After much anticipation, the Poker King Club hosted its first-ever event in Taipei City, Taiwan at the highly popular tournament venue, the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association aka CTP Club. The five-day festival – PKC Taiwan – ran from August 16 to 20. It was the first for the brand this year after having canceled their regular event in Macau. Players from all over the region were in attendance to bring about hefty prize pools across the board. We’ve got all the results for you below.
Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event – Chien Fa Chou
The most coveted title of the series was none other than the NT$27,500 (~US$ 900) Poker King Cup Main Event. 306 charged in over the three entry heats – 55 at Day 1A, 189 at Day 1B, and 62 at Day 1C – to form a highly worthy pot of NT$ 7,420,500 (~US$ 236,500). This more than exceeded the NT$ 6M advertised guarantee. The top 36 spots trimmed their respective piece. Making the host country proud was Taiwan’s Chien Fa Chou who shipped it to earn his first-ever live tournament win. Chou was awarded the largest cut of NT$ 1,639,000 (~US$ 52,300).
Recapping the winner’s story from where it mattered – at the final table – Chou entered running third in the count preceded only by fellow countryman Wai King Cheung and South Korean pro Jae Wook Shin. After the fall of Kuang Hung Lee in 9th place, a series of losses by the top two chip leaders defaulted Chou to the top.
To maintain status, Chou proceeded to rail King Wai Cheung (7th) then Lee Kuan Wee (5th) to build a dominating lead. At three-handed, he crushed the hopes of UK pro Alex Lindop who called for his tournament life with trips only to fall to Chou’s rivered full house. This elimination catapulted Chou to a monstrous 13:1 chip lead. From there, it took only two hands to knockout Philippine player David Erquiaga and capture his maiden victory.
As for runner-up Erquiaga, this was another incredible run for the Filipino pro. Last month he also finished 2nd at the APT Vietnam Championships Event and 14th at the same series Main Event. One other player needing acknowledgment was Jae Wook Shin. Although he took a hard fall from 2nd in chips to bumping the rail in 8th place, he also moneyed at the High Rollers event finishing 4th out of 27 runners.
Final 9 payouts
Prize pool: NT$ 7,420,500 – Buyin: NT$ 27,500 – Entries: 306 – ITM: 36 places
1st Chien Fa Chou (Taiwan) – NT$ 1,639,000
2nd David Erquiaga (Philippines) – NT$ 1,150,100
3rd Alex Lindop (UK) – NT$ 739,700
4th Ling He (China) – NT$ 547,500
5th Lee Kuan Wee (Malaysia) – NT$ 411,000
6th Yu You Ci Tsai (Taiwan) – NT$ 328,600
7th King Wai Cheung (Hong Kong) – NT 273,000
8th Jae Wook Shin (South Korea) – NT$ 218,800
9th Kuang Hung Lee (Taiwan) – NT$ 164,000
Other notable players in the money were: Tsang Dicky Siu Hang (10th), Terry Fan (12th), Cliff Chow (19th), Lin Yu Sheng (28th), and Chen An Lin (31st).
Event 4: NT$ 20,000 (~US$ 640) Formosa Cup – Hou Hin Gabriel Fung
The biggest crowd drawing side event was the NT$20,000 (~US$ 640) Formosa Cup, named after Taiwan’s traditional name “Ilha Formosa”. This was the first event of its kind hosted by the PKC making it a very special victory for the champion. The three-day event attracted 158 entries – 56 at Day 1A and 102 at Day 1B – to generate a prize pool of NT$ 2,758,700 (~US$ 88,000). Out of the 18 players shaving a cut, it was Hong Kong player Hou Hin Gabriel Fung who pocketed the most after defeating fellow countryman Wai Ho Cheung at heads up. Fung earned his first-ever live tournament win and largest live score of NT$ 710,300 (~US$ 22,600).
Final 9 payouts
Prize pool: NT$ 2,758,700 – Buyin: NT$ 20,000 – Entries: 158 – ITM: 18 places
1st Hou Hin Gabriel Fung (Hong Kong) – NT$ 710,300
2nd Wai Ho Cheung (Hong Kong) – NT$ 497,400
3rd Hsin Jou Lu (Taiwan) – NT$ 320,000
4th Choi Loong (Malaysia) – NT$ 177,700
5th Ben Andrews (UK) – NT$ 237,000
6th Chiang Yu Tang (Taiwan) – US$ 142,100
7th Tzu Wei Wang (Taiwan) – NT$ 118,100
8th Kenichi Takarabe (Japan) – NT$ 94,600
9th Shao Hung Lee (Taiwan) – NT$ 70,900
Event 7: NT$ 86,000 (~US$ 2,700) High Rollers – Chi Jen Chu
The NT$86,000 (~US$ 2,700) High Rollers event brought forth a tight field of 27 heavyweights for a prize pool of NT$ 2,095,200 (~US$ 67,000). Once again, Taiwan claimed this one with Chi Jen Chu going the distance. He earned his largest live cash of NT$ 838,100 (~US$ 26,700). This was Chu’s fifth career High Roller title, all of them won on home soil.
Payouts
1st Chi Jen Chu (Taiwan) – NT$ 838,100
2nd Co Chung Chuen (Hong Kong) – NT$ 523,800
3rd Hou Pan Cheng (Hong Kong) – NT$ 335,200
4th Jae Wook Shin (South Korea) – NT$ 230,500
5th Sparrow Park Yu Cheung (Hong Kong) – NT$ 167,600
Other Events
Event 1: NT$ 11,000 (~US$ 350) No Limit Hold’em
Entries: 61
Prize pool: NT$ 591,700 (~US$ 18,900)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Alex Christopher Lindop (UK) – NT$ 177,400 (~US$ 5,600)
Event 2: NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 210) No Limit Hold’em Turbo 1
Entries: 50
Prize pool: NT$ 291,000 (US$ 9,300)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: Pete Yen-Han Chen (Taiwan) – NT$ 104,700 (~US$ 3,300)
Event 3: NT$ 11,000 (~US$ 350) Head Hunter
Entries: 37
Prize pool: NT$ 358,900 (~US$ 11,500)
ITM: 4 places
Winner: Kung Hung Lee (Taiwan) – NT$ 113,900 (~US$ 3,600)
Event 5: NT$ 8,800 (~US$ 280) Short Deck
Entries: 30
Prize pool: NT$ 232,800 (~US$ 7,400)
ITM: 3 places
Winner: Raymond Shao-Kang Wu (USA) – NT$ 111,700 (~US$ 3,500)
Event 6: NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 210) No Limit Hold’em Turbo 2
Entries: 66
Prize pool: NT$ 384,120 (~US$ 12,300)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Yan Zhuang Lee (Hong Kong) – NT$ 115,200 (~US$ 3,600)
Event 8: NT$ 8,800 (~US$ 280) Pot Limit Omaha
Entries: 63
Prize pool: NT$ 488,880 (~US$ 15,600)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Chung Pen Cheng (Taiwan) – NT$ 146,600 (~US$ 4,700)
Event 9: NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 210) Hyper Turbo
Entries: 53
Prize pool: NT$ 308,460 (~US$ 9,800)
ITM: 6 places
Winner: Guan Lun Cheng (Taiwan) – NT$ 104,800 (~US$ 3,300)
Event 10: NT$ 9,000 (~US$ 287) Poker King Cup Closing Event
Entries: 18
Prize pool: NT$ 139,680 (~US$ 4,400)
ITM: 2 places
Winner: Tin Lam Joey Wong (Hong Kong) – NT$ 104,800 (~US$ 3,300)
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
Follow Me:
