Taiwan Millions Tournament Season 8 packs the house; Philip Wang and Chi Jen Chu among the early winners

Long lines and a packed house that’s the ongoing scenario at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) in Taipei City, Taiwan. As one of the small number of places able to arrest and suppress the novel coronavirus (COVID 19), poker players in Taiwan have been fortunate to have had their favorite game available throughout the pandemic.

Last week, the popular CTP Club filled to capacity as players rushed in for Season 8 of the Taiwan Millions Tournament (TMT). The much anticipated local festival opened on July 3rd and is scheduled to run until July 20th. Providing all the enjoyment was an extensive list of games and NT$ 5,000,000 (~US$ 169,500) in guaranteed prizes.

After seven days of action, 11 events have been completed. Among the winners were WSOPC Online Series ring winner Chi Jen Chu who claimed two events, Chi Jen Chen also won two, and Taiwan’s top ITM player, Philip King Chun Wang won one and cashed in another three. We have all those results for you at the bottom of the page.

The biggest events are yet to come – the Mini Main Event NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 34,000) guaranteed and the Main Event NT$ 2,500,000 (~US$ 84,900) guaranteed.

Mini Main Event
Dates: July 9 to 12
Buy in: NT$ 4,000 (~US$ 135)
Guarantee: NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 34,000)
Entry days: four Day 1 heats
Final Day: Sunday, July 12

Main Event
Dates: July 12 to 20
Buy in: NT$ 8,000 (~US$ 270)
Guarantee: NT$ 2,500,000 (~US$ 84,900)
Entry days: five Day 1 heats
Final Day: Sunday, July 19

Also on the list are the High Roller, Ladies Event, Double Stack, Monster Stack, Mega Stack and 6 max games for both PLO and NLH. According to the CTP Club facebook page, a special NT$ 1,000,000 guaranteed 6-Max event will take place on Thursday, July 16 with   “Live at the Bike” regulars Andy Tsai and Kitty Kuo guaranteed to be there.

For players unfamiliar with the CTP Club, it has been the choice poker venue for many international brands entering Taiwan. The room boomed last year with brands such as the GPI, All Japan Poker Championship, J88Poker Tour, Asian Poker Tour, Poker King Club, Hong Kong Poker Player Association, and PPPoker, all bringing in their style of the game. This and the addition of numerous local events have further recognized CTP Club as one of The Hendon Mob’s top poker rooms in the world by popularity and by number of events.

Completed Events

WSOPC Online Series ring winner Chi Jen Chu wins two events

Taiwanese High Roller / new WSOPC Online Series ring winner Chi Jen Chu continued to impress both live and online. The WSOPC champion took down two events on home turf. His first was at Event 2: NLH Turbo where he triumphed over 107 challengers to land the NT$ 45,800 (~US$ 1550) top prize. Days later, Chu bested a field of 52 runners at Event 11: Standard NLH event to earn another NT$ 27,400 (~US$ 930).

Event 2: NLH Turbo Event
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 108
Prize pool: NT$ 172,800 (~US$ 5,900)
ITM: 14 places

Event 11: Standard NLH Event
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US 70)
Entries: 52
Prize pool: NT$ 83,200 (~US$ 2,800)
ITM: 7 places

Philip King Chun Wang wins the Warm Up Event

The Warm Up event was the first of six guaranteed events offered. With 391 rushing in at NT$ 1500 (~US$ 50) each, it dusted the NT$ 200,000 guarantee for a great start to the festival. The final pot amounted to NT$ 469,200 (~US$ 16,000) with 50 paid.

Coming out victorious was Philip King Chun Wang, considerably one of the most well known players in the Taiwan circuit. As the first winner of the TMT Season 8 series, Wang claimed the NT$ 108,500 (~US$ 3,700) first prize and was also awarded a CTP Championship Festival Main Event Pass worth NT$ 15K. Following that win, Wang went on to cash at three other events to bring his combined early earnings to NT$ 221,200 (~US$ 7,500). According to The Hendon Mob stats, Wang now has a total of 28 ITM for 2020.

Buy in: NT$ 1500 (~US$ 50)
Guarantee: NT$ 200,000 (~US$ 6,800)
Entries: 391
Prize pool: NT$ 469,200 (~US$ 16,000)
ITM: 50 places

Final table payouts

1st Philip King Chung Wang – NT$ 108,500
2nd Yen Cheng An – NT$ 68,000
3rd Ching Lin Chou – NT$ 42,200
4th Siao Yan Chen NT$ 33,300
5th Dai Rong Li – NT$ 24,600
6th Hsien Che Chen – NT$ 20,000
7th Yen Yi Hsu – NT$ 15,200
8th Yi Min Chang – NT$ 13,000
9th Hong Rui Tang – NT$ 10,800

Chi Jen Chen closes out two events

Like multi winner Chi Jen Chu, local player Chi Jen Chen also shipped two events. Chen’s first win was at Event 6: Standard NLH, outlasting a field of 87 entries to pocket NT$ 37,600 (~US$ 1,300). His second win came soon after at Event 8 Standard NLH Event, defeating a field of 47 entries for NT$ 27,100 (~US$ 920). Prior to his wins, Chen cashed in 6th place at Event 2: NLH Turbo for NT$ 11,200.

Event 6: Standard NLH Event
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 87
Prize pool: NT$ 139,200 (~US$ 4,700)
ITM: 11 places

Event 8: Standard NLH Event
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 47
Prize pool: NT$ 75,200 (~US$ 2,500)
ITM: 6 places

Single largest win: Jackie Wu – NT$ 300,300 (~US$ 10,200)

A couple of high guarantee events brought players out of the woodwork for a chance at the NT$ 500,000 (~US$ 17,000) pot. Event 7: Giant Stack was the most attractive as it crushed the guarantee for a heavier NT$ 1,317,500 (~US$ 44,800) prize pool. The event ran for two days, concluding with Jackie Wu on top for a sizable NT$ 300,300 (~US$ 10,200). To date, this was the single largest first prize payout of the festival. With no prior wins recorded on The Hendon Mob, this may well be Wu’s first live tournament win. Among the final tableists were Philip Wang and Zong Chi He.

Event 7: Giant Stack Event
Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 170)
Guarantee: NT$ 500,000 (~US$ 17,000)
Entries: 310
Prize pool: NT$ 1,317,500 (~US$ 44,800)
ITM: 40 places

Final table payouts

1st Jackie Wu – NT$ 300,000
2nd Ori Kossonogi – NT$ 191,700
3rd Tien Wei Yao – NT$ 121,400
4th Philip King Chun Wang – NT$ 95,800
5th Zhi Ling Chiang – NT$ 70,300
6th Zong Chi He – NT$ 57,500
7th Shu In Li – NT$ 44,700
8th Jun Long Jian – NT$ 37,700
9th Yu Chung Chang – NT$ 30,700

Event 3: Kick Off Event – Fang Kao Hsiao – NT$ 220,000 (~US$ 7,500)

The other NT$ 500,000 guaranteed event was the Kick Off Event with a big crowd of 324 jumping in. This boosted the prize pool to NT$ 963,900 (~US$ 32,700) of which 41 earned. Claiming the kingly cut was Fang Kao Hsiao amounting to NT$ 220,000 (~US$ 7,500). Hsiao has cashed numerous times this year, all at the CTP Club. This was his first live win and largest live score.

Buy in: NT$ 3,500 (~US$ 120)
Guarantee: NT$ 500,0000 (~US$ 17,000)
Entries: 324
Prize pool: NT$ 963,900 (~US$ 32,700)
ITM: 41 places

Final table payouts

1st Fang Kao Hsiao – NT$ 220,000
2nd Yao Hsien Chang – NT$ 140,000
3rd Hsien Hua Shiu – NT$ 87,000
4th Shan Guang Tsai – NT$ 67,800
5th Chung Ann Tai – NT$ 49,000
6th Yi Lung Tsai – NT$ 39,800
7th Ping Hao Huang – NT$ 31,400
8th Chen Wei Tseng – NT$ 26,700
9th Yu Chung Chang – NT$ 22,000

Other Winners

Event 5: Fighters Event – Hsien Chieh Tsai – NT$ 155,700 (~US$ 5,300)

Buy in: NT$ 3,500 (~US$ 120)
Guarantee: NT$ 300,000 (~US$ 10,200)
Entries: 220
Prize pool: NT$ 654,500 (~US$ 22,200)
ITM: 28 places

Event 4: NLH Turbo Event – Yi Hung Chen – NT$ 34,700

Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 71
Prize pool: NT$ 113,600 (~US$ 3,900)
ITM: 9 places

Event 9: Standard PLO Event – Chih Ying Liang – NT$ 33,800 (~US$ 1,100)

8th at event 5 – 30,550

Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 64
Prize pool: NT$ 102,400 (~US$ 3,500)
ITM: 7 places

Event 10: Twitch & CTP Club Freeroll

Buy in: NT$ 0
Entries: 266
Prize: GTD 10 seats to Mini Main Event sponsored by Twitch

Check back with us here at Somuchpoker for more results of the ongoing Taiwan Millions Tournament Season 8.