APT Taiwan 2019 closes with Jinho Hong claiming the Championships Event; Mike Takayama wins Player of the Series

Another Asian Poker Tour festival wrapped up with APT Taiwan 2019 awarding the last of its champions this past Sunday.The event ran from October 9 to 20 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association. Days ago we published the early winners. For the second half, Korea’s Jinho Hong grabbed the victory at the Championships Event. Hong’s stunning performance overall made him the richest player at the series. Also earning plenty of recognition was Filipino pro Mike Takayama awarded the APT Player of the Series title. We’ve got all the remaining results and various recaps below.

Championships Event: Jinho Hong – NT$ 1,697,300 (~US$ 55,400)

Running back to back with the Main Event was the second prime tournament of the tour – the Championships Event – with a NT$ 6 million guarantee. The event attracted a lighter field than the main however the pot was just as lucrative. With 144 signing up at NT$ 49,500 buy-in, the pot grew to NT$ 6,285,500 (~US$ 205,400). After five days of action, Korea’s Jinho Hong shipped the lion’s share of NT$ 1,697,300 for his victory.

This victory was indeed well deserved for the rising Korean player Hong. Days prior, he finished 2nd at the Main Event to champion Zong Chi He. Add his winnings together, he pocketed a combined NTS 2,997,0000 (~US$ 98,000). His incredible performance started at the previous APT festival (in the Philippines) where he took 3rd in the Player of the Series race. Hong cashed multiple times which included 12th place at the Championships Event. Though he missed the mark on the POS this time, he certainly still came out the wealthiest.

Brief winner story

According to the APT news reports, Hong brought in the largest stack to Championships Event Day 3. The money was 6 spots away with 21 in action and only 15 paid. By the bubble round, Hong lost a big pot to Huang Yi Qing and eventually tumbled to below 10 bbs to be in danger of elimination. However, he recovered with a double up, and when the money flowed, he doubled up twice more to earn a seat to the final 8 day.

The final day got underway with Taiwanese pro En Ching Wu in the lead. Hong immediately caught up after sending Seongsu Kong out in 8th place. As the day wore on, players fell and heads up was finally reached at the elimination of Choy Wai Tak to Wu. Despite Wu playing just as sharp, railing three players on his way to the last stretch, Hong still held the lead over 2:1 in chips.

As both players battled relentlessly for each pot, Wu was able to regain the lead though briefly. Hong charged back and scored a double up when his found a nine on the board to survive and overtake . With leadership switched again, Hong closed it out. On a board , Wu three-bet shoved with top two pair only to run into Hong’s straight. The river finished the hand and Hong was crowned champion.

Final 8 payouts
1st Jinho Hong – Korea – NT$ 1,697,300
2nd En Ching Wu – Taiwan – NT$ 1,131,500
3rd Choy Wai Tak – Hong Kong – NT$ 786,600
4th Huang Yi Qing – China – NT$ 568,200
5th Yi Wei Peng – Taiwan – NT$ 424,900
6th Chi Jen Chu – Taiwan – NT$ 327,900
7th JC Sayo – Philippines – NT$ 260,400
8th Sengsu Kong – Korea – NT$ 212,200

Notable players in the money

Outside of the final 8 payouts, only 7 earned a piece of the pot. Missing the final table by one spot was Taiwanese pro Chen An Lin in 9th place. Another familiar face is venue owner Hsing Hsiung Tai in 12th place.

Event #20: High Rollers Single Day – Soo Jo Kim – NT$ 471,000 (~US$ 15,400)

The last trophy was claimed by APT regular Korean pro Soo Jo Kim at the High Rollers Single Day. Kim is no stranger to the APT spotlight having won numerous titles throughout the years including an APT Main Event back in 2016. He overcame the star studded 26 entries to win the NT$ 471,000 first prize. Buy in for the event was NT$ 54,000 (~US$ 1,700) for a prize pool of NT$ 1,261,000 (~US$ 41,200).

Payouts
1st Soo Jo Kim – Korea – NT$ 471,000
2nd Kenichi Takarabe – Japan – NT$ 380,000
3rd Graeme Siow – Singapore – NT$ 193,300
4th Tetsuya Tsuchikawa – Japan – NT$ 127,500
5th Toshimasa Sakato – Japan – NT$ 89,200

Mike Takayama wins APT Player of the Series

The tour’s most reputable title is the Player of the Series. At every festival, the top three players in points win special prizes. Awarded his first-ever APT Player of the Series gold was Filipino pro Mike Takayama for accruing 1,147.07 points. Takayama cashed in six events, two were victories to win the APT POS Trophy, APT POS Ring, an exclusive watch, and USD 800.

1st place: Head Hunter
1st place: High Rollers Single Day
2nd place: High Rollers Single Day 2
12th place: NLH Single Day
4th place: Deep Stack Turbo
6th place: Monster Stack 2

APT also awarded Taiwanese players Zong Chi He in 2nd place and Philip Wang in 3rd place. Wang added another six events to his long list of achievements this year. He is right at the heels of leader Hong Kong player Edward Chun Ho Yam for the Most Cashes in 2019. Both players have well over 100 cashes.

Other Events

Event #12: No Limit Hold’em Single Day
Buy-in: NT$ 7,700 (~US$
Entries: 68
Prize pool: NT$ 461,700 (~USD 15,000)
ITM: 12 places
Winner: Choy Wai Tak (Hong Kong) – NT$ 130,700 (~US$ 4,200)

Event #13: WeLoveSport Super Deep Stack Turbo
Buy-in: NT$ 7,700 (~US$ 250)
Entries: 79
Prize pool: NT$ 536,400 (~USD 17,400)
ITM: 14 places
Winner: Chen An Lin (Taiwan) – NT$ 145,900

Event #14: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo
Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 48
Prize pool: NT$ 232,800 (~USD 7,600)
ITM: 8 places
Winner: Seung Yeol Kim (Korea) – NT$ 73,000

Event #15: No Limit Hold’em
Buy-in: NT$ 9,900 (~US$ 325)
Entries: 73
Prize pool: NT$ 637,300 (~USD 20,800)
ITM: 13 places
Winner: Sung Woon Park (Korea) – NT$ 176,600 (~US$ 5,800)

Event #16: Deep Stack Turbo
Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 61
Prize pool: NT$ 295,600 (~USD 9,700)
ITM: 11 places
Winner: Poi Chen (Taiwan) – NT$ 71,000 (~US$ 2,300) – (deal made)

Event #17: Monster Stack
Buy-in: NT$ 16,500 (~US$ 540)
Entries: 91
Prize pool: NT$ 1,324,000 (~USD 43,200)
ITM: 16 places
Winner: Huang Zhi Hao (Taiwan) – NT$ 348,200 (~US$ 11,400)

Event #19: Deep Stack Turbo
Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 55
Prize pool: NT$ 266,700 (~USD 8,700)
ITM: 10 places
Winner: Dave Spencer (Canada) – NT$ 78,900 (~US$ 2,600)

Event #21: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo
Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 48
Prize pool: NT$ 232,800 (~USD 7,600)
ITM: 8 places
Winner: Huang Pin Hao (Taiwan) – NT$ 73,000 (~US$ 2,400)

Next APT stops

2019 will soon come to a close but before it does, the Asian Poker Tour has two more events lined up so make sure to mark down these dates:

APT Vietnam 2019
Dates: November 6 to 17
Venue: Pro Poker Club, Ho Chi Minh City
Guarantee: VND 14 Billion
Main Event: VND 22,000,000 buy-in
Championships Event: VND 38,500,000 buy-in

APT Finale Taiwan 2019
Dates: November 28 to December 9
Venue: Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association, Taipei City
All other info TBA

Article by Tricia David