2020 WPTDS Taiwan: Ori Kossonogi and Chan Lok Ming among the early winners; Main Event underway

After a few postponements brought on by the pandemic, the World Poker Tour finally touched down in Taiwan. The tour’s highly popular DeepStacks festival is underway at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) in Taipei City with 11 days of games offered. The festivities kicked off on December 11 and will run until December 21 inclusive. 24 games are scheduled, headlined by the NT$ 15,000 (~US$ 532) buy in Main Event. Among the early winners were Ori Kossonogi (Mini Main Event and CTP DeepStack champion) and Chan Lok Ming (Kick Off champion). Like Kossonogi, players Shen Hong Yu and Chieh Ting Yang bagged two events. Let’s have a look at the early winners.

In addition to chasing WPT trophies is the Player of the Series race wherein the top three players win special prizes. The highest in points at the end of the series will be awarded the US$ 1,500 WPT Passport and Trophy. After 13 events, Zong Chi He is in the lead.

Event 9: Mini Main Event – ORI KOSSONOGI – NT$ 297,700 (~US$ 10,585)

Ori Kossonogi is a very familiar face in the Taiwan poker scene. The American-Israeli has been seen at nearly every festival hosted at the CTP Club since 2019. Leading up to WPTDS Taiwan, Kossonogi had already triumphed at seven events with his largest win at the APT Taiwan Finale 2019 Monster Stack for US$ 12,513. Jumping forward to the ongoing series, Kossonogi clinched two tournaments. His first win was at Event 7: CTP Daily DeepStack, defeating 81 others for a NT$ 42,400 (~US$ 1,507) payout. Days later, he shipped the Mini Main Event to become one of three players with two events bagged.

The WPTDS Taiwan Mini Main Event ignited 267 to action for a meaty prize pool of around NT$ 1,500,000 (~US$ 53,300). 34 players gained a piece. Kossonogi came out victorious to claim the lion’s share NT$ 297,700 (~US$ 10,585). Settling for runner up was Hong Kong hotshot Chan Lok Ming. Ming came out determined after his win at the Kick Off but was denied a second title. For his efforts, he still earned a decent NT$ 209,900 (~US$ 7,460)

Mini Main Event info

Buy in: NT$ 6,000 (~US$ 213)
Entries: 267
ITM: 34 places

Final 9 payouts

1st Ori Kossonogi – Israel – NT$ 297,700
2nd Chan Lok Ming – Hong Kong – NT$ 209,900
3rd Yu Heng Wu – Taiwan – NT$ 135,000
4th Tsung Wei Hsu – Taiwan – NT$ 82,400
5th Chi Jen Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 63,600
6th Hsiang Hong Hsueh – Taiwan – NT$ 52,700
7th Hua Wei Lin – Taiwan – NT$ 44,300
8tn Po Chang Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 37,000
9th Chen Yi Lu – Taiwan – NT$ 29,800

Event 3: Kick Off – CHAN LOK MING – NT$ 393,100 (~US$ 13,978)

It is no surprise to see Chan Lok Ming at the top. The Hong Kong player has been crushing the Taiwan scene since last year with deep runs and multiple wins at nearly every festival held at the CTP Club. Last month, Ming shipped three Taiwan Millions Tournament events – two High Rollers and the Mini Main Event. His latest achievement was a victory at the WPTDS Taiwan Kick Off event for his first ever WPT title. Ming overcame the 266 entry field and the loaded final table to pocket the NT$ 393,100 (~US$ 13,978) first prize. Finishing 2nd was another decorated player in the local scene, Zong Chi He, and down several spots was Taiwanese pro Pete Yen Han Chen in 6th place. As mentioned above, Ming missed a second victory falling in 2nd place at the Mini Main Event championed by Ori Kossonogi.

Buy in: NT$ 8,000 (~US$ 284)
Total Entries: 266
Day 1A: 76
Day 1B: 124
Day 1C: 66
ITM: 35 places

Final 9 payouts

1st Chan Lok Ming – Hong Kong – NT$ 393,100
2nd Zong Chi He – Taiwan – NT$ 276,500
3rd Benezra Nissan Nisim – Israel – NT$ 177,900
4th Ping Hao Huang – Taiwan – NT$ 109,300
5th Pete Yen Han Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 84,400
6th Patrick Liang – Brazil – NT$ 69,900
7th Kai Jan Chou – Taiwan – NT$ 58,800
8th Ming Tsang Lin – Taiwan – NT$ 49,100
9th Feng Wen Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 39,300

Sheng Hong Yu and Chieh Ting Yang win two events

Apart from Ori Kossongi, two others also closed out two events namely Sheng Hong Yu and Chieh Ting Yang. For the former Yu, he overcame 61 entrants to champion the NT$ 33,000 (~US$ 1,171) buy in High Roller event pocketing a career high payout of NT$ 649,400 (~US$ 23,000). His second victory came later at the CTP SuperStack 1 event where he defeated a field of 102 entries for an additional NT$ 128,200 (~US$ 4,560).

For Yang, he too won two events. It was a back to back and both were CTP Daily DeepStacks. This earned him a combined NT$ 83,700 (~US$ 2,975).

Event 10: CTP Daily DeepStack

Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 71)
Entries: 71
ITM: 11 places
Winner: CHIEH TING YANG – Taiwan – NT$ 42,900 (~US$ 1,525)

Event 11: CTP Daily DeepStack

Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 71)
Entries: 75
ITM: 10 places
Winner: CHIEH TING YANG – Taiwan – NT$ 40,800 (~US$ 1,450)

In Progress: Event 15: WPTDS Main Event

At the time of writing, the WSPTDS Main Event was in swing with 63 entries and counting. Among those in the field were seven players that qualified via Natural8 – Lok_Poker, CYGGsoin, DragonChou, Big-Big-Big, rack710102, ultrafish, and Jacob K. Two more starting days to follow. Buy in is NT$ 15,000 (~US$ 532).

OTHER RESULTS

Event 2: PLO & NLH Mix Game

Buy in: NT$ 10,000 (~US$ 355)
Entries: 48
ITM: 6 places
Winner: SEGERS KRISTOF – Belgium – NT$ 163,500 (~US$ 5,800)

Event 6: MegaStack NLH 1

Buy in: NT$ 10,000 (~US$ 355)
Entries: 72
ITM: 9 places
Winner: HSUEH HSIANG HONG – Taiwan – NT$ 220,000 (~US$ 7,822)

Event 12: WPTDS PLO

Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 177)
Entries: 52
ITM: 7 places
Winner: CHAO TING CHENG – Taiwan – NT$ 79,300 (~US$ 2,819)

Added: High Roller

Buy in: NT$ 33,000 (~US$ 1,171)
Entries: 38
Prize pool: NT$ 1,140,000 (~US$ 40,500)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: PO WEN FANG – Taiwan – NT$ 453,500 (~US$ 16,118)

OTHER CTP DAILY DEEPSTACK WINNERS

Event 4: CTP Daily DeepStack

Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 71)
Entries: 55
ITM: 7 places
Winner: CHANG JU WU – Taiwan – NT$ 32,50 (~US$ 1,155)

Event 5: CTP Daily DeepStack

Buy in: NT$ 2,000 (~US$ 71)
Entries: 74
ITM: 10 places
Winner: CHIH CHANG HU – Taiwan – NT$ 40,300 (~US$ 1,432)

WPTDS Taiwan Player of the Series

The WPTDS Player of the Series race is on. After 13 events, Taiwan’s Zong Chi He is ahead by over 50 points. His current tally is 330.96 while the closest challenger Yen Liang Lao trails by 50 points at 280.08. Among Zong’s deepest runs at the series was runner up at the WPTDS Kick Off event. With another 13 games yet to play out, it is anyone’s title. The top three players in points will be awarded:

1st place: US$ 1,500 WPT Passport + Trophy
2nd place: 1 seat to Taiwan Millions Tournament Season 10 Main Event
3rd place: 1 seat to Taiwan Millions Tournament Season 10 Mini Main Event

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker as we bring you the final results of the WPTDS Taiwan as it unfolds.