HomePlaying in his first-ever poker tournament, 18-year old Zhang Dan Peng of Guangzhou was crowned the 2010 Main Event champion at the Asian Poker Tour in Macau, winning HK$1.678 million (approximately USD$215,000) with his gutsy, aggressive style. Zhang is the first-ever Chinese champion of the APT Macau Main Event, held at the integrated entertainment complex, the City of Dreams.
Zhang, who only began playing poker six months ago, qualified for the 161-player Main Event in one of the APT Macau’s satellite events. Zhang steadily worked his way through the Main Event to land himself in a heads-up battle against Germany’s Bjoern Wiesler in Sunday’s Final Table. In the very first hand, Zhang went all- in, with his Ace-Deuce beating the 34-year old’s Pocket Sevens. As the runner-up, Wiesler will take home HKD$920,000 (approximately USD$117,000).
“I’m incredibly happy and really, really lucky to have won in my first tournament, especially as so many great players were here,” Zhang said. “I joined APT Macau to accompany my friend who lost, but I managed to progress. I honestly had no expectations before the final table and would have been happy with any result.”
Asked what he planned to do with his earnings, Zhang replied that he would save the money first.
With a total prize pot of HK$5.075 million (approximately USD$650,000), this year’s APT Macau was comprised of the most competitive field ever assembled for a poker event in Asia. The field included legends such as Phil Ivey, with eight World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, 10 WSOP bracelet holder Johnny Chan, and online master specialist Tom Dwan.
Said APT Chief Executive Officer Mr. Jeff Mann: “The Final Table was thrilling to watch and it was great to see a young, Chinese poker player do so well in his first tournament. The 2010 APT Macau was a great success, our players from all over the world enjoyed themselves and this tournament has really set the bar in the region for the caliber of players.”
A host of side events accompanied the Main Event during the nine-day festival of poker. Among the most notable side events was the APT Macau Celebrity Charity Challenge, which saw model and actress Grace Huang come out on top, winning MOP100,000 for Caritas Macau.
City of Dreams, in collaboration with APT is hosting The Asian Poker Tour in Macau. The last leg of the Asian Poker Tour for 2010 is one of the biggest events in Asian poker and the nine-day festival offers a jam-packed schedule of poker events and tournaments at City of Dreams, an integrated entertainment resort that is the newest “must experience” destination in Macau.
Visit the Asian Poker Tour for the complete tournament details.