Final Table of Taiwan's Richest Poker Tournament Set; France's Safwane Bahri Leads APT Main Event

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

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, March 8, 2024 – The final table of the richest poker tournament ever to play out in Taiwan is set.

Just nine players remain in contention for the award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Taipei Main Event Trophy and the TWD 12,944,020 (~$409,730) top prize – the largest in Taiwanese poker history.

Playing out at the tournament tables of the Chinese Texas Hold'em Poker Club (CTP) Asia Poker Arena, Day 4 of the APT Taipei 2024 TWD 70,000 Main Event saw 40 players out of a sizable field of 1,182 return to action all with one goal in mind – making the final table.

All returning players were guaranteed a TWD 222,000 (~USD 7,030) share of the record TWD 72,232,020 (~$2,286,275) prize pool – the richest ever generated in the country.

It is France's Safwane Bahri who leads the final nine, putting on a dominating display of power poker to vacuum up close to 25 percent of the chips in play, and will be returning with a stack of 11,925,000 – valued at 75 big blinds.

Bahri scored a huge double knockout to crack an eight-figure chip stack on the second to last 60-minute level played, spiking a set of nine on the turn in a threeway pre-flop all-in pot to rail Taiwan's Yung Bing Chu and Rui Lu simultainiously in 12th and 13th place respectively.

Xi Guo Zhang will be returning second in the counts with 9,720,000 in chips, with the Taiwanese player claiming a sizable portion of these at the expense of Vietnamese bracelet winner Quang Thai Ha in a huge hand that played out between the duo with ten players left.

Japan's Daisuke Ogita rounds out the top three stacks; Ogita, who sits at #12 on the Japan All-Time Money List, will be returning with 8,210,000 in chips with which to make his play for the title.

Day 3 frontrunner Li Wei Sun also kept his title hopes alive although the Taiwanese player will be returning as the shortstack, with the final table stacking up as follows:

MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE STACKS

For Main Event Final Table Player Profiles please CLICK HERE.

For Main Event Results please CLICK HERE.

(TOP L-R): Li Wei Sun, Daisuke Ogita, Xi Guo Zhang, Pitipong Posri. (BOTTOM L-R): Jung Chuan Liao, Chi Jen "Justin" Chu, Safwane Bahri, Seungmook Jung

It took close to eight 60-minute levels to thin the field from 40 down to the final nine, with all former Main Event champions remaining in the field hitting the rail as play progressed.

Of these former champions, it was two-time Main Event winner Mike Takayama who came the closest to making the final table, exiting in 15th place for a TWD 642,000 (~USD 20,320) payday.

APT Incheon 2019 Main Event champion Dicky Tsang exited in 19th place for a TWD 498,000 (~USD 15,760) payday, and the second of the field's two-time former champions Lester Edoc hit the rail in 22nd place, collecting TWD 425,000 (~USD 13,450).

Other notables to cash but come up short of the Final Day included Vietnamese bracelet winner Quang Thai Ha (10th for TWD 795,000), Australia's John "Burt" Perry (27th for TWD 357,000), Japan's Jun Obara (29th for TWD 301,000), Day 2 frontrunner **Jie "Brandon" Lee (30th for TWD 301,000), triple bracelet winner Yan Shing "Anson" Tsang (31st for TWD 301,000), Hong Kong's Jeffrey Lo (32nd for 261,000), and the Philippines' David Erquiaga (34th for TWD 261,000).

The Final Table gets underway at 1pm local time on Saturday, March 9, with the tournament playing down to a champion.

You can follow all the APT Main Event Day 4 action via the APT Blog or view all the action as it happened via the APT Main Event Day 3 Live Stream using the following links:

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All tournament information can be found on the Main Event Day 4 tournament page.

UK's Jun Li Claims Career-Best TWD 4.36M (~USD 138K) Top Prize in Richest-Ever Zodiac Classic

The UK's Jun Li claimed a career best score in the richest-ever Zodiac Classic

All the juicy tournament action was not exclusive to the Main Event, with the TWD 80,000 Event #83: Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8 - TWD 20,000,000 GTD playing down to a thrilling conclusion.

It was the UK's Jun Li who triumphed over the richest-ever Zodiac Classic in APT history, putting on a commanding final table performance to earn a career-best TWD 4,362,800 (~USD 138,495) top prize, making his maiden live tournament title win one to remember.

Li came into the heads-up confrontation against the Philippines' Florencio Campomanes with close to 95 percent of the chips in play and the match was wrapped up in two hands, with Li rivering a straight holding jack nine to close out the title and outdraw Campomane's king seven suited after all the chips went in pre-flop.

Campomanes claimed TWD 2,767,000 (~USD 87,840) for his runner-up finish, climbing from #5 to #4 on the Philippines' All-Time Money List in the process.

Compatriot Edgar Asehan rounded out the winner's podium, taking bronze and a payout of TWD 2,074,000 (~USD 65,840) for third place.

Other notables to make the final nine included Hong Kong's Alan Lau, Germany's Martin Sedlak, the USA's Benjamin Jacobs, and Taiwan's Yen-Han "Pete" Chen with the final table paying out as follows:

ZODIAC CLASSIC FINAL TABLE RESULTS

For Zodiac Classic Results please CLICK HERE.

Day 1 frontrunner Christopher Tran was unable to convert his start-of-day chip lead into the win, departing on the final table bubble for TWD 375,000.

Other notables to make the money included Hong Kong's Sparrow Cheung (19th for TWD 230,000), Japan's Takeshi Takahashi (21st for TWD 208,000), the USA's Tony Miles (24th for TWD 185,000), Superstar Challenge and Baby Superstar Challenge finalist Mikael Andersson (27th for TWD 185,000), Hong Kong's Edward Yam (31st for TWD 163,000), and defending champion Younghee Park (34th for TWD 143,000).

You can read about all the Zodiac Classic Final Day action via the the APT Blog.

All tournament information can be found on the Event #83: Zodiac Classic Final Day tournament page.

Double Stack Sets New APT Taiwan Event Record; Philippines' Jose Colada Leads

The Philippines' Jose Colada topped Flight B of the Double Stack to take the overall chip lead

The TWD 20,000 Event #90: Double Stack (Plays to 14% ITM) - TWD 7,000,000 GTD proved to be another record-breaker, setting a new APT country field size record for this event.

The tournament drew a combined total of 765 entries (468 unique), crushing the guarantee and generating an impressive TWD 13,356,900 (~USD 425,245) prize pool – the second largest Double Stack prize pool in APT history.

A total of 108 players survived the two initial flights, and have all earned a payday of TWD 34,000 (~USD 1,080), with the eventual winner walking away with the richest first-place prize the event has ever awarded – a TWD 2,547,900 (~USD 81,080) top prize – in addition to the Pewter Lion Silhoutte Trophy and title.

For Double Stack Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE.

It is the Philippines' Jose Colada who will be returning in the box seat after topping the Flight B counts, bagging up a stack of 1,779,000, with the second flight playing out over twenty-one 20-minute levels.

Hong Kong's Yu Hoi Chan topped Flight A of the largest Double Stack ever to play out in Taiwan

Colada holds a sizable lead of over 21 big blinds more than next closest rival Yu Hoi Chan, with the Hong Kong player topping the Flight A chip counts and bagging 1,344,000 with the flight playing out over twenty 30-minute levels.

Taiwan's Feng Wen Chen will be returning third in the overall counts after bagging the second largest Flight B stack of 1,343,000.

Kuan Yu Lin of Taiwan bagged the third largest Flight B stack, which puts him fourth in the overall pecking order, with compatriot Chang Fu Hung bagging the second largest Flight A stack, putting him at #5 on the leaderboard, with the top ten stacks as follows:

DOUBLE STACK TOP TEN STACKS

For Double Stack Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE.

For Double Stack Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE.

For Double Stack Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE. For Double Stack Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE.

For Double Stack Day 2 Draw please CLICK HERE.

Other notables to make it through to the Final Day with decent stacks include Hong Kong's Dicky Tsang (750,000), four-time bracelet winner Bradley Ruben (709,000), Singapore's Dhanesh Chainani (647,000), former APT Manila 2019 Main Event champion Yohn Paredes (523,000), and reigning APT Summer Series Da Nang Main Event champion Shixiang Khoo (445,000).

The combined 108 survivors will return for the Double Stack Final Day, which gets underway at 11:15am on Saturday, March 9 with the tournament playing down to a champion.

All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack Flight A and Flight B tournament pages.

SIDE EVENT ACTION

Catch up on APT Taipei 2024: Side Event Action from Day 9 of the Series (Thursday, March 7).