Korea, Taiwan, Philippines and China: Live festivals all over Asia this December

With the holidays just around the corner, the end of the year festivities has amped up with live events happening all around the Asian region. This December, China, Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines have something to offer. Here’s a rundown of the exciting games to look forward to.

Philippines: PokerStars Live Manila – Special Tournament – December 2 to 5

One of the places with the longest lockdown was the Philippines but with Covid numbers having eased up, the country has slowly opened up and live events have been allowed to resume. Just last month, popular card room Metro Card Club hosted its premier event, RVS Cup Philippine Poker Championship, with qualifying days taking place at the club’s online platform and the final day held live. Well known local player Ian Brion emerged as champion after outlasting the final 32 players that included Czardy Rivera, Euryd Rivera, Joven Huerto, and Edilberto Gopez. To close it out, Brion defeated Vamerdino Magsakay at heads up.

This month, PokerStars LIVE Manila steps up to the plate with a Special Tournament, its first in nearly two years, to be held at Okada Manila. Games run from December 2 to 5 featuring seven No Limit Hold’em tournaments headlined by the PHP 1 Million guaranteed Main Event. For those planning to attend, proof of vaccination is required.

Event Schedule:

Thursday, December 2
Event #1: Opening Event – PHP 200K gtd – PHP 3,000 buy in
Event #2: Freezeout – PHP 8,000 buy in

Friday, December 3
Event #3: Main Event Day 1A – PHP 1M gtd – PHP 6,000 buy in
Event #4: Turbo Freezeout – PHP 10,000 buy in

Saturday, December 4
Event #3: Main Event Day 1B – PHP 1M gtd – PHP 6,000 buy in
Event #5: Super Knockout Turbo (PHP 5K Bounty) – PHP 15,000 buy in

Sunday, December 5
Event #3: Sunday, December 5: Main Event Final Day
Event #6: Knockout (PHP 1K Bounty) – PHP 5,000 buy inEvent #7: Deepstack – PHP 10,000 buy in

Taiwan: CTP Club 6th year anniversary – December 1 t o12

CTP – Photo APT

For players in Taiwan, get ready for a huge year-end celebration as the CTP Club (Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association) hosts its 6th year anniversary. This year’s annual festival runs from December 1 to 12 featuring a NT$ 3 Million guaranteed Main Event. Entry days are offered at all the CTP Club branches. Games are currently underway at the Taipei branch with the NT$ 1M guaranteed Opening Event attracting 459 entries across two starting heats; for those looking to join the action, six flights remain. Following this festival, the club kicks off the 2022 season with the beloved homegrown Taiwan Millions Tournament running from January 4 to 24. More details to come.

6th year anniversary schedule:

Opening Event
Buy in: NT$ 1,500 (~US$ 54)
Guarantee: NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 36,100)
Day 1A – 1H: December 1 to 4
Final Day: December 5

NT$300K GTD event
Buy in: NT$ 3,500 (~US$ 126)
Dates: December 6 to 8

Main Event
Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 180)
Guarantee: NT$ 3,000,000 (US$ 108,270)
Day 1A – 1D: December 9 to 11
Final Day: December 12

China: CPG Masters – December 10 to 16

Despite the challenges posed by the ongoing pandemic, premier brand China Poker Games (CPG) has continued to produce jam-packed festivals at Sanya Bay, Hainan Island. In mid-September, the brand held its annual CPG Championship, usually scheduled for the last week of August but was postponed due to the Delta variant. The featured Main Event drew a towering 3,283 entries across three starting days, which was just slightly less than its biggest turnout of 3,352 in 2020. Although the attendance was mostly Chinese nationals, it continues to hold the torch as the richest yearly event in the region. With this year’s buy in bumped up to ~US$ 1,500, the headliner generated a prize pool of over US$ 4.5 Million. He Yinglong emerged victorious, and on top of a large pile of cash, he was awarded a seat to the upcoming CPG Masters.

For players interested in attending the CPG Masters, this is the brand’s high roller series. The event runs from December 10 to 16 at the Howard Johnson Hotel Sanya. In 2019, the Main Event saw its largest crowd of 675 entries for a prize pool of CN¥ 13,496,000 (~US$ 1,935,771). Foreign nationals in the country are welcome. All that’s required is a negative PCR test and a Green Code.

Korea: J88PT Korea Finale – ongoing until December 12

Homegrown Korean brand J88PT will close out the year with the J88PT Korea Finale featuring eight events and a guaranteed KR₩ 960,000,000 (~US$ 815,000) in combined prize pools. The bulk of the pot is designated for the highlighted Main Event KR₩ 500,000,000 (~US$ 424,750) guaranteed, and for those able to attend, don’t hesitate as two Singaporean pros will be in the field, Alex Lee and Si Yang Phua. Qualifiers kicked off on November 6 and have been ongoing every weekend since at various local pubs around the country. Last chance to secure your Day 2 seat is on December 5. The festival officially opens on December 9 and runs through December 12. The event is welcome to foreign nationals.