Asia Millions 2020: Xing Biao Zhu, Alex Lee and Ricky Cheung claim trophies
The city of Busan may not have the same ability as Seoul or Incheon to attract international players but cards were definitely in the air these past few days as players battled it out for the Asia Millions Poker Championship.
The festival, hosted by AJPC and HKGC, ran from 21 – 24 February, 2020 at Paradise Hotel, Busan.
Seven events of No Limit Hold’em were held within the 4-day period with buy-ins ranging from KRW 500,000 (~USD 412) to their High Roller event with the largest buy-in of KRW 5 Million (~USD 4,119). Catering to a smaller field, no guaranteed prize pools were expected for the series.
Xing Biao Zhu wins the Main Event
Chinese national, Xing Biao Zhu, has been racking up a number of cashes for the past few years and is currently ranked 59th in China’s All Time Money List. He continued on with his outstanding run and took down the Asia Millions Main Event for 2020. The event, with a buy-in of KRW 2.5 Million (~USD 2,059), garnered 23 entries and created a total prize pool of KRW 50,197,500 (~USD 41,370).
In addition to winning the KRW 1.5 Million NLH event and ranking third in the KRW 700,000 KO Bounty event, Xing Bia Zhu took home a nice amount of KRW 18,375,000 (~USD 15,144) for his first prize Main Event win.
Main Event Results
| Place | Name | Prize | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | China | Xing Zhu | KRW18,375,000 | $15,144 |
| 2nd | Singapore | Alex Lee | KRW12,350,000 | $10,178 |
| 3rd | Japan | Yuri Ishida | KRW7,330,000 | $6,041 |
| 4th | China | Bi Wen | KRW5,825,000 | $4,801 |
| 5th | Japan | Yasuhiro Sasaki | KRW3,817,000 | $3,146 |
| 6th | Hong Kong | Ricky Cheung | KRW2,500,000 | $2,060 |
Judging from past events, it has been observed that Chinese players seemed to have found a second home in South Korea. Countless cashes have been collected by their prominent players as they consistently venture into competing in neighboring Asian countries.
Alex Lee Wins High Roller and Monster Stack Event
On top of his runner up finish in the Main Event, Singapore’s Alex Xiang Wei Lee takes down two more events in the Asia Millions series. With only 7 entries to the High Roller event with a buy-in of KRW 5 Million (~USD 4,119), a total prize pool of KRW 31,234,000 (~USD 25,741) was recorded with only two players getting paid. Lee bagged KRW 21,864,000 (~USD 18,019) for the top prize and carries on to the following day to bag the succeeding event. He adds another KRW 11 Million (~USD 9,066) to his bankroll as he dominates the Monster Stack event, outlasting 8 other players.
High Roller Event Results
| Place | Name | Prize | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Singapore | Alex Lee | KRW21,864,000 | $18,019 |
| 2nd | Singapore | Graeme Siow | KRW9,370,000 | $7,722 |
Records show that Alex Lee has actively been in the poker scene this entire decade and has amassed a hefty USD 995,895 in Total Live Earnings. He is also currently ranked 4th in Singapore’s All Time Money List and has a listed Best Live Cash of USD 84,358. With these great results, we can expect to see more of him in the upcoming festivals in the region.
Ricky Cheung and Tobias Peters among the side events winners
Other recorded winners are Hong Kong’s Ricky Cheung and Netherland’s Tobias Peters who won the KRW 500,000 Warm Up event and the KRW 700,000 KO Bounty event respectively. Ricky Cheung, aside from taking down the Warm Up event and earning a KRW 3,272,500 (~USD 2,697) win, also cashed in 6th place for the Asia Millions Main Event.
Tobias Peters, on the other hand, bagged KRW 4,010,000 (~USD 3,305) in top prize and came 2nd in the Warm Up event right behind Cheung for KRW 1,965,000 (~USD 1,619).
Up Next in Busan
With South Korea continuously captivating the attention of multiple international players, the Asian Poker Tour is scheduled to return to Paradise Hotel, Busan on 4 – 11 November, 2020. Further details are to be posted soon and can be found on APT’s official website. In anticipation for more poker events, numerous series have already been scheduled and are lined up for this year’s calendar. Stay tuned for developing news and further announcements!
