Main Event

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Just over seven hours of actual play, the Main Event field trimmed from 47 players down to the final 9 . The locals dominated with six of the players waving the flag. Bagging the chip lead was Taiwanese hotshot Zong Chi He who experienced a late game surge. Zong also railed Fu Sheng Kuang in 10th place to end the day.

Sitting only one big blind behind the leader was Hong Kong's Lee Shun Hei who railed multiple players along the way including the day's entering chip leader Chen Po Jui in 11th place.

The final 9 players return on Monday, December 23 at 1pm to chase down the inaugural PS Taipei Main Event title and the coveted NTD 2,503,000 top prize.

Yu Cheng Hsu defends his big blind with a three-bet but after Nick Lai repops it all in for 2,485,000, Hsu folds giving up the 400,000 bet.

With the board running 8♣ 4♠ 7♥ K♥ 5♣ , Kuang completes a straight to breathe a sigh of relief at his good fortune.

Up until this time, Zong Chi He had been very quiet and yet managed to keep his stack in decent shape. Calling raise by Nick Lai preflop, Fu Sheng Kuang also joined in for a three-way to the flop A♣ 3♠ 6♣ . Following two checks, Zong test the waters with a 160,000 bet and got called by Kuang. On the turn K♥ , Kuang checked again, Zong announced all in, Kuang folded. Zong flashed T♦ before raking in the pot.

With the turn 2♥ and river J♣ , Zeng's aces stand firm for a solid double up.

Chip leader Nick Lai defended his big blind against join Jonathan Looi to see the flop 6♠ T♥ 8♠ . Looi continued for 100,000 which was about half pot, Lai answered with a huge check-raise of 300,000. After using up a time-bank, Looi called.

The turn came 2♦ to which Lai fired again, this time 600,000. Looi called once more to complete the board A♠ . Lai remained unrelenting, going all in for 1,500,000. With less behind Looi tanked for one time bank then folded and showed T♦ T♠ set. Lai didn't return the gesture instead just collected the massive pile.

Facing a raise and a caller, Tse Chun Hong three-bets 260,000 from the button. No one calls to add another 6 bb to his arsenal.

Three players check to the turn 7♣ 5♣ K♣ 8♥ . No more checking for Nick Lai and slides out 50,000. Only Ruei Jiun Liang calls and they head to the river J♥ . Lai fires a larger 150,000, after a time-bank Liang pays to see then mucks to Lai's A♣ 6♣ nut flush made at the flop.

With no action before him, Nick Lai limped in from the small blind then snap-called Chen Shen Huang's huge shove of 325,000 worth 27 bb. It seemed to be exactly was Lai wanted as he flipped open A♥ Q♦ dominating Huang's A♣ 6♦ . No hits on the board for either player J♥ 7♦ 9♦ 2♥ 4♣ to send Huang packing early. Lai now nearly at par with the leader.

The inaugural Players Series 2024 Main Event resumes with Day 3 kicking off at 1pm local time at the CTP Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, Taiwan. Returning today are the final 47 players, each one now guaranteed NTD 68,000. The plan is to play down to the final table of 9 players.

At the top of the leaderboard is Chen Po Jui with a towering 127 bb. Chen has been in great shape since Day 1B where he bagged the chip lead and carried it into Day 2 as the second largest. Also making today's lineup is Liao Bo Lin who topped the Day 1 flights. Liao enters with a decent 33 bb.

The game gets underway with blinds at 6000-12,000 with 20:35 remaining in the clock. Average stack is 477,446 (39 bb) giving players plenty of time to maneuver.

Somuchpoker is onsite to bring you fresh updates from start to finish.

With 47 players remaining, Day 2 has reached its target number. The clock has been paused at 20:35 and will resume tomorrow. At the top of the leaderboard is Po Jui Chen who catapulted after knocking out Yoda Lin to wrap up Day 2.