New records were set at APT Taipei 2024 as the ambitious $25K Superstar Challenge and National Cup exceeded all expectations. Lester Edoc and Edilberto Gopez Jr. lead the action with both players in prime form to capture the largest prizes yet. Check out the highlights.
Filipino Lester Edoc on fire at the inaugural $25K Superstar Challenge
When the Asian Poker Tour announced its APT Taipei 2024 schedule, the Superstar Challenge was in the roster however with a major uplift. For the first time, the beloved high roller tournament had two placings, the cheapest – though not cheap by any means – was the Baby Superstar Challenge with buy in of NTD 300,000 (~USD 9,730) and the primo Superstar Challenge had a jaw dropping price tag of NTD 800,000 (~USD 25,900). On Day 3 of the festival, the spotlight was on the latter and it did not disappoint. The $25K Superstar Challenge drew 49 entries (38 unique) for an inaugural prize pool of NTD 36,930,000 (~USD 1,167,615).
With a buy in of that magnitude, it attracted the creme de la creme from all over such as WSOP Main Event 2022 winner Espen Jorstad, WSOP double bracelet winner Jans Arends, triple crown Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, high roller crushers David Coleman, Henrik Hecklen, Roman Hrabec, Tony Ren Lin, Santhosh Suvarna, numerous Asian notables Punnat Punsri, Danny Tang, Biao Ding, Nozomu Shimizu, Kosei Ichinose, Mike Takayama and online beasts Leon Sturm, Alexandros Theologis to mention a few.
Standing out of the star-powered crowd was Filipino Lester Edoc who just the day prior had lifted his career 18th APT trophy at the Single Day High Roller event, and prior to that, two trophies at the recently concluded PS LIVE Manila Megastack 18.
Clearly on fire, Edoc’s momentum continued at the Superstar Challenge, burning out Aidan Tam, Joshua McCully, and USA elite player Isaac Haxton to close out Day 1 as top dog of the final 9 players. When action resumes, payouts begin at 7 places. The top prize is a record NTD 11,632,810 (~USD 367,300), slightly richer than the brand’s APT Taipei 2023 Main Event payout of NTD 11.2 Million won by Punnat Punsri. Follow the action via the livestream.
Final 9 players
| Player | Flag | Stack |
| Lester Edoc | Philippines | 2,875,000 |
| Klemens Roiter | Austria | 2,040,000 |
| Biao Ding | China | 1,660,000 |
| Roman Hrabec | Czech Republic | 1,605,000 |
| Bertrand Grospellier | France | 900,000 |
| Tobias Schwecht | Germany | 875,000 |
| Danny Tang | Hong Kong | 870,000 |
| Tony Ren Lin | China | 855,000 |
| Mikael Andersson | Sweden | 545,000 |
Payouts
| Place | Payout in NTD |
in USD (approx)
|
| 1 | 11,632,810 | 367,313 |
| 2 | 8,402,000 | 265,298 |
| 3 | 5,355,000 | 169,087 |
| 4 | 4,062,000 | 128,260 |
| 5 | 3,139,000 | 99,116 |
| 6 | 2,401,000 | 75,813 |
| 7 | 1,939,000 | 61,225 |
APT National Cup amasses record 2,305 entries; Edilberto Gopez Jr leads into Day 2
Another challenge that the brand imposed on itself was announcing a NTD 15 Million (~USD 474,000) guarantee for the APT National Cup. For an opener, this was quite ambitious. On the final entry day, with two flights offered, the influx was tremendous, to load both venues to maximum capacity. This catapulted the total tally to 2,305 entries and the guarantee was obliterated for a record prize pool of NTD 19,899,065 (~USD 629,650).
Flight Summary
Buy in: NTD 10,000 (~USD 315)
Guarantee: NTD 15,000,000 (~USD 474,000)
Entries: 2,305 (1,046 unique)
Prize pool: NTD 19,899,065 (~USD 629,650)
ITM: 343 players (14 %)
Day 2 qualifiers: 134 players (5%)
Flight A: 488 entries / 73 ITM / 29 advanced
Flight B: 425 entries / 63 ITM / 24 advanced
Flight C: 236 entries / 35 ITM / 14 advanced
Flight D: 665 entries / 99 ITM / 39 advanced
Flight E: 491 entries / 73 ITM / 28 advanced
Flight Leaders
Bagging up the overall largest stack came from Flight E with Filipino Edilberto Gopez Jr seizing the spotlight. Gopez closed with 103 bb. This was 39 big blinds more than his closest challenger Yann Lormel from France who bagged up 64 bb at Flight D.
When action resumes, the players are all guaranteed to cash with all focus on locking up the NTD 2,949,065 (~USD 95,410) top prize. You can follow the action via the APT website.
Charlie I-Chun Chiu wins Single Day High Roller
Taiwan’s Charlie I-Chun Chiu scored his largest home turf payout of NTD 1,730,400 (~USD 54,790) after taking down the Single Day High Roller event. This was the third event of its kind at the ongoing series which attracted 68 entries for a pot of NTD 5,936,400 (~USD 187,665).
Buy in: NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,160)
Entries: 68 (54 unique)
Prize pool: NTD 5,936,400 (~USD 187,665)
ITM: 9 places
Similar to the previous days the NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,160) buy in event drew the biggest names in the region that included WSOP bracelet winners Motoyoshi Okamura, Sung Joo Hyun, Jinho Hong plus notables Dingxiang Ong, John Perry, Vincent Huang to name a few. Making the final table once again were Jack Salter and Edward Chun Ho Yam.
Two-time winner Mark Furniss
With the APT National Cup under the spotlight, the side action continued to see light attendance. Despite this, Australia’s Mark Furniss took charge, walking away with his second series trophy. Furniss finally sealed wins after missing his chance at APT Hanoi Billions where he landed three final tables. This time, the Aussie shut down opening day’s Triple Draw Lowball Mix for NTD 60,404 (~USD 1,900) then followed it up with a title at Day 3’s 8-Game Mix for the same payout of NTD 60,404 (~USD 1,900).
APT Taipei 2024 – Main Event
The Asian Poker Tour (APT) Taipei 2024 runs from February 28 to March 10 in Taipei City, Taiwan. Games are underway at the Asia Poker Arena and Chinese Mahjong League. 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
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.
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