APL MAIN EVENT (26,000 TWD)

The first of six flights for the APL Taipei Main Event has officially wrapped up, with the initial 132-entry field trimmed down to just 20 survivors after a marathon 14-hour session. Leading the pack is local contender Chao Hao Ting, who bagged a commanding 665,000 chips (83 BB) to set the early pace for the series.

Chao’s late surge began with a critical double up early in the bubble rounds at the expense of Wesley Chen. He closed the night by scoring the final knockout of the day, eliminating Carter Chan on the bubble to seal his position at the top of the leaderboard.

Chao is closely trailed by South Korea’s Hyungsoo Lim with 611,000 (76 BB), followed by Japan’s Seiji Kikuoka with 567,000 (71 BB). The top three hold a significant lead over the rest of the field, putting themselves in prime position for a deep Main Event run.

With two days of rest ahead for the Day 2 qualifiers, those who fell short still have multiple chances to punch their ticket, with four more starting flights remaining on schedule. Don’t miss your shot at a piece of the NT$ 21,000,000 (~US$ 700,800) guaranteed prize pool and a chance to make APL history!

APL Taipei Main Event

Date: June 11-16, 2025

Buy-in: NT$ 26,000 (~US$ 865)

Guarantee: NT$ 21,000,000 (~US$ 700,800)

Day 1A: 132 entries, 20 qualified

Day 1B: June 11, 2025

Day 1C: June 12, 2025

Day 1D: June 12, 2025

Day 1E: June 13, 2025

Day 1F: June 13, 2025

Day 2: June 14, 2025

Day 3: June 15, 2025

Final Table: June 16, 2025

Fifteen hands into bubble time, action on Table 8 folded down to the small blind, where Chao Hao Ting open raised all-in. Carter Chan on the big blind, eagerly committed his remaining 137,000 and found himself in a coinflip situation.

The flop came a crushing 2♣ 6♥ 6♠ , giving Chao a full house and leaving Chan drawing dead at an instant. The 5♠ turn and T♠ river were mere formalities, bringing the day to a close with 20 players advancing to Day 2.

On the 14th hand of bubble time, Carter Chan opened to 18,000 from utg and was called by Chao Hao Ting on the big blind.

Chan continued for 10,000 on flop A♥ 6♥ 5♣ and followed with another 40,000 on turn 9♥ , only to face a check jam from Chao by the second barrel. After a brief pause, Chan reluctantly folded, preserving his stack for the next spot.

Chao Hao Ting is going nowhere after a gutsy all-in for his entire 178,000 against Wesley Chen right on bubble time paid off big time.

A crucial flip, the board A♦ Q♥ 6♣ A♠ 8♠ ran in favor of Chao's overcards, earning him a huge double just as the day is about to close.

Jihwan Oh defended his hijack open and called a 36,000 three bet from Chao Hao Ting on the small blind. With less than half the pot behind Oh, Ting bet all-in on flop J♠ 2♠ 6♥ , leaving Oh to happily flick in the rest of his chips with top pair K♠ J♣ .

Chao looking to catch up with 8♦ 8♥ , found no eights on runout 2♦ Q♠ , putting a dent on his towering stack.

Attempting to secure the 80,000 already in the middle, Cheng Hsiu Li on the small blind, took a stab with a 20,000 turn bet on 8♥ 8♣ 6♣ A♥ . Chao Hao Ting however, wouldn't let that pass and shot out a small raise to 40,000, enough to earn him the pot straight away.

Chao Hao Ting opened utg and was met with one call from Jihwan Oh on the button.

On board Q♥ 6♥ 8♣ A♦ , Chao checked both streets to his opponent, pushing Oh to double barrel - 11,000 and 22,000. Chao was up to the test, and arrived at showdown shortly after Oh finally decided to check back river 6♣ .

Chao showed A♥ 5♥ , splitting the pot as Oh showed a similar two pair A♣ 3♣ .