Star-Studded Global Poker League Opens GPI Asia Poker Festival In Taipei City, Taiwan

The Chinese Texas Hold’em Association (CTP Club) continues to bring players nonstop poker fun in Taipei City, Taiwan as the 5th installment of the GPI Asia Poker Festival takes flight at the CTP Asia Poker Arena. Running for eleven days, the doors opened today, March 28, and will run until April 7, 2025.

GPI Asia Poker Festival

Setting the trend in Asia, the GPI Asia Poker Festival brings together three brands – GPI Asia, Master Poker Series, and The Hendon Mob. Now in its fifth iteration, the schedule is bigger than ever and with buy-ins affordable for everyone. Let’s have a look at what’s in store.

GPL Team Event

Traditionally, the GPI Asia Poker Festival kicks off with the Global Poker League – GPL Team Event, and this edition is no exception. Originally launched in early 2018 as GPL China, featuring teams representing various regions of the country, the event later found a new home in Taiwan, where it has been held annually ever since.

In December 2024, the event was held in Jeju, South Korea for the first time. As the region’s most popular poker destination for Chinese players, the lineup featured some of China’s biggest names such as Xixiang Luo, Lei Yu, and Weiran Pu, making it the most star-studded GPL editions to date.

This year’s GPL Team Event has raised the bar yet again, shaping up to be the most thrilling edition with a record 24 teams. Taiwan leads the way with the highest number of entries. Among the players to expect are Justin Chu, Philip Wang, Li-Ta Hsu, and Lok Chan. Although Hong Kong will not be fielding in a team, Alan King Lun Lau will be representing by joining one of the Taiwan teams.

Thailand makes a powerful statement, fielding an impressive seven teams. Among their star players are Punnat Punsri, Phachara Wongwichit, and Kannapong Thanarattrakul. Adding to the international excitement, South Korea will also be proudly represented with a team of its own with Jimmy Chun and Jiwon Lee in the lineup.

GPI Asia National Award Ceremony

Earlier this year, the Global Poker Index (GPI) announced the top point scorers for 2024. At the GPI Asia Poker Festival, twelve players from Asia will be officially recognized and awarded for their achievements for their homeland. Included are listed below. The ceremony takes place on March 29, 2025, and will be followed by a special banquet.

Masters Poker Series

For players not taking part in the GPL, the festival features a stacked schedule of Master Poker Series events. Players have up to 21  MPS events to choose from with buy-ins for as low ast NTD 2500 (~US$ 75). The highest buy in is NTD 33,000 (~US$ 1,000) for the highly popular MPS 6-Max High Roller.

Kicking off on opening day is the crowd favorite MPS Mystery Bounty with a NTD 1,000,000 (~US$ 30,400) prize pool guaranteed. This is a three-day event with four starting flights to choose from followed by the final day where the real excitement begins as players draw for the hidden biggest bounty.

MPS Mystery Bounty

• Date: March 28-30, 2025
• Guarantee: NTD 1,000,000 (~US$ 30,400)
• Buy-in NTD 3,500 (~US$ 105)

A week into the festival, the MPS Main Event takes center stage, scheduled to run from April 3 to 6. For a buy in of just NTD 15,000, players have a chance at winning the largest chunk of the NTD 2,000,000 (~US$ 60,800) guaranteed prize pool.

During the previous series in Taiwan, the event drew 408 entries to drive the pot to over NTD 5 Million. Local player Po Ting Chen turned his buy-in into a payday of NTD 1,058,200 (~US$ 32,800). A large turnout is again expected for this latest edition.

MPS Main Event

• Date: April 3-6, 2025
• Guarantee: NTD 2,000,000 (~US$ 60,800)
• Buy-in NTD 15,000 (~US$ 455)

The Hendon Mob Championship

The largest poker database in the world, The Hendon Mob (THM), completes the big three with the THC Championship. The event is wedged between the two MPS highlights, running from April 1-3, 2025.

• Date: April 1-3, 2025
• Guarantee: NTD 1,000,000 (~US$ 30,400) guarantee
• Buy-in NTD 7,000 (~US$ 210)

With the GPI Asia Poker Festival now running, be sure to check the schedule for more details.

GPI Asia Poker Festival – Schedule