It is down to the wire at the APT Taichung Special Event with the final 9 players decided. This is the last event of APT Taiwan 2021 taking place at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) Taichung branch. One of these fine Taiwanese players pictured below will not only claim the last APT Golden Lion Trophy of the series but will also win a luxury watch, a CTP Championship Series Pass worth NT$ 25,000, and NT$ 334,000 (~US$ 12,000) in cold hard cash.
The race to victory gets underway on Monday, March 15 at at 6pm (Taiwan time). Chu Yi Huang will carry in the torch with his enormous 2,760,000 stack, which is equivalent to a staggering 110 big blinds. Last week, Huang just missed a win at the Deep Stack Turbo event, finishing in 2nd place. With a commanding arsenal here, he has a strong chance to take it all the way.
Final 9 chip counts – by stack size
Chu Yi Huang – Taiwan – 2,760,000
Ruei Jiun Liang – Taiwan – 1,800,000 – Day 1A chip leader*
Yi Syun Ciou – Taiwan – 1,030,000 (not pictured)
Chung Chie Kuan – Taiwan – 825,000
Sin Ren Chen – Taiwan – 800,000
Chun Hsiang Yang – Taiwan – 795,000
Hung Hui Chung – Taiwan – 670,000
Yung Yu Chen – Taiwan – 295,000
Bo Jie Zhang – Taiwan – 175,000 – Day 1B chip leader*
Total chips in play: 9,120,000
Average stack: 1,013,333
Final Day opening blinds: 15K – 25K – 25K ante bb
Entering with the second largest stack is Day 1A chip leader Ruei Jiun Liang. Liang is backed by a 1,800,000 stack, which is a hefty 72 big blinds. No matter where he finishes, he will have earned his first ever APT cash.
Coming in fourth in stack is Chung Chie Kuan who finished 4th at the series Championship Event. Kuan is hunting down his first ever career title and is well on his way with a decent 825,000 (33 bb) stack. One of his knockouts was during the bubble round when he eliminated APT Player of the Series winner Kun Han Lee with a straight over straight.
Sin Ren Chen is wedged in the middle of the pack with 800,000 chips to battle with. That’s exactly 32 big blinds. Chen has one prior cash at the APT and is now on the hunt for his first ever APT title.
In sixth rank is Chun Hsiang Yang with 795,000 in chips, just shy of 32 big blinds. Yang finished 13th at the Main Event. If he finishes 7th or better, he will have pocketed his largest APT cash.
Hung Hui Chang enters with 670,000 in chips which is 26 big blinds. Chang has no prior APT cashes however if he places 7th or better, he will have earned his largest live tournament payout.
Yung Yu Chen has been on a cashing spree since last year and has now added APT to that list. Chen enters the final day with 295,000 (11 bb) in chips.
Bringing up the rear is Day 1B chip leader Bo Jie Zhang with an ailing 175,000 (7 bb) in chips. Although his climb will be tough, wherever he finishes, he will have earned his first ever APT cash.
Remaining Payouts
1st NT$ 334,000
2nd NT$ 222,600
3rd NT$ 154,800
4th NT$ 111,800
5th NT$ 83,600
6th NT$ 64,500
7th NT$ 51,300
8th NT$ 41,700
9th NT$ 34,800
Event recap
The APT Taichung Special Event got underway on March 12 with 152 entries across two starting days. This smashed the NT$ 1 million guarantee for a sweeter NT$ 1,253,200 (~US$ 44,960) prize pool. 34 players advanced to Day 2 with Ruei Jiun Liang at the helm.
Dates: March 12 to March 15
Buy in: NT$ 10,000 (~US$ 360)
Guarantee: NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 35,880)
Entries: 152
Prize pool: NT$ 1,253,200 (~US$ 44,960)
ITM: 16 places
Day 2 set off with two notables in the lineup, Chi Jen Chu and APT Player of the Series winner Kun Han Lee. Both players missed the money with Lee booted on the bubble by Chung Chie Kuan. On a board 4♣ 4♠ 3♦ 5♣ 7♥, Lee had A♠ 2♦ straight, Kuan had better with A♥ 6♥ higher straight.
The race continued until Cheng Chieh Huang fell in 10th place to Ciou Yi Syun to form the final table of 9 players.
Payouts 10th to 16th
10th Cheng Chieh Huang – Taiwan – NT$ 28,900
11th Chien Wen Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 24,200
12th Shih Kun Hsu – Taiwan – NT$ 24,200
13th Kuan Hao Ching – Taiwan – NT$ 20,000
14th Sheng Feng Chang – Taiwan – NT$ 20,000
15th Liang Wei Kang – Taiwan – NT$ 20,000
16th Harry Hao – NT$ 16,800
APT Taiwan 2021 kicked off on February 19 at CTP Club Taichung with the APT Taichung Mini Main Event setting the pace. Kun Han Lee shipped it to become the first champion. The series then moved to CTP Club Taipei where a loaded schedule of 19 games played out. Walking away the richest was APT Main Event champion Hui Chen “Kitty” Kuo followed by Ping Hao Huang who cashed in five events including a win at the Championships Event. The tour’s most distinguished APT Player of the Series title was awarded to Kun Han Lee.
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APT Taichung Mini Main Event
Main Event champion
Championships Event champion
APT Player of the Series winners