Nationwide CTP live poker event in Taiwan brings a record breaking 1,345 entries

While players around the world speculate the return of live poker events, in Taiwan, the situation is quite the opposite. Just last weekend, the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association aka CTP Club held a nationwide event called the CTP Alliance Open wherein six CTP Clubs around the country participated: CTP Taipei, CTP Zhongli, CTP Taichung, CTP Tainan, CTP Kaohsiung, and CTP Hsinchu.

After four starting days running from April 15 to 18, a staggering 1,345 entered making this the largest turnout of any tournament held in Taiwan. Additionally, the NT$ 1.5 million guaranteed was more than shattered for a much richer NT$ 3,900.000 (~US$ 129,600) prize pool.

Day 2 saw 162 players battle it out at the CTP Taipei location. Qualified players from other cities were provided transportation expenses. It took a grueling 13 hours to crown a champion. Chih Ying Liang shipped it for NT$ 752,000 (~US$ 25,000).

Buy in: NT$ 4,000 (~US$ 133)

Entries: 1,345

Prize pool: NT$ 3,900,000 (~US$ 129,600)

ITM: 155 places

Final table payouts

1st Chih Ying Liang – Taiwan – NT$ 752,000

2nd Chung Yi Ho – Taiwan – NT$ 475,000

3rd Jui Tse Kao – Taiwan – NT$ 282,000

4th Po Chao Tu – Taiwan – NT$ 204,000

5th Guan Jhong Fang – Taiwan – NT$ 140,000

6th Hsu Huang – Taiwan – NT$ 101,000

7th Chi Jen Chu – Taiwan – NT$ 88,000

8th Chen Yuan Chang – NT$ 76,000

When it comes to live tournaments in Taiwan, CTP is considerably the most popular. In 2018, international brands began trickling in to the Taipei branch which led to a poker boom in the country witnessed throughout 2019. If not for the ongoing virus crisis, this year would have seen the explosion continue with the globally renowned World Poker Tour entering the market. Unfortunately, that moment will have to wait. For now, players in Taiwan can take comfort in having live poker events available as the rest of the world takes their skills to the online arena.

Apart from CTP Daily Deep Stack tournaments, Taiwanese pro Pete Yen Han Chen will be hosting an invitational SNG event in May to be streamed live on the CTP Club fb page.