GPI Asia Poker Festival: GPI Asia awards 12 categories; Yu Chung Chang wins the first THM Championship in Asia; Ta Wei Tou bags the MPS Main Event; top results inside

After 11 days of thrilling live poker action in Taiwan, the first ever GPI Asia Festival came to a close. Taking place at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Association (CTP Club) from April 8 to April 18, the series was truly one of a kind with four varied tournaments merged to create one big poker celebration. Among the lineup of winners were Ta Wei Tou, Cheng Hung Chen, Team King Queen Suited, Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang who claimed two events – the first ever The Hendon Mob Championship in Asia and the MPS High Roller Six Max, and Chia Yun Wu who won Player of the Series. Other multiple event winners were Kristof Seger, Tung Yang Lin, and Li Min Kao.

In addition to tournament winners, one of the most anticipated moments was the GPI Masterboard Award Ceremony which took place on April 10. A total of 12 categories were recognized. Two players, namely Shih Kai Chiu and Wei Yuan Nien, bagged two awards each.

Here’s a look at all the top winners of the festival.

GPI Asia Masterboard CTP Poker Club Leaderboard results

1st place: Shih Kai Chiu – NT$ 25,000
2nd place: Wei Yuan Nien– NT$ 15,000
3rd place: Chung Hsien Lee – NT$ 8,000

GPI Asia Masterboard CTP Club branch winners

Ko Fei Fang – CTP Tainan
Ting Hao Wu – CTP HsinChu
Hung Pai Hsin – CTP TaiChung
Wen Tseng Zeng – CTP YunLin
Liang Hsuan Chen – CTP KaoHsiung
Shih Kai Chiu – CTP ChungLi
Wei Yuan Nien – CTP Taipei

Other winners

Philip King Chung Wang – GPI Asia – 2020 Most Cashes – 353 cashes
Allengoaround – GPI Asia – 2020 Most Popular Poker YouTuber (new category)

CTP Alliance Cup – CHENG HUNG CHEN – NT$ 800,000 (~US$ 28,485)

The festival opener was the CTP Alliance Cup which took place simultaneously at all the CTP branches from April 8 to 11. This highly popular homegrown tournament featured a NT$ 2,000,000 (~US$ 70,290) guarantee with buy-in at US$ NT$ 4,000 (~US$ 141).

At the completion of two starting days, a combined 1,372 entered which was just enough to beat last year’s 1,345 attendance. The prize pool was impressive as well, ballooning to NT$ 4,939,200 (~US$ 175,860) with 164 players claiming a cut. For Day 2, the qualifiers came together at CTP Club Taipei where they raced to the finish. Cheng Hung Chen came out victorious to capture the burly NT$ 800,000 (~US$ 28,485) first prize. With only one prior live cash recorded, this score was Chen’s first and largest.

GPL Taiwan Tour – KING QUEEN SUITED – NT$ 148,400 (~US$ 5,280)

Another event taking place on opening day was the Global Poker League (GPL) Taiwan Tour. This was a three-day Teams Tournament held from April 8 to 10 at CTP Club Taipei. The 18 team cap was nearly met with 17 teams registered. At NT$ 20,000 buy-in per team, it built a prize pool of NT$ 296,800 (~US$ 10,570). The first knockout round cut the field down to 6 teams. At the Semi Finals, three teams were left, each team guaranteed respective medals for each player – Gold (1st), Silver (2nd), Bronze (3rd) – and a piece of the pot. At the finals, the star studded “King Queen Suited” team locked up the win and the NT$ 148,400 (~US$ 5,280) first prize. The team was also awarded a NT$ 32,000 (~US$ 1,125) discount to the Master Poker Series Main Event.

Winner: King Queen Suited
Members: Chi Jen “Justin” Chu, Chen Yi “Serina” Liu”, Chan Lok Ming, Chi Jen “CJ” Chen (not pictured)

Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang wins the THM Championship and High Roller Six Max

Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang took down two of the festival’s biggest events, the THM Championship and the MPS High Roller Six Max for a combined NT$ 564,400 (~US$ 20,100) in winnings.

For the first time in Asia, The Hendon Mob held the THM Championship running from April 13 to 15. This was the third ever event of its kind with the first one held in Czech Republic and the other in England. For this edition, buy-in was NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 230). 132 signed up for a prize pool of NT$ 871,200 (~US$ 31,000). Last man standing was Chang to claim the NT$ 217,100 (~US$ 7,730) first prize and the first THM Championship trophy awarded to a player in Asia.

The following day, Chang carried the winning momentum over to the MPS High Roller Six Max Shot Clock event where 47 entered at NT$ 30,000 (~US$ 1,070) each for a prize pool of NT$ 1,410,000 (~US$ 50,200). 6 players got paid with Chang pocketing the biggest payout of NT$ 347,300 (~US$ 12,365) for his victory. To date, Chang now has ten career wins with his best score of NT$ 1,245,000 (~US$ 41,204) earned at the CTP Championship Series High Roller event in December 2019.

Master Poker Series

For the final eight days, the Master Poker Series added to the festival thrill with 20 games scheduled from April 11 to 18. Headlining the series was the NT$ 1.5 million guaranteed Main Event won by Ta Wei Tou. Other big winners were Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang who shipped the High Roller 6 Max for his second festival win (Chung won the THM Championship) and Kristof Segers who claimed both installments of the Single Day Deepstack Event. We’ve got those results for you listed below.

Main Event – TA WEI TOU – NT$ 563,800 (~US$ 20,100)

The Main Event ran from April 15 to 18 attracting 162 runners across three starting days. At NT$ 15,000 (~US$ 527) buy-in, the guarantee was smashed for a larger NT$ 2,430,000 (~US$ 86,520) prize pool. Portions of it were spread among the top 21 players with the lion’s cut NT$ 563,800 (~US$ 20,100) awarded to Ta Wei Tou for his victory.

Ta Wei Tou has had his fair share of wins and deep runs at various tournaments held around Asia, USA, and in Australia. His largest takedown was in May 2019 at the All Japan Poker Championship Main Event in Incheon, Korea for a payout of ~US$ 32,348. Earlier that year, he finished 4th at the 2019 Aussie Millions A$ 1,150 No Limit Hold’em Six Max for ~US$ 25,834. Up until this festival, his victory hunt on home soil only reached as far as 3rd place, however, he did pocket a slightly larger NT$ 565,500 at the J88Poker Tour Taiwan Main Event in December 2018.

Ta Wei Tou can now rest easy with a win bagged and a trophy to prove it. He outlasted well known final table pros WSOPC Online ring winner Chi Jen “Justin” Chu, recently signed GGPoker Team Pro Omaha Squat Sasha Liu, and Chan Lok Ming. The tournament ended in a dramatic three-way showdown. Massive stacked Ta Wei Tou had {jc, short stacked Yi Wei Peng , and Chia Yun Wu . The board ran for a crushing two pair to the leader and the win. Runner-up Wu may have missed the glory here however he earned the most points in the festival to win Player of the Series.

Final table payouts

1st Ta Wei Tou – Taiwan – NT$ 563,800
2nd Chia Yun Wu – Taiwan – NT$ 369,500
3rd Yi Wei Peng – Taiwan – NT$ 217,600
4th Hang Chi – Taiwan – NT$ 132,500
5th Shung Er Sua – Malaysia – NT$ 102,200
6th Chan Lok Ming – Hong Kong – NT$ 84,700
7th Yen Liang Yao – Taiwan – NT$ 73,400
8th Chi Jen “Justin” Chu – Taiwan – NT$ 64,700
9th Sasha Hsiao Liu – USA – NT$ 56,400

MPS Multi Winners

Joining Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang in the multi winners club was Belgium’s Kristof Segers who overcame the 102 runners of the first MPS series Single Day Deepstack Event to pocket NT$ 128,200 (~US$ 4,565) then repeated his performance on closing day at the second Single Day Deepstack Event where he beat 82 other contenders for another NT$ 110,200 (~US$ 3,923) in the wallet. Both events had a NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 178) buy-in. Segers collected a combined NT$ 238,400 (~US$ 8,488) in winnings. He also finished 2nd in points at the Player of the Series race to win a Taiwan Millions Tournament Main Event seat worth NT$ 8,000.

Other multiple event winners were Tung Yang Lin – winner of the MPS Pot Limit Omaha and CTP Daily Deepstack – and Li Min Kao – winner of the MPS NLH Turbo and CTP Daily Deepstack.

Player of the Series winners

To close out the festival, the top three players in points were recognized for their performance. It was a very tight race for the title which was ultimately won by Chia Yun Wu who edged Kristof Segers by a very tiny margin.

1st place: Chia Yun Wu – 399.20 points – Taiwan Millions Tournament Main Event & Mini Main Event seats amounting to NT$ 12,000

2nd place: Kristof Segers – 399.02 points – Taiwan Millions Tournament Main Event seat worth NT$ 8,000

3rd place: Yao Hsien Chang – 327.50 points – Taiwan Millions Tournament Mini Main Event seat worth NT$ 4,000