APT Taipei 2024: Safwane Bahri leads Main Event Final Table, NTD 12.9 Million (~USD 409K) listed up top; Jun Li ships record-breaking Zodiac Classic; More multi series winners emerge
Down to the tail end of its schedule, the APT Taipei 2024 currently running at the Asia Poker Arena and Chinese Mahjong League has brought several great value games to the table, shattering a number of records once more. The headlining Main Event garnered everyone’s attention with the prize pool swelling to NTD 72,232,020 (~USD 2,287,160) after a total of 1,182 entries were collected. Following a week full of action on the felt, the field has dwindled down to its final nine led by France’s Safwane Bahri.
Aside from the Main Event festivities, Jun Li found success at the richest Zodiac Classic in APT history, banking a notable career-first win. More multi series winners emerged with runners Mark Furniss, Edward Chun Ho Yam, Yuehchiao Yang, and Keita Kitamura, following through their victories with additional trophies.
France’s Safwane Bahri leads Main Event Final Table
Day 4 action welcomed 40 runners back on the felt, each looking to secure a spot into the final table. It took nearly eight hours of play before the day wrapped up with several hopefuls falling out of contention including former APT Main Event champions Mike Takayama (15th), Dicky Tsang (19th), Lester Edoc (22nd). On the last level, bracelet winner Quang Thai Ha found himself crippled by Taiwan’s Xi Guo Zhang after paying off the latter’s flush with trips, leading to his bubble elimination. This resulted in Xi stacking just behind the chip leader to continue on to the final round.
The final nine is set with France’s Safwane Bahri leading the pack, stacking roughly 25% of the chips in play. Bahri soared to the top ranks after delivering a double elimination (Yung Bing Chu -12th, and Rui Lu -13th) with pocket nines. Gaining quite the advantage, Bahri stands to be in the best position to claim the coveted 24K Gold APT Lion Trophy along with the NTD 12,944,020 (~USD 409,730) top prize. Joining him are Event 51: Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty champion Chi Jen Chu, Day 4 frontrunner Li Wei Sun, and Japan’s Daisuke Ogita who sits #12 on the country’s All Time Money List.
Date: March 3 to 9, 2024
Buy in: NTD 70,000 (~USD 2,200)
Guarantee: NTD 65,000,000 (~USD 2,050,000)
Prize pool: NTD 72,232,020 (~USD 2,287,160)
Entries: 1,182 (737 unique)
ITM: 175 players
Flight A: 265 entries / 95 advanced
Flight B: 260 entries / 118 advanced
Flight C: 280 entries / 144 advanced
Flight D: 166 entries / 86 advanced
Natural8 OnLive: 154 players
Main Event Final Table Chip Count
| Position | Name | Flag | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Safwane Bahri | France | 11,925,000 | 74 |
| 2 | Xi Guo Zhang | Taiwan | 9,720,000 | 60 |
| 3 | Daisuke Ogita | Japan | 8,210,000 | 51 |
| 4 | Steve Ng | Singapore | 3,345,000 | 20 |
| 5 | Chi-Jen Chu | Taiwan | 3,260,000 | 20 |
| 6 | Pitipong Posri | Thailand | 3,240,000 | 20 |
| 7 | Jung Chuan Liao | Taiwan | 3,225,000 | 20 |
| 8 | Seungmook Jung | South Korea | 2,305,000 | 14 |
| 9 | Li Wei Sun | Taiwan | 1,960,000 | 12 |
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (NTD) | Prize (~USD) |
| 1 | 12,944,020 | 409,730 |
| 2 | 7,620,000 | 241,205 |
| 3 | 5,360,000 | 169,665 |
| 4 | 4,016,000 | 127,120 |
| 5 | 3,077,000 | 97,400 |
| 6 | 2,275,000 | 72,010 |
| 7 | 1,734,000 | 54,890 |
| 8 | 1,236,000 | 39,125 |
| 9 | 959,000 | 30,360 |
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Jun Li ships record-breaking Zodiac Classic
Posting the second largest guarantee on schedule, Event #83: Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 saw a staggering 320 entries turn up, to easily smash the NTD 20,000,000 (~USD 635,970) guarantee. Only 47 players were deemed to cut a share of the NTD 22,348,800 (~USD 710,650) generated prize pool and saw this season’s APT series winners Pete Chen, Edward Yam, and Sparrow Cheung in search of another trophy. While all three fell short, only Chen made a third final table appearance, finishing in 7th place for NTD 742,000 (~USD 23,590) in winnings.
While ICM talks were in session by four-handed play, no deal was agreed upon and saw UK’s Jun Li bring in a dominating lead against Philippines’ Florencio Campomanes across the final round. The heads up play was short lived with Campomanes bowing out in just two deals, earning Li his first major tournament win for a whopping NTD 4,362,800 (~USD 138,495) in prizes. Campomanes settled for a runner up finish whilst still banking a notable NTD 2,767,000 (~USD 87,980) for his worthy performance.
Date: March 7-8, 2024
Buy in: NTD 80,000 (~USD 2,540)
Entries: 320
Guarantee: NTD 20,000,000 (~USD 635,970)
Prize pool: NTD 22,348,800 (~USD 710,650)
ITM: 47 places
Event #83: Zodiac Classic Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
| 1st | Jun Li | United Kingdom | NTD 4,362,800 |
| 2nd | Florencio Campomanes | Philippines | NTD 2,767,000 |
| 3rd | Edgar Asehan | Philippines | NTD 2,074,000 |
| 4th | Alan Lau | Hong Kong | NTD 1,678,000 |
| 5th | Martin Sedlak | Germany | NTD 1,323,000 |
| 6th | Benjamin Jacobs | United States | NTD 1,010,000 |
| 7th | Yen-Han Chen | Taiwan | NTD 742,000 |
| 8th | Yuhang Chen | China | NTD 545,000 |
| 9th | Yuichi Sumida | Japan | NTD 447,000 |
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Multiple Series Winners
Mark Furniss ships third trophy in Event #88: Hyper Turbo – NL Single Draw Mix (A-5, 2-7, Badugi)
A mix game specialist, Mark Furniss locked in a third series victory after topping the 25-entry field in Event #88: Hyper Turbo – NL Single Draw Mix. Furniss added another NTD 43,487 (~USD 1,380) in cashes for his seventh final table appearance this season, bringing his total cashes to NTD 318,295 (~USD 10,120). The Australian previously took down Event 5: Limit Triple Draw Lowball Mix (A-5, 2-7, Badugi) and Event 25: 8 Game (Limit H-E-R-O-S, + PLO, NLH, 2-7 Triple Draw), making this stellar festival experience definitely one to remember.
Date: March 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 5,000 (~USD 150)
Entries: 25
Prize pool: NTD 105,487 (~USD 21,125)
ITM: 4 places
Event #88: Hyper Turbo – NL Single Draw Mix Full Payouts
| Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
| 1st | Mark Furniss | Australia | NTD 43,487 |
| 2nd | Paul Tedeschi | France | NTD 30,000 |
| 3rd | Jung Woong Park | Hong Kong | NTD 19,000 |
| 4th | Joan Kathleen Allen | Australia | NTD 13,000 |
Edward Chun Ho Yam lands third series title in Event #95: Turbo – NL Single Draw 2-7
A rising star, Hong Kong’s Edward Chun Ho Yam bested his third season title at Event #95: Turbo – NL Single Draw 2-7 and collected NTD 68,231 (~USD 2,160) after denying Sparrow Cheung his second series victory. Yam earlier raked in two High Roller wins at Event 7: Turbo – High Roller and Event 70: Hyper Turbo – High Roller, as well as an impressive third place finish in the Super High Roller event for NTD 4 Million (~USD 128K).
Date: March 8, 2024
Buy in: NTD 7,000 (~USD 220)
Entries: 31
Prize pool: NTD 185,231 (~USD 5,890)
ITM: 5 places
Event #95: Turbo – NL Single Draw 2-7 Full Payouts
| Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
| 1 | Edward Chun Ho Yam | Hong Kong | NTD 68,231 |
| 2 | Sparrow Cheung | Hong Kong | NTD 47,000 |
| 3 | Jarryd Godena | Australia | NTD 30,000 |
| 4 | Kakeru Hayashi | Japan | NTD 22,000 |
| 5 | Keishi Kawato | Japan | NTD 18,000 |
Yuehchiao Yang claims another APT title in Event #98: Tick Tock BOOM!
Taiwan’s Yuehchiao Yang is the latest addition to the festival’s list of multi event winners with another victory secured at Event #98: Tick Tock BOOM!. Yang topped the 96-entry field and collected the lion’s share of the NTD 655,564 (~USD 20,850) prize pool, adding an additional NTD 173,564 (~USD 5,510) to his record. Yang just two days ago won Event 75: NL Hold’em Shootout for a similar NTD 173,384 (~USD 5,510) in prizes.
Date: March 8, 2024
Buy in: NTD 8,000 (~USD 250)
Entries: 96
Prize pool: NTD 655,564 (~USD 20,850)
ITM: 13 places
Event #98: Tick Tock BOOM! Full Payouts
| Place | Name | Flag | Prize |
| 1 | Yuehchiao Yang | Taiwan | NTD 173,564 |
| 2 | Yoshimune Nezu | Japan | NTD 121,000 |
| 3 | Fang Puyen | Taiwan | NTD 80,000 |
| 4 | Constantin-Emil Alexandru | Romania | NTD 63,000 |
| 5 | Roque JR. III Lima | Philippines | NTD 50,000 |
| 6 | Ruo Tian Lee | Taiwan | NTD 39,000 |
| 7 | Yujian Eugene Zhou | Singapore | NTD 31,000 |
| 8 | Zarvan Tumboli | India | NTD 24,000 |
| 9 | Felix Von Rahden | Germany | NTD 18,000 |
| 10 | Leong Koon Ho | Singapore | NTD 15,000 |
| 11 | Tirajad Sirimueanphong | Thailand | NTD 15,000 |
| 12 | Christopher Mateo | Philippines | NTD 13,000 |
| 13 | Yong Sine Tee | Malaysia | NTD 13,000 |
Keita Kitamura bags second series title in Event #82: PL Omaha High
Following almost eight hours of play, Event #82: PL Omaha High drew down its 104-entry field to its final three players. With over half of the NTD 897,832 (~USD 28,500) prize pool yet to be awarded, a three way deal ensued with Japan’s Keita Kitamura sharing the top payouts with Hong Kong’s Hiu Tung Chan and Malaysia’s Kok Wei Teoh. In the end, Kitamura claimed the trophy and followed his success at Event 20: Hyper Turbo – NL Omaha with a second series win for NTD 175,134 (~USD 5,560).
Date: March 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 10,000 (~USD 310)
Entries: 104
Prize pool: NTD 897,832 (~USD 28,500)
ITM: 15 places
Event #82: PL Omaha High Final Table Results
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
| 1st | Keita Kitamura | Japan | NTD 175,134* |
| 2nd | Hiu Tung Chan | Hong Kong | NTD 157,349* |
| 3rd | Kok Wei Teoh | Malaysia | NTD 157,349* |
| 4th | Fu-Bang Huang | Taiwan | NTD 84,000 |
| 5th | Kristof Segers | Belgium | NTD 68,000 |
| 6th | Ryosuke Tomuro | Japan | NTD 53,000 |
| 7th | Tan Luan Le | United Kingdom | NTD 42,000 |
| 8th | Gerald Foo | Singapore | NTD 32,000 |
| 9th | Kim Wah Chiu | Singapore | NTD 23,000 |
*Denotes deal was made
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