Epic Taiwan Millions Tournament 16 Closes With Lam Ka Fai Crowned Champion

 

The 16th edition of the Taiwan Millions Tournament has raised the bar to new heights at the Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City. Hosted by the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP) since 2017, this low-stakes event featured NTD 50 Million in guarantees and that figure was surpassed by the flagship Main Event alone to showcase the astounding success of the latest iteration.

Mammoth Turnout At Taiwan Millions Tournament Amasses $1.5M Prize Pool

CTP Club owner David Tai was hopeful that the attendance might reach 7,000 entries and that lofty goal was almost reached with a truly staggering 6,953 entries. The NTD 9,000 buy-in (~USD 274) brought with it a guaranteed prize pool of NTD 31 million and resulted in a prize pool of NTD 51,594,800, equivalent to ~USD 1,572,390. Such headline figures for a low-stakes live poker tournament are unheard of in the Asia-Pacific region and showcase how far CTP Club has come throughout the last few years.

“We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the players who participated and supported the TMT series. Your enthusiasm and involvement made this event even more meaningful. We also express our gratitude to the hardworking staff who ensured the smooth execution of the tournament. A special thanks to Natural8 for their sponsorship and strong support. We look forward to seeing everyone again at the next TMT series!”

Epic Taiwan Millions Tournament 16

The record guarantee was smashed by more than 50% and the marquee tournament of the series featured a total of 13 starting days plus three available overseas flights – Hong Kong, Japan, and the Philippines to secure their spot in the money round. Day 1 flights were also held at other CTP branches in Taiwan.

Date: July 21 to July 29, 2024
Buy in: NTD 9,000 (~USD 280)
Guarantee: NTD 32,000,000 (~USD 1,000,000)
Entries: 6,953
Prize pool: NTD 51,594,800 (~USD 1,572,390)

Day 1 Local & Overseas: 507 entries
Day 1A: 1,060 entries
Day 1B: 504 entries
Day 1C: 503 entries
Day 1D: 770 entries
Day 1E: 739 entries
Day 1F: 854 entries
Day 1G: 1,224 entries
Day 1H: 792 entries

At opening day, it was clear that this edition was headed for heights unseen. Day 1A smashed its previous starting day record, drawing a stunning 1,060 entries. As with every flight, ITM was reached at 15% of the field then bagged up at 10%. While every entry flight that followed saw massive turnouts, it was Day 1G that drew the most attention with a head-turning 1,224 entries.

Day 2 Marathon From 686 Players to the Final 8

Day 2 was on July 28 with 686  players returning, testing the seating capacity of the Asia Poker Arena. Other operators would be happy to attract as many entries for their major events whereas CTP handled all that traffic for payouts alone.

While the vast majority of the contestants hailed from Taiwan, some contenders from South Korea also made deep runs such as Jincheol Kang (32^nd for NTD 170,000), Jeeweon Kim (22^nd for NTD 207,000) and Yujung Min (8^th for NTD 813,300).

Perhaps the most recognizable name in the late stages was none other than Singapore’s Alex Lee, who crashed out on the final two tables. Lee ran a triple barrel bluff with a missed gutshot and Teng Yu Yu looked him up with a flopped set of sevens. It was the biggest pot of the tournament until then, which propelled Teng to the top of the leaderboard for the eight-handed final table soon after while Lee exited in 14^th place.

Lam Ka Fai Crowned TMT 16 Main Event Champion

Teng eventually made it all the way to third place on the live-streamed final table and collected a prize worth NTD 3,158,300 (~USD 96,251), an incredible return on investment (ROI) for such a low entry fee. The heads-up featured Cheng Hao Che with 20 big blinds and Macao’s Lam Ka Fai with 49 big blinds. Both players agreed to an ICM deal, leaving the bigger cash prize locked up for Lam while they still battled for the iconic TMT trophy in the early morning hours.

The short-listed duel ended with the victory for Lam and Cheng had to settle for a consolation prize of NTD 4,870,407 (~USD 148,430), which is more than 541 times the entry fee. Lam earned the top prize of NTD 5,748,790 (~USD 175,200), which is nearly 639 times of what every participant paid for a shot at glory in this record-breaking tournament.

Read up on the action via the LIVE UPDATES.

It was the first international tournament outside of Macao for the eventual champion, who was very appreciative of the Macao poker team who came over to participate in the tournament and support him during the journey.

Lam also mentioned via translators that it was a very exhausting experience for him due to the long hours. He wanted to prove that players from Macao can compete against other well-known poker nations which he certainly did with the trademark victory on foreign soil.

Lam made it through Day 2 with a lot of studying and then ignored any kind of ICM pressure with the full focus on winning the Main Event trophy. It was Lam who declared the ICM pressure on his opponents and tried to play his best in every hand.

Prior to the trip to Taiwan, Lam competed in live poker events in China but the TMT 16 Main Event was first experience with such a massive number of entries. He decided to come as several other players from Macao made the short trip over to Taiwan thanks to the promising massive prize pool.

It was certainly a decision he won’t regret and return trips to Taiwan may be in order for upcoming live poker events in the hotbed of live poker in Asia. To celebrate the incredible success of this tournament, Lam will invite the entire Macao group for dinner and most of the winnings from the event will go to his wife to support his family.

While the latest installment of the TMT just concluded, the first ever TMT Championship is up next for this homegrown series. The event runs October 25 to November 5, 2024. Mark the dates!