HomeTAICHUNG CITY, Taiwan – In the Asian Poker Tour (APT), money is not always everything. Just ask the recently crowned victor of the 2022 APT Taichung Championship as he sacrificed a good portion of his prize money to ensure that he came away with the trophy at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) here.
Wang Hong Che had only recently rekindled his love affair with poker and now becomes a bonafide APT champion, officially besting a field of 427 entries to take this down in unique fashion. His last appearance on the tour was in 2019.
Down to the final three competitors for the title and with the chip-lead that he wrestled away from Chen Jung Chou, talks began for an Independent Chip Model (ICM) chop. With the action halted, the remaining NT$678,700.00 (US$21,340.00) went into a three-way split with Wang ahead in chips against Ian Lan (in second) and Chen.
Once the deal was reached, they would go on to play for an agreed amount and the trophy.
But then the twist: Wang offered about one-third of his guaranteed prize money amounting to NT$118,700.00 (US$3,732.00) to be Lan and Chen (divided again according to chip stack positions) in exchange for the hostilities to end and the trophy be his. Amazingly, both parties agreed.
It is one of the rare times that the champion received less money than the runners-up as Wang settled for an even NT$200,000.00 (US$6,288.00) while Lan got NT$250,000.00 (US$7,860.00) and Chen pocketed NT$228,700.00 (US$7,191.00).
Wang Hong Che gave up a big chunk of his prize money to ensure he would get the trophy
The trophy was just too tantalizingly important to leave to chance, hence the decision that makes Wang the first titlist in this year’s proceedings and could be in line for a lot more in the coming two weeks when the action moves to the CTP Club in Taipei City.
The APT Taichung Championship is now in the record books and the action in the APT Taiwan 2022 resumes on Tuesday (27th September) with the much anticipated Mystery Bounty event.