APT Taiwan 2021 underway; Kun Han Lee wins the opener; Main Event NT$ 2M GTD up next

The last time the Asian Poker Tour held a full blown live festival was nearly one year ago in Taiwan. Immediately after, the world went on a sudden standstill, grounding many land based poker operators due to the novel coronavirus. One of the few places that was able to arrest the virus early was Taiwan that by mid last year, live tournaments were back on the green with local festivals packing the house of popular card room, the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club).

Although many countries still enforce travel restrictions today, the APT has made its return to Taiwan for their first live festival of the season. For those fortunate to attend, a loaded schedule of 21 tournaments and NT$ 5.5 million (~US$ 197,340) in guarantees will be served. The series runs from February 19 to March 15 at two locations: CTP Club Taichung and CTP Club Taipei. On the APT website, CTP CEO David Tai expressed,

“APT is also one of my favorite international tournaments. We are very happy and honored to have APT Taiwan but unfortunately, there are still travel restrictions and lag of foreign players due to the COVID situation. Hopefully, the restriction can be open sooner in the future so we can have foreign players as well,”

This past weekend, the series opener – APT Taichung Mini Main Event – completed with Kun Han Lee claiming his first ever APT title. Lee turned his NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 179) buy in into a very profitable NT$ 332,200 (~US$ 11,900) payout. We have a brief recap for you below along with the games to expect starting with the Main Event NT$ 2,000,000 (~US$ 71,500) guaranteed.

APT Taichung Mini Main Event – KUN HAN LEE – NT$ 332,200 (~US$ 11,900)

The series opener APT Taichung Mini Main Event was welcomed in with players pouring into the CTP Club Taichung branch that by the end of Day 1A, the NT$ 500K guarantee was exceeded. With another large crowd expected at Day 1B, an evening Turbo Flight was added to meet the demand. Day 1B attracted 178 entries and another 70 turned up for the Turbo Flight. With a combined total of 390 entries, it tripled up the guarantee to NT$ 1,513,200 (~US$ 54,140).Each entry day/flight bagged up at ITM with 40 returning on the Final Day. After six or so hours of play, Kun Han Lee overcame his opponents to capture the NT$ 332,200 (~US$ 11,900) first prize, the APT Champion’s Ring, and APT Trophy. This was Lee’s first ever APT win.

Taiwanese player Lee is a well known local player and a regular at the CTP. Since his first cash in late 2018, Lee has racked up a long list of deep runs at various events, all hosted at the CTP. His largest cash of NT$ 716,000 (~US$ 23,500) was at the APT Finale Taiwan 2019 High Rollers event where he finished in 2nd place. Another healthy cash was in November 2020 when he won the Taiwan Millions Tournament 9 Super High Roller event for NT$ 395,700 (~US$ 13,840).

Recap and results

At the APT Taichung Mini Main Event, Lee bagged up the second largest stack at Day 1A, which was nearly two times less than chip leader Zhi Hao Huang. Entering the final day, Huang was second in chips to overall leader / Turbo Flight leader Ling Wei Wu while Lee was ranked sixth. After four and half hours of play, the final table was formed. Another two hours later, it was heads up between Huang and Lee with Lee backed by a commanding lead. It took a quick ten hands to wrap it up with Lee shipping his first ever APT title.

Dates: February 19 to 21
Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 179)
Guarantee: NT$ 500,000 (~US$ 17,900)
Entries: 390
Prize pool: NT$ 1,513,200 (~US$ 54,140)
ITM: 40 players

Final Table payouts

1st Kun Han Lee – NT$ 332,200
2nd Zhi Hao Huang – NT$ 221,500
3rd Sheng Feng Chang – NT$ 154,000
4th Yu Chain Chang – NT$ 111,200
5th Hsin Hung Lin – NT$ 83,200
6th Hung Yue Chang – NT$ 64,200
7th Guan Ya Chen – NT$ 51,000
8th Wei Chu Wang – NT$ 41,500
9th Li Hsin Chang – NT$ 34,600

Up next: APT Taiwan Main Event

The APT Taiwan Main Event gets underway this Friday, February 26 and will run until Wednesday, March 3. This is a deep stack tournament with slow escalating blinds. Three starting days are scheduled. Day 1A takes place at CTP Club Taichung. From Day 1B onwards, the event moves to CTP Club Taipei.

Dates: February 26 to March 3
Buy in: NT$ 16,500 (~US$ 590)
Guarantee: NT$ 2,000,000 (~US$ 71,500)

Location: CTP Club Taichung
Day 1A: Friday, February 26

Location: CTP Club Taipei
Day 1B: Saturday, February 27
Day 1C: Sunday, February 28
Day 2: Monday, March 1
Day 3: Tuesday March 2
Final 8: Wednesday, March 3

APT Championships and APT Taichung Special Event

Running back to back with the Main Event is another APT featured tournament, the APT Championships. This one also guarantees NT$ 2,000,000 (~US$ 71,500) with buy in at NT$ 25,300 (~US$ 910). It runs from March 4 to 8 with two starting days, Day 2, Day 3, and the Final 8.

To close out the series, the festival moves back to CTP Club Taichung for the APT Taichung Special Event. Buy in is NT$ 10,000 (~US$ 360) with an event guarantee of NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 35,900). It runs from March 12 to 15 with two starting days, Day 2, and the Final 9.

Aside from events with guarantees are 17 side games of varying formats and bankrolls. Enthusiasts of High Roller games, Monster Stacks, Turbos, NLH, and Pot Limit Omaha will be thrilled to find several on the roster. All winners will be awarded an APT trophy. For more information, head to the APT website.