat his career-best cash of $24,058 and is another who is making his first APT final table. Sun is returning as the short stack with 12 big blinds.
Seat 4: Safwane Bahri is from France and will be returning with the chip lead and a stack of 75 big blinds. Bahri is making his first career APT final table, but boasts three live tournament titles all won in his home country. Bahri boasts USD 845,674 in live tournament earnings, with his biggest career cash of USD 314,927 coming in December 2023, with his best APT cash a 13th place finish in the TWD 10,000 No Limit Hold'em - APT National Cup for TWD 184,000 ($5,825).
Seat 5: One of the final tables four Taiwanese players Guo Zhang Xi is making his first live career score a memorable one and will be returning as the second largest stack with 61 big blinds after crippling 10th place finisher Quanq Thai Ha in a monster pot.
Seat 6: Jung Chuan Liao is returning seventh in the counts with a stack valued at ~20 big blinds and is another of the local players already guaranteed a career-best score. Liao boasts three live cashes on his poker resume and is making his first career final table, with his previous best from performance a 14th place finish back in June of 2019.
Seat 7: Steve Ng is from Singapore and has USD 4,474 in live tournament earnings. Ng is gunning for his maiden live tournament title and is guaranteed to beat his previous biggest cash of $3,780. This is Ng’s second career APT cash, his first coming back in February 2023 during the APT Hanoi in the VND 8,800,000 No Limit Hold'em - APT Kickoff, where he finished in 44th place for $694. Ng is returning fourth in the counts with 21 big blinds.
Seat 8: Chi Jen “Justin” Chu is from Taiwan and sits at #9 on the Taiwan All-Time Money list with $1,228,711 in live tournament earnings. Chu boasts an impressive 29 live tournament titles, the latest of which came in Event #51 Single Day High Roller Mystery Bounty. Chu needs to finish fourth or better to beat his previous best cash of USD 120,980 and will be returning fifth in the counts with a stack of ~20 big blinds.
Seat 9: Seungmook Jung is from South Korea and sits at #11 on South Korea’s All-Time money list boasting ten live tournament titles and USD 1,449,388 in live tournament earnings. A third place finish or better will see Jung eclipse he previous career best score of USD 145,800, set during the 2022 World Series of Poker. Jung holds two APT titles, both won at APT Philippines 2022, Manila. Jung is returning as the second shortest stack with 14 big blinds.