J88Poker Tour: Main Event opens with 105 at Day 1A; Yi Wei Peng wins first trophy

The J88Poker Tour 2019 kicked off the weekend with its spotlight on Day 1A of the Main Event. This first of three starting heats drew out 105 runners to the CTP Club – Chinese Texas Hold’em Association. The day also saw the Opening Event on its final run with 36 players back in action for the coveted first trophy of the festival. We’ve got those results for you below.

Main Event – Day 1A recap

After 12 rounds of Main Event action, the 105 runners of Day 1A downsized to just 27 players. Accumulating enviable stacks were two players very close in chips, Taiwan’s Hsu Wen Kang with 171,000 and Korea’s Jeonggyu Cho with 168,500. This was another incredible performance by Cho who just five days ago placed 2nd at the WPT Vietnam Main Event. Prior to that, Cho finished 4th at the APT Taiwan Main Event in February. 

Other notable players making it through were Rex Clinkscales (108,500), Tetsuya Tsuchikawa (106,000), Si Yang Phua (80,000), Sparrow Cheung (74,000), Azusa Maeda (68,500), and WSOP winner Wei Guo Liang (67,500).

Day 1A Chip Count

1 – HSU WEN KANG – 171000
2 – JEONGGYU CHO – 168500
3 – CHI HANG – 141000
4 – HONG JIN HO – 117000
5 – YU HYUN CHANG – 117000
6 – REX CLINKSCAIES – 108500
7 – TETSUYA TSUCHIKAWA – 106000
8 – CHEN HAUSN CHAO – 85000
9 – HUANG HSIN YUAN – 82000
10 – SI YANG PHUA – 80000
11 – WANG CHIEN HSUN – 75500
12 – SPARROW CHEUNG – 74000
13 – LIANG RUEI JIUN – 71500
14 – AZUSA MAEDA – 68500
15 – CHIO CHUL HAN – 67500
16 – WEI GUO LIANG – 67500
17 – SHAO LESHI – 63000
18 – STEVEN GREEN – 62000
19 – LEE SEOK YOUNG – 55000
20 – CHUNG CHIE KUAN – 50000
21 – KUOK CHUN LAI – 45000
22 – YAO CHUNG MEI – 44500
23 – XIN YU FENG – 42000
24 – LEE WON SEO – 40500
25 – KELVIN BEATTIE – 40000
26 – EEML TUOMINEN – 38500
27 – CHOU SUN CHEN – 20000

The 27 Day 1A survivors advance to Day 2 taking place on Tuesday, April 2 at 1pm. They merge with the qualifiers from the upcoming two remaining starting heats.

The Main Event runs a course of five days from March 29 to April 3. It comes equipped with a NT$5 Million (~US$162,000) guarantee. With two more entry days to come, it is very likely the guarantee will be easily exceeded.

Opening Event results

The two-day Opening Event saw a packed room on the first day with 240 thundering in. Needless to say this was a very promising start to the festival giving plenty of indication that the upcoming Main Event would be seeing a big crowd. Among the attendees was a handsome pack of Taiwanese celebrities (pictured below).

Returning to the felt today were the final 36 players, each one now guaranteed a piece of the NT$1,862,400 (~US$60,300). Among them was Yi Wei Peng running third-in-chips and J88Poker Team Pro Lin Chen An in sixth position. Both of these players eventually faced off for the title with Peng getting the best of the pro to emerge victorious.

Entering the final table with nine players moved to center stage, Peng (seat 1) held the lead which he earned off Chaesung Lim (seat 4) just before the table was formed. On a board , Peng and Lim entered a betting war that led to Lim timing out. When Lim asked if Peng had a flush draw, Peng replied “secret” while shipping it in. 

The final table saw the immediate fall of Chen Jai Wei (9th), soon followed by Chang Yu Chung (8th), Graeme Siow (7th), and Lim in 6th place. At five remaining, Zhu Xing Huu (Bobby) had risen to the chip lead until Peng delivered a double knockout eliminating Master Poker Series Main Event champion Kuang Hung “Luke” Lee (5th) and Hung Lin-Min (4th). Peng proceeded to ship all of Bobby’s chips for the final showdown against Lin.

Though Peng was ahead over 3.1, Lin doubled up and momentarily took command. Once Peng recovered, the final hand soon came. Peng , Lin , the board bricked .

Final 9 payouts

Prize pool: NT$1,862,400 (~US$60,000) – Buyin: NT$8,800 (~US$285) – Entries: 240 – ITM 36 places

1st Yi Wei Peng – Taiwan – NT$418,200 (~US$13,500)
2nd Lin Chen An – Taiwan – NT$278,500 (~US$9,000)
3rd Bobby Zhuo Xing Hua – Singapore – NT$193,600 (~US$6,300)
4th Hung Lin Min – Taiwan – NT$139,900 (~US$4,500)
5th Kuang Hung Lee – Taiwan – NT$104,600 (~US$3,400)
6th Chaesung Lim – Korea – NT$80,700 (~US$2600)
7th Graeme Siow – Singapore – NT$64,100 (~US$2100)
8th Chang Yu Chung – Taiwan – NT$52,200 (~US$1700)
9th Chen Jai Wei – Taiwan – NT$43,500 (~US$1,400)

Up next is Day 1B of the Main Event taking place on Sunday, March 31 at 2pm. Also sharing the floor is Day 2 of the Team Event where in 9 teams compete for the top 3 spots and a portion of the prize pool. That event begins at 1pm. In the evening is a Short Deck event running at 6pm. Buy-in is NT$6,000.

Somuchpoker is onsite and will continue to bring you daily results on the ongoing festival.