APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024: Dhanesh Chainani leads Main Event Final Table; NTD 14.4 Million (~US$ 450K) up top; Hye Keun Park and Niko Koop scoop up wins

Excitement across the CTP Asia Poker Arena appears to be at an all-time high with Asian Poker Tour’s biggest Taiwan showing taking hold of the festivities. The APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event finds its 1,991 entry field drawn down to its final nine players looking to take the largest share of the NTD 86,011,200 (~US$ 2,722,735) prize pool. Day 4 set the action in and saw Singapore's Dhanesh Chainani lock in a commanding lead by the end of the night. Each remaining contender is now guaranteed NTD 1,087,000 (~US$ 33,890) in winnings, and a close shot at the NTD 14,413,200 (~US$ 449,400) top prize and award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy on display.

APT Poker Classic 2024 - Schedule

Dhanesh Chainani leads APT Main Event Final Table

Day 4 of the APT Main Event welcomed only 47 players back on the tables, each vying to earn a spot into the final table. It took eight levels of play before the action drew to a close, with Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani towering over the field with 18,300,000 (92 BB). Chainani’s rise began once the field was down to three tables as he eliminated Keigo Kubo after his flopped straight collected in full against the latter’s bricked combo draw. 

From there, the Singaporean’s momentum continued to pick up, handing him more than enough ammo to deliver four more eliminations in following - Brendan McManus (15th), Jie Chen (14th), Kazumasa Higuma (13th), and lastly Ting Hao Wu in 10th to signal the close of the day. Running as good as one can hope for, Chainani remains to be up for a challenge with the Final Day still seeing its share of strong contenders, of which include compatriot Abraham Ceesvin 13,750,000 (69 BB), and APT Superstar Challenge winner Chih Wei Fan 8,500,000 (43 BB).

With the final table set, a list of casualties fell upon Day 3 including Natural8 ambassadors Eric Tsai (17th) and Nevan Chang (22nd), bracelet winner Konstantin Held (25th), United Kingdom’s Dominik Nitsche (26th), Singapore’s Andrew Ong (34th), and Australia’s highly decorated Daniel Neilson (44th).

APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event Review

• Date/s: September 29 - October 5, 2024

• Buy in: NTD 50,000 (~US$ 1,570)

• Guarantee: NTD 65,000,000 (~US$ 2,057,610)

• Total entries: 1,991

• Prize pool: NTD 86,011,200 (~US$ 2,722,735)

• ITM: 295 places

By the Numbers

• Natural8 OnLive: 397 entries / 56 ITM

• Flight A: 462 entries / 157 qualified

• Flight B: 439 entries / 181 qualified

• Flight C: 368 entries / 195 qualified

• Flight D: 260 entries / 131 qualified

• Day 2 A/C: 414 players / 164 qualified

• Day 2 B/D: 312 players / 137 qualified

• Day 3: 301 players / 47 qualified

• Day 4: 47 players / 9 qualified

• Final Day - Saturday, October 5

Final Table Chip Counts

APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event Final Table Profiles

Remaining Payouts

Backtrack on all the day’s action via SMP Live Updates, All results from 10th - 295th listed under Payouts

Hye Keun Park reigns supreme over Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8

This season’s Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8 attracted 354 entries (273 unique) across registration, enough to become the tour’s record second largest. Action ran until Saturday’s early hours before USA’s Hye Keun Park was crowned as champion. Out of the field, only 124 players survived the Day 1 rounds, and returned to the felt all in search for a piece of the NTD 24,468,480 (~US$ 763,000) prize pool.

By day’s end, Park emerged triumphant over the final games, denying Philippines’ Ferdinand Lu of the title following a quick heads-up battle. Having left his opponent to settle for a runner up finish, Park secured his career best live cash by far, amounting to NTD 4,767,480 (~US$ 151,010) in prizes. 

• Date/s: October 3-4, 2024

• Buy in: NTD 80,000 (~US$ 2,510)

• Guarantee: NTD 20,000,000 (~US$ 623,665)

• Entries: 354 (273 unique)

• Prize pool: NTD 24,468,480 (~US$ 763,000)

• ITM: 47 places

Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8 Final Table Results

Niko Koop bests Baby Superstar Challenge

Another side event that stretched all the way to the wee hours saw the Baby Superstar Challenge come to an end with Germany’s Niko Koop basking in the glory. Undoubtedly a competent runner with a whopping $4.4 Million in live earnings, Koop finally closed out a victory having missed out on a win the past two years. While Koop has locked in several deep finishes over the stretch, it has been his first appearance across APT that has ended his trophy drought, finally earning him NTD 3,131,200 (~US$ 97,640) in top prize winnings.

• Date/s: October 4, 2024

• Buy in: NTD 150,000 (~US$ 4,700)

• Entries: 92

• Prize pool: NTD 11,923,200 (~US$ 371,800)

• ITM: 13 places

Baby Superstar Challenge Full Payouts