Championships Event Final 8 players led by Neil Raine; final day info inside and Day 3 recap

APT Finale Taiwan 2019 will soon be crowning its last major tour champion of the year! The APT Championships Event kicked off on December 5 pulling in 159 entries. It is set to conclude on Monday, December 9 at partner / host venue Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association.

Day 3 action witnessed the return of 23 players, the money flowed, and the final 8 players emerged led by decorated APT champion Neil Raine with 1,823,000. 

The Final 8 race will stream live on APT Twitch and APT YouTube on a 30-45 minute delay therefore no live updates. 

Final 8 by seat assignment

Seat 1: Carlos Chang – Taiwan – 1,392,000
Seat 2: Sera Ota – Japan – 986,000
Seat 3: Chi Ying Tsai – Taiwan – 255,000
Seat 4: Punnat Punsri – Thailand – 1,526,000
Seat 5: Takao Shimizu – Japan – 1,000,000
Seat 6: Neil Raine – UK – 1,823,000 
Seat 7: Go Mori – Japan – 245,000
Seat 8: Tobias Peters – Netherlands – 719,000

Final 8 by rank

Neil Raine – UK – 1,823,000 – 76 bbs
Punnat Punsri – Thailand – 1,526,000 – 63 bbs
Carlos Chang – Taiwan – 1,392,000 – 58 bbs
Takao Shimizu – Japan – 1,000,000 – 42 bbs
Sera Ota – Japan – 986,000 – 41 bbs
Tobias Peters – Netherlands – 719,000 – 30 bbs
Chi Ying Tsai – Taiwan – 255,000 – 11 bbs
Go Mori – Japan – 245,000 – 10 bbs

Final day info

Opening blinds: 12k – 24k – ante 24k
Timer: countdown from 11:45
Average stack 993,750
Chips in play 7,950,000

Remaining payouts

1st NT$ 1,848,800
2nd NT$ 1,232,700
3rd NT$ 856,900
4th NT$ 618,900
5th NT$ 462,900
6th NT$ 357,200
7th NT$ 283,700
8th NT$ 231,100

Final 8 brief review

Powerhouse lineup for the Championships Event final day! Three of the finalists are APT decorated champions: Punnat Punsri (APT Korea Seoul 2019 Championships Event), Neil Raine (APT Manila Main Event 2017), and Carlos Chang (APT Macau Main Event 2012).

Punnat Punsri

Carlos Chang

The most achieved player is Dutch pro Tobias Peters with numerous titles won around the world including a WSPOP Circuit Ring.

Tobias Peters

Japanese player Go Mori is back at the final table having finished 2nd last month at the APT Vietnam Championships Event. 

Go Mori

Takao Shimizu is considerably the fastest rising Japanese player for the past two years. Included in his numerous achievements were APT Main Event and Championships Event 10th place finishes at APT Finale Philippines 2018.

Takao Shimizu

And coloring up the roster are two female players: Sera Ota and Chi Ying Tsai. 

Sera Ota

Chi Ying Tsai

For Ota, she is the third Japanese contender. Despite a swinging Day 3, she closed with a very healthy 41 bb stack. Ota may as well be credited for the elimination of Chang Yu Chung who she crippled to just a quarter of a big blind during the final 9. As for Chi, she has now gone further than she ever has at an APT major event. Days ago, she finished 29th at the Main Event. 

Day 3 brief recap

Day 3 opened with the final 23 players nearing the bubble. Only 16 were guaranteed a piece of the NT$ 6,940,300 prize pool. Punnat Punsri charged up the ranks, breaching a million after railing Yang Kyung Suk and Matthew Chan. WSOP bracelet winner Ji Young Kim enjoyed a couple of early double ups but still fell two spots away from the money. The bubble round arrived. Two players busted simultaneously – Graeme Siow and Chia Yun Wu – to split 16th place prize money. 

Day 3 entering chip leader, Eng Loong Choi maintained his high status until it trimmed down to the final 13 players. He lost a handful of flips to bring his stack below average. Unable to recover, he exited in 11th place. 

You can read up on the action via our Live Updates .

Payouts 9th – 15th

9th Chang Yu Chang – Taiwan – NT$ 192,600
10th Cheng Chao Ting – Taiwan – NT$ 160,500
11th Eng Loong Choi – Malaysia – NT$ 133,800
12th Ta Chih Geeng – Taiwan – NT$ 133,800
13th Alex Lindop – UK – NT$ NT$ 111,500
14th Shiga Mitsuhiro – Japan – NT$ 111,500
15th Kelvin Beattie – Japan – NT$ 111,500