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.

#13 PL Omaha High - High Roller (65,000 TWD)

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.

Total Prize

$44,860

Entries

26

ITM

4

#	Payout	Player
1	$18,835 613,160 TWD	JH Jun Hao Wu Singapore
2	$12,565 409,000 TWD	LM Lok Ming Chan Hong Kong
3	$8,080 263,000 TWD	OC Owen Chong Australia
4	$5,375 175,000 TWD	CL Chung Linag Kuo Taiwan

#14 NL Hold'em - Freezeout (35,000 TWD)

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.

Total Prize

$57,600

Entries

62

ITM

9

#	Payout	Player
1	$16,815 547,380 TWD	ZH Zichuan Huang China
2	$12,090 393,500 TWD	JY Jian Yang Teh Malaysia
3	$7,865 256,000 TWD	TH Tsz Hin Lou Hong Kong
4	$5,930 193,000 TWD	AN Arita Naohiro Japan
5	$4,610 150,000 TWD	KC Ka Chun Tsui Hong Kong
6	$3,565 116,000 TWD	YZ Yuanfu Zhang Canada
7	$2,825 92,000 TWD	CB Chung Brian United States of America
8	$2,180 71,000 TWD	RA Rene Alexander Von Reden Germany
9	$1,720 56,000 TWD	EH En Hao Chan Taiwan

#16 Dealer's Choice (15,000 TWD)

Total Prize

$17,870

Entries

47

ITM

7

#	Payout	Player
1	$5,610 182,641 TWD	RM Riku Matias Koivurinne Finland
2	$4,070 132,500 TWD	TA Tomohiro Abe Japan
3	$2,595 84,500 TWD	DA Daiki Aoki Japan
4	$1,965 64,000 TWD	FM Furniss Mark Australia
5	$1,520 49,500 TWD	CH Chi Ho Kevin Tse Hong Kong
6	$1,165 38,000 TWD	YT Yu Tang Wang Taiwan
7	$935 30,500 TWD	MW Michael Wookju Chung Korea (Republic of)

#17 Women's Event (8,000 TWD)

Total Prize

$19,270

Entries

98

ITM

13

#	Payout	Player
1	$5,045 164,231 TWD	ZH Zi Hua Chen Taiwan
2	$3,550 115,500 TWD	NO Nanami Okawa Japan
3	$2,335 76,000 TWD	SU Sumire Uenomachi Japan
4	$1,845 60,000 TWD	ZY Zhu Ying China
5	$1,490 48,500 TWD	YT Yun Ting Chen Taiwan
6	$1,150 37,500 TWD	MN Mei Ning Feng Taiwan
7	$920 30,000 TWD	CJ Chien Ju Chang Taiwan
8	$705 23,000 TWD	AC An Chi Huang Taiwan
9	$540 17,500 TWD	SK Sae Kubota Japan

Check the 13 Payouts & Results ...

#18 Turbo - PL Omaha Hi-Lo - Cry Me A River (Triple Board, Lowest River Card Kills Its Board) (10,000 TWD)

Total Prize

$12,090

Entries

48

ITM

7

#	Payout	Player
1	$3,815 124,115 TWD	JA Jaehyoun Ahn Korea (Republic of)
2	$2,750 89,500 TWD	RH Ryoji Hatanaka Japan
3	$1,750 57,000 TWD	JC John Charles Caridad Australia
4	$1,335 43,500 TWD	CC Chung Ching Cheung China
5	$1,030 33,500 TWD	KM Kentaro Moriyama Japan
6	$785 25,500 TWD	YW Yuya Wakayama Japan
7	$630 20,500 TWD	YN Yutaro Nozawa Japan

#19 Hyper Turbo Home Games - Atomic Pineapple (Get 5 Cards, Discard 1 After Betting Preflop, Flop, Turn) (3,500 TWD)

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.

Total Prize

$10,925

Entries

127

ITM

17

#	Payout	Player
1	$2,725 88,640 TWD	MY Min Yen Tsai Taiwan
2	$1,860 60,500 TWD	CH Chen Hao Wu Canada
3	$1,215 39,500 TWD	AT Akira Takasugi Japan
4	$1,000 32,500 TWD	CH Chun Ho Lau Hong Kong
5	$800 26,000 TWD	WL Wong Lui Frank China
6	$630 20,500 TWD	CC Chang Chih Hao Taiwan
7	$490 16,000 TWD	AY Alexander Yuk Lung Burg Germany
8	$370 12,000 TWD	KI Kyle Ivanich Canada
9	$275 9,000 TWD	CS Cephas Siu United States of America

Check the 17 Payouts & Results ...

#20 Hyper Turbo - NL 8 Game (8,000 TWD)

Total Prize

$6,880

Entries

35

ITM

5

#	Payout	Player
1	$2,535 82,511 TWD	JG Jarryd Godena Australia
2	$1,750 57,000 TWD	SH Sosuke Hatano Japan
3	$1,120 36,500 TWD	MS Masayuki Segawa Japan
4	$815 26,500 TWD	CH Cheuk Hung Anson Lau Hong Kong
5	$660 21,500 TWD	CH Chi Ho Kevin Tse Hong Kong

#22 Super Hyper Turbo (8,000 TWD)

Total Prize

$16,320

Entries

83

ITM

11

#	Payout	Player
1	$4,460 145,226 TWD	PT Phatsapong Thokaew Thailand
2	$3,195 104,000 TWD	YW Yao-cheng Wang Taiwan
3	$2,090 68,000 TWD	KH Kevin Hendry United States of America
4	$1,615 52,500 TWD	CK Chun Kit Ho Hong Kong
5	$1,275 41,500 TWD	CL Chien-hua Lo Taiwan
6	$1,000 32,500 TWD	LG Lee Gwanghun Korea (Republic of)
7	$785 25,500 TWD	GB Gregory Bouger France
8	$615 20,000 TWD	LK Liew Kai Sheng Malaysia
9	$460 15,000 TWD	LH Lok Hei Li Hong Kong

Check the 11 Payouts & Results ...

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.