GPL China S2 & MPS wrap up: Yuri Ishida wins the High Roller; Daniel Tang, Sparrow Cheung win events

The last poker festival in Asia for 2018 is officially in the books with the inaugural Master Poker Series (MPS) concluding its five-day run in Taiwan. The festival took place from December 20 to 24 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP) hub in Taipei.

In total, eight players walked away carrying the signature MPS trophies along with padded wallets. Luke Lee earned top honors for his crushing victory at the Main Event. Also walking away with fists in the air were the newest Global Poker League China champions- team CTP Taipei. We wrap up with a list of all the side event winners starting with a recap of the High Roller event.

MPS High Roller: YURI ISHIDA

It was good to see the High Roller event up and running. The low interest in Day 1 pushed it to be a one day event held on the final day of the festival. 25 players made their way, each one shelling out the NTD 40,000 buy-in. Padding up the pot further were 9 re-entries for a total prize pool of NTD 1,187,280. After 12 grueling hours, Japanese pro Yuri Ishida defeated Raymond Wong at heads up to claim the title and the NTD 439,480 first prize.

Recapping the action, an hour into Xmas day, Alan King Lun Lau was denied winnings. His pocket eights didn’t improve against Chen-Chien Hsin’s pocket tens to bust on the bubble.

With six remaining and all ensured a payout, Lau’s executioner Chen-Chien amassed an even bigger stack by railing Ping Hsien Chan (5th) just after Ishida eliminated Yu Sheng Lin (6th). But then Chen-Chien’s momentum quickly turned south. He doubled up Wong twice to drop to the shortest stack and fell in 4th place to Ishida.

Three-handed was a wild one. Wong doubled up again sending Ishida’s stack plummeting. She then decided to risk it all with but ran into Lee Kun Han’s . However, Lee’s rockets crumbled when the board ran for two pair to Ishida. Upset at the turnout, Lee was crippled to 4bbs and eventually lost it all to Wong.

Heads up began with Ishida and Wong fairly even in chips. Not for long as Ishida quickly grinded him down. Dropping desperately low, Wong shoved with and Ishida called with . The board ran awarding Ishida the well-deserved victory.

Prize pool: NTD 1,187,280 – Buyin: NTD 40,000 – Entries: 34

• 1st Yuri Ishida – NTD 439,480
• 2nd Raymond Wong – NTD 285,000
• 3rd Lee Kun Han – NTD 178,000
• 4th Chen-Chien Hsin – NTD 124,600
• 5th Ping Hsien Chan – NTD 89,000
• 6th Yu Sheng Lin – NTD 71,200

PING HSIEN CHAN

Prize pool: NTD 109,125 – Buyin: NTD 5,000 – Entries: 25

• 1st Ping Hsien Chan – NTD 40,525
• 2nd Cheng-Kai Lu – NTD 27,800
• 3rd Tsaio Ming – NTD 17,700
• 4th UNKNOWN – NTD 12,800
• 5th Ta Wei Tou – NTD 10,300

MPS Deepstack NLH Event: XIAO YIN HE

Prize pool: NTD 251,230 – Buyin: NTD 8,000 – Entries: 37

• 1st Xiao Yin He – NTD 85,730
• 2nd Yuri Ishida – NTD 59,000
• 3rd Hsiao Tsui Han – NTD 37,600
• 4th Lin Yu Sheng – NTD 28,800
• 5th Takuya Suzuki – NTD 22,600
• 6th Chieh-Eng Yang – NTD 17,500

MPS Deepstack Turbo NLH: TSAI FENG LIU

Prize pool: NTD 61,110 – Buyin: NTD 9,000 – Entries: 14

• 1st Tsai Feng Liu – NTD 29,410
• 2nd UNKNOWN – NTD 19,500
• 3rd Chiu Chi-An – NTD 12,200

Special Tournament Event: SPARROW CHEUNG

Prize pool: NTD 283,725 – Buyin: NTD 5,000 – Entries: 64

• 1st Park Yu Cheung “Sparrow” – NTD 83,025
• 2nd Chung-Yi Ho – NTD 59,600
• 3rd Yu En Kuo – NTD 38,700
• 4th Van Dai Nguyen – NTD 29,200
• 5th Hung Chen-Yu – NTD 22,700
• 6th Mitsuru Sano – NTD 17,600
• 7th Wei Chen Tsung – NTD 13,900
• 8th Chia Chang Lin – NTD 10,800
• 9th Wu Chia Yun – NTD 8,200

MPS x CTP NLH Event: HUNG CHAN-YU

Prize pool: NTD 136,188 – Buyin: NTD 3,000 – Entries: 52

• 1st Hung Chan-Yu – NTD 43,288
• 2nd Yeh Ta-Wei – NTD 30,900
• 3rd Philip Kang – NTD 19,700
• 4th Cheng Guan Lun – NTD 14,900
• 5th Boon Seng Lee – NTD 11,500
• 6th Edward Yam – NTD 8,800
• 7th Yang Sheng Lin – NTD 7,100

MPS KO Bounty Event: DANIEL TANG

Prize pool: NTD 94,220 – Buyin: NTD 5,000 – Entries: 28

• 1st Danny Tang– NTD 34,920
• 2nd Chiang Kan Hing – NTD 24,000
• 3rd Wu Wen Tao – NTD 15,300
• 4th Ng Siu Kei – NTD 11,000
• 5th Mitsuru Sano – 9,000

Overall, despite the low turnout (which can be charged to the holidays), the festival was full of enjoyment. The atmosphere was lively with plenty of thrills, shocking moments, and unavoidable upsets. Congratulations to all the winners! Acknowledgment as well goes to the staff for their friendliness, efficiency, and professionalism. They are certainly one of the driving forces that continues to bring players back to the poker tables of CTP.