Who will be the next APT Main Event Champion? Final 8 begins at 130pm today

Get ready for the last day of the Asian Poker Tour Macau 2016 with the Final 8 players of the Main Event returning to the Crystal Palace of Casino Lisboa for the race to the championship title and the first place purse of HKD 530,000. If the previous days are an indication of what lies ahead, then expect some of the most exciting poker action laid bare on the Main Event felt.

Final 8 Players

Final 8 players of the APT Macau Main Event

Spanish pro Sergio Aido leads the Final 8 with a massive stack that dwarfs all others. He entered Day 3 as the chip leader and was simply unstoppable. After he eliminated Filipino player Ian Brion, he claimed two big pots against Hong Kong’s David Douglas to send his stack soaring. He enters the final day with a towering 1,398,000 in chips. As one of the top ranked pros from his country, Aido is in the best position to claim his first APT championship title.

China’s Guo Dong is in the second spot with 850,000 in chips. Getting to the Final 8 was a rough ride for Dong in Day 3. He doubled up several players that were costly to his stack and averted elimination a couple of times before finally gaining the momentum to climb back up. Dong is well known pro in the Asian circuit with extensive cashes at the felt. He will be gunning for his first APT championship title.

UK’s Daniel Tang takes the third spot in the chip rung. Like Aido, Tang has consistently stationed himself as one of the top dogs since day one of the Main Event. He eliminated Hong Kong pro Nick Wong in the early rounds of Day 3 then ended China’s Jiu Bin Cui well before the Final 8. Tang was one of the players who came close to the million mark but ended up with a very respectable stack of 710,000, well above average. He is looking to capture his first APT championship title.

Korea’s Lim Yo Hwan is right smack in the middle of the pack with 674,000 in chips. Yo Hwan is one of the APT regulars and has been running very well in the circuit all year. He celebrated a big victory at the opening event of this festival and is hungry for his first championship title. His deepest run was back in July where he fell one spot short.

One of Hong Kong’s top ranked pros, Winfred Yu, takes the helm at the bottom half of the chip rung in fifth position. Like Yo Hwan, Yu came close to an APT championship title but fell in the runner-up spot back in 2012. Yu was one of the reasons Fan’s stack plummeted while his own charged upwards.

Spain’s Saul Oliver Fortea takes the 6th spot with 461,000 in chips. Fortea swung wildly in Day 3 but a couple of double ups including the elimination of China’s Wei Zhou Zha, he accumulated enough chips to stay in the running.

Taking the penultimate spot is Hong Kong’s Kevin Tse Chi Ho with 389,000 in chips. Tse was the overall chip leader at the start of Day 2 and stayed within the upper bracket of the chip rung into Day 3. He also delivered the bubble to the money.

Bringing up the end of the rung is defending champion, Norway’s Henrik Tollefsen, the first two time APT Main Event champion. In Day 3, Tollefsen landed a triple up with his short stack and eliminated China’s Qin Tao to earn a Final 8 berth. He is one of the top pros from his country and frequents the APT circuit every year. Tollefsen may hold the lowest stack entering the Final 8 but everyone knows, he is driven and eager for his third title.

The Main Event begins at 130pm today. We will have hand for hand Live Updates for you so be on the lookout for those. You can also view the chip counts and the payouts in that page.

Good luck to all the players!