NLH Master (15,000 TWD)

Ci Hong Ho opened 50,000 on the cutoff and called 120,000 more following an all-in from Wang Zhi Yu.

Whilst ahead, Ci suffered another beat as the river on board A♠ 4♥ 3♦ Q♣ T♦ ran two pair for Wang to take the win.

A blind vs blind clash saw Jun Yu Du at risk for his last 150,000 against Ci Hong Ho.

Du with the advantage, secured the double up shortly after board K♥ Q♥ 3♣ T♣ 4♣ ran on the felt.

Ka Shun Tsang defended his big blind vs Ci Hong Ho's button open, and went on to check raise 82,000 on flop Q♥ 8♣ 5♠ . Ci padded it further to 183,000, sending Tsang deep in the tank. Tsang eventually decided to fold, shipping Ci the boost.

Denny Kruezi open shoved 123,000 on the button and was looked up by Ci Hong Ho on the small blind.

Gunning for overcards, Kruezi found none on board J♠ T♠ 3♥ 6♥ 2♦ , ending his run completely.

An all-in preflop situation saw Wei Lo at risk for his entire 173,000 against utg raiser Ci Hong Ho.

Lo, a huge favorite to win, cruised to victory on board 2♦ 9♦ J♣ 8♦ A♠ , costing Ci more than half his stack.

Wang Zhi Yu opened to 16,000 utg+1, called behind by two players. Ci Hong Ho on the big blind, squeezed all-in for 291,000 total, and saw Wang tank call for his lesser 204,000. All else folded, revealing a pocket pair clash for a 56 big blind pot.

Board J♠ 8♣ 3♣ 8♠ Q♦ left Wang with no worries as he cruised to victory with a full house.

Michael Kim Falcon completed his big blind vs Ci Hong Ho's 12,000 open, dealing flop 5♥ 6♦ 7♦ . Both checked it through to turn 3♦ , where Falcon led 15,000. Ci paid the price, and snap called a final 31,000 on river 7♥ for showdown.

Falcon's A♠ 2♦ gets exposed, shipping the win to Ci with trip sevens 8♣ 7♣ .

This Wednesday is about to get more exciting with another TMT highlight set to crown a winner! Two NLH Master heats ran through to start the week and attracted a 521-strong entry field, easily breaching its initial NTD 4,000,000 (~USD 120,800) guarantee. Well over the expected turnout, 79 players are due to return to battle in a bid to claim the lion's share of the NTD 6,822,500 (~USD 206,045) prize pool.

Both flights played down to ITM, where all 79 runners have secured a minimum share of NTD 30,000 (~USD 920). The main attention however, remains to be on the million dollar NTD 1,048,500 (~USD 31,665) listed top prize, where one will rise to claim later this evening.

Local runner Zheng Xuan Cai topped the initial flight with a massive 884,000 (147 BB) chip count, more than enough to come in as the Day 2 overall frontrunner. Denmark's Michael Kim Falcon on the other hand, shipped the lead over yesterday's games and brings in a mighty 784,000 (131 BB) to take the second spot. Next in the running, Jun Zhong Wang sits at quite a distance with 526,000 (88 BB), rounding up the top three counts.

Action will resume at 11:00 sharp, right at CTP Asia Poker Arena, Taipei! Stay tuned for updates as SMP brings you all the latest directly off the floor.

NLH Master

Date/s: January 13-15, 2025

Buy-in: NTD 15,000 (~USD 460)

Guarantee: NTD 4,000,000 (~USD 120,800)

Prize pool: NTD 6,822,500 (~USD 206,045)

Entries: 521

ITM: 79 places

Day 1A: 231 entries / 35 qualified

Day 1B: 290 entries / 44 qualified

Day 2/ Final: 79 players

Top Ten Day 2 Qualifiers