Chien Fa Chou wins the inaugural PKC Taiwan Main Event; David Erquiaga finishes runner-up

After much anticipation, the Poker King Club hosted its first-ever event in Taipei City, Taiwan at the highly popular tournament venue, the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association aka CTP Club. The five-day festival – PKC Taiwan – ran from August 16 to 20. It was the first for the brand this year after having canceled their regular event in Macau. Players from all over the region were in attendance to bring about hefty prize pools across the board. We’ve got all the results for you below.

Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event – Chien Fa Chou

The most coveted title of the series was none other than the NT$27,500 (~US$ 900) Poker King Cup Main Event. 306 charged in over the three entry heats – 55 at Day 1A, 189 at Day 1B, and 62 at Day 1C – to form a highly worthy pot of NT$ 7,420,500 (~US$ 236,500). This more than exceeded the NT$ 6M advertised guarantee. The top 36 spots trimmed their respective piece. Making the host country proud was Taiwan’s Chien Fa Chou who shipped it to earn his first-ever live tournament win. Chou was awarded the largest cut of NT$ 1,639,000 (~US$ 52,300).

Recapping the winner’s story from where it mattered – at the final table – Chou entered running third in the count preceded only by fellow countryman Wai King Cheung and South Korean pro Jae Wook Shin. After the fall of Kuang Hung Lee in 9th place, a series of losses by the top two chip leaders defaulted Chou to the top.

To maintain status, Chou proceeded to rail King Wai Cheung (7th) then Lee Kuan Wee (5th) to build a dominating lead. At three-handed, he crushed the hopes of UK pro Alex Lindop who called for his tournament life with trips only to fall to Chou’s rivered full house. This elimination catapulted Chou to a monstrous 13:1 chip lead. From there, it took only two hands to knockout Philippine player David Erquiaga and capture his maiden victory.

As for runner-up Erquiaga, this was another incredible run for the Filipino pro. Last month he also finished 2nd at the APT Vietnam Championships Event and 14th at the same series Main Event. One other player needing acknowledgment was Jae Wook Shin. Although he took a hard fall from 2nd in chips to bumping the rail in 8th place, he also moneyed at the High Rollers event finishing 4th out of 27 runners.

Final 9 payouts

Prize pool: NT$ 7,420,500 – Buyin: NT$ 27,500 – Entries: 306 – ITM: 36 places

1st Chien Fa Chou (Taiwan) – NT$ 1,639,000

2nd David Erquiaga (Philippines) – NT$ 1,150,100

3rd Alex Lindop (UK) – NT$ 739,700

4th Ling He (China) – NT$ 547,500

5th Lee Kuan Wee (Malaysia) – NT$ 411,000

6th Yu You Ci Tsai (Taiwan) – NT$ 328,600

7th King Wai Cheung (Hong Kong) – NT 273,000

8th Jae Wook Shin (South Korea) – NT$ 218,800

9th Kuang Hung Lee (Taiwan) – NT$ 164,000

Other notable players in the money were: Tsang Dicky Siu Hang (10th), Terry Fan (12th), Cliff Chow (19th), Lin Yu Sheng (28th), and Chen An Lin (31st).

Event 4: NT$ 20,000 (~US$ 640) Formosa Cup – Hou Hin Gabriel Fung

The biggest crowd drawing side event was the NT$20,000 (~US$ 640) Formosa Cup, named after Taiwan’s traditional name “Ilha Formosa”. This was the first event of its kind hosted by the PKC making it a very special victory for the champion. The three-day event attracted 158 entries – 56 at Day 1A and 102 at Day 1B – to generate a prize pool of NT$ 2,758,700 (~US$ 88,000). Out of the 18 players shaving a cut, it was Hong Kong player Hou Hin Gabriel Fung who pocketed the most after defeating fellow countryman Wai Ho Cheung at heads up. Fung earned his first-ever live tournament win and largest live score of NT$ 710,300 (~US$ 22,600).

Final 9 payouts

Prize pool: NT$ 2,758,700 – Buyin: NT$ 20,000 – Entries: 158 – ITM: 18 places

1st Hou Hin Gabriel Fung (Hong Kong) – NT$ 710,300

2nd Wai Ho Cheung (Hong Kong) – NT$ 497,400

3rd Hsin Jou Lu (Taiwan) – NT$ 320,000

4th Choi Loong (Malaysia) – NT$ 177,700

5th Ben Andrews (UK) – NT$ 237,000

6th Chiang Yu Tang (Taiwan) – US$ 142,100

7th Tzu Wei Wang (Taiwan) – NT$ 118,100

8th Kenichi Takarabe (Japan) – NT$ 94,600

9th Shao Hung Lee (Taiwan) – NT$ 70,900

Event 7: NT$ 86,000 (~US$ 2,700) High Rollers – Chi Jen Chu

The NT$86,000 (~US$ 2,700) High Rollers event brought forth a tight field of 27 heavyweights for a prize pool of NT$ 2,095,200 (~US$ 67,000). Once again, Taiwan claimed this one with Chi Jen Chu going the distance. He earned his largest live cash of NT$ 838,100 (~US$ 26,700). This was Chu’s fifth career High Roller title, all of them won on home soil.

Payouts

1st Chi Jen Chu (Taiwan) – NT$ 838,100

2nd Co Chung Chuen (Hong Kong) – NT$ 523,800

3rd Hou Pan Cheng (Hong Kong) – NT$ 335,200

4th Jae Wook Shin (South Korea) – NT$ 230,500

5th Sparrow Park Yu Cheung (Hong Kong) – NT$ 167,600

Other Events

Event 1: NT$ 11,000 (~US$ 350) No Limit Hold’em

Entries: 61

Prize pool: NT$ 591,700 (~US$ 18,900)

ITM: 9 places

Winner: Alex Christopher Lindop (UK) – NT$ 177,400 (~US$ 5,600)

Event 2: NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 210) No Limit Hold’em Turbo 1

Entries: 50

Prize pool: NT$ 291,000 (US$ 9,300)

ITM: 5 places

Winner: Pete Yen-Han Chen (Taiwan) – NT$ 104,700 (~US$ 3,300)

Event 3: NT$ 11,000 (~US$ 350) Head Hunter

Entries: 37

Prize pool: NT$ 358,900 (~US$ 11,500)

ITM: 4 places

Winner: Kung Hung Lee (Taiwan) – NT$ 113,900 (~US$ 3,600)

Event 5: NT$ 8,800 (~US$ 280) Short Deck

Entries: 30

Prize pool: NT$ 232,800 (~US$ 7,400)

ITM: 3 places

Winner: Raymond Shao-Kang Wu (USA) – NT$ 111,700 (~US$ 3,500)

Event 6: NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 210) No Limit Hold’em Turbo 2

Entries: 66

Prize pool: NT$ 384,120 (~US$ 12,300)

ITM: 9 places

Winner: Yan Zhuang Lee (Hong Kong) – NT$ 115,200 (~US$ 3,600)

Event 8: NT$ 8,800 (~US$ 280) Pot Limit Omaha

Entries: 63

Prize pool: NT$ 488,880 (~US$ 15,600)

ITM: 9 places

Winner: Chung Pen Cheng (Taiwan) – NT$ 146,600 (~US$ 4,700)

Event 9: NT$ 6,600 (~US$ 210) Hyper Turbo

Entries: 53

Prize pool: NT$ 308,460 (~US$ 9,800)

ITM: 6 places

Winner: Guan Lun Cheng (Taiwan) – NT$ 104,800 (~US$ 3,300)

Event 10: NT$ 9,000 (~US$ 287) Poker King Cup Closing Event

Entries: 18

Prize pool: NT$ 139,680 (~US$ 4,400)

ITM: 2 places

Winner: Tin Lam Joey Wong (Hong Kong) – NT$ 104,800 (~US$ 3,300)