Cards in the air! Live tournament action is underway in Asia with full blown festivals taking place in the Philippines, Vietnam, and Taiwan. Soon to join the list is Malaysia. It will be a tough choice for travelers as each one offers enticing guarantees.
Taiwan Millions Tournament 13 NT $8M guaranteed – January 2 to 17
First to see cards flying was the Taiwan Millions Tournament (TMT) which opened on January 2 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association aka CTP Club in Taipei City. Now in its 13th edition, the highly popular homegrown festival will run for over two weeks, closing on January 17. A total of 20 trophies are up for grabs with seven events featuring a combined NT$ 8 Million in guarantees.
Headlining the action is the NT$ 5,000,000 (~$163,280) guaranteed Main Event which takes center stage starting January 8. Buy in is NT$ 8,000 (~US$ 260). To spice thing’s up, the champion is guaranteed a minimum NT$ 1,000,000 (~$32,655) and will receive a special trophy made from Calocedrus formosana wood endemic to Taiwan. At the previous edition, the Main Event drew a record 1,895 entries and a record prize pool of NT$ 12.88 Million. With borders now open to international travelers, hopes are high for a larger turnout.
Other events featuring guarantees:
Event 2: Warm Up – NT$ 300,000 (~$9,800) guarantee – January 2 (completed)
Event 6: Mystery Bounty – NT$ 1,000,000 (~$32,655) guarantee – January 5 to 8
Event 9: Giant Stack – NT$ 500,000 (~$16,330) guarantee – January 9 to 11
Event 14: Champion Win Big – NT$ 1,000,000 (~$32,655) guarantee – January 15
Event 18: NLH – NT$ 300,000 (~$9,800) guarantee – January 16
Event 20: Megastack Closer – NT$ 300,000 (~$9,800) guarantee – January 17
CTP Club invites players to Taiwan Millions Tournament 13
World Poker Championship US$ 1 Million guaranteed – January 3 to 15
Back for its second run in Hanoi, Vietnam, the World Poker Championship sets the bar high with the largest festival guarantee of ONE MILLION US DOLLARS! This will surely attract players from all over the region. Lined up are 24 events of varying buy ins with ten of them featuring enticing guarantees. At the brand’s inaugural run last September, the festival was a massive success, breaking records and closing with a grand prize pool of over ₫54.6 Billion (~US$ 2.3M).
In collaboration with the Hanoi Series of Poker (HSOP), the games are now underway at the Grand Loyal Poker Club running from January 3 through January 15. The ₫2 Billion Kick Off event has already completed two starting days. One more chance to try to qualify.
Headlining the series is the WPC Main Event which is still several days away. It is scheduled from January 10 to 14. This will be one hot title as players battle for the thickest slice of the ₫10 Billion (~US$ 425K) guarantee. The WPC currently holds the record for the largest Vietnam Main Event turnout of 1,020 entries.
Other events featuring guarantees:
Event 1: Kick Off – ₫2 Billion (~US$ 85,015) guaranteed – January 3 to 6
Event 7: Superstack – ₫500 Million (~US$ 21,255) guarantee – January 6
Event 8: Single Day High Roller – ₫1.5 Billion (~US$ 63,760) guarantee – January 6
Event 9: HSOP Main Event – ₫3 Billion (~US$ 127,524) guarantee – January 7 to 8
Event 11: Megastack – ₫1 Billion (~US$ 42,500) guarantee – January 8
Event 13: Mystery Bounty – ₫1.5 Billion (~US$ 63,760) guarantee – January 9 to 10
Event 20: Super High Roller – ₫4 Billion (~US$ 170,030) guarantee – January 13 to 14
Event 21: Monster Stack – ₫1 Billion (~US$ 42,500) guarantee – January 14
Event 22: Megastack Closer – ₫500 Million (~US$ 21,255) guarantee – January 15
World Poker Championship stages richest festival – US$ 1M GTD
Okada Manila Millions ₱3.7 Million (~US$ 66,175) guaranteed – January 3 to 9
Lighting up the felt in Manila, Philippines is the Okada Manila Millions hosted by PokerStars LIVE Asia. This is one of the shortest of the season openers with games running from January 3 to 9 at Okada Manila. Right off the bat, doors opened with the Main Event. For an affordable buy in of ₱3,500 (~US$ 63), players have a chance at the ₱ 3 Million (~US$ 53,650) guarantee. There are seven starting heats to secure your seat. Day 1A to Day 1G run from January 3 to 7.
Other events featuring guarantees:
Event 8: Mystery Bounty – ₱500,000 guaranteed – January 8 – Buy in ₱ 6,500 (~US$ 115)
Event 10: ₱3K Knockout – ₱200,000 guaranteed – January 9 – Buy in ₱ 3,000 (~US$ 55)
Okada Manila Millions – Schedule
Upcoming: Poker Dream Malaysia – RM 3.2M guaranteed – January 9 to 15
In several days, Poker Dream will kick off the year in Malaysia with games running from January 9 to 15 at Genting Highlands. The series features a rich RM 2,000,000 (~US$ 451,400) guaranteed Main Event. Players can expect another swell turnout with a mix of recreational and professionals seeking glory and big money.
Poker Dream was one of the newest brands to emerge in 2022, created by well known industry icon Winfred Yu. Throughout the year, the young brand staged only two events and both set new records. Kicking off in Malaysia, it was the first international festival to be held in the country. High rollers came out in full force to generate a Super High Roller prize pool of over US$ 826K.
Word spread fast that on its second event, which was held in Hoi An, Vietnam, Poker Dream amassed the richest Asia festival of 2022. It paid out over ₫94.57 Billion equivalent to over US$ 3.8 Million. PD also holds the Vietnam Main Event prize pool record of over ₫17.9 Billion.
Other events featuring guarantees:
Warm Up – RM 300,000 (~US$ 67,870) guaranteed – January 9 to 10
Mystery Bounty – RM 400,000 (~US$ 90,500) guaranteed – January 10 to 12
High Roller – RM 500,000 (~US$ 113,120) guaranteed – January 14 to 15
High Roller events:
Super High Roller: January 11 to 12 – RM 50,000 (~US$ 11,310) buy in
20,000 NLH: January 9 to 10 – RM 20,000 (~US$ 4,525) buy in
15,000 NLH – Single Day: January 10 – RM 15,000 (~US$ 3,395) buy in
30,000 NLH – Single Day: January 12 – RM 30,000 (~US$ 6,787) buy in
Mini High Roller: January 15 – RM 6,000 (~US$ 1,360) buy in
Poker Dream Malaysia – Schedule
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
Follow Me:
