HomeThe second trophy winner of APT Taiwan 2019 emerged this afternoon at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club). Filipino pro Mike Takayama crushed the final table competition of the Head Hunter event eliminating six of the final 8 players. He shipped TWD 159,800 (~USD 5,200) and a total of 12 bounties worth TWD 2,000 each. He is now running third in the APT Player of the Series race.
The Head Hunter event was a two-day affair that saw 75 gunners in the field. For a price of TWD 11,000 (~USD 360) each, it created a prize pool worth TWD 727,500 (~USD 23,700) of which 13 were guaranteed a cut.
Day 1 closed at the fall of short-stacked Jinhyo Yoo at the hands of Mike Takayama. Yoo’s 5♠ 5♥ was cracked by Takayama’s 7♦ 6♥ when a six showed up on the turn. This formed the final 8 players with Takayama out front. Running second in chips was another known pro, Singapore’s Wilson Lim (seat 4).
The Final 8 ran a steady four hours today. During the opening hour, Lee Chang Gon (seat 7) became the first of Takayama’s victims falling in 8th place. Another hour in, Long Ip Seng (seat 6) followed with Q-4 losing to Takayama’s Q-J on a board 2-3-3-4-J.
Shortly after, a three-way shove saw Frederik Kerckhof (seat 2) triple up and Ma Chun Yu (seat 1) drop to Takayama. First to shove was Yu A♥ 4♦, shortest stacked Kerckhof followed with A♠ 10♣, and big stacked Takayama called with A♦ 7♠. The board ran J♥ Q♦ 6♥ 2♥ 10♦.
At five-handed, short stacked Kan Ming Zhou (seat 5) doubled up through Wilson Lim (seat 4) then lost a large portion of it to Hie Zong Chi (seat 8). With only 2 bbs left, Zhou was booted by Takayama in 5th place for his fourth victim.
Several hands after, Lim joined the rail. He pushed with 10♦ 10♥ and was outdrawn by Kerckhof’s A♦ Q♦ when an ace graced the board. This left three players, but quickly two at the fall of Hie whose A♦ J♣ could not defeat Takayama’s 10♥ 10♠. Heads up followed with Takayama ahead 2.5:1.
It didn’t take long for the axe to swing. The final hand was Takayama Q♣ 7♦, Kerckhof 9♦ 6♣, the board ran dry 4♣ 5♣ K♠ A♣ A♥ to end the game and Takayama lift the trophy.
Final 8 payouts
1st Mike Takayama – Philippines – TWD 159,800
2nd Frederik Kerckhof – Belgium – TWD 106,700
3rd Hie Zong Chi – China – TWD 74,200
4th Wilson Lim – Singapore – TWD 53,600
5th Kan Ming Zhou – Singapore – TWD 40,100
6th Ma Chun Yu – China – TWD 30,900
7th Long Ip Seng – China – TWD 24,500
8th Lee Chang Gon – Korea – TWD 20,000
For all players that cashed, make sure to check your standing in the APT Player of the Series race.
APT Player of the Series standings