Kun Han Lee wins series opener APT Taichung Mini Main Event

The first APT Taiwan 2021 title has been claimed! Capturing the bragging rights series opener was local hotshot Kun Han Lee after rising above the 40 Final Day qualifiers. At heads up, Lee disposed of Zhi Hao Huang in just ten quick hands. This was Lee’s maiden APT victory which earned him NT$ 332,200 (~US$ 11,900), the APT Champion’s Ring, and APT Golden Lion Trophy. He takes the helm in the APT Player of the Series leaderboard. 

Champion: Kun Han Lee

Final Table payouts

1st Kun Han Lee – NT$ 332,200
2nd Zhi Hao Huang – NT$ 221,500
3rd Sheng Feng Chang – NT$ 154,000
4th Yu Chain Chang – NT$ 111,200
5th Hsin Hung Lin – NT$ 83,200
6th Hung Yue Chang – NT$ 64,200
7th Guan Ya Chen – NT$ 51,000
8th Wei Chu Wang – NT$ 41,500 
9th Li Hsin Chang – NT$ 34,600 

Event Recap

The series opener APT Taichung Mini Main Event – NT$ 500K guaranteed kicked off on Friday, February 19 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association room in Taichung (CTP Taichung), concluding on Sunday, February 21. Midway through opening day, it was elbow to elbow with a line of players yet to be accommodated. With the expectation of another large turnout at Day 1B, an evening Turbo Flight was added. At the close, the event gathered a total of 390 entries at NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 179) buy in each to balloon the prize pool into a substantial NT$ 1,513,200 (~US$ 54,140). 40 players advanced to the final day, all of them guaranteed a piece of the pot. 

Final Day

Dates: February 19 to 21
Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 179) 
Guarantee: NT$ 500,000 (~US$ 17,900)
Entries: 390 
Prize pool: NT$ 1,513,200 (~US$ 54,140)
ITM: 40 players

Day 1A: 142 entries
Day 1B: 178 entries
Turbo Flight: 70 entries

Entering the final day, sitting up top was Turbo Flight chip leader, Ling Wei Wu with a monstrous stack worth 126 bb. Not too far behind was Day 1A chip leader Zhi Hao Huang also with an enormous 123 bb stack. In third position was Day 1B chip leader Chlln Fu Yeh with 95 bb, and a few down the rung in sixth rank was eventual champion Kun Han Lee with a healthy 56 bb stack. Lee closed Day 1A a strong second in chips. 

The race for glory sped off with 40 players on the hunt for the coveted first title. In just over 4.5 hours, the final 9 emerged. Entering chip leader Wu missed a final table spot, exiting in 20th place for NT$ 13,900 (~US$ 497). Day 1B chip leader Yeh fared better but also missed, falling in 11th place for NT$ 24,000 (~US$ 859). Po Cheng Yang bubbled to the final table in 10th place for NT$ 28,800 (~US$ 1,031).  

Final table

 It took another two hours for the table to crunch down to the final two players. Facing off for the title were Day 1A chip leader Zhi Hao Yang and Kun Han Lee. Lee was ahead in the count.

Heads up: Zhi Hao Huang and Kun Han Lee

As stated above, in just ten quick hands, it was all over. Lee defeated Huang to capture his first ever APT win and turn his NT$ 5,000 to a fat payout of NT$ 332,200. The final hand was preflop all in. Lee’s A K dominated Huang’s A 5. The board ran J 7 6 J K. Congratulations to the champion!