APT TAIPEI 2024 SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | IMAGES | WINNERS | PLAYER LISTS
TAIPEI, TAIWAN, March 2, 2024 – The excitement surrounding the APT Taipei 2024, running at the Chinese Texas Hold'em Poker Club (CTP) Asia Poker Arena and the CML (Chinese Mahjong League 華人麻將競技聯盟), has ratcheted up to eleven as the series entered its fourth day.
It was the final table of the tours' inaugural TWD 800,000 (~USD 25,000) buy-in **Event #23 Superstar Challenge that proved to be the flashpoint, with nine players out of a 49-strong field returning to compete for a TWD 36,930,000 (~USD 1,167,615) prize pool.
Just seven of them would make the money, with former two-time APT Main Event champion Lester Edoc returning in the box seat with the chip lead.
After the unfortunate Tobias Schwecht of Germany, and Tony Lin of the USA departed empty-handed – the latter on the bubble – the competition for the exclusive Black Lion Superstar Challenge Trophy and TWD 11,632,810 (~$367,770) top prize began in earnest.
Excitement reached fever pitch as French poker superstar Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier clinched his maiden APT title victory, claiming the largest first-place prize ever awarded in a Taiwanese poker tournament.
In addition to claiming the glossy noir lion, Grospellier also earned himself a handsome eight-figure payday – or six if you are calculating it in USD.
It was not merely the fact that Grospellier won that excited the watching rail, but how he did so, battling back from a three-to-one chip deficit to defeat Edoc after a thrilling heads-up confrontation.
The sizable win also puts Grospellier back on the path to the Gallic nation's tournament #1 spot after being usurped by compatriot Jean-Noel Thorel towards the end of 2023.
Elky's career tournament earnings now stand at an impressive ~USD 15,396,800. While Grospellier still needs to win over half a million dollars to overtake Thorel as France #1, it's a step in the right direction and marks the first six-figure USD score the Frenchman has made since December 2019.
Staying hungry after so long in the game is no mean feat, so what's the secret?
"I wanted the Lion Trophy so badly since I joined the APT, it's the last thing I've ever wanted in poker. So I am so happy. I'm so ecstatic I finally won it," confided an elated Grospellier in his post-match interview.
"Even though I've already played poker for so many years, when you reach the final table it's always so intense, with so much emotion. It means everything to me to win this trophy."
This is only the third time Grospellier has played an APT series, though he has managed a final table appearance each time, earning successively better results on every trip.
An eighth-place finish at APT Summer Series Hanoi's APT High Roller was followed by a sixth-place finish in APT Incheon 2023's Superstar Challenge before Grospellier finally bagged his lion.
"I really wanted it. I came close twice in Hanoi and Incheon and now finally winning it - I feel so great - it's the best thing ever!"
"I'm so thankful to everyone who always supports and cheers for me even though I'm far from the best player now. So many people, especially in Taipei and Asia, always give me such a warm welcome and I'm so happy to come here and be able to win."
While Edoc will be disappointed he was unable to convert his start-of-day chip lead into the win, there is no shame in losing to a player of ElkY's calibre, and the TWD 8,402,000 (~USD 265,630) on offer for second place should take the edge off.
The Czech Republic's Roman Hrabec also flirted with the chip lead before falling in third at the hands of Edoc for a TWD 5,355,000 (~USD 169,300) payday.
Hong Kong's Biao Ding, making only his second-ever APT final table appearence, banked his largest-ever Asian Poker Tour score, cashing in fourth place for TWD 4,062,000 (~USD 128,435).
Austria's Klemens Roiter was another making only his second APT final table, his first coming in the Event #3 Single Day High Roller Freezeout on the opening day of the series. Roiter banked TWD 730,000 (~USD 23,115) for his fifth place finish.
Natural8 ambassador Danny Tang, hunting a second APT title and first APT High Roller title, put on a solid display but ultimately came up short, hitting the rail in sixth place for a TWD 590,000 (~USD 18,680) payday.
The final finalist proved to be the tournament's dark horse, with Macau-based cash grinder Mikael Andersson of Sweden making his APT debut appearence one to remember, cashing in seventh place for TWD 450,000 (USD 14,250).
SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Bertrand "ElkY" Grospellier | France | TWD 11,632,810 |
| 2nd | Lester Edoc | Philippines | TWD 8,402,000 |
| 3rd | Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | TWD 5,355,000 |
| 4th | Biao Ding | Hong Kong | TWD 4,062,000 |
| 5th | Klemens Roiter | Austria | TWD 3,139,000 |
| 6th | Daniel Tang | Hong Kong | TWD 2,401,000 |
| 7th | Mikael Andersson | Sweden | TWD 1,939,000 |
Back (l-r): Biao Ding, Lester Edoc, Bertrand Grospellier, Tony Lin. Front (l-r): Klemens Roiter, Roman Hrabec, Tobias Schwecht, Danny Tang, Mikael Andersson
You can follow along with all the action via the APT Blog and you can watch all the action as it played out via the Superstar Challenge Live Stream using the following links:
▪ Youtube
▪ Twitch
All tournament information can be found on the Superstar Challenge tournament page.
Hong Kong's Ka Chun Yuan Wins Record-Breaking APT National Cup for TWD 2.26M (~USD 71K)
Hong Kong's Ka Chun Yuan claimed a career-best score in the record-breaking National Cup
The largest opening event in APT history has a champion, with Ka Chun Yuan conquering the mammoth 2,305-strong APT National Cup.
Just 134 players returned for the Final Day, all guaranteed a payday of at least TWD 30,000 (~USD 950) from the substantial TWD 19,899,065 (~USD 629,650) prize pool.
Yuan cut a deal with opponents Cheng En Tsai and Ting-Chieh Chen that saw the Hong Kong national bank a career-best score of TWD 2,263,639 (~$71,700), making his maiden APT title win a memorable one.
Tsai and Chen also both locked up career bests, earning TWD 1,944,800 (~$61,600) and TWD 1,607,626 (~$50,920) respectively for second and third, with the final table paying out as follows:
NATIONAL CUP FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Ka Chun Yuan | Hong Kong | TWD 2,949,065 |
| 2nd | Cheng En Tsai | Taiwan | TWD 1,703,000 |
| 3rd | Ting-Chieh Chen | Taiwan | TWD 1,164,000 |
| 4th | Sheng Chang Lu | Taiwan | TWD 873,000 |
| 5th | Kuan Long Lu | Taiwan | TWD 730,000 |
| 6th | Kwan Cheng | Taiwan | TWD 590,000 |
| 7th | Dexter Brillo | Philippines | TWD 450,000 |
| 8th | Po Chun Chang | Taiwan | TWD 323,000 |
| 9th | Yiu Yeung Leung | Hong Kong | TWD 246,000 |
Flight B frontrunner Pi-Ying Hsu narrowly missed out on a final table appearance, hitting the rail in tenth place for a TWD 205,000 (~USD 6,490).
Other notable to cash but come up short of the final nine included APT Taipei 2023 final tablist Chih Wei Fan (11th for TWD 205,000), start-of-day chip leader Edilberto Gopez (15th for TWD 163,000), and Flight D chip leader Yann Lormel (17th for TWD 144,000).
You can follow all the action as it played out on the APT Blog.
All tournament information can be found on the APT National Cup tournament page.
APT Super High Roller Draws 137 Entries; Mike Takayama Leads with TWD 9M (~USD 287K) Up Top
The Philippines' Mike Takayama is hunting big game in the APT Super High Roller
The first of the series' three flagship events has arrived, giving the high-rolling contingent and anyone else who fancied coughing up the TWD 300,000 entry fee a shot at claiming the first of the Year of the Dragon's coveted 24K APT Lion Trophies.
It is the Pewter Lion APT Super High Roller Trophy up for grabs, and big game hunters will get no better chance than this at bagging a lion and playing with some of the game's greats.
A tournament attracted a total of 137 entries by the time late registration closed at 6:40pm local time, generating a TWD 37,873,650 (~$1,200,000) prize pool.
A slew of poker's elite hit the rail empty-handed as the play progressed, with the likes of Steve O'Dwyer, and former World Series Main Event champion Espen Jørstad just two of the 110 entries unable to go the distance.
Just 27 players remain in contention for the trophy, title, and TWD 9,089,650 (~USD 287,885) top prize, although only 20 of them will make the money.
For APT Super High Roller Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE.
It is two-time former APT Main Event champion Mike Takayama who is leading the charge after the scheduled sixteen 40-minute Day 1 levels played out, bagging up a stack of 2,470,000.
Hong Kong's Wayne Heung is hot on Takayama's heels and will be returning for the Final Day with a healthy 2,395,000 stack.
Two-time bracelet winner Jans Arends is another who will be returning with a stack valued at over 2 million in chips, with the Dutchman bagging up 2,350,000.
USA tournament crusher Isaac Haxton is the only other player to crack the 2M mark, and will be bringing 2,240,000 bullets to aid his big game hunt, with the top ten stacks as follows:
SUPER HIGH ROLLER TOP TEN STACKS
| Position | Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Takayama | Philippines | 2,470,000 |
| 2 | Wayne Heung | Hong Kong | 2,395,000 |
| 3 | Jans Arends | Netherlands | 2,350,000 |
| 4 | Isaac Haxton | United States | 2,240,000 |
| 5 | Sung Joo Hyun | South Korea | 1,845,000 |
| 6 | Chi Jen Chu | Taiwan | 1,630,000 |
| 7 | Tien Loon Ling | Malaysia | 1,610,000 |
| 8 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 1,580,000 |
| 9 | Tony Lin | China | 1,420,000 |
| 10 | Masaki Nakamura | Japan | 1,405,000 |
Other notables still in the running include Hong Kong's Anson Tsang (1,205,000), Hong Kong's Edward Yam (715,000), the UK's Jack Salter (410,000), and the USA's Nam Thien Le – the latter of whom is bringing in the short stack of 395,000.
For APT Super High Roller Day 1 Player List please CLICK HERE. For APT Super High Roller Day 2 Draw please CLICK HERE.
You can read about all the Day 1 APT Super High Roller action via the APT Blog.
The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am on Sunday, March 3 and the tournament will be live-streamed with a 30-minute delay via the following APT media channels:
All tournament information can be found on the APT Super High Roller tournament page.
Mystery Bounty Hunter Draws Four-Figure Field; Japan's Sho Katsura Leads
Flight A chip leader Sho Katsura
The TWD 20,000 Event #31: Mystery Bounty Hunter - Sponsored by Natural8 is one of the more popular tournaments on the schedule.
The addition of a TWD 12 million (~USD 300,000) guarantee made the lure for poker aficionados almost irresistible, drawing a combined total of 1,053 entries (590 unique) over the two starting flights.
The total prize pool stands at TWD 18,385,380 (~USD 582,160), which includes TWD 6,318,000 (~USD 200,055) in bounties.
Mystery Bounties come into play from the start of the Final Day, with the two biggest coming in at TWD 1,500,000 (~USD 47,500) and TWD 1,000,000 (USD 31,665) respectively.
For Mystery Bounty Prize Pool, Payouts & Bounty Awards please CLICK HERE.
Flight B chip leader Teng-Kuei Hsu
Katsura was the only player to crack the 1M chip mark, with Flight B front runner Teng-Kuei Hsu (741,000) boasting the next biggest stack.
Thailand's Phatsapong Thokaew (674,000) rounded out the top three, with the top ten as follows:
MYSTERY BOUNTY TOP TEN STACKS
| Position | Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sho Katsura | Japan | 1,003,000 |
| 2 | Teng-Kuei Hsu | Taiwan | 741,000 |
| 3 | Phatsapong Thokaew | Thailand | 674,000 |
| 4 | Julian Cheung | Canada | 646,000 |
| 5 | Hayato Obana | Japan | 586,000 |
| 6 | Sumit Sapra | India | 581,000 |
| 7 | Chuyi Huang | Taiwan | 526,000 |
| 8 | Ryoji Negishi | Japan | 506,000 |
| 9 | Anthony Lewis | United States | 466,000 |
| 10 | Cheuk Him Tsang | Hong Kong | 465,000 |
For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE.
For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE
For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Mystery Bounty Hunter Day 2 Draw please CLICK HERE.
All tournament information can be found on the Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight A and Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight B tournament pages.
The 147 combined survivors from the two starting flights will return for the Final Day, which plays out at 11:15am local time on Sunday, March 3, with the tournament playing down to a champion.