APT Taipei 2024: Stars fall to comedian Lunglung; Lester Edoc wins big; National Cup crosses 1,100 entries

 

Awe and excitement at Day 2 of APT Taipei 2024 as international stars took the stage. Chien Yu “Lunglung” Lin and Lester Edoc topped the champions list as the APT National Cup upsized to 1,149 entries. Check out the highlights.

Wildcard entry Chien Yu “LungLung” Lin takes down the stars

The much-awaited All-Star Showdown topped the day’s highlights, drawing a big rail live with thousands more joining via the livestream. The first-time featured event was a 9-player Sit & Go with stars of every kind going head-to-head for a winner-take-all pot. Each one was in for NTD 30,000 (~USD 970). 

For the first time at APT, fans were treated to an up close look at 2022 WSOP MAIN EVENT champion Espen Jørstad as he joined the star-heavy lineup that included Triple crown major Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, Thai Superstar / APT Taipei 2023 Main Event winner Punnat Punsri,  Taiwanese aces Eric Ting-Yi Tsai, Nevan Yu-Chung Chang, four-time Triton winner Danny Tang, online content creator Frank Cucchiara, and GPI Fans Choice Personality Greg “Greg Goes All In” Liow.

Despite all the awards and titles these fine players brought to the felt, it was no match for standup comedian Chien Yu Lin aka LungLung who won her seat via a Natural8 Wild Card promo. In a brief interview with APT, 

“I’m so surprised, I did not expect it at all! My friends told me I should be happy if I just beat one of them and finish eighth, so to win everything feels great!”

LungLung defeated Tang at heads up with pocket Nines dusting Ace-rag. She captured her first ever APT Trophy and the entire load amounting to NTD 235,710 (~USD 7,450). With this win, LungLung has given many amateurs the hope of playing alongside their idols and possibly even defeating them.

Filipino Lester Edoc tops the mighty at Single Day High Roller

Day 2 at APT Taipei 2024 saw a much larger turnout at the Single Day High Roller. Among the 86-entry field were GPI Asia winner Tony Ren Lin, Japanese stars Shimizu Nozomu, Kosei Ichinose, Australians John Perry, Joshua McCully, Yita Choong, India’s rising star Santhosh Suvarna, Lithuanian pro Vladas Tamasauskas, WSOP bracelet winners Mike Takayama, Justin Saliba, and other notables Thomas Ward, Nguyen Quang Huy, Jack Salter to name a few.

While some reached the final table, it was Filipino pro Lester Edoc who outshined defeating Austria’s Daniel Smiljkovic at heads up. Edoc walked away with the biggest payout of the day of NTD 2,686,140 (~USD 84,915) to bump up his All-Time live tournament earnings to over USD 1.6 Million. Edoc’s new year has kicked off strong, securing his third trophy having snatched up two titles at the recently concluded Manila Megastack 18.  Another player displaying consistent deep runs was Hong Kong’s Sparrow Cheung with a third final table cash at the series.

Buy in: NTD 130,000 (~USD 4,110)
Entries: 86 (56 unique)
Prize pool: NTD 9,760,140 (~USD 308,500)
ITM: 11 places

APT National Cup increases to 1,149 cumulative entries

While plenty of thrills lit up the festivities, it was the APT National Cup action that brought in the thunder. Flight B and Flight C attracted a combined 661 entries to bring the cumulative tally to 1,149 entries with Flight A drawing the largest of 488 entries. Two flights remain. These are the last chances at qualifying for a piece of the NTD 15,000,000 (~USD 474,000) guaranteed prize pool.

Pi Ying Hsu tops Flight B

Flight B attracted 425 entries (298 unique) with Taiwanese players once again dominating in numbers. Once the money was reached (63 players remaining), a rapid race to qualify followed. The night closed with 24 players led by Taiwan’s Pi Ying Hsu who bagged 61 bb. Also in the top 10 was famous Korean  Yohwan Lim aka BoxeR with 31 bb.

Chih Wei Fan tops Flight C

Chih Wei Fan made waves at the start of the year with a stunning comeback to win the USOP Taiwan Super Star Challenge. Fan’s fire continued to burn bright at Flight C, topping the 14 survivors with his 26 bb stack. This number of big blinds will be slightly bigger at the start of Day 2.

Flight C was a Turbo flight with blinds increasing at half pace of 15 minutes. The 236 entry field (189 unique) saw the money flow at 35 places.

Flight summary

Buy in: NTD 10,000 (~USD 315)
Guarantee: NTD 15,000,000 (~USD 474,000)
Flight A: 488 entries / 73 ITM / 29 advanced
Flight B: 425 entries / 63 ITM / 24 advanced
Flight C: 236 entries / 35 ITM / 14 advanced

Martin Sedlak wins the High Roller – Turbo

First time winner at the day’s High Roller Turbo event with Austria’s Martin Sedlak outlasting the 29 entry field. The NTD 25,000 (~USD 790) buy in event generated a pot of NTD 759,510 (~USD 24,000). Sedlak locked up NTD 282,000 (~USD 8,900) and a trophy to forever commemorate the happy moment.

Buy in: NTD 30,000 (~USD 950)
Entries: 29
Prize pool: NTD 759,510 (~USD 24,000)
ITM: 5 places

Justin Saliba adds an APT Trophy to his collection

Two-time WSOP bracelet winner Justin Saliba added an APT merchandise to his collection of prizes after his victory at the evening’s Hyper Turbo High Roller event. Saliba topped the 23-entry field to lock up NTD 210,975 (~USD 6,675) in cold hard cash. Opening day’s champion of this event, Hong Kong’s Dicky Siu Hang Tang, finished in fourth place.

Buy in: NTD 25,000 (~USD 790)
Entries: 23
Prize pool: NTD 510,975 (~USD 15,880)
ITM: 4 places

APT Taipei 2024 – Results

APT Taipei 2024 – Main Event

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Taipei 2024 runs from February 28 to March 10 in Taipei City, Taiwan. The festival boasts a massive NTD 150 Million (~USD 4.8 Million) guarantee.

Out of the packed lineup of 105 trophy events, the APT Main Event will be the most sought after title with a substantial payout expected due to its NTD 65,000,000 (~USD 2,000,000) guarantee. This is the largest prize pool ever offered in Asia. The event runs March 3 to 9, 2024 with buy in set at NTD 70,000 (~USD 2,200).

The APT prides itself in its Main Event tournament structure and has been praised as one of the best in the region. Players start with a deep 40,000 stack (400 times the opening blind). Flight A blinds increase every 60 minutes, Flight B blinds increase every 45 minutes, and Flight C will see blinds increase every 30 minutes then 40 minutes at the start of Level 7. All entry flights play a total of 10 levels.

In 2023, Thailand pro Punnat Punsri clinched the APT Main Event for NTD 11,210,400 (~USD 364,300). He is on site and will be looking to defend his title.

Asian Poker Tour Taipei sets the bar high with over TWD 150 Million (~USD 4.8M) in guarantees