Taiwan Millions Tournament Season 8 closes with a record 1,522 Main Event turnout; Ji Fu Tsai & Carlos Chang win big; back to back POS title for Chia Yun Wu

In a time where there is still much uncertainty for land based poker festivals, one place where players continue to enjoy live events is in Taiwan. Recently concluded was a very hot 18-day series – Season 8 of the Taiwan Millions Tournament (TMT) – held at the highly popular CTP Club (Chinese Texas Hold’em Association) in Taipei City from July 3 to 20. A total of 26 events ran with several games witnessing record fields. Most popular was none other than the Main Event which drew a smashing 1,522 entries. Among the top moneymakers were winners Ji Fu Tsai (Main Event) and Carlos Chang (Special Event High Roller 6 Max). Champions of Events 12 to 26 are listed down below.

For prior results, read our previous post on this event. Also awarded was Chia Yun Wu who displayed utmost prowess, capturing the TMT Player of the Series title for a second consecutive season. 

Chia Yun Wu wins back to back TMT Player of the Series

We start our news story with the TMT Player of the Series race. After 18 days of heated action, the title went to Chia Yun Wu, a retired businessman turned CTP Club poker regular. Impressively, this was Wu’s second consecutive TMT POS win. Wu cashed in 13 events, reaching the final table an incredible seven times. He also won one of the Daily Deep Stack events. For his achievement, Wu was awarded the 2020 Championship Platinum Pass worth NT$ 25K.

Earning 2nd place in the race was Philip King Chung Wang to claim the Championship Main Event Pass worth NT$ 15K, and securing 3rd place was Chih Ying Liang for a TMT Season 9 Main Event seat. 

Event #15: Main Event – Ji Fu Tsai – NT$ 1,375,100 (~US$ 46,700)

The festival’s star attraction was the NT$ 8,000 buy in Main Event featuring a guaranteed NT$ 2,500,000 (~US$ 85,000). With an overwhelming 1,522 pouring in, it drove the pot northward over four times the guarantee. The prize pool settled at NT$ 10,349,600 (~US$ 351,800). This is officially the largest sized tournament in Taiwan having surpassed the previous record holder CTP Alliance Cup 2020 that fielded 1,345 entries.

Successfully wading through the tough competition was Ji Fu Tsai to claim his first ever title and a whopping NT$ 1,375,100 (~US$ 46,700). This far exceeded his three live tournament cashes totaling US$ 2,550. Additionally, Tsai was awarded a Free Championship Pass worth NT$ 25K.

Buy in: $ 8,000 (~US$ 270)
Guarantee: NT$ 2,500,000 (~US$ 85,000)
Entries: 1,522
Prize pool: NT$ 10,349,600 (~US$ 351,800)
ITM: 195 places

Final 9 payouts

1st Ji Fu Tsai – NT$ 1,375,100 (deal made)
2nd Wei Yu Lin – NT$ 1,000,000 (deal made)
3rd Ji Ying Tang – NT$ 1,000,000 (deal made)
4th Po Jun Lin – NT$ 1,000,000 (deal made)
5th Wei Yu Su – NT$ 436,600
6th Chia Wei Kuo – NT$ 247,500
7th Jun Hao Ke – $ 208,000
8th Wen Yun Tu – NT$ 178,100
9th Pi Ying Hsu – NT$ 151,400

Special Event: High Roller 6 Max – Carlos Chang – NT$ 1,109,200 (~US$ 37,700)

As advertised a special invitational event was added, the High Roller 6-Max which was attended by famed pro player Kitty Kuo and Live at the Bike high roller Andy Tsai. 77 entered at NT$ 58,800 (~US$ 2,000) each for a pot exceeding NT$ 4 Million. It concluded with Carlos Chang claiming the kingly NT$ 1,109,200 (~US$ 37,700) first prize.

This was Chang’s fifth live tournament career win. His largest score was in July 2012 after taking down the Asian Poker Tour Main Event for US$ 246,607. Chang also cashed at several WSOP events in Las Vegas, earning himself two six-figure payouts. The bulkiest of US$ 189,584 was for 4th place at The Closer event in July 2019. With his latest win, Chang spilled over to US$ 1.1M in live earnings.

Event #12: Mini Main Event – Chun An Chou – NT$ 300,200 (~US$ 10,200)

This season’s Mini Main Event just edged its previous record entries of 737 set in Season 7. The newest bar for this event is now 749 entries. With each buy in at NT$ 4,000 (~US$ 135), the prize pool more than doubled the NT$ 1 million guarantee for a bloated NT$ 2,546,600 (~US$ 86,500) final pot. Of the 99 players earning a share, attaining the utmost glory was Chun An Chou for NT$ 300,200 (~US$ 10,200) and the Free Championship Pass worth NT$ 25K.

Buy in: NT$ 4,000 (~US$ 135)
Guarantee: NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 34,000)
Entries: 749
Prize pool: NT$ 2,546,600 (~US$ 86,500)
ITM: 99 places

Final 9 payouts

1st Chun An Chou – NT$ 300,200 (deal made)
2nd Chih Ying Liang – NT$ 296,500 (deal made)
3rd Wen Yuan Tu – NT$ 296,500 (deal made)
4th Harry Hou – NT$ 296,500 (deal made)
5th Xi Jun Hong – NT$ 97,100
6th Hsien Chieh Tsai – NT$ 74,600
7th Tzu Wei Wang – NT$ 57,200
8th Hung Yi Chiu – NT$ 49,700
9th Ren Ruei Liu – NT$ 42,300

Hattrick for WSOPC Online ring winner Chi Jen Chu

WSOPC Online Circuit ring winner Chi Jen Chu came out swinging at the TMT series taking down three events. In our previous post, we reported on his first two wins. He followed it up with a third victory at Event #21 High Roller besting a field of 81 runners. No other player at the series achieved this feat. For his latest win, Chu earned NT$ 291,700 (~US$ 9,900). Combining this to his previous wins of NT$ 73,200, Chu scored a total of NT$ 364,900 (~US$ 12,400) in first place payouts.

Event: #21: High Roller
Buy in: NT $15,000 (~US$ 500)
Entries: 81
Prize pool: NT$ 1,093,500 (~US$ 37,200)
ITM: 10 places
Winner: NT$ 291,700 (~US$ 9,900)

Other Winners

Event #13: Standard NLH Turbo
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 76
Prize pool: NT$ 121,600 (~US$ 4,100)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Deng Dng Kai – NT$ 37,500 (~US$ 1,300)

Event #14: Standard NLH Turbo
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 67
Prize pool: NT$ 107,200 (~US$ 3,600)
ITM: 8 places
Winner: Zong Chi He – NT$ 35,400 (~US$ 1,200)

Event: #16: High Roller Event
Buy in: NT$ 15,000 (~US$ 500)
Entries: 76
Prize pool: NT$ 1,026,000 (~US$ 34,900)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Hung Yu Liao – NT$ 273,600 (~US$ 9,300)

Event: #17: Ladies Event
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 85)
Entries: 37
Prize pool: NT$ 92,500 (~US$ 3,100)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: Ching Wen Lou – NT$ 30,500 (~US$ 1,040)

Event: #18: Double Stack Event
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 85)
Entries: 147
Prize pool: NT$ 312,375 (~US$ 10,600)
ITM: 18 places
Winner: Hong Yu Siao – NT$ 78,800 (~US$ 2,700)

Event: #19: Pot Limit Omaha – 6 Max
Buy in: NT$ 3,000 (~US$ 100)
Entries: 84
Prize pool: NT$ 214,200 (~US$ 7,300)
ITM: 10 places
Winner: En Hao Chan – NT$ 56,100 (~US$ 1,900)

Event: #20 No Limit Hold’em – 6 Max
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 85)
Entries: 145
Prize pool: NT$ 308,125 (~US$ 10,500)
ITM: 18 places
Winner: Wei Lo – NT$ 77,500 (~US$ 2,600)

Event: #22: Monster Stack Turbo
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 85)
Entries: 188
Prize pool: NT$ 399,500 (~US$ 13,600)
ITM: 24 places
Winner: Chieh Ting Yang – NT$ 99,600 (~US$ 3,400)

Event: #23: Standard NLH Turbo
Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 70)
Entries: 71
Prize pool: NT$ 113,600 (~US$ 3,900)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Wei Ning Ma – NT$ 37,400 (~US$ 1,300)

Event: #24: Mega Stack
Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 170)
Entries: 224
Prize pool: NT$ 952,000 (~US$ 32,400)
ITM: 28 places
Winner: Chia Lin Chang – NT$ 226,300 (~US$ 7,700)

Event: #25: High Roller
Buy in: NT$ 15,000 (~US$ 500)
Entries: 71
Prize pool: NT$ 958,500 (~US$ 32,500)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Hsu Huang – NT$ 271,900 (~US$ 9,200)

Event: #26: Mega Stack
Buy in: NT $2,500 (~US$ 85)
Entries: 224
Prize pool: NT$ 476,000 (~US$ 16,200)
ITM: 28 places
Winner: Hsin Jer Lee – NT$ 89,400 (~US$ 3,000)