Nick Lai emerged as the first ever Players Series Main Event champion! Lai came from behind at heads up against Sin Lan Chen to secure the title, an ICM payout of NTD 1,884,000 (~US$ 57,950), and the coveted trophy.

"This is the dream of every poker player, to win a big event, and I'm glad to have the chance to win it."

The most decorated player at the final table was Zong Chi He who carried in the biggest stack. Lai confessed that he was most worried about Zong but was glad to have position over him. Lai entered the final table in the middle of the pack and to prepare he shared,

"I see some ICM situation last night (Day 3) and try to imagine what I will encounter today. So I think that preparation gave me more confidence to handle it. I've played a lot of final tables before online and I would save the hands and review them. I try to exploit every player. Some players play tight and some players play aggressive. I just adjust my strategy against different players."

At 8-handed, Lai was nearly out when he ran into aces while holding queens. Acknowledging his luck when a queen turned up on the board, Lai said,

"When I bad beat aces with queens, if that didn't happen I would have been done there. So that gave me a little light that maybe I will win this tournament."

Entering heads up, Sin Lan Chen was running hot and had a 2:1 advantage against Lai. Sharing his strategy,

"I regard her (Sin Lan Chen) as a relatively tight player, so I just try to play aggressive. And when I have big hands, I also like to play as a bluff to make her confused. So I think on the last hand, she jammed 40 bigs with pocket threes I think that's because I opened so many hands. So she would make that decision."

Congratulations to the champ!

Nearly even in chips with Nick Lai ahead 46 bb to Sin Lan Chen's 43 bb, Lai raises with Q♠ Q♦ , Chen has 3♥ 3♣ and pushes, Lai snap-calls. With the board running 5♦ 6♣ 2♣ , Chen's hopes are alive however the turn 8♦ lessens her chances. With the river 8♣ , Chen's impressive run ends in 2nd place.

Due to the ICM deal, Chen still walked away with the higher payout of NTD 2,200,000 (~US$ 67,670).

Sin Lan Chen is staging a strong comeback with nonstop aggression to earn several pots. One of her bigger pots was limping in A♣ 3♥ and Nick Lai checking with 6♣ 5♣ on the big blind. At the flop 4♥ 7♥ K♣ , both check to bring the turn 2♥ . Lai leads out 700,000, Chen briefly thinks then calls to get to the river 5♠ .

With Lai pairing up, he sends out 1,000,000, Chen value-bets her straight for 2,500,000. Lai finds a reason to call to boost Chen's stack.

Back to grinding for Nick Lai to earn a few pots without reaching a showdown.

With the river K♠ , Chen earned a double up for her gutsy move.

Nick Lai is in total command picking up pot after pot without a fight to shave down Sin Lan Chen to just 11 bb.

After the massive double up, Nick Lai picked up another pot to widen his lead.

Nick Lai's recent win seemed to bring a spark as he continued to collect pots with uncalled raises and three-bets. The momentum carried earning him a huge double up to switch the counts.

During the hand, Sin Lan Chen 8♣ 7♠ opened from the button and Lai Q♥ T♣ defended his big blind. Chen continued to fire on the flop Q♣ 5♦ 4♥ , Lai check-called. Same action on the turn 2♥ for 1,200,000. On the river Q♠ , another check from Lai set the trap as Chen jammed with a bluff. Lai called and shipped it with trips to take the lead.

Raised pot preflop, dealer lays out A♠ K♦ 3♥ . Sin Lan Chen Q♥ 9♦ c-bets 300,000 and Nick Lai A♦ 8♣ check-calls from the big blind. Both keep it friendly on the turn 8♥ but on the river 5♥ , Lai comes out for 3,500,000. Chen gives it up.

Sin Lan Chen 9♣ 8♦ defends from the big blind by calling a min-raise from Nick Lai 8♣ 7♥ . Both check it to the turn 5♠ 3♥ 2♠ 6♦ . Chen sends out 800,000 that's called by Lai. On the river Q♦ , Chen fires 1,500,000, Lai snap-folds.

First hand of heads up and it is action from the get-go. Nick Lai Q♣ 3♣ raises 400,000 and big blind Sin Lan Chen J♣ 5♣ defends. On the flop A♥ 2♦ 6♣ , Lai c-bets 300,000, Chen check-raises 750,000, Lai calls for the turn 5♦ . Chen continues her strong persona with a 2,400,000 bet and wins the pot without further challenge.

The Players Series Main Event is now heads up between Sin Lan Chen and Nick Lai! One of these players will walk away as the first ever Players Series champion and win the NTD 2.5 Million top prize. Good luck to both!

From the button, Nick Lai A♦ Q♦ min-raises and massive chip leader Sin Lan Chen Q♣ J♥ defends on the big blind. After they both check the flop J♠ 7♥ 4♠ , on the turn 6♠ Chen bets 500,000 for her top pair and wins the pot easy.

Small blind Chang Ming Hung J♣ 9♥ limps in and big blind Sin Lan Chen 6♥ 3♣ checks. On the flop T♥ 2♦ K♣ , Chang bets 200,000, Chen doesn't believe and calls. The turn 4♦ is checked by both, Chang checks again on the river 4♥ while Chen bets 2,000,000. Chang folds.

From the button, Chen Sin Lan is dealt J♥ J♣ and quickly raises to 400,000. Big blind Nick Lai peeks at his T♠ T♥ and three-bets 1,200,000. Action back to Chen who four-bets all in, Lai folds.

Sin Lan Chen has been railroading the table picking up pot after pot. Zong Chi He put a pause to it raising preflop that was called by Sin Lan Chen. On the flop A♥ K♠ 8♥ , Zong continues for 300,000 and wins the pot.

Button player Nick Lai K♦ 5♦ min-raises, big blind Sin Lan Chen has A♥ 4♦ and shoves. Lai folds. Next hand, Chen moves all in from the small blind and takes down another pot. Two hands later, Chen raises and finds no callers then gets a walk.

Zong Chi He pushes all in from utg and finds no callers. Next hand, Zong three-bet all in and again won the pot. For the hat trick, Zong fired another three-bet and still no callers to chip up into mid position.

Ruei Jiun Liang has been dealt his last hand. He looked down at A♣ 8♣ and open shoved 1,785,000. From the big blind, chip leader Sin Lan Chen called with K♣ Q♦ live cards. With the board running T♦ 8♠ 7♥ Q♣ 3♠ , Chen paired up to clean out Liang in 6th place.

Sin Lan Chen has been on the rise and has now taken over the top spot. Getting her there, she opened 300,000 from hijack holding Q♥ Q♦ and big blind Nick Lai called with J♦ 4♦ . Lai landed top pair on the flop J♣ 8♥ 8♣ and check-called Chen's 200,000 c-bet. Chen fired 550,000 on the turn 5♦ and Lai matched it up. Another low card on the river 2♣ saw Chen fire 1,000,000, after three time banks, Lai couldn't resist calling with top pair and saw the bad news.

Sin Lan Chen looks down at A♥ J♦ and challenges back at raiser Zong Chi He A♣ Q♠ with a 900,000 re-raise. After using up a time bank Zong calls and they head to the flop J♠ J♥ 6♦ . Landing trips, Chen continues for 400,000 and Zong calls. On the turn T♥ , an 800,000 bet from Chen goes unmatched to claim the pot.

Cutoff Yu Cheng Hsu A♥ J♦ raises it up and Zong Chi He Q♣ J♠ calls from the button. Both players miss the flop 7♣ 8♣ 4♥ and check. They miss again on the turn 5♣ . Hsu checks again, Zong uses position to bet 375,000 and wins the pot uncontested. Following this hand, Zong raises and wins the blinds and ante.

From cutoff, Sin Lan Chen A♦ 5♦ gave it a bump to 300,000 and the pot grew further with small blind Zong Chi He K♦ J♠ and big blind Ruei Jiun Liang 9♠ 7♣ calling. At the flop 6♦ T♦ 3♥ Zong stole command with a 450,000 bet, this was enough to get Liang to fold while Chen flats with her flush draw. On the turn A♣ , Zong continues with a 550,000 bet, this time he is met with a shove from Chen of 1,610,000, Zong gives it up.

Nick Lai adds over a million to his stack with a few uncalled raises to distance himself from the pack.

Facing a min-raise by cutoff Zong Chi He A♦ 4♥ , short stacked Chang Ming Hung K♠ 2♥ on the big blind three-bet to 1,000,000. Zong let him have it.

Taking charge from the get-go, utg Nick Lai J♦ 8♠ raises 250,000 and big blind Ruei Jiun Liang defends holding A♦ 4♣ . On the flop and turn Q♦ 2♠ 5♥ K♦ , Lai barrels 150,000 and 525,000, Liang calls then folds to the continued aggression.

After losing a pot to Ruei Liang, Lee Shun Hei picks up a pot with a three-bet jam that finds no callers. However, on his next three-bet shove, Lai will not be pushed as he opens up K♣ K♥ . Lee has A♠ Q♠ . The board runs K♠ 8♦ 9♥ J♦ 4♥ ensuring the win for Lai and Lee an 8th place finish.

Ruei Jiun Liang is on the rise as he picks up another pot. With Q♣ T♣ at cutoff, Liang min-raises and Lee Shun Hei with A♣ 2♠ defends from the big blind. On the flop 2♦ 3♥ 7♥ , Liang slides out 220,000 that Lee check-calls. Both proceed to check the turn 5♣ and river T♥ . Lee's bottom pair loses to Liang's rivered top pair.

When the cards are revealed, Lai sees the bad news and with a flop J♣ 5♠ 3♠ , his hopes grow dimmer. However the turn Q♦ gives Lai exactly what he needs to stay alive, and with the river K♦ , Lai ships a lucky double.

Folded to the small blind Zong Chi He 9♦ 8♦ limps then calls big blind Ruei Jiun Liang's A♦ 5♦ 350,000 raise. On a flop K♠ J♥ 6♠ , Liang continues 200,000 and takes it down.

Battle of the blinds begins with a limp by small blind Erwin Ng K♣ 4♦ and sees a flop T♣ 8♣ 7♥ with big blind Zong Chi He 6♣ 3♥ . They check it to the turn 5♦ . With air, Ng takes a stab at the pot for 125,000, with open ended Zong calls and the board completes J♠ .Zong comes out firing 700,000 , Ng gives it up.

Chip leader Yu Cheng Hsu defends his big blind and goes to the flop 8♦ 4♠ 5♠ with button player Lee Shun Hei. Both check it to the turn T♥ . Hsu leads out 150,000, Lee calls for his pair, then the river comes J♠ . Hsu continues to take charge with a 400,000 bet, this time it induces a fast fold from Lee.

Nick Lai three-bets 450,000 from the button and after using two time banks, initial raiser Ruei Jiun Liang calls. When the flop comes A♣ 3♠ 3♣ , Lai bets 150,000 and takes down the pot.

Action folds to the button Sin Lan Chen and with A♣ K♥ on hand, she honors it with a raise. Big blind Yu Cheng Hsu looks down at A♥ 3♣ , and re-pops to 580,000, Chen flats to go to the flop Q♦ T♥ 6♣ . Hsu c-bets 300,000, and Chen calls. Despite both pairing on the turn A♦ , they pass for a free river 3♥ . With two pair Hsu bets 1,100,000, Chen can't resist calling.

Zong Chi He K♥ 4♥ and Chang Ming Hung Q♦ 9♥ in a raised pot see a flop T♦ T♠ 3♦ . Zong continued 140,000, Chang check-raised 420,000, Zong called, and a K♦ came on the turn. Chang fired again for 320,000, Zong called with top pair, then both checked the river 8♣ .

Nick Lai A♠ Q♠ min-raises from utg, several spots over hijack Sin Lan Chen A♣ T♠ re-raises 500,000, Lai calls to head to the flop K♣ 6♣ 6♦ . Missing the board, Lai checks, Chen c-bets 400,000, Lai snap-folds.

From hijack, Nick Lai A♣ T♠ opens 200,000, button Lee Shun Hai J♦ T♦ calls, then small blind Sin Lan Chen is dealt K♠ K♣ and bets it all for a total of 2,260,000 and wins the pot unchallenged.

Holding 7♠ 7♣ , small blind Ruei Jiun Liang open shoved 1,250,000 and was given a sweat by big blind Nick Lai with A♥ K♦ . With the board coming down J♦ J♣ 5♥ 5♦ T♥, Liang happily scoops up a double up.

Top two stacks go head to head starting with Zong Chi He A♠ K♠ raising 160,000. Yu Cheng Hsu defends his big blind with 7♦ 5♦ . Hsu lands two pair at the flop 7♥ Q♣ 5♠ and check-raises from 125,000 to 325,000, Zong tanks then three-bets 825,000. Hsu uses a time bank as well then four-bets 1,600,000. Zong gives it up and the lead.

Action folds to the button Zong Chi He T♦ 8♠ and he raises 160,000, big blind Nick Lai won't let him steal his blind and defends. Zong tries again at the flop A♦ J♣ Q♠ with a 120,000 bet but Lai continues to check-call. On the turn A♠ , another 430,000 from Zong was still called by Lai. With the river J♦ , Zong decided to check back and loses the pot.

From utg+2, Lee Shun Hei likes his Q♠ 9♠ and opens for 160,000, from cutoff, Yu Cheng Hsu three-bets 400,000, sending it back to Lee who wastes no time counting and shoves hoping to push out Hsu. However, Hsu has A♠ K♠ and wasn't going anywhere and called for all of his chips.

With the board running K♦ 8♥ 2♠ 2♥ 6♦ , Hsu shipped it and soared to second in command.

When the board ran T♥ 4♠ J♥ J♠ 6♣ , Zong's ace held to rail Looi in 9th place while Chen was dismayed at seeing the results.

After losing half of his stack to Chang Ming Hung, Ruei Jiun Liang steals the blinds on the next two hands then loses another two blinds to Lee Shun Hei. During the hand, Liang looked down at A♦ J♥ from utg+1 and opened for 160,000, from hijack Lee with T♥ 6♥ three-bet 425,000, Liang folded.

After five hands without a flop, the board finally completed with Chan Ming Hung taking down the first showdown of the day. Re-raising from cutoff with K♣ K♥ , open raiser Ruei Jiun Liang with A♠ Q♠ called.

On the flop 3♠ 6♠ 3♣ , more chips got dumped in with Chang c-betting 425,000, Liang check-raising all in, and snap-called by Chang. With the turn 7♦ and river 9♥ , Liang misses, and Chang ships a double up.

The race to the inaugural Players Series Main Event title is underway! Good luck to all!

Welcome to the final day of the Players Series Taipei 2024! Multiple events will be heating up the floor headlined by the Main Event where only nine players remain on the hunt for the inaugural title.

Attracting 748 entries, the prize pool remained at NTD 15 Million with the money round reached in the middle of Day 2. The field trimmed further in Day 3 with 47 players returning and bagging up at the final 9.

When the finalists return, they are all guaranteed NTD 246,000 (~US$ 7,657) however the target will be the top prize of NTD 2,503,000 (~US$ 77,000).

Cards start flying at 1pm local time. The SMP team will follow the livestream on PS YouTube which will be delayed by 30 minutes.