HomeAPT Finale Taiwan 2019 saw the return of 34 players to the Main Event and after seven and a half hours of competitive action, the final 8 was formed. Navigating his stack to the summit once again was Hong Kong’s Hwang Sang Yeon amassing 2,026,000. Hwang was the only player to finish the day in the two million marker.
There were a plethora of hands that helped Hwang reach that height. The first was delivering the bubble in Michael Soyza. Soyza had top pair queens but Hwang had overpair pocket kings. To breach a million, Hwang knocked out the only decorated APT Main Event champion in the running, Carlos Chang, in 20th place. Chang called to his doom on a board 3♦ 6♦ 10♥ 5♦ A♣ with top two pair A-10 but Hwang had 8♦ 7♦ flush. From there, Hwang stayed on course to the final 9, won two pots to gain the edge and finish the day leading the final 8 players.
You can read up on the Day 3 action via our live posts.
Final 8 players (by rank)
Top half
Hwang Sang Yeon – Hong Kong – 2,026,000 – 84 bbs
Hsiao Yun Yang – Taiwan – 1,990,000 – 83 bbs
Zhou Yueyang – China – 1,760,000 – 73 bbs
Takao Shimizu – Japan – 962,000 – 40 bbs
Bottom half
Luke Kuang Hung Lee – Taiwan – 451,000 – 19 bbs
Lau King Lun Alan – Hong Kong – 399,000 – 16 bbs
Hsu Piying – Taiwan – 247,000 – 10 bbs
Jeff Davis – USA – 146,000 – 6 bbs
Starting time: 130pm
Blinds: 12k-24k ante 24k (countdown from 39:30)
Average stack: 996,875
Chips in play: 7,975,000
The final race will stream live on APT Twitch and APT YouTube (30 minute delay).
Remaining payouts
1st NT$ 2,138,200 (~US$ 70,000)
2nd NT$ 1,425,500
3rd NT$ 991,000
4th NT$ 715,800
5th NT$ 535,300
6th NT$ 413,100
7th NT$ 328,100
8th NT$ 267,300
Brief look at the other finalists
Entering the final day, Hong Kong pro Alan Lau King Lun brings in the most medals with nearly US$ 1.9 million in live tournament earnings. At the inaugural APT Taiwan in February, Lau placed 2nd at the Main Event and pocketed the larger cash prize on a heads up deal. He is also the only player in the list that has prior APT Main Event final table experience.
Alan Lau King Lun
Another highly decorated player is Taiwan’s Luke Kuang Hung Lee who has won multiple Main Event titles in Taiwan. His first victory was in December 2018 at the GPI Master Poker Series, then went on to win two more this year from different poker events. He is looking to add an APT trophy to his growing poker shelf.
Japan’s last hope, Takao Shimizu has now gone further than his previous APT Main Event attempts. He finished 10th one year ago in the Philippines. That same series, he also finished 10th at the Championships Event.
Though not much is known of Hsiao Yun Yang and Zhou Yueyang, both players sat in the leader’s seat at one time in Day 3. Hsiao put pressure on Lee during the final two tables, denying Lee big pots and exposing a bluff. Hsiao also eliminated Beattie in 9th place to close out Day 3. As for Zhou, he entered Day 3 in second rank, stayed consistent in the upper tier then shipped all of Michal Polchlopek’s chips to enter the final 9 as leader until Hwang stole it by the end of day.
Hsu Piying had an impressive day entering with just 12 bbs. He waited for the right moment to shove and earn a boost. He enters the final day short again with 10 bbs but has shown he is more than capable of laddering up. Bringing up the rear is Jeff Davis with 6 bbs. Davis had a strong Day 2 but at Day 3 he was out shined by the big stacks. His short stack was able to hang on, win a side pot and then a double up with aces to stay in the running.
Day 3 recap
The NT$ 33,000 buy-in Main Event drew 319 entries to partner / host venue Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association for a prize pool of NT$ 9,282,900 (~US$ 304,000). 34 players made it to Day 3 with the money just two spots away. Alex Lindop enjoyed an early rush but still dropped out first despite the multiple short stacks around. The day’s entering chip leader, Hwang Sang Yeon, eliminated Michael Soyza on the bubble.
Leading up to the unofficial APT final table of 9 players, as mentioned above the lone APT Main Event champion remaining, Carlos Chang, was eliminated in 20th place. Chia Yun Wu was knocked out in 10th place after losing a three way showdown that in turn sent Takao Shimizu over 900k. To close out Day 3, Kelvin Beattie tumbled in 9th place with 10-10 dominated throughout by Hsiao Yun Yang‘s Q-Q.
ITM players
9th Kelvin Beattie – Japan – NT$ 222,700
10th Chia Yun Wu – Taiwan – NT$ 185,600
11th Michal Polchlopek – Poland – NT 154,700
12th Lo Wai Nok – Hong Kong – NT$ 154,700
13th Chin Te Lai – Taiwan – NT$ 128,900
14th Park Ju Yuk – Korea – NT$ 128,900
15th Lok Gino – Hong Kong – NT$ 128,900
16th Park Sung Chang – Korea – NT$ 107,400
17th Naohito Tamaya – Japan – NT$ 107,400
18th Lin Hao – China – NT$ 107,400
19th Mian Feang Fong – China – NT$ 89,500
20th Carlos Chang – Taiwan – NT$ 89,500
21st Thomas Lind – Sweden – NT$ 89,500
22nd Huang Zhi Hao – Taiwan – NT$ 89,500
23rd Tzu Chieh Lo – Taiwan – NT$ 74,600
24th Thananat Therdtakoonrat – Thailand – NT$ 74,600
25th Cheung King Wai – Hong Kong – NT$ 74,600
26th Ho Ching Yi – Taiwan – NT$ 74,600
27th Andy Chan Ying Kit – Hong Kong – NT$ 74,600
28th Chen Yu – China – NT$ 62,200
29th Chi Ying Tsai – Taiwan – NT$ 62,200
30th En Ching Wu – Taiwan – NT$ 62,200
31st Jen-Yen Chien – Taiwan – NT$ 62,200
32nd Chris Chong Yeow Chun – Singapore – NT$ 62,200