CPG Championship Strengthens Hold As Asia’s Biggest, Attracts 4,211 Entries
Although the typhoon cast its shadow, the 13th CPG Championship Finals , taking place at Sanya, Hainan Island, still came close to breaking its all-time attendance record of 4,405 entries, drawing 4,211 entries across three Day 1 heats. Once again, this annual freezeout event earned the laurels for the largest gathering of players in Asia with well over 90% from China.
Big Names At 2025 CPG Championship Finals
For years, organizers have worked to bring more international players into the mix, though the turnout has typically hovered around just 5-6% of the field. This year, that share shrank with competing tours on the calendar. Still, the impact was negligible, as Chinese nationals more than filled the gap – roughly 30% of the field were fresh faces, eager to flip cards alongside their idols.
During an interview with WSOP bracelet winner Renjie Mao, a crowd of onlookers surrounded and then quickly swarmed the champion for photos and selfies. Same as well for three-time WSOP bracelet winner Xixiang Luo, one of the country’s biggest poker celebrities that young players were more than thrilled to see.
Going on a decade at the games was another WSOP bracelet holder Lei Yu who first cashed at the CPG back in 2014. As one of the frequent flyers, he shared,
I’ve been coming here for ten years. This is the WSOP of China. Every year more and more players from China come here and the players are developing. Foreigners are also welcome to come and experience CPG.
Like some events outside China, this major celebration only happens once a year, consistently every third week of August for ten days. This gives players plenty of time to prepare starting at the close of the ongoing edition. Let’s have a look at the latest numbers:
Day 1A: 1,657 players – 553 survived
Day 1B: 1,656 players – 554 survived
Day 1C: 898 players – 326 survived
Main Event Through The Years
| Year | Entries | In ~USD reference |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 4,211 | 5,587,000 |
| 2024 | 3,787 | 5,000,000 |
| 2023 | 4,080 | 5,454,000 |
| 2022 | 4,405 | 5,754,000 |
| 2021 | 3,282 | 4,809,000 |
| 2020 | 3,352 | 4,620,000 |
| 2019 | 3,132 | 4,169,000 |
| 2018 | 1,926 | 2,264,000 |
| 2017 | 1,322 | 1,557,000 |
| 2016 | 1,294 | 1,480,000 |
| 2015 | 1,075 | 1,300,000 |
| 2014 | 966 | 973,000 |
| 2013 | 878 | 1,620,000 |
Notables Into Day 2
The Main Event now enters Day 2. Around 1433 players will be returning that includes some notables to mention: Dong Chen, Haohui Ma, TaoWei Zheng, XiaQing Ji, Yilong Wang, JianFeng Sun, Rong Long, Xiaosheng Zheng, Chenxu Zhang, Zhe Li, TieZheng Zhao, and Yu Xiang Yu.
The international contingent is also represented with more than a handful of players set to return that includes Alex Lee, Grant Gardner, Tom Verbruggen, Jeremy Chan, and Feng Zhao to name a few.
Other Festival News
- August 23, Dominick French captured his 69th flag at Event #4: Msport Deepstack Turbo
- August 23, JianFeng Sun wins 13th Anniversary Event for his second anniversary win; two years back, he won the 11th Anniversary Event
- August 24, Typhoon hits Sanya, festival paused one day
- August 25, first time in history, Day 1B (1,656) draws less than Day 1A (1,657)
- August 25, the ZhongTi Tour Deepstack temporarily closed registration due to the lack of tables.
- August 25, Super Cup Deepstack Turbo set a new record turnout for a single day event of 662 players. The previous record was 480.
The 13th CPG Championship is ongoing until August 30, 2025. Still plenty of events to complete including the popular Lucheng Cup which begins on Wednesday August 27, 2025.
Links:
CPG Championship – Schedule & Results
CPG Championship – Photos
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