Early Highlights of the APT Finale Macau Championships 2017

Macau may be a bit chilly this time of year but at the ongoing APT Finale Macau Championships 2017 at the Macau Billionaire Poker in Babylon Casino, poker enthusiasts have been heating up the felt with many of the events already claimed. Here are some of the festival’s early highlights:

Varun Gupta wins the Main Event

India’s Varun Gupta – a newcomer to the APT arena – made his mark last night after winning the APT Main Event. This was truly a milestone moment for Gupta whose background is more on cash games. His appearance at the APT finale was his first international tournament venture outside of his homeland.

Gupta overcame the 157 entry field packed with pros and APT regulars from all over the region. For his final hurdle to the title, he defeated Chinese Taipei pro Jack En-Ching Wu at the heads up round. Due to a deal, Gupta pocketed HK$300,400 (~US$38,450), his largest tournament career score, while Wu earned slightly higher, HKD 310,000 (~US$39,675).

Final 8 Payouts
1st Varun Gupta – India – HKD 300,400 (deal made)
2nd Jack En-Ching Wu – Chinese Taipei – HKD 310,000 (deal made)
3rd Shyh Chyn Lim – Malaysia – HKD 156,000
4th Kwok Luen Hei – Hong Kong – HKD 113,800
5th Kai Paulsen – Norway – HKD 94,200
6th Austin Walton – USA – HKD 77,600
7th Michael Soyza – Malaysia – HKD 64,100
8th Anson Wong Fuk On – Hong Kong – HKD 53,500

Kai Paulsen triumphs at the Game of Champions

The finale took off running with the APT Game of Champions leading the festivities. This event was exclusively for all APT trophy winners of 2017. Despite there being a long list of qualified players and a generous US$10,000 added by the APT to the pot, only 18 turned up. Still, it didn’t prevent a tough battle from taking place with all the champions gunning for that first big payout.

After two days of action, Norway’s Kai Paulsen persevered and was crowned the APT champion of champions. Due to a deal with runner-up Stephen Nathan, Paulsen collected HK$66,300 (US$8,400) while Nathan picked up HK$77,500 (US$9,900).

Yohwan Lim claims the Warm Up Event

Another familiar face ran away with one of the early trophies, Korea’s Yohwan Lim aka Boxer. Lim is one of the most highly revered StarCraft gamers turned poker pros and he has been doing quite well. He already has a few APT poker trophies shelved from previous seasons and added another by winning the Warm Up event. Lim bested a field of 59 players and earned the HK$63,500 (~US$8,100) first place cash.

Other pros with trophies

A couple of seasoned pros also snagged an early trophy at the finale. Japanese pro Iori Yogo topped the 36 player field of the No Limit Hold’em 1 event and earned himself a cool HK$55,800. For Chinese pro Wei Guoliang, he ran deep at the Main Event with an 18th place finish but went the distance at the No Limit Hold’em 1 Day event 2 with 50 entries total. He claimed HK$38,800 for his win.

The APT Finale Macau Championships 2017 is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, December 10. There is still lots of action taking place with the APT Championships Event on course through the weekend. We will have the final scoop for you in the coming days.

Article by Triccia David