TMT Main Event A - Early Bird

The latest TMT Main Event showing booked a hot start to this season's games with a total of 901 entries recorded across its initial flight. A grueling day for players laid ahead, having ran through twenty levels of 30 minute action before the field drew down to 8% at 73 survivors. 136 runners claimed share of the NTD 32,500,000 (~USD 1,000,000) guaranteed prize pool, nearly half of which will have to return for another chance to qualify for next Sunday's Day 2. Six more heats are due to follow beginning this Wednesday, January 15th, available each day through the weekend.

Philippines' Martin Gonzales topped today's TMT Main Event A - Early Bird, with a massive 891,000 (74 BB) chip count setting the benchmark for all upcoming flights. Gonzales closed in on the lead just as the money bubble burst and proceeded to add 50% more to his stack by the last two levels. On his tail is local runner Yu Sheng Feng with 815,000 (68 BB), followed by compatriot Yi Wei Wu with 713,000 (59 BB), still well over the 308,500 (25 BB) average stack.

Other notables advancing through are Edward Yam (519,000), Beng Hong Ker (432,000), Cheng Yen Lo (431,000), Justin Chu (396,000), and Chi Jen Chen (123,000). All 73 Day 1A survivors will have the week to rest or join other great value games on offer, including tomorrow's NTD 4,000,000 (~USD 120,800) guaranteed NLH Master.

TMT Main Event 17

Date/s: January 12, 15-20, 2025

Buy-in: NTD 9,000 (~USD 280)

Guarantee: NTD 32,500,000 (~USD 1,000,000)

Starting stack: 25,000

Day 1A - Early Bird: 901 entries, 136 ITM / 73 qualified

Day 1B Turbo: Sunday, January 12

Day 1C: Wednesday, January 15

Day 1D: Thursday, January 16

Day 1E: Friday, January 17

Day 1F Turbo: Friday, January 17

Day 1G: Saturday, January 18

Day 1H Turbo: Saturday, January 18

Day 2: Sunday, January 19

Day 3/ Final: Monday, January 20

Hsu Che Hao opened 25,000 on the button and was met with a 68,000 three bet from Feng Yu Sheng on the big blind. Hsu answered with an all-in for 311,000 total, called by Feng right on bubble time.

A sweet spot for Hsu, the board T♠ 7♣ 6♥ A♥ 5♣ unfortunately, ran ace-high, shipping the win over to Feng while leaving Hsu out one spot shy of making Day 2.

Chun Yao Hou raised all-in utg for his last 90,000 and was called by Wu Yi Wei behind.

Chun in great shape, bagged the win as board K♦ 3♦ 8♥ J♠ 8♣ felted no aces.

Two more eliminations are due before the initial flight officially wraps up with 73 survivors advancing onto Day 2. A total of 136 players have made the money, 63 of which can try to qualify once more with six more Main Event heats soon to follow.

Utg+1 opened to 24,000 and proceeded to fourbet jam his entire 251,000 following a raise from Wu Yi Wei. Wu called off with J♠ J♣ and was in for a flip against his opponent's A♣ K♠ .

Wu instantly flopped a set on board J♦ Q♠ 9♠ 2♦ 3♣ and delivered the bust shortly after the runout missed to land a straight for player at risk.

Chiu Shih Kai stuffed his 122,000 stack against an open and ran into Liang Ruei Jiun's overcards behind.

Board 4♠ 7♠ 4♦ 2♠ 4♣ stood safe for Chiu's pocket pair, securing him a much needed double up just as the day is about to close.

Welson He limped utg+1 and saw the blinds come along on flop Q♥ J♥ 3♦ . Kuo Li Wei on the big blind led for 20,000, raised by He to 70,000. Kuo responded with an all-in for 251,000 total, enough to get He to tank fold, not before showing A♦ A♥ .

Next hand saw Yen Hao Chiu push for his last 125,000, followed by two more all-ins behind.

Looking to improve, Yen did so right on the turn, having ran the nut straight on board K♥ J♣ 5♦ A♠ T♦ to bag the triple up.

Kuo Li Wei open jammed 119,000 in utg and saw Yen Hao Chiu behind push as well.

In rough shape, Kuo managed to survive through after board ran T♠ J♠ 6♠ 8♠ J♣ four spades, giving him the nutflush to turn the tables.

Shih Sheng Hsu opened to 20,000 and called off Cheng Lo's button jam for 258,000 total.

Looking to snag the 54 big blinds in the middle, Cheng's aggression worked in his favor as his pocket pair held all the way through board 4♥ Q♠ 7♣ 7♦ 5♦ .

Ting Han Hsiung committed his last 114,000 with Q♦ Q♥ and faced Bo Sheng Cheng's A♠ K♣ for a classic NLH flip.

Board 2♣ 4♥ 6♠ 2♦ 3♠ ran in favor of the pocket pair, earning Ting a sweet boost to 25 big blinds.

Chip leader Martin Gonzales opened to 20,000, called by Raymond Edwards on the button. On flop 7♥ 5♥ 3♣ , Edwards called another 25,000, revealing turn 2♠ . Both checked it through to river A♣ , where Gonzales fired a final 25,000. Edwards put in the fold, shipping Gonzales another boost to his already healthy stack.

Chen Ting Yu open shoved 88,000 on the button and saw Justin Chu on the small blind push likewise.

A pocket pair clash, board 2♣ 9♥ 8♠ T♠ 8♣ completely left Chen in pieces as it ran quad eights for Chu.

Right on the first hand of bubble time, four players were at risk of falling as the day's stone cold money bubble. All three - Hyun Seung Lee, Jing Hao Wang, and Huang Tzu Yu, managed to doubled up except for Hung Lin Shih who fell by the hands of Huang Jing Yu.

Vying for 120,000 in the middle across board 8♦ 3♣ 9♥ 2♣ , Hung committed his last 500 chip with K♦ K♠ and was up against Huang's A♣ A♥ . River 7♦ failed to save Hung from elimination, leaving him to step out one spot short of the money.

Action folded to Wei Feng Lin on the small blind, who raised all-in. Chen Yan Zhu behind, called off for his last 59,500 and was in for a race for his tournament life.

Board A♦ 4♣ 5♠ 8♦ 9♥ instantly crushed Chen's hopes as he headed for the exit shortly after the runout completed.

Deng Yu Xuan pushed 42,000 on the small blind and was called by Feng Cheng Hsieh right behind.

Deng in trouble, found no help on board 9♦ 8♦ 7♦ A♠ 3♥ , knocking him out a few places shy of the money.

A pot of 75,000 brewed in the middle before flop 9♣ 4♣ 5♠ ran on the felt. Both stacks quickly came rushing in - Sung Chin Chung at risk with J♦ J♣ for his entire 169,000 against Hai Yi Lang's A♣ 8♣ flush draw. Turn 2♥ and river J♠ bricked for Hai, leaving Sung to rake it all with top set.

Yan Lin Li stuffed his last 51,000 and was called by utg raiser Wu Yi Wei for a flip.

At risk, Yan's overcards held through on board Q♥ T♥ 9♥ 6♠ A♥ , keeping him in the Main Event Day 1A running.

With 140 players remaining in the running, the tournament clock has been paused to make way for bubble time. Four more eliminations are due before the money trickles in at 136 runners. Day's action will continue to play down to 8% of the field at 73 players.

Ting Han Hsiung shoved 57,500 in against an early open and saw Hyun Seung Lee on the big blind, make the call.

Ting, a favorite to win, easily secured the double up as board T♥ Q♣ J♠ A♠ 2♠ delivered no bad beats.

Chen Ting Chieh went with K♠ T♦ for his last 66,500 and was up against button Li Chih Hao's A♣ 8♥ .

Nearing the money mark, Chen missed a payday by a couple after board A♠ Q♣ Q♥ 6♣ Q♠ left him high and dry.

Following a cutoff open and button three bet from Lia Chia Jung, Justin Geronimo stuffed his last 39,500, and saw Lia rise to the challenge.

A favorite to win, Geronimo easily bagged the victory on board 4♥ 8♠ J♥ 8♦ 3♦ , shooting back up the 100K mark.

Beng Hong Ker opened 12,000 on the cutoff and called Welson He's jam for 68,000 total.

At risk, He's worries were wiped away as the board A♦ 4♣ 3♠ 6♦ K♥ earned him a full double up.

In battle for 50,000 in the middle across board 2♠ 4♠ 8♦ K♦ , Tzu Ming Liu on the button made a go for it with a bet of 45,000. Cheng Hao Che however, check jammed 110,000 and left Tzu utterly unable to continue.

With 60,000 already in the middle across board 8♣ 8♠ A♣ 6♥ , Chang Lun Wei bet 25,000 and happily called off his remaining 74,000 after his opponent moved all-in.

Chang Lun Wei 6♦ 6♣

Button J♦ 8♦

Chang, a sure win with a full house, locked in the pot just as river 5♦ completed the board.

Chen Yi Yi opened to 8,000 on the hijack and called Yoon Se Hoon's 32,000 three bet right behind. Both checked board 3♥ 4♣ 5♥ 4♦ K♥ all the way to showdown, revealing Chen's A♣ T♠ , no good against Yoon's better A♦ Q♦ .

Lee Ming Xue opened on the hijack and called Lung Chi Cheng's 50,000 all-in, putting the latter at risk.

In for a flip, Lee's pocket pair stayed ahead all the way through 9♠ 8♣ Q♥ 6♠ 9♥ , leaving his opponent drawing dead right by the turn.

Rogerio Wong stuffed his last 33,500 and was called by Lin Yu Chen right on the big blind.

Up against a premium pair, Lin found some hope on board K♠ T♦ 2♠ 4♦ with top pair and a flush draw but bricked out the river Q♥ , sealing his fate.

Following a late position open, Hung Kai Wang fired a 21,000 three bet and was met with another raise to 45,000 from Kuo Li Wei behind. Both players decided not to continue, shipping Kuo the dead money.

With a pot of 36,000 in the middle across board 3♣ T♠ Q♣ 6♥ , action was caught on Yan Lin Li with a bet of 27,000. Edward Yam on the big blind, check jammed 96,800 total and got Yan to wave the white flag.

Hyundo Song opened to 8,000 utg+1 and was called by two players behind. Hung Yu Liao on the button, squeezed to 30,000 and shipped the pot straight away.

Utg+2 open shoved 57,000 in with A♥ Q♦ and was called by Wu Sheng Wei on the button with J♠ J♥ .

In for a flip, player at risk failed to pair up on board 3♠ 7♠ 9♠ K♣ K♥ , leaving Wu's two pair good for the take down.

Ting Han Hsiung on the small blind limp called a 9,500 raise from Chen Ting Chieh behind and headed to flop K♠ J♦ T♠ . Ting checked to Chen, who bet 7,500. Ting bumped it up to 19,500 yet surrendered after Chen answered with another raise to 45,000.

Up against a late position open and a call, Lin Yu Chia squeezed all-in on the big blind for 64,500, and was tank called by Po Chou Hou on the button.

Both with pocket pairs, Lin's slightly better holdings remained ahead all the way on board A♦ 2♦ 5♥ T♥ K♠ , costing Po nearly half his stack.

Michael Tachibana (UTG) raises all-in 25,000 pre-flop and Cheng Hao Che (Button) calls. The players enter showdown. Tachibana had 8♥ 8♦ while Hao Che held J♥ A♦ . The board ran A♥ Q♣ 2♥ T♦ 6♠ . Hao Che wins with a pair of aces.

Chen Yan Zhu open shoved 41,500 utg and ran smack into Zhe Cheng Zheng's premium pair right on the big blind.

Drawing slim, Chen headed out after no help came on board 4♦ 2♣ 4♠ T♦ 7♣ .

Jing Shing Ge defended his big blind against Su Tzi Wei's cutoff open and faced a 6,000 continuation bet on flop K♣ Q♥ J♣ . Jing check raised to 18,000 and took the pot down uncontested.

Cheng Shao Chun (UTG) raises all-in pre-flop with 6,500 and Bo Han Song (SB) three-bets all-in 27,000 while Zhe Cheng Zheng (BB) calls. The three players enter showdown. Shao Chun had A♦ Q♠ , Han Song A♥ 9♦ and Cheng Zheng held 4♥ 4♦ . The board ran T♦ Q♦ T♥ 5♣ Q♥ . Shao Chun wins with trips queens while Han Song wins the side pot two-pairs of queens and tens.

Chi Hang Chang defended his big blind against Tzu Ming Liu's early open, and went on to check raise 11,000 on flop 9♠ 8♦ 7♥ . Tzu continued to turn 3♦ and raised all-in after Chang bet 15,000. Chang called off with a straight T♠ 6♠ and was left drawing only to a chop against Tzu's nut staight J♦ T♦ . River 3♠ made no difference, shipping Tzu the entire pot.

Wilson He (UTG+1) limps and Jia Wei Lin (Button) calls. BB calls as well. The flop gives 8♠ K♦ 2♣ . BB checks while W.He bets 5,000 causing Wei Lin to call. BB folds and the turn brings 4♣ . W.He checks while Wei Lin bets 12,000 causing W.He to fold. Wei Lin takes the pot.

Ceng Guo Yi opened to 5,000 utg+1 and was joined by three other players onto flop K♠ 9♠ 2♣ . Wei Zhong Yang on the small blind, led all-in for 27,500, Ceng up to the challenge with top pair.

Wei Zhong Yang K♦ J♥

Ceng Guo Yi K♣ Q♠

Ahead, Ceng was crushed to see the turn come a J♣ , with the river 4♥ offering no help to his demise.

Lu Hong Wei (UTG) raises 4,000 pre-flop and Geronimo Justin (SB) responds with a three-bet all-in of 19,000. Hong Wei calls and both players enter showdown. Hong Wei had T♠ J♠ while Justin had Q♥ Q♦ . The board ran QC 6♦ 2♦ 3♣ T♣ . Justin hits a set of queens for a double up.

Chi Jen Chen pushed his last 35,000 in with A♠ K♦ and faced Jui Chen Po's similar A♣ K♠ . Board 2♦ T♠ 3♠ 5♦ 6♦ ran a split pot for the two, Chen remaining to be on the lookout for a double up.

Tseng Yi Siang (UTG+1) raises 4,500 pre-flop and Szujui Chiu (Button) hits back with a three-bet of 12,000. Yi Siang responded with a four-bet of 25,000 causing Chiu to fold early and handing Yi Siang the pot. Yi Siang wins with aggressive play.

Jeff Hsueh raises all-in pre-flop with 13,000 and Ghengli Hung (CO) calls while BB three-bets all-in with 47,000. Hung calls and the three players enter into showdown. Hsueh had A♦ Q♥ , Hung held K♦ J♦ while BB had 4♦ 4♣ . The board ran J♠ 8♦ 5♠ T♦ 3♥ . Hung wins with a pair of jacks gaining a massive lead.

UTG raises pre-flop 4,000 and CO calls. Seongyeol Cho (Button) three-bets all-in with 29,500. Jen Shih calls while CO folds. The two players enter showdown. Jen Shih had J♥ J♠ and Cho had Q♣ K♣ . The board ran 7♣ 4♥ 8♣ 5♥ 4♣ . Cho wins with clubs flush.

UTG raised pre-flop 4,500. Yufeng Lu (UTG+1) calls and Huang Chung Wei (BB) three-bets all-in with 27,000. UTG folds while Yufeng calls. Both players go into showdown. Yufeng holds Q♥ A♦ and Huang had K♠ K♥ . The board ran T♥ T♣ 5♣ 6♦ T♠ . Huang wins with full house tens full of kings.

Facing an open and a call, Yu Hsuan Chen on the small blind threw in a three bet to 13,000, and saw both opponents come along on flop 7♦ 2♠ A♠ . All three checked the action through to turn 8♥ , where initial raiser Justin Chu fired 7,000. Both made the fold, Yu revealing J♠ J♦ just before tossing his hand in the muck.

Yang You Xi open shoved 13,000 in on the cutoff and was called by Kuo Li Wei on the small blind.

A favorite to win, Yang cruised to victory on board T♠ 8♥ 3♦ 5♦ Q♦ , bouncing right back up to 19 big blinds.

A cooler situation saw two stacks rush to the middle - Shan Kuang Tsai at risk for his entire 29,900 against the utg raiser.

Both with premium pairs, Shan was in luck to find himself out of the terrible situation, having spiked a king on board 6♦ 7♦ J♣ K♦ 3♣ to lock in the win.

Xuan Yu Chen shoved 21,700 against an early open and found Alvir Inocentes push behind likewise. Initial raiser opted out, leaving the two to run board 5♣ 8♣ 2♥ 9♠ 3♣ .

Xuan's pocket pair held for the win, earning him a much needed double up.

UTG+1 raises pre-flop 2,500 and Chi Ting Chieh (SB) calls. The flop brings in 4♠ Q♦ T♦ . Chi checks while UTG+1 bets all-in with 800 and Chi calls. Both players enter showdown. UTG+1 held A♣ 7♣ while Chi had T♣ K♣ . The turn and river brings 9♣ and 5♣ respectively. Chi wins with a pair of tens.

WIth 12,400 already in the middle across board K♠ 8♣ 2♥ 4♥ , Li Zhen Hao on the small blind, check called a 6,300 bet from Yi Chin Chen. Yi fired another 22,000 on river A♥ and snap called Li's all-in for 22,800 more.

Li showed a king high flush K♥ J♥ , enough to crush Yi's set 8♦ 8♥ as the river rolled a third heart.

Jui Tse Kao (UTG) raises pre-flop 2,500 and Jonty O'Brien (BB) calls. The turn shows K♦ 9♥ K♥ . Jonty checks while Jui bets 2,500 causing Jonty calls. The turn shows J♣ . Jonty checks while Jui bets 3,000. Jonty folds handing the pot to Jui.

Josei Kamei opened to 2,500 utg, called by the button along with Tu Chia Hui on the big blind. All three checked flop 9♥ 5♣ 5♠ through to turn 3♠ , where Kamei continued for 3,000. Tu check raised to 7,500, and led all-in on river 9♠ . Kamei snap called for his remaining 7,900 and shipped the pot with a better full house A♣ 9♦ against Tu's Q♠ 5♥ .

Registration for today's TMT Main Event A - Early Bird is officially closed with a whopping 901 total entries in the bag. Off to a strong start, seven more flights are due to follow, the second of which - Day 1B Turbo, will run later this evening at 18:30.

Only 561 players remain seated across the initial flight, 136 deemed to cut a payday. Action will close once the field is down to 73 survivors moving forward to Day 2.

UTG raises pre-flop 2,000 and Wilson He (UTG+1) calls. HJ calls followed by BB who also calls. The flop brings K♣ 4♣ 6♠ . BB checks and so does UTG. W.He bets 3,000. HJ and BB calls while UTG folds. The turn is revealed, J♦ . BB bets 15,000 causing W.He to hit back with an all-in three-bet of 41,600. HJ folds while BB calls. Both players enter showdown. W.He had 4♦ 4♥ and BB had J♣ 6♥ . The river brings 4♠ giving W.He the win with a spectacular quads fours.

Wu Chiayun pushed his last 7,400 in and was called by Huang Yung Chu. Player on the big blind reshoved 29,000 in, allowing Huang to gamble it up for a three way showdown.

Wu Chiayun A♣ 9♥

Huang Yung Chu Q♣ T♦

Big Blind A♠ 3♠

Board 9♣ 6♣ J♠ 2♣ K♠ ran the nut straight for Huang, eliminating two at the same time.

Michael Tachibana defended his big blind against Juan Yu Hsiu's hijack open and headed to flop J♥ 8♠ 2♣ . Both players checked the action to turn 6♣ , where Tachibana led 2,600. Juan continued to river 6♠ but gave it up after Tachibana pulled a final 5,500.

Chen Yan Zhu (UTG) makes a pre-flop raise of 2,000. Chen Yu Jen (HJ) calls, and Wu Kuan Cheng (CO) makes a three-bet all-in of 12,700. Yan Zhu calls and so does Yu Jen calls as well. The flop brings T♣ K♥ 4♥ and all players check. The turn reveals 5♥ another round of checks ensue revealing 4♠ on the river. The players check and enter showdown. Yan Zhu had Q♣ J♥ while Yu Jen held K♠ J♣ and Wu had A♥ A♣. Wu wins with two pairs of aces and fours.

Hong Yun Hao committed his last 10,000 with Q♠ Q♥ and was up against Rogerio Wong's monster A♠ A♣ . Lucky for Hong, the board 6♦ 7♦ 5♦ 3♦ 8♦ came all diamonds, keeping him in the running following a split pot.

Chuang Kai Lun (UTG+2) raises pre-flop, 2,000. SB and Larry Lin (BB) call. The flop brings K♠ 4♥ K♣ . SB checks and Larry checks while Kai bets all-in 2,000 causing SB to fold. Larry calls and both players go into showdown. Kai had 8♦ 9♠ while Larry 2♦ K♦ . The turn and river were 4♣ and 5♥ respectively. Larry wins with a full-house kings full of fours.

Jui Chen Po sent out a 5,000 three bet against an early open and called off 17,300 more after the initial raiser moved all-in.

Jui Chen Po T♣ T♠

Utg+1 A♦ J♦

Running a flip, Jui's pocket pair held for the win all through board 8♥ 8♦ 5♠ 9♣ T♦ , delivering the bust with a full house to cap the action.

Jia Wei Lin open shoved his last 17,500 and was looked up by Wang Yu Heng on the button.

Dominated, Lin was in luck to find a ten on board 4♥ 6♥ 3♦ T♦ 4♦ , sparing him from elimination.

Raymond Edwards (UTG+2) comes in strong with a pre-flop raise of 2,600 and Cheng Chong Xun three-bets 6,200. Raymond calls and the flop brings 9♠ 7♥ 3♣ . Raymond checks while Cheng bets 4,200 causing Raymond to call. The turn brings 3♠ and both players check making way for the river, 4♥ . The players check and enter showdown. Raymond held A♦ Q♠ while Cheng 8♣ 8♠ . Cheng wins with two pairs of eights and threes.

Ma Chun Yu (UTG+2) raises 2,100 pre-flop. Fang Tzu Heng (HJ), Button, and Hung Yi Lu (BB) all call. The flop shows 7♥ Q♦ 2♥ . All players check, and the turn reveals 6♠ . Hung bets 4,500 after the turn causing Ma and Fang to call while Button folds. The river brings T♥ all three players check and they enter showdown. Ma had J♠ Q♠ , Fang had T♣ Q♣ and Hung J♦ K♠ . Fang wins with two pairs of queens and tens.

Teng Yu Yu (HJ) goes all in pre-flop with 25,800 and Xing Jian Liu (SB) calls. Both players enter into showdown. Teng had Q♣ K♣ while Xing had A♠ K♠ . The board ran 6♣ 9♦ 2♦ 4♣ 8♣ giving Xing the win with Ace-high.

Kang Chuan defended his utg open and called a 5,000 three bet from Francesco Dastici behind. On flop J♣ 7♣ 8♣ , Kang led for 2,000 yet folded shortly after Dastici put him all-in.