HomeThe Asian Poker Tour bagged up the first event of the APT Macau 2016 at the Crystal Palace of the Casino Lisboa with a combined total of 155 entries for the Poker King Cup HKD 300,000 Guaranteed. While there were many well-known players in attendance, including the leading player in the APT Player of the Year 2016 race, Japan’s Iori Yogo, it was Korea’s JK Kang who would claim the overall lead at the end of the night. Below is a short review of the day’s flights.
Flight A recap
The first flight of the opening event had a lazy start with players slowly trickling in. By the end of late registration, there were a total of 68 entries, many of them experiencing the APT for the very first time. Celebrating a massive double up just before the final hands were called was Korea’s JK Kang who engaged in a preflop raise war until he committed all his chips to the pot. Kang held J♦ J♣ and was up against A♥ K♣. The board spread to a dominating full house of 9♥ 7♣ 9♠ J♥ 5♦ sending him charging to the top to finish up with the largest stack of 125,600.
Poker King Cup Flight A Chip Leader, JK Kang
Before Kang slid into the chip leader’s seat, it was fellow countryman Chul Ho Bae who led for a majority part of the day. One of Bae’s big pots was winning with a full house against a player’s trips. Bae held 8♦ 8♠ on a board of 9♥ J♠ 2♠ 8♥ J♥ against J♣ 10♣. Bae finished the day with 89,100 in chips.
There were 21 players who survived this flight with Korea’s Lim Yo Hwan, Hong Kong’s Sparrow Cheung, and USA’s Shon Yamashita among those who made the cut. For notables Filipino Ian Brion and Korea’s SJ Kim, their run ended at the hands of Hong Kong’s Li Kwun Ngai Vincent. Both players were railed simultaneously, shoving with their short stacks late in the day.
Flight B recap
The final qualifying flight of the opener registered 87 total entries ensuring that the guarantee was reached plus some added change. It was an all Chinese sweep taking the top three spots. The man with the largest stack was Sun Wei Xiong with 111,500 in chips. Xiong was a silent assassin all day. He rose well above the century mark after eliminating a player with his A♣ J♣ defeating A♠ 3♣ on a board of 3♥ 8♥ K♠ 10♠ J♠. To cap the night, Xiong claimed a small pot with his pocket sevens against two other players.
Poker King Cup Flight B Chip Leader, Sun Wei Xiong
Wu Ye Chen took the second spot, trailing the leader by just a few chips with 109,000 at bagging. Chen earned half his stack in a big hand with his J-10 straight against a player’s A-K two pair. Taking the third highest position was Liu Cheng Ping with 91,400 chips. Ping’s rise in chips began after claiming a big pot by eliminating past APT Main Event champion, Vietnam’s Ha Duong.
There were a total of 26 players who held on to their chips in this flight with notables Feng Zhao, Alex Lee, Kai Paulsen, and re-entry players Tetsuya Tsuchikawa, Jason Lo, John Tech, Ian Brion, and Duy Ho all making the short list. Among those unable to stay in the black were Iori Yogo, Pete Chen, and Dong Hyun Kim.
The final day of the Poker King Cup HKD 300,000 Guaranteed will resume at 130pm tomorrow. Players will be gunning for the first place purse of HKD 76,800 and the coveted first trophy of the event. Out of the 47 returning players, only 18 players will be seeing a payout. Chip counts can be found in the APT facebook page.
Side Events lined up
For the second day of the APT Macau 2016 festivities, three side events will heat up the poker floor:
- Head Hunter HKD 1,000 Bounty at 1pm, buy-in is HKD 4,400
- High Rollers Day 1 at 2pm, buy-in is HKD 55,000
- Ante Up for Charity at 5pm for the benefit of Caritas Macau, buy-in is HKD 1,500
There will also be a Main Event Mega Satellite at 6pm with a buy-in fee of HKD 2,400. One seat will be awarded for every ten players.
For the full schedule, head to the APT Macau 2016 event page.