For several months, players were under the impression that the Asian Poker Tour’s last event of the year would be held at their hub in Manila. Less than a month ago, it was a big surprise to hear the announcement of a venue change with the APT Finale 2016 now moved to the Casino Lisboa in Macau. It was only two months ago that the APT returned to the gambling mecca in partnership with Poker King Club after a three-year absence, and with this follow up event just two months later, the APT upped the game with more exciting events lined up over the nine-day festival.
The ongoing APT Finale Macau 2016, scheduled to run from December 7th- December 15th, kicked off earlier this week with several lucrative side events seeing their first champions.
Poker King Cup HKD300,000 Guaranteed
The opening event, the Poker King Cup HKD300,000 Guaranteed attracted 170 entrants for a prize pool that slightly exceeded the advertised guarantee. The winner of the event was a newcomer to the APT, Malaysia’s Michael Chan who took home HKD84,300 ($10,864). This is Chan’s biggest live tournament score to date, and it is his first international tournament title, having come close several times at various ACOP events.
Top 10 (Prize in HKD)
1 | Michael Chan | 84,300.00 |
2 | Hongjun Zhang | 49,300.00 |
3 | Reo Wada | 34,100.00 |
4 | Qilong Zhang | 24,900.00 |
5 | Bo Ouyang | 20,600.00 |
6 | Alexander Beresnev | 17,000.00 |
7 | Jacque Patrick Ramsden | 14,000.00 |
8 | Sau Chin Ng | 11,700.00 |
9 | Cheuk Yin Ho | 10,100.00 |
10 | Jun Saito | 8,600.00 |
Main Event Warm-Up
The next big prize pool event was a new one, the Main Event Warm-Up with a HKD7,700 entry fee. The aim of the event was to give the players a taste of the Main Event structure but with blinds increasing every thirty minutes instead of one hour. The event may now become a mainstay as it drew in 60 players for a prize pool of HKD407,400 ($52,503). Amongst the many Chinese players in the field, and at the final table, it was Youze Tian who outlasted them all to claim the HKD112,800 ($14,537) first prize. Japanese pro Kosei Ichinose also made it to the money but only went as far as 8th place.
Payouts (in HKD)
1 | Youze Tian | 112,800.00 |
2 | Stephen Nathan | 69,700.00 |
3 | Jing Wang | 50,900.00 |
4 | Fengjiao Wang | 39,500.00 |
5 | Yohn Paredes | 34,200.00 |
6 | Hubert Spiess | 29,700.00 |
7 | Chang Zhou | 26,100.00 |
8 | Kosei Ichinose | 23,200.00 |
9 | Erik Billgren | 21,300.00 |
High Rollers event
The High Rollers event also amassed a hefty prize pool of HKD843,900 ($108,757) with 29 players coughing up the HKD33,000 entry fee. Defeating Devan Ying Tang, one of China’s leading tournament players, was South Africa’s Edward Pastoll. At the final table, Pastoll climbed up from the bottom of the rung to eventually face Tang and claim the title. This was a big victory for Pastoll who earned HKD362,800 ($46,755), nearly doubling his previous live score winnings from his third place finish at the APT Philippines Main Event three months ago.
As for Tang, his runner-up finish earned him a respectable HKD227,900 though it was nowhere near the USD1,405,000 that he shipped in at the first Triton Super High Roller Series back in January.
Payouts (in HKD)
1 | Edward Pastoll | 362,800.00 |
2 | Ying Seng Tang | 227,900.00 |
3 | Nicholas Wong | 143,500.00 |
4 | Takashi Ogura | 109,700.00 |
The APT Finale Macau 2016 has more events lined up in the coming days including a HKD200,000 Super High Roller event and the crowning of the APT Player of the Year.
The Main Event has also begun so stay tuned to Somuchpoker.com for all the recaps on the ongoing festivities.
Article by Triccia David