J88Poker Tour: Vincent Li tops Main Event Day 1B; Team Event final 3 established

J88Poker Tour 2019 concluded another starting day to the Main Event with 121 entries at the close of registration. Combine that with the 105 of Day 1A, the NT$ 5 Million guarantee has been reached. There is still one entry day left to fatten up that prize pool even further. For now, we’ve got the day’s results below including the finalists of the Team Event.

Main Event – Day 1B recap

Day 1B attracted 121 entries however only 35 players remained at the end of the 12 rounds. Winning a couple of pots during the last hands called was Hong Kong’s Vincent Li. This was enough to edge him to captaincy with 183,000 in chips.

Two players trail the leader by a small margin, Casey Kastle with 176,000 and Singapore’s Sebastian Tan with 172,500. A bit of tidbit on pro player Kastle, he is ranked 1st in Slovenia’s All Time Money List. He is also known for having played in countless number of cities around the world wearing just shorts and sandals.

Joining the top three to the next stage were: Luke Kuang Hung Lee (133,000), J88Poker Team Pro Jin Tian (74,000), Edward Yam (67,000), Eric Tsai (65,000), Pete Chen (50,000), and Jeon Seung Soo (41,500).

Day 1B Chip Count

1 – KWAN NGAI VINCENT LI – 183000
2 – CASEY KASTLE – 176000
3 – SEBASTIAN TAN – 172500
4 – KUANG HUNG LEE – 133000
5 – ZHI NENG ZHOU – 101000
6 – CHUN HUI WU – 94000
7 – TUSI HAN HSIAO – 87500
8 – LI CHEN TSAI – 85000
9 – LIM CHUE SUNG – 83500
10 – PO YI YEH – 82500
11 – PATRICK LIANG – 76000
12 – JIN TIAN – 74000
13 – FENG WEN CHEN – 72500
14 – HEO DONG RYUL- 70000
15 – CHUN HO EDWARD YAM – 67000
16 – TING YI TSAI – 65000
17 – LEE WON SEO – 58000
18 – YEN JU LEE – 53000
19 – YUN YANG HSIAO – 52500
20 – TZU WEI WANG – 51000
21 – YEN HAN CHEN – 50000
22 – PARK TAE HUAY – 49500
23 – WEI HUANG – 48500
24 – TAK YAN – 45500
25 – TING LIN WANG – 42500
26 – LOK TIN CHAN – 42000
27 – JEON SEUNG SOO – 41500
28 – DAVID TAI – 40500
29 – YU NOZAKI – 37500
30 – STEPHEN LAI – 37000
31 – WANG FUK ON – 36000
32 – PARK SU CHEOL – 36000
33 – CHONG ZHI LEE – 27500
34 – SUNNY JUNG – 27500
35 – CHENG CHIEH YANG – 21200

For those that bumped the rail, last chance tomorrow to secure a spot into Day 2. A combined total of 62 players – 27 (Day 1A) and 35 (Day 1B) – have advanced. With the guarantee already reached, this is one growing pot that clearly must not be missed. And don’t forget…. a seat to the WSOP 2019 Main Event is up for grabs!

Team Event – Day 2 recap

After an overnight break, the three-day Team Event resumed with 9 teams fresh and ready to seize one of the three coveted spots to the final day. For the qualifiers, it also ensured a piece of the cash prize pool of NT$492,960 (~US$16,000).

Coming off a great start at Day 1 was Team Nice Hand and Team OT where both teams crushed the competition. However at Day 2, it didn’t quite go as planned. Both fell out of the running. For Team OT captain – J88Poker Team Pro Chen Hao – it meant there would be no back-to-back victory. Also missing the mark were Team 3Bet Monkey and Day 1 resurrected crews: Team AlphaGO, Team OTZIE, and Team KONG.

On the flip side, scoring the highest after the four game formats was Team Mahome with 33 points. They excelled in PLO and at NL Hold’em. The team is made up of Wei Ning Ma (captain), Patrick Liang, Anson Wong Fuk On, and Leung Chun Kit “Rico”. For accruing the most points, they will enter the finals with a stack of 50K.

Claiming the second spot was Team SPL comprised of Si Yang Phua (captain), Andy Li Xueyan, Sebastian Tan, and Daniel. They racked up 27 points. This gives them 40K to start with tomorrow. And earning the last spot was Team HKPPA with 25 points. Team members are Sparrow Cheung (captain), Alan Lau, Stephen Lai, and Edward Yam. HKPPA will enter the finals with a stack of 30K.

The final race takes place on Monday, April 1 at 12pm. The expected payouts are listed below:

1st NT$ 242,460 (~US$8,000)
2nd NT$ 150,000 (~US$4,800)
3rd NT$ 100,000 (~US$3,200)

J88Poker Tour 2019 has been ongoing at CTP Club – Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association – since March 29 and is due to conclude on Wednesday, April 3. Up at bat tomorrow is the last day to enter the Main Event.

Day 1C gets on the floor starting at 5pm. Buy-in is NT$25,000. As mentioned above, the NT$5 Million guarantee has been reached. Every entry tomorrow is now added icing. For those that have already advanced to Day 2, you are due back at the felt on Tuesday, April 2 at 1pm.

Somuchpoker is onsite and will continue to provide you with the latest news on the ongoing festival.