APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024: Martin Sedlak collects grand payday at APT High Roller; Dongjae Kim claims record-breaking Double Stack; Tom Verbruggen ships second series victory at Mini Main Event

Down to its tail end of festivities, a surplus of 96 trophies have been awarded across the action-packed APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 games, along with Rene Von Reden clinching the Main Event title. Three more highlights across the lineup have been dusted, with this time, Germany’s Martin Sedlak claiming the largest of three. Sedlak secured the highly coveted APT Bronze trophy, having shined across the APT High Roller field. South Korea’s Dongjae Kim and Netherlands’ Tom Verbruggen likewise celebrated victories with their most recent scores being at the Double Stack and Mini Main Event.

“This was definitely a very big roller coaster, I started Day 1 very good, and then, like 30-minutes before Day 2 I had 60K, which was half a starting stack, and then from Day 2 onwards I just kept going up. I free rolled ace-king versus ace-king suited, and then just couldn’t stop. I ran very well, that obviously helps to win a tournament”, Sedlak stated in his post-match interview.

“This is a very, very nice trophy, I really look forward to finding a nice place for it. I was here in Taipei already earlier this year, and I really wanted to come back because honestly, it’s one of my favourite cities now, and I’m really glad I did.“

APT Poker Classic 2024 – Schedule

Martin Sedlak secures APT Bronze trophy at APT High Roller

With the award-winning APT Bronze trophy on display, 61 contenders made their return for the APT High Roller Final Day games, all looking to catch the biggest cut of the NTD 26,136,000  (~US$ 815,005) prize pool. It took two more levels of play before the money trickled in with China’s Yuhang Chen being the unfortunate bubble to crash one spot short. Chen ran A♠K♣ into Jason Lau’s A♣A♥ for his elimination, and left the rest of the 39 survivors entitled to a minimum payout of NTD 18,000 (~US$ 560).

Six more hours of play went by until the field drew down to its final table, with Natural8 ambassador Punnat Punsri in command, along with Baby Superstar Challenge winner Niko Koop just less than a big blind behind. The first ten minutes saw short stacked Chung Ching Cheung hit the rails, followed shortly after by Daniel Montagnolli in 8th, having lost a flip with A♥Q♥ against Koop’s 7♦7♠.

Another level went by before Grant Wang succumbed in 7th place after being grinded down, to eventually go with A♠5♠. Unfortunately Punsri woke up with K♠K♣ and quickly picked up the stack, denying Wang entirely. Lone Malaysian runner Jason Lau managed to land a pay jump, but failed to hold on any longer as his last four big blinds finally earned him a 6th place finish.

By midnight, Rishi Mehra’s rise began to become more evident as he sent Koop and Punsri out in 4th and 5th place respectively. Having tabled premium pocket pairs against the two, Rishi amassed more than half the chips in play with only two more opponents in his way to victory. Three handed play however, stretched out for another two levels and saw the lead shift to Martin Sedlak. Gaining traction, Sedlak went on to widen the gap even further, having eliminated Adrien Favre in 3rd with 8♦8♥ against the latter’s A♠10♠.

With a 7:1 chip advantage to begin the final duel, Sedlak found himself losing that advantage, having doubled up Rishi twice to even out the field. Nevertheless just a couple deals later, Rishi succumbed to his fate, having shoved on the button with A♠7♣, only to find Sedlak excitedly come along with 9♥9♦. Board 6♦6♠8♠5♦J♠ sealed the victory for the German, earning him his maiden APT title, along with his best live cash to date.

• Date/s: October 4-5, 2024
• Buy in: NTD 110,000 (~US$ 3,450)
• Guarantee: NTD 11,000,000 (~US$ 218,280)
• Entries: 275 (192 unique)
• Prize pool: NTD 26,136,000  (~US$ 815,005)
• ITM: 39 places

APT High Roller Final Table Results

Full results 10th – 39th listed under Payouts
Relive the Final Day action via APT’s official livestream or via SMP Live Updates

Dongjae Kim secures maiden APT title at record-breaking Double Stack

Known for its outstanding numbers, APT broke another record at this season’s Double Stack games, with the 951 (576 unique) recorded entries rising to become the tour’s largest Double Stack offering. Two days of play ran through and finally saw South Korea’s Dongjae Kim claim the victory over the 133-survivor field across the Final Day games.

Kim secured his maiden APT title to go with his NTD 3,025,280 (~US$ 95,830) top prize, having defeated Flight A frontrunner Zefirelli Noordin in heads up battle. An impressive finish for his first APT showing, Kim has indeed been having a great year so far, with the newly minted runner having just claimed his career best cash four months ago with a victory at the Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series for $175,225

• Date/s: October 4-5, 2024
• Buy in: NTD 20,000 (~US$ 628)
• Guarantee: NTD 7,000,000 (~US$ 218,280)
• Entries: 951 (576 unique)
• Prize pool: NTD 16,433,280 (~US$ 520,535)
• ITM: 133 places

Double Stack Final Table Results

Tom Verbruggen ships a second series victory at Mini Main Event

Another highlight across the Tour’s 114-event lineup recorded numbers well over the expected, with its recent Mini Main Event emerging as the largest and richest in APT history. The staggering turnout brought in a total of 741 (466 unique) entries, generating a NTD 14,084,928 (~US$ 439,210) prize pool over double the listed guarantee. 

Nine hours of play into the Final Day games coursed through before Netherlands’ Tom Verbruggen found his name right at the summit of the payouts list. Running hot, the Dutch runner bested the 104-survivor field and bagged a second series victory for NTD 2,710,928 (~US$ 85,060). A regular APT attendee, it’s only this season in which Verbruggen successfully claimed a title with his latest feat putting his series run six figures into the green.

• Date/s: October 5-6, 2024
• Buy in: NTD 22,000 (~US$ 690)
• Guarantee: NTD 6,000,000 (~US$ 187,100)
• Entries: 741 (466 unique)
• Prize pool: NTD 14,084,928 (~US$ 439,210)
• ITM: 104 places

Mini Main Event Final Table Results