Taiwan Millions Tournament 13 pays out over $1M; Ding Siang Lin wins Main Event; Lok Ming Chan, Yu Wei Chang, Zong Chi He among top highlights

The Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club Taipei) opened the new year with the 13th edition of the Taiwan Millions Tournament. Running from January 2 to 17, the highly popular homegrown festival guaranteed players NT$ 10 Million in combined prize pools. Like past editions, locals poured in, filling the room to capacity. At the close, it tripled the amount, paying NT$ 31.4+ Million, equivalent to over 1 Million USD. In addition, the Daily Deepstack and TMT side events generated over $40K.

Topping the headlines were Taiwan’s Ding Siang Lin and Chia Jung Liu, both players banking big at the Main Event, Hong Kong’s Lok Ming Chanoutlasted the 1,799 record field of the Mystery Bounty, Yu Wei Chang closedout two events, and well known local pro Zong Chi He locked up the Player of the Series title. We have those stories and more down below.

Up next at the CTP Club is the CTP High Roller Series x Japan High Roller Series from January 27 to February 6 followed by the U Series of Poker: Poker2U-Taiwan Series from February 10 to 19. Details are at the bottom of the page.

*All photos by CTP

TMT 13: Festival highlights

Event 1-20 prize pool: NT$ 31,404,595 (~$1,035,360)
Daily Deepstack 1-13 prize pool: NT$ 583,750 (~$19,245)
TMT 1-5 prize pool: NT$ 685,160 (~$22,588)
Total festival entries: 6,757
Main Event prize pool: NT$ 11,424,270 (~$376,635)
Main Event winner: Ding Siang Lin – NT$ 1,820,000 (~$60,000)
Main Event runner-up: Chia Jung LIu NT$ 1,700,000 (~$56,-000)
Record breaker: Mystery Bounty – 1,799 entries
Mystery Bounty champion: Lok Ming Chan – NT$ 858,000 (bounties not included)
Multi winner: Yu Wei Chang – NLH 300K GTD, Megastack Closer 300K GTD
Player of the Series: Zong Chi He

DING SIANG LIN flips for Main Event title

It was a hard fought battle at heads up between Ding Siang Lin and Chia Jung Liu, and in the end, both players surrendered to each other’s prowess and flipped for the win. Lin’s luck fared best to capture his first ever live title and a career high NT$ 1,820,000 (~$60K). Relive the final 8 race to victory via the recorded livestream on CTP Twitch or read up on the final highlights down below.

The Main Event drew 1,732 entries over four starting days for a guarantee-crushing prize pool of NT$ 11,424,300 (~$376,630). Each starting day bagged up at ITM. In total, 207 advanced with Ding Siang Lin carrying the second largest stack into Day 2. The stage ended when the final 9 was established. In the driver’s seat was Chia Jung Liu with Lin trailing close behind.

By four-handed, Lin had navigated to the top, amassing half of the chips in play. Liu was in hot pursuit and eliminated Hao Ran Li (4th) to regain the lead. Heads up came when Peng Sen Wu fell on an excruciating bad beat from Lin. It was all in on the turn, Wu was looking good with set, Lin had gutshot straight flush draw, to everyone’s surprise, Lin rivered it .

The final dash for the Calocedrus formosana wood trophy began with both players very deep, Liu 100 BB and Lin 72 BB. The counts switched on a board with Lin holding straight to Liu’s bottom pair. After one hour, the tight race ended on a deal and a one-hand flip. Lin claimed it along with NT$ 1,820,000, Liu also made out well taking home NT$ 1,700,000.

Dates: January 8 to 16
Buy in: NT$ 8,000 (~$260)
Guarantee: NT$ 5,000,000 (~$163,280)
Entries: 1,732
Prize pool: NT$ 11,424,300 (~$376,630)
ITM: 207 players

Final payouts in NT$

*Heads up deal

LOK MING CHAN takes down the record breaking Mystery Bounty

The trendiest bounty tournament worldwide is undoubtedly the Mystery Bounty and for this TMT edition, it was more popular than ever. It pulled in 1,799 entries, beating its previous record of 1,728. The top 208 earned a piece of the NT$ 5,933,100 prize pool with Hong Kong’sLok Ming Chanbanking NT$ 858,000. He also won an additional five bounties. Relive the final table race via the recorded livestream on CTP Twitch.

Seeing Chan at the top comes as no surprise. The Hong Kong pro has been racking up win after win in Taiwan, especially at the CTP Club’s homegrown events. Since his first cash in 2019, he has won 31 events. Last year, Chan pursued the dream, taking on his first World Series of Poker in Las Vegas then emerged a bracelet winner at the $2500 Mixed Big Bet. This was his first win outside of Taiwan and his largest of $144K. His recent triumph pushed Chan’s live earnings to nearly $600K.

Dates: January 5 to 8

Buy in: NT$ 4,000
Guarantee: NT$ 1,000,000 (~$32,655)
Entries: 1,799
Prize pool: NT$ 5,933,100 (~$195,600)
ITM: 208

Final table payouts in NT$ (exclusive of bounties)

ZONG CHI HE wins Player of the Series

No Taiwan festival is complete without local pro Zong Chi He in the spotlight. At TMT 12, Zong walked away as the biggest earner for bagging two events and runner up at the Main Event. Moving on to this series, Zong kicked off with a victory at the Pot Limit Omaha 7-Max then proceeded to cash at numerous events to hold firm in the upper three of the Player of the Series leaderboard.

On the last day, it was a tight race between Zong and Weichen Liu with the latter slightly ahead in points. Liu failed to improve while Zong finished 3rd in the Super High Roller to clinch the POS win. He was awarded NT$ 60,000 credit to TMT 14 and a POS trophy.

YU WEI CHANG ships two events – NLH 300K GTD and Megastack Closer

Yu Wei Chang walked away as the only player to close out two events, and both were during the final days of the series. Chang first bested a field of 206 entries at the No Limit Hold’em 300K GTD event then closed out the series outlasting 170 runners of the Megastack Closer 300K GTD. He collected a combined NT$ 201,600 (~$6,640).

Festival winners (Event 1-20)

Up next at the CTP Club

Two big events are coming up at the CTP Club. First up is the CTP High Roller Series x Japan High Roller Series. This event has been in the works for some time but was shelved due to the pandemic. With borders now open, the much awaited series is back on track. It takes place from January 27 to February 7, 2023 featuring 29 trophy events of buy ins from NT$ 2,000 (~$65) to NT$ 100,000 (~$3,300).

Key events are the Championship Event which opens with a rich NT$ 4 Million (~$131,870) guarantee and the Main Event with a NT$ 3 Million (~$98,900) guarantee. A big turnout is expected with players from both Taiwan and Japan having won seats in the past years.

A few days after, the U Series of Poker: Poker 2U Taiwan Series gets on the felt with games running from February 10 to 19. This is the first ever live festival by the USOP and it is expected to be a chartbuster. International players have already confirmed attendance with more expected to follow suit.

The upcoming festival features a whopping NT$ 20 Million (~$659,300) in guaranteed prize pools. The Main Event will be one hot ticket with an ambitious NT$ 10 Million GTD (~$329,600) in tow. In addition are 23 side events that include Mystery Bounty, Megastack, and a variety of choices for high rollers.

USOP: Poker2U Taiwan Series – Full Schedule breakdown