Life-Changing Victory For Shi Rong Wang At APT National Cup In Taipei; Mystery Bounty Sets New Record
Up until the Asian Poker Tour’s arrival in Taipei for its second stop of the year, Taiwanese player Shi Rong Wang only had a handful of small wins at local daily tournaments. However, that has all changed, and in a huge way. Wang dominated the final table of the record APT National Cup, defeating Huan Yu Chen at heads up, to lock up a massive payout of NT$ 3,804,240 (~US$ 106,612). Truly an outstanding victory for this young aspiring player.
APT National Cup – Event Recap
The APT National Cup was the first key event of the Asian Poker Tour’s – APT Taipei 2025 festival. With the anticipation of a massive influx of players, the event was moved to Red Space, a newly erected venue able to comfortably accommodate the large crowds.
The decision was indeed the right one. Throughout opening day, the lines were long and the tables were quickly filled, drawing a record 2,161 entries (1,265 uniques) across three flights. With the exception of China, rare is it to see this many unique players for a single day entry event in Asia. With buy in at NT$ 12,000 (~US$ 365), the proposed NT$ 10M guarantee was but a memory as the prize pool ballooned to a record NT$ 21,264,240 (~US$ 656,000).
- Buy-in: NT$ 12,000 (~US$ 365)
- Guarantee: NT$ 10,000,000 (~US$ 307,000)
- Entries: 2,161 (1,265 uniques)
- Prize pool: NT$ 21,264,240 (~US$ 656,000)
- ITM: 302 players
Shi Rong Wang’s Fast Road To Victory
Day 2 saw the return of 302 players with Wang wedged in the middle sitting on a comfortable 34 bb stack. After bobbing up and down, he picked up momentum when he eliminated Tammel Tarmo in 13th place then caught a lucky river to knock out Ka Wai Leung in 11th place. When the final table was set, Wang was just 1 bb behind the leader Huan Yu Chen.
Both players went on a tear before their inevitable heads up clash. Wang took out three players, while Chen eliminated two. When heads up play began, Wang held a commanding lead, 55 bb to Chen’s 26. Despite Chen’s best efforts to shift the momentum, the duel was short-lived. Wang sealed the victory with two pair on the flop, completing his incredible run to capture the coveted title and six figure USD top prize.
You can check out the full action via the Live Updates.
Key Events
Running alongside the APT National Cup final day was another key event on the floor – the Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8. Once again, it was another staggering turnout at the festival, drawing 1,724 entries across three flights. With buy-in at NT$ 17,000 (~US$ 545), the prize pool climbed to a record breaking NT$ 16,050,577 (~US$ 490,000). This easily cruised past the NT$ 15M guarantee and the previous event high by a very big margin.
Also lighting up the room was Day 1 of the APT Super High Roller which featured a jaw-dropping NT$ 330,000 (~US$ 10,100) buy in. The demand was high with 122 entries for a prize pool of NT$ 36,690,420, equivalent to over US$ 1.13 Million.
Big names such as Joseph Cheong, Alexander Lynskey, Dominik Nitsche, Manig Loeser, Chih Wei Fan, Charlie Chiu, Nevan Chang, Nguyen Trung Quan, Chun Keat Liu, Neel Joshi, and Calvin Sungwon Lee (who recently won the High Roller event at Korea Poker Cup) all made the cut into Day 2. You can watch the final day action via the Live Stream.
Other Events
Also taking up space on the floor were ten side events that crowned ten happy winners. The most popular was the Hyper Turbo Home Game Atomic Pineapple 5 Cards with 127 entries. The Women’s Event drew a healthy crowd as well of 98 entries. Here’s a look at all of the day’s winners.
Jun Hao Wu Wins PLO High - High Roller
Jun Hao Wu could possibly the most active live circuit player from Singapore. Since borders opened after the pandemic in 2022, Wu has been on a mission to capture as many wins and be the top player from his country. Now 5th on the Singapore All Time Money List, Wu's hunt earned him his first title at the APT Summer Series Hanoi in 2023 and two more at APT Incheon on the following months which included a career high takedown at the Superstar Challenge.
Less than two weeks ago, Wu captured another High Roller title at Poker Dream Malaysia and now another at the ongoing APT Taipei festival at the PL Omaha High - High Roller event. Wu topped the 26 entries to claim the lion's share of the NT$ 1,460,160 (~US$ 44,860) prize pool for a payout of NT$ 613,160. This sends him closer to US$ 900K in live earnings.
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$613,160 $18,835 | JH Jun Hao Wu ![Singapore [SGP]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/sg.svg "Singapore [SGP]"){kind=small} Singapore |
| 2 | NT$409,000 $12,565 | LM Lok Ming Chan ![Hong Kong [HKG]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/hk.svg "Hong Kong [HKG]"){kind=small} Hong Kong |
| 3 | NT$263,000 $8,080 | OC Owen Chong ![Malaysia [MYS]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/my.svg "Malaysia [MYS]"){kind=small} Malaysia |
| 4 | NT$175,000 $5,375 | CL Chung Linag Kuo ![Taiwan [TWN]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/tw.svg "Taiwan [TWN]"){kind=small} Taiwan |
Zichuan Huang's One Bullet Takedown At First Freezeout Event
The first Freezeout event of the series attracted a healthy crowd of 62 players, each one contributing NT$ 35,000 (~US$ 1,070) to the pot. This built up a prize pool of NT$ 1,874,880 (~US$ 57,600). It was an all international affair at the final table with nearly every player representing different flags. In the end, it was China that prevailed with Zichaun Huang unbeatable, defeating Jian Yang Teh at heads up. Residing in the USA, this was Huang's first ever live title of his career which came with a payout of NT$ 547,380 and a lion trophy to commemorate the achievement.
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$547,380 $16,815 | ZH Zichuan Huang ![China [CHN]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/cn.svg "China [CHN]"){kind=small} China |
| 2 | NT$393,500 $12,090 | JY Jian Yang Teh Malaysia |
| 3 | NT$256,000 $7,865 | TH Tsz Hin Lou Hong Kong |
| 4 | NT$193,000 $5,930 | AN Arita Naohiro ![Japan [JPN]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/jp.svg "Japan [JPN]"){kind=small} Japan |
| 5 | NT$150,000 $4,610 | KC Ka Chun Tsui Hong Kong |
| 6 | NT$116,000 $3,565 | YZ Yuanfu Zhang ![Canada [CAN]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/ca.svg "Canada [CAN]"){kind=small} Canada |
| 7 | NT$92,000 $2,825 | CB Chung Brian ![United States of America [USA]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/us.svg "United States of America [USA]"){kind=small} United States of America |
| 8 | NT$71,000 $2,180 | RA Rene Alexander Von Reden ![Germany [DEU]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/de.svg "Germany [DEU]"){kind=small} Germany |
| 9 | NT$56,000 $1,720 | EH En Hao Chan Taiwan |
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$182,641 $5,610 | RM Riku Matias Koivurinne ![Finland [FIN]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/fi.svg "Finland [FIN]"){kind=small} Finland |
| 2 | NT$132,500 $4,070 | TA Tomohiro Abe Japan |
| 3 | NT$84,500 $2,595 | DA Daiki Aoki Japan |
| 4 | NT$64,000 $1,965 | FM Furniss Mark ![Australia [AUS]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/au.svg "Australia [AUS]"){kind=small} Australia |
| 5 | NT$49,500 $1,520 | CH Chi Ho Kevin Tse Hong Kong |
| 6 | NT$38,000 $1,165 | YT Yu Tang Wang Taiwan |
| 7 | NT$30,500 $935 | MW Michael Wookju Chung ![Korea (Republic of) [KOR]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/kr.svg "Korea (Republic of) [KOR]"){kind=small} Korea (Republic of) |
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$164,231 $5,045 | ZH Zi Hua Chen Taiwan |
| 2 | NT$115,500 $3,550 | NO Nanami Okawa Japan |
| 3 | NT$76,000 $2,335 | SU Sumire Uenomachi Japan |
| 4 | NT$60,000 $1,845 | ZY Zhu Ying China |
| 5 | NT$48,500 $1,490 | YT Yun Ting Chen Taiwan |
| 6 | NT$37,500 $1,150 | MF Meining Feng Taiwan |
| 7 | NT$30,000 $920 | CJ Chien Ju Chang Taiwan |
| 8 | NT$23,000 $705 | AC An Chi Huang Taiwan |
| 9 | NT$17,500 $540 | SK Sae Kubota Japan |
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$124,115 $3,815 | JA Jaehyoun Ahn Korea (Republic of) |
| 2 | NT$89,500 $2,750 | RH Ryoji Hatanaka Japan |
| 3 | NT$57,000 $1,750 | JC John Charles Caridad Australia |
| 4 | NT$43,500 $1,335 | CC Chung Ching Cheung China |
| 5 | NT$33,500 $1,030 | KM Kentaro Moriyama Japan |
| 6 | NT$25,500 $785 | YW Yuya Wakayama Japan |
| 7 | NT$20,500 $630 | YN Yutaro Nozawa Japan |
Min Yen Tsai Wins Fun Hyper Turbo Atomic Pineapple
The largest side event of the day was the Hyper Turbo Home Games - Atomic Pineapple where players get 5 Cards, and get to discard 1 after betting preflop, flop, and turn. Excitement was at a high all throughout with a total of 127 taking part for a prize pool of NT$ 355,640 (~US$ 10,925). In the end, it was a happy moment for CTP regular Min Yen Tsai who captured his first ever festival title.
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$88,640 $2,725 | MY Min Yen Tsai Taiwan |
| 2 | NT$60,500 $1,860 | CH Chen Hao Wu Canada |
| 3 | NT$39,500 $1,215 | AT Akira Takasugi Japan |
| 4 | NT$32,500 $1,000 | CH Chun Ho Lau Hong Kong |
| 5 | NT$26,000 $800 | WL Wong Lui Frank China |
| 6 | NT$20,500 $630 | CC Chang Chih Hao Taiwan |
| 7 | NT$16,000 $490 | AY Alexander Yuk Lung Burg Germany |
| 8 | NT$12,000 $370 | KI Kyle Ivanich Canada |
| 9 | NT$9,000 $275 | CS Cephas Siu United States of America |
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$82,511 $2,535 | JG Jarryd Godena Australia |
| 2 | NT$57,000 $1,750 | SH Sosuke Hatano Japan |
| 3 | NT$36,500 $1,120 | MS Masayuki Segawa Japan |
| 4 | NT$26,500 $815 | CH Cheuk Hung Anson Lau Hong Kong |
| 5 | NT$21,500 $660 | CH Chi Ho Kevin Tse Hong Kong |
| # | Payout | Player |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | NT$145,226 $4,460 | PT Phatsapong Thokaew ![Thailand [THA]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/th.svg "Thailand [THA]"){kind=small} Thailand |
| 2 | NT$104,000 $3,195 | YW Yao-cheng Wang Taiwan |
| 3 | NT$68,000 $2,090 | KH Kevin Hendry United States of America |
| 4 | NT$52,500 $1,615 | CK Chun Kit Ho Hong Kong |
| 5 | NT$41,500 $1,275 | CL Chien-hua Lo Taiwan |
| 6 | NT$32,500 $1,000 | LG Lee Gwanghun Korea (Republic of) |
| 7 | NT$25,500 $785 | GB Gregory Bouger ![France [FRA]](/assets/images/flags/4x3/fr.svg "France [FRA]"){kind=small} France |
| 8 | NT$20,000 $615 | LK Liew Kai Sheng Malaysia |
| 9 | NT$15,000 $460 | LH Lok Hei Li Hong Kong |
APT Main Event
At the time of posting, the APT Main Event was in full swing, with registration open until the start of Day 2. For the first time in the tour’s history, a monumental NT$ 70,000,000 guarantee has been set which comes to roughly US$ 2.1 Million. Buy-in is NT$ 55,000 (~US$ 1,700) with a total of four starting days. According to the brand 700 players have already qualified via Natural8.
Follow the action via the Live Updates.
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