Germany’s Rene Von Reden wins APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event for NTD 14.4 Million (~US$ 450K)

Intense action at this season’s APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event festivities held at the CTP Asia Poker Arena, has officially drawn to a close with a new champion crowned following a five day battle. A great regard to its name, the Tour’s thrilling games was indeed a regional affair with numerous runners from nearby Asian countries having flocked in for a piece of the action. 

A total of 1,991 entries chimed in across four heats, bumping up the record for the country’s largest international showing to date. Germany’s Rene Von Reden emerged triumphant following ten hours into the final games, and earned the Tour’s richest NTD 14,413,200 (~US$ 449,400) top prize in Taiwan history, along with the coveted APT golden lion trophy.

“I’d heard about the tour before, but never really had it in my mind, but I saw a video from a YouTuber called Frankie C [Frank Cucchiara] covering an APT series from earlier this year, and they were some interesting videos of interesting players, so I thought I wanted to check that out myself. So that was a big factor“, commented von Reden following his win.

APT Poker Classic 2024 – Schedule

APT Main Event Final Table Recap

A grueling grind, only nine players of the massive field returned for the APT Main Event Final Day games, each guaranteed NTD 1 Million (~US$ 3,980) in winnings. It didn’t take long for eliminations to land on the felt with two casualties – Andy Chen (9th), and Junichi Hashimoto (8th), already fallen by the second level. 

Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani who entered the final rounds with a commanding lead, shortly faltered after a failed bluff against South Korea’s Jae Wook Shin cost him the advantage. Shin took the reins, and went on to bust Macau’s Sio Fat Lau in 7th place over a flip, to amass 40% of the chips in play.

Rene Von Reden’s turning point however, came in following after he shoved A♥3♦ on the button and saw APT Superstar Challenge winner Chih Wei Fan call off with A♣K♣. Whilst dominated, Von Reden managed to land a pair of threes to take it down, and oust Fan in 6th in the process. Von Reden’s attempt to catch up to running chip leader Shin was proving successful with another elimination delivered by the German, seeing Chainani as his next victim.

Four handed play lasted for another two hours before short stacked Man Lok Chan eventually crumbled in 4th place. Across the top counts, Abraham Ceesvin continued to wield with aggression, and managed to scoop up a crucial flip for Shin’s entire stack with 8♠8♥ against the latter’s A♣10♠. Just shy of 50 big blinds, Ceesvin kicked off the final duel with the lead over Von Reden’s still playable 30 big blind stack.

Ninety minutes of back and forth suggested it to be anyone’s game at this point with none of the two looking to back down. The final hand however arrived soon enough, with the action beginning with an open from Ceesvin with K♣6♦, and Von Reden coming along on the big blind with 9♦2♦. Ceesvin double barreled on board 7♦K♦3♥3♦ and went on to jam for his tournament life following a raise from his opponent. Von Reden happily called with his nine high flush, and sealed the overall victory as river Q♦ landed on the felt.

While it has only been two years since Von Reden has ventured into the live tournament poker scene, the undeniably impressive feat immediately puts the German amateur on the map. As one of the shortest stacks to enter the final table, Von Reden carefully picked out his spots and overcame the deficit, to eventually secure the title. Von Reden closes the action NTD 14,413,200 (~US$ 449,400) richer, while leaving Ceesvin to settle for a runner up finish.

“Poker is a complex game if you are playing against decent players you will lose if you are not knowing what to do. There’s so much to learn. When I started I thought I would give myself three years time to learn and then I will see if the results come. Now I am at the end of year two!“, stated Von Reden.

APT 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

APT Main Event Final Table Results

Relive the final table gameplay via APT’s official livestream
Backtrack on all the day’s action via SMP Live Updates, All results from 10th – 295th listed under Payouts