Main Event (9,000 NTD)

Day 1E of the TMT 18 Main Event delivered yet another strong turnout, drawing 884 entries to push the total field nearly past the 5,000 mark with two starting flights still to go. Of those, 133 players made the money, with the top 71 surviving the day and locking in their seat to Day 2.

Leading the way was Taiwan's own Kuan Lun Chen, who closed the night with an impressive 886,000 (74 BB), one of the biggest stacks we’ve seen so far this season. Yang Chi Ming (696,000) and Sang Hyun Kang (662,000) also secured excellent positions heading into the next round, showing sharp form throughout the day.

With the race toward the million dollar prize pool heating up, tension is equally mounting. Day 2 awaits on Sunday, July 27, where survivors from all flights will return to Red Space to continue their journey to the title. Stay locked in as SMP continues to bring you all the action straight from the floor!

TMT 18 Main Event

Dates: July 20–28, 2025

Buy-in: NTD 9,000 (~USD 300)

Guarantee: NTD 31,000,000 (~USD 1,000,000)

Day 1A: 985 entries, 148 ITM / 79 qualified

Day 1B: 502 entries, 76 ITM / 41 qualified

Day 1C: 628 entries, 95 ITM / 51 qualified

Day 1D: 817 entries, 123 ITM / 65 qualified

Day 1E: 884 entries, 133 ITM / 70 qualified

Day 1F Turbo: Friday, July 25

Day 1G: Saturday, July 26

Day 1H Turbo: Saturday, July 26

Day 2: Sunday, July 27

Final Day: Monday, July 28

A three way all-in unfolded right on the stone cold bubble, with Che Hung Lin making the final call and covering both Chia Min Lee (72,000) and Wei Chu Wang (124,000).

The board ran out 8♦ K♥ 3♣ 8♠ T♣ , holding steady for Lin’s pocket pair to deliver the double knockout. With that, the final 70 players are officially off to bagging time, all moving forward to Day 2.

Down to one more elimination, all eyes turned to Table 22 as Kai An Chuang shoved his entire 293,000 stack over Moses Saquing’s hijack open. The Filipino made the call, triggering a crowd to gather around for what could be the deciding hand.

Chuang however, tabled the best hand in the deck and cruised to victory on board K♠ 4♥ 3♦ 4♣ 8♣ , cutting Saquing's stack by half.

It’s bubble time here at Red Space, with the tournament clock paused and just 75 players still in contention. Only 71 will advance to Day 2 of the TMT 18 Main Event, putting four players at risk of heartbreak just short of the finish line.

A preflop clash saw Keen Yee Choo and Che Hung Lin get all their chips in the middle, with Choo at risk for his remaining 171,000.

It was a sweat all the way through, but Choo managed to fade the ace as the board ran out T♣ Q♥ 2♣ 6♦ 8♣ , locking in a much needed double with the day winding down.

Alexis Cruz went with A♦ 7♣ for his remaining chips and was looked up by Huai Chien Kuo with Kx Qx three seats down the line. Slightly ahead, Cruz was crushed to see the river pair up his opponent to deliver his elimination.

Three players in a raised pot across flop Q♣ 9♣ 7♦ checked the action to Jimin Lee on the button, who fired 35,000. Heng Zhe Hu in the big blind, came along for the ride, and proceeded to snap call Lee's 67,000 shove on turn A♦ .

Lee 9♥ 7♥

Heng T♣ 9♠

An ill-timed hero call, Heng dropped down the ranks as river K♠ kept his opponent's two pair in the lead.

With more than 50,000 already in the middle, the flop came down A♣ 8♥ T♠ and saw three way action heat up. The big blind led out for 10,000, prompting a call from initial raiser Din Jing Chen. But the spotlight quickly shifted to Che Hung Lin in the small blind, who came in with a sharp check raise to 35,000.

The pressure was enough to force the big blind out, but Chen wasn't ready to give it up just yet and made the call. When the turn peeled 7♠ , Lin wasted no time shoving. That was all Chen needed to see, opting to muck as Lin took down the pot without heading to showdown.

One more elimination to go, Kai Hsian Yang pushed his remaining 40,000 utg and was challenged by Yenhao Chiu on the hijack, putting Yang at risk right on bubble time.

Yang well ahead however, crashed out just as board 8♠ 9♥ 4♠ Q♠ A♠ rolled Chiu a flush to bust him out one spot shy of the money.

A three way raised pot saw action on flop 7♦ 8♥ 9♣ get checked to Younghyun Kim on the button, pushing him to fire 16,000. While the big blind got out of the way, initial raiser Chiang Lee bumped up the stakes to 38,000. Kim completed, and called a 30,000 second barrel on turn J♣ .

On river 8♠ , Lee added more firepower, sending a final 75,000. Kim tanked but couldn’t come to a decision in time, ultimately getting timed out as the clock expired. With no action declared, the dealer scooped his hand back into the muck, and the pot was pushed over to Lee as he revealed bluff A♠ 7♣ .

The tournament clock has been put on pause to make way for the money bubble. Of today's 884-entry field, only 133 players are geared cut some cash, leaving only three more eliminations on the table.

Seungyeon Baek open ripped 41,000 in early position and was followed by another push from Wun Han Kwang behind. he rest of the table quickly got out of the way, clearing the stage for a heads up showdown.

Baek deep in the mud, failed to get back up on his feet as board Q♥ J♠ T♦ 8♦ 3♠ offered him no mirace in sight.

Down short, Cheming Tsao plopped his last 18,000 in the middle, and received a call from the player directly to his left. Hii Wang Kiong raised the stakes further to 58,000, isolating the short stack to showdown successfully.

A coinflip situation, Kiong's overcards prevailed over Tsao's pocket pair across board 7♦ 4♣ A♦ K♦ 8♠ , earning him the 10 BB boost.

After losing a short stack showdown, Jieyuan Zhou opened up the pot once more in the hijack, and found one caller on the button. Cyuan Fong Jiang squeezed in the big blind to 26,000, pushing Zhou to shove the rest of his 94,000 in. While one opted out, Zhou was happy to risk a third of his stack.

Zhou in trouble, headed out just shortly after missing board 6♣ 3♣ J♣ 5♦ Q♠ .

Jonghyun Lee excitedly pushed his last 31,000, folded to him on the cutoff and was looked up by Salem Cha right on the big blind.

Lee poised for a double up, instead bowed out as the board 8♦ J♦ 5♠ 6♥ 2♠ paired up Cha to take the win.

Joonhoo Park called a short stack jam on the button with A♥ T♦ and was slightly ahead of his opponent's K♦ J♥ .

Park stayed ahead all through board Q♣ 7♠ 4♥ 5♥ A♠ , knocking one successfully off the counts.

In a three-way raised pot, the flop came 4♥ K♠ 6♦ , and Chi Ming Yang wasted no time firing out a 5,500 bet. Only Tsung Yen Hsiang stuck around as the third player bowed out.

Yang kept his foot on the gas, following up with a 10,000 bet on turn T♦ . Hsiang check called once more, bringing the action to river A♦ .

Yang didn't slow down, dropping a final 26,000 into the middle. Hsiang gave it some thought but ultimately laid it down, conceding the pot to Yang’s consistent pressure.

Liang Kuo Chung flicked in his last 8,000 and was called behind by Dong Won Chung and Wei Yu Chuang in the big blind.

On flop T♣ 8♠ 7♦ , Chuang check called a 6,000 bet from Dong, and arrived at showdown shortly after both turn A♦ and river J♠ were checked through.

Chung's aces held firm across the board, earning him a much needed triple up.

Action folded down to the blinds, where Cheng Xie Fung kicked things off with a raise to 6,000. Alexis Cruz came along for the ride and called right behind.

The flop came J♥ 7♠ 2♥ , and Fung continued for 3,000. Cruz quickly raised it up to 8,500, then kept up the pressure with another 10,500 barrel on turn T♥ . Fung stuck around for both streets as the pot swelled heading to the river K♠ .

Cruz then moved all in, putting Fung to the test for his last 17,500. After some thought, Fung tossed in the call with J♥ 9♦ for a pair of jacks, but got the bad news after Cruz showed up with a straight Q♥ 9♦ to scoop the pot.

Yuji Tsuboi defended his early open and called a 10,000 three bet from Moses Saquing in the small blind.

On flop 5♦ 8♣ Q♠ , Tsuboi called a 6,000 cbet, and faced a hefty second barrel on turn K♣ . Tsuboi didn't hesitate to call off his last 20,000 with A♦ Q♦ , finding it good against Saquing's A♥ J♠ through river 8♥ for the win.

With 16,000 already in the pot, action was picked up on the turn 7♠ 9♠ 4♠ Q♥ , where Joonhoo Park took a shot for 8,000. Hosik Jang didn’t hesitate long, check jamming for just 10,000 more. Park mulled it over, then flicked in two more yellow chips to call.

Jang turned over K♠ J♠ for a flopped flush, while Park revealed Q♦ 9♦ for top two pair, already drawing dead. The river 6♣ sealed the board, shipping Jang the clean double.

Another massive turnout filled the Red Space arena as Day 1E of the TMT 18 Main Event drew a total of 884 entries as registration closed. The momentum continues to build, with players chasing their share of the growing prize pool.

Out of the 884 hopefuls, 133 players will make the money, while only 71 will advance to Day 2.

David Erquiaga looked down at K♦ Q♦ and opened to 2,500. Player in the big blind defended, revealing a flop of K♣ Q♣ 6♥ . Both checked to turn 9♥ , where Erquiaga sent out 6,000. Opponent tank called, and did once more on river A♣ for another 10,000, only to muck after Erquiaga tabled his two pair.

Past season champions Zong Chi He and Lam Ka Fai are both currently in action across Day 1E, eyeing another deep run in the TMT Main Event. Meanwhile, 17th edition winner Youngkyu Kim has already punched his ticket to Day 2 via the overseas route, bagging 172,000 to carry into Sunday’s restart.

Qi Shuo Yang defended his cutoff open and called an 8,000 three bet from Sungwoo Son on the button. On flop A♦ 4♦ 5♣ , Yang took the initiative with a 4,500 bet, but laid it down not long after Son made it 10,000 to go.

Hyun Jee Shim opened to 2,500 from early position and picked up a call from Ota Naoki one seat over. Jovi Cheng in the hijack bumped it up to 10,600, and Shim stuck around with the call. But when action got back to Naoki, he instantly jammed for 69,600, forcing both opponents to fold before a flop could even hit the felt.

Up against an open and two calls, Dung Jin Lin in the big blind went for the squeeze to 11,000, getting action only from Jian Tsung Yang.

The flop came 3♣ 8♦ J♠ and both players tapped the table. On the turn T♣ , Lin took the initiative with a 10,000 stab, which Yang called. When the river 4♠ hit, Lin slowed down with a check, only to face an all-in from Yang. After some time in the tank, Lin gave it up, sending his cards to the muck, allowing Yang to table his bluff K♦ 9♦ .

Min Woong Kim lit up with a 2,500 open utg and found one caller in You Da Tsai in the hijack.

On board 7♦ 8♦ 9♦ Q♥ Q♣ , Kim triple barreled 3,500, 8,000 and a final 6,500, leaving Tsai to push for the rest on the river. Kim snap called for his last 21,700 with a set 7♥ 7♠ and had no issues picking up the pot as Tsai revealed trip queens Q♠ J♦ .

Action was picked up on turn Q♥ 5♠ 4♠ 7♦ with a back and forth between Katanyu Ruantip and Feng Wen Chen leading Chen's remaining 11,600 right in the middle.

Ruantip 8♠ 6♠

Chen 4♦ 4♣

Chen, drawing to a boat, failed to fill up on river 3♦ , eliminating him from the Day 1E race.

A series of back and forth between Shin Hao Chiu and Chin Han Lin landed both stacks shortly in the middle, Lin at risk for his entire 43,300.

Chiu running behind, failed to catch up on board 5♦ T♥ 8♠ 9♦ K♦ , busting him off the tables.

Cian Lin Liou limped in and called a 2,200 raise from Tin Lap Wong on the cutoff. Action checked round to turn 6♣ Q♥ J♣ 5♥ , where Liou check called another 1,800.

On river 6♥ , Liou took the lead with a bet of 7,000, sending Wong deep in the tank. After being called time, Liou finally flicked in the call, only to be shown a flush 9♥ 7♥ to seal his defeat.

Up against an open and a call, Chih Wei Hu pushed his last 11,400 in and was challenged by initial raiser Seonho Shin.

A classic NLH flip, Shin's overcards took it this time on board 3♠ 5♣ A♥ T♦ 7♥ , sending Hu to the rail.

With a board spread out Q♥ T♥ J♥ 4♠ , Beng Ker kept the action going with a 6,500 bet, called by Seungho Shin right beside. Ker finished with another 20,000 on river 2♠ , forcing Shin out of the pot entirely.

A three way raised pot led by Yi Jen Wang dealt a flop of 4♥ 2♠ 5♥ . Jerry Chang in the big blind shot out a bet of 1,100 and faced a raise from Wang to 3,500. While one opted out, Chang stuffed his 7,000 behind and got a call from Wang for a showdown.

Chang 8♠ 6♦

Wang A♠ 5♠

Chang at risk, peeled one of his straight outs on turn 7♥ , leaving Wang drawing dead at an instant.

An all-in preflop showdown landed on Table 21 with Im Dong Cheol at risk for his last 12,800 against Jinhee Han.

Han ahead, unfortunately couldn't fade the ace as the board rolled 8♥ 3♥ 6♥ A♦ 2♦ , shipping Im the double up back to starting.

Ho Yin Tse kicked off with an open utg, and action folded around to Hui Chun Hsu in the big blind, who decided to bump up the stakes with a three bet. Tse responded with another raise to 7,000, but just couldn't pull the trigger as Hsu pushed for the rest of his 32,700 stack.

On a board of K♦ T♣ 4♣ 2♠ 3♦ , action was caught on Table 26 with all the chips spread out on the felt - Wallace Chen's set of tens T♦ T♠ crushing Shyh Chyn Lim's 4♦ 4♥ for a full double up.

Unjeong An opened to 600 from the small blind and called a 1,800 three bet from the big blind behind.

The flop came T♣ J♥ A♠ , where An check called a 2,000 cbet. Both players checked the 9♥ turn, bringing them to a river J♠ .

An led out for 6,000, and after some thought, the big blind made the call with A♥ Q♦ , only to be shown T♥ T♠ for a full house.