WPT Prime Taiwan High Roller

Following eleven levels of play, Day 1 of the WPT Prime Taiwan High Roller capped with local runner Chun Lung Chen bagging the lead with 510,000 in chips, followed by Hao Shen with 481,000. 56 players out of the 96 entry field advanced to Day 2 where registration remains open through the first level. Surviving the Day 1 rounds are Asian notables Sparrow Cheung, Hon Cheong Lee, Chia Yun Wu, David Erquiaga, Carlos Chang, and Dicky Tsang.

Current prize pool stands at TWD 10,560,000 (~USD 328,030), more than double in value over the listed TWD 5 Million (~USD 155,320) guarantee.

Action resumes at 11:30 local time, Level 12: 2,000 / 4,000 ante 4,000.

Dates: August 18-19, 2024

Buy-in: TWD 120,000 (~USD 3,720)

Guarantee: TWD 5,000,000 (~USD 155,320)

Day 1: 96 entries / 56 qualified

Day 2 / Final Day: Monday, August 19

Action began with an open from Chia Hsiang Ko, called by Carlos Chang. Small blind Sparrow Cheung fired a raise to 21,000 and saw both continue to flop 6♦ 6♣ 5♣ . Cheung led for 20,000, called once more by both opponents. Turn K♣ was checked all around, leading Cheung to send out a final 90,000 on river 2♦ . Chang makes the call, and mucks after Cheung flips over K♥ K♠ for a full house.

Having cracked his opponent's aces just a level prior, Emmanuel Segismundo was in for another battle, this time with J♣ T♣ against Q♦ T♦ on flop Q♥ 2♣ 9♣ . The turn 5♣ quickly filled up Segismundo's flush, finishing off his opponent entirely.

A multiway raised pot saw four players head to flop 3♣ A♦ 7♦ . Action was checked through to turn J♣ where Joris Michl led for 8,000. Two callers continue to river 5♠ , with only Justin Chu making the final call for 37,000. Michl shows set 3♦ 3♠ , and Chu mucks.

Chun Lung Chen called off a 71,500 all-in preflop, and is in for a flip for a 48 BB pot. Board ran K♥ T♥ 7♥ Q♠ A♥ , landing him a flush to take it down.

A three bet pot saw 38,000 already in the middle even before the flop Q♦ A♥ 8♦ rolled on the table. Small blind led for 7,000, and called a raise to 26,500 from Emmanuel Segismundo behind. On turn J♦ , both stacks rushed to the middle, and revealed Segismundo's straight flush 9♦ T♦ to leave his opponent's A♦ A♣ drawing dead instantly.

David Erquiaga fired an 18,000 three bet from the small blind and saw the button complete, revealing flop Q♣ 2♥ 6♦ . Erquiaga bet 12,000 and went on to jam his entire 104,500 in on turn 5♥ . Opponent folds and Erquiaga locks in the boost.

A raise from under the gun saw both players on the blinds make the call to see flop J♦ 2♣ J♠ . Initial raiser continued for 6,000, called by the small blind. Sparrow Cheung on the big blind, put in a raise to 20,000 and picked up the pot after no calls were seen behind.

A blind vs blind clash saw Kevin Mateo jam his last 19,500, called behind by Tung Wing Wong. In for a race, the board 8♠ 9♦ Q♥ 9♠ J♦ missed to improve for Mateo, booting him out in the process.

Moon Byung Kwan defended his open and called a 13,000 three bet from Albert Kwan. On flop T♣ Q♠ 7♦ , Moon led for 20,000 and another 50,000 on turn 9♦ . Albert Kwan answered with a jam, and picked up the pot after Moon threw in the fold.

A three way three bet pot led by Leo Pang saw flop 6♣ Q♠ T♠ . Pang continued for 11,000, check called by the initial raiser. On turn 7♥ , Pang jammed his last 50,000 in and collected a fold shortly after.

Tung Wing Wong three bet to 16,000 from the button and saw one continue to flop 3♥ 7♥ J♣ . Wong bet another 16,000 and went on to jam 71,300 in on turn 2♠ . Opponent tanks, and makes the call with J♦ 4♦ . Wong is ahead with A♦ J♠ and locked in the win as the river 8♥ completed the board.

Jin Hoon Lee fired an 18,000 three bet against an open and a call, and saw the initial raiser continue to flop T♠ J♥ T♣ . Lee bet 9,000, called by his opponent to see turn J♦ . Both check it through to river 8♣ where Lee called a final 32,000. Opponent shows A♣ Q♠ , no good against Lee's rockets A♥ A♦ .

On flop 9♦ A♣ 6♣ , Chia Hsiang Ko jammed in his last 76,000 with A♦ 5♣ and was called behind by Carlos Chang with 6♠ 6♥ . Drawing only to a runner runner, Ko exited shortly and went on to rebuy once more. Ko jumps back in and is seated right where he left off.

Three limps ahead saw big blind Vincent Rubianes raise to 9,000. Tsai Wen Yao continues to flop A♣ J♠ 5♣ and goes on to call another 4,000. On turn 9♠ , Rubianes snap folded after Tsai demanded for his last blue chip.

Cheng Chao Ting was seen packing up after losing his remaining 62,000 to Chen Chen Hao on board 9♥ 4♠. J♦ Q♦ 6♠ . Cheng with pair flush draw 4♦ 5♦ , failed to improve against Hao's A♦ J♠ for his elimination.

A multiway raised pot rolled flop 2♣ K♠ K♣ . Initial raiser continued for 4,000 and called 6,800 more after Carlos Chang put in a raise. Turn 4♠ and river A♣ welcomed no more bets, revealing raiser's K♥ Q♣ , no good against Chang's 9♣ 4♣ flush.

Kevin Mateo opened to 3,500, called behind by the hijack. Sparrow Cheung on the big blind sent out a raise to 12,500 and saw both opponents continue to flop 4♦ Q♣ 6♠ . Checked to Mateo, he bet 8,000 and took the pot down after meriting no calls.

Tom Henricus opened to 3,500 from the hijack, called by the button. Small blind opted to three bet to 16,000 and fold shortly after Henricus put in a raise to 40,000.

David Erquiaga called from the button and headed to flop J♦ 7♥ 9♣ . Woo Jin continued for 2,500 and went on to check call 15,000 on turn K♣ . On river 9♥ , Woo finally let it go after Erquiaga moved all-in for 113,000.

Hijack Moonho Seo opened to 3,000, called by two players behind. Big blind Cheng Chao Ting squeezed to 18,000 but was unable to see a flop after Seo bumped it up further to 40,000.

Kim Ki Young opened from under the gun and saw Chiayun Wu defend his big blind. On board T♠ 7♠ 3♦ K♣ A♣ , Kim barreled all three streets, with a final 10,000 on the river. Wu check called two bets but gave it up by the end.

With 21,500 in the middle on flop 4♦ Q♦ 6♦, initial raiser Emmanuel Segismundo pulled a check raise to 25,200 and saw Chu Hsien Lee complete behind. On turn 8♥ , Segismundo sent out another 11,900 and folded after Lee moved all-in for 74,500 total.

Sparrow Cheung delivered an elimination with A♠ 3♥ on board A♥ 5♥ A♣ 7♦ A♦ after his opponent jammed 40,400 right into his quads.

On the next deal, Cheung called a 30,700 all-in from Kevin Mateo and is ahead with A♠ K♥ against the latter's A♥ 2♦ . Unfortunately, Mateo was saved by a deuce on board 5♦ J♦ 2♥ 8♣ T♠ to survive through.

A three bet pot, Cheng Chao Ting continued for 10,000 on flop Q♦ 8♦ 5♣ and another 18,000 on turn K♥ . Opponent calls for one bet yet folds after Cheng barreled another.

On board 5♣ 8♥ 2♣ K♥ , action was seen on Chia Hsiang Ko with a bet of 7,900. Carlos Chang behind makes the call and goes on to bet 10,400 on river 5♥ . Ko tanks and puts in the chips, only to muck after Chang tables K♣ Q♠ .

With 48,000 in the pot on board J♦ 6♦ Q♥ A♣ 2♦ , Mikael Andersson put maximum pressure on his opponent with an overbet all-in of 71,000. Opponent uses up two time banks and throws in the fold.

Facing an open and a call, button Du Qiao raised to 10,000 and called the initial raiser's 25,000 all-in for a flip. Opponent shows T♥ T♣ against Qiao's A♠ Q♥ , and heads out shortly after the board 6♠ Q♠ 9♦ 5♠ K♠ turned up on the felt.

A preflop back and forth saw all the chips quickly pile in the middle - Albert Kwan with A♠ A♣ against Q♠ Q♣ . No bad beats were delivered on board 9♣ 6♦ 5♥ 4♣ T♠ , earning Kwan an additional 80,000 onto his stack.

Button Horace Leung sent out a 7,500 three bet and saw the initial raiser continue to flop 7♦ 6♦ 9♠ . Leung bet 5,000 and checked turn 2♣ through to river 4♥ . Opponent leads for 22,000 and Leung makes the call with A♣ K♥ , good against the other player's K♠ J♠ .

Small blind Ng Hin Man got his last 24,000 in with 8♦ 8♠ and faced button Mikael Andersson's A♦ Q♠ for a flip. Board 7♦ 7♣ 6♥ 8♣ 3♥ ran in favor of the pocket pair, allowing Ng to continue on to the next deal.

63 entries in so far, with registration remaining open through the first level of Day 2, August 19th. More notables have since joined the action with Hon Cheong Lee, David Erquiaga, and Winfred Yu among those seated.

Liu Chen Jung defended his open vs a 7,000 three bet behind and went on to lead turn K♦ J♦ Q♣ 9♠ with an overbet of 25,000. Opponent folds and Liu picks up the boost.

Two deals later, Liu was seen with a 60,000 overbet on board J♥ 4♠ A♥ Q♣ 5♦ . Opponent on big blind folds, and Liu chips up once more.

Poseidon Ho limp called a 3,500 raise from button Yohwan Lim and headed to flop K♣ 2♣ 8♥ . Both check it through to turn J♥ where Ho led for 4,500. Lim calls, yet gives it up after Ho fired another 8,500 on river 7♠ .

A three bet pot rolled flop 8♣ 7♠ 2♠ , and saw Chia Hsiang Ko check raise to 13,000. Opponent continues to turn T♥ and calls Ko's 20,200 jam for showdown. Ko is ahead with Q♥ Q♦ against A♦ 8♠ , and delivers the bust just as the river 7♥ completed the board.

On board 7♦ Q♣ 3♠ 2♣ , Moon Byung Kwan led for 13,000, called by a player behind. River T♣ completed the board and saw Kwan check call for his tournament life with a set 7♠ 7♣ . Opponent shows A♥ Q♠ and Kwan rakes in the double up.

With 48,800 in the middle on flop 3♦ 4♦ 5♦ , Du Qiao locked in another boost after firing 17,000 against two opponents behind. Both make the fold, meriting Du the pot uncontested.

A preflop back and forth saw Bien Mai call off for his entire 98,200 stack against small blind's final jam. Bien is behind with A♣ K♠ against his opponent's K♦ K♥ , but was spared from elimination after the board 5♠ J♠ 2♥ 3♦ 4♠ ran him a wheel straight.

Facing an early open, Albert Kwan sent out a 21,000 three bet from the button. Opponent continues to flop 8♥ J♠ 7♦ but folds shortly after Kwan bet another 25,000.

On board J♦ 6♦ K♠ 2♠ 9♦ with 25,000 in the middle, initial raiser You Hyun Kim was seen with a final bet of 12,000. Big blind Ping Liu tanks and sends out a raise for 100,000 more. You gives it up and slips his hand in the muck.

Another multiway pot saw the action continue to river 9♦ J♣ 5♠ 9♥ 8♠ , where Woo Jin led for 15,000 against four opponents. Opponent tank calls, and mucks his A♣ J♠ after Woo revealed 8♥ 8♣ for a full house.

Six players headed to flop 5♦ 4♦ T♥ . Action was checked to button who bet 2,500, weeding only one player out. On turn 9♣ , big blind Sparrow Cheung led for 7,000 yet folded after small blind Keisuke Tateda check raised all-in for 47,000.

Du Qiao opened from under the gun, called by three players behind. Big blind Farhad Aghayev squeezed to 6,000 and saw Du bump it up further to 19,200. Aghayev raises to 25,000, and Du calls. On flop 4♦ 9♠ 2♦ , both stacks rush to the middle - Du behind with Q♦ Q♠ against Aghayev's A♠ A♣ . The runout 5♦ 6♦ however, landed Du a diamond flush to snag the win and claim the double up.

34 runners currently seated in the two-day High Roller event with series winners Sparrow Cheung, Daewoong Song, and Yohwan Lim included in the mix. Joining the early levels are also Asian notables Bien Mai and Chiayun Wu.

Ivan Tsang opened from the cutoff and went on to barrel all three streets on board 8♥ 8♠ T♥ J♣ Q♣ with a final 13,000 on the river. Opponent calls all the way and shows A♠ 9♠ , no good against Tsang's flopped full house T♦ T♣ .

With 42,000 in the middle on board Q♥ 9♥ Q♣ J♦ 5♥ , action was seen on Poseidon Ho with a shove for 65,800 against the raiser's 20,000 bet. Opponent folds and goes on to battle once more against Ho the following hand.

Ho opened, and saw big blind defend to see flop 9♣ Q♣ 4♦ . Opponent check called for 1,500 and went on to check raise 13,000 on turn 5♠ . Ho faced a final 27,000 bet on river 5♠ and snap called with J♣ 8♣ flush, sending his opponent's 5♥ 6♣ towards the muck.

Big blind squeezed to 3,600 and saw two opponents continue on flop 7♦ 2♦ 3♠ . Checked to Shinohara Haruhiko, he bet 4,200, called by the raiser. On turn Q♠ , Haruhiko sent out another 7,200 and shipped the pot shortly after.

Chak Pan Ho defended his big blind and went on to check raise 3,500 on flop 3♣ 2♦ 5♠ . Initial raiser Mikael Andersson calls behind and calls for another 5,000 on turn K♠ . Ho fired a final 10,000 on river 3♥ and claimed the boost after Andersson threw in the fold.

Cards in the air, good luck to all the players!

WPT Prime Taiwan is on its way to wrapping up its 2024 season with a final two-day High Roller event to cap the festivities. The TWD 120,000 (~USD 3,720) buy-in tournament lists another TWD 5,000,000 (~USD 155,320) in guarantees, along with an exquisite WPT trophy waiting to be awarded. Players jumping in start off with a 100,000 stack, equivalent to 250x the opening blinds. 40 minute blind levels will be in effect all the way down to Day 2, where registration is deemed to close at Level 13 @ 12:20.

Dates: August 18-19, 2024

Buy-in: TWD 120,000 (~USD 3,720)

Guarantee: TWD 5,000,000 (~USD 155,320)

Day 1: Sunday, August 18

Day 2 / Final Day: Monday, August 19