Wayne Lam, Rintaro Kagawa Lead APT Taiwan Main Event Final 9; Thi Hue Dang In Contention

Another rollercoaster day filled with highs and lots of lows at the record APT Taiwan 2025 Main Event, as the majority of the 48 returning players saw their hopes come to an end. Now, only 9 players remain in the hunt for glory and the massive NT$ 19,009,440 (~US$ 586,710) top prize.

APT Taiwan 2025 Main Event Down To Final 9 Players

To think it was only three days ago when the numbers were finalized with a smashing 2,547 entries. Now, after three elimination days, the APT Taiwan 2025 Main Event field has been cut down significantly to the final 9 players.

Remaining Payouts

• 1st: NT$ 19,009,440 (~US$ 586,710)
• 2nd: NT$ 10,133,000 (~US$ 312,745
• 3rd: NT$ 6,867,000 (~US$ 211,945)
• 4th: NT$ 5,292,500 (~US$ 163,350)
• 5th: NT$4,419,500 (~US$ 135,405)
• 6th: NT$ 3,654,000 (~US$ 110,000)
• 7th: NT$ 2,721,500 (~US$ 83,995)
• 8th: NT$ 1,969,000 (~US$ 60,770)
• 9th: NT$ 1,500,000 (~US$ 46,295)

APT Main Event – Numbers

• Buy-in: NT$ 55,000 (~US$ 1,700)
• Guarantee: NT$ 70,000,000 (~US$ 2.1 Million)
• Entries: 2,547
• Prize pool: NT$ 121,033,440 (~US$ 3,777,500)
• ITM: 375 places
• Top prize: NT$ 19,009,440 (~US$ 586,710)

Entry Results

• Day 1A: 542 entries / 203 advanced
• Day 1B: 506 entries / 222 advanced
• Day 1C: 486 entries / 240 advanced
• Day 1D: 344 entries / 176 advanced
• Day 2: 140 entries
• Natural8: 529 entries

Freezeout Stage

• Day 2: down to ITM of 375 players
• Day 3: down to 48 players
• Day 4: down to 9 players

Day 4 Review

Day 4 kicked off with 48 players remaining and all eyes on 2021 APT Taiwan Main Event champion Kuo Hui Chen aka Kitty Kuo.  Coming in with a commanding 152 big blinds, Kuo was the most seasoned player in the field and a clear crowd favorite. But unlike her previous day’s success, Kuo could not catch a break. Her run came to an abrupt halt in 21st place, ending hopes of a repeat.

This left Vietnam’s Thi Hue Dang as the only former champion still in the race. Starting with a decent 19 big blinds, Thi grinded her way back into contention which included a dramatic hand where she cracked Kuo’s aces with a flush. Riding that momentum, Thi closed out the day ranked 9th with 16 big blinds, keeping her dream of a second title alive heading into the final table. She was also the last hope for Vietnam.

On the clear opposite end of the totem pole was Hong Kong’s Wayne Lam, a relative unknown player in the live circuit, that is, until now. Lam flipped the script, turning 26 big blinds at the start of Day 3 into 103 by day’s end, then bagged the lead of 60 big blinds at the end of Day 4. While Lam may not carry the stats of some of his rivals, he is a true wild card with the momentum and stack to go the distance.

Three Japanese playes made it through the Day 4 gauntlet, led by Rintaro Kagawa, who closed the day just one big blind behind chip leader Lam. Rintaro was the bane of several players that included crowd-favorite Kuo. Another key moment was when he eliminated Marcus Law in 13th place.

For Powen Fang and Abraham Abdulla Ceesvin, both players having previously knocked on victory’s door, it was another dream that would have to wait. Fang finished 14th and Ceesvin bowed out in 11th place.

The number of Thailand qualifiers also trimmed from six players down to just one holding the torch after Anusorn Asiralertsiri met his end in 10th place on a flip against Lam. Kiwanont Sukhum is their last hope with a stack of 20 big blinds.

The final table gets underway at 11:15am on Saturday, May 3 at Red Space in Taipei City, Taiwan. You can follow the Live Updates or the Livestream via the APT YouTube channel.

Read up on the Day 4 action via the Live Updates.