TMT Championship: Chia Huang, Shiina Okamoto, Alexander Charron Win Events; Yu Yun Ling Leads Mini Main Flights

Asia-Pacific
Live Poker
Recap
10/28/2024

Pioneers of poker in Taiwan, the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) is currently hosting its first ever TMT Championship, a high stakes offering of its beloved homegrown Taiwan Millions Tournament. Launching on October 25, 2024 at the Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, the festival promises an unforgettable run of events through November 4, with a Main Event that guarantees a staggering US$ 600,000 guaranteed prize pool.

TMT Championship
TMT Championship

TMT Championship Day 3 Results

The first two days already crowned four winners out of its 31 trophy event roster. At the end of Day 3, another three players hoisted trophies, Chia Huang at the High Roller, Asia’s top female player Shiina Okamoto at the Single Day High Roller, and Alexander Charron at the Freezeout. Also wrapping up were the first two flight of the Mini Main 3M guaranteed. Here are the highlights.

Read up on the action via the SMP Daily Updates.

Mini Main Event – Flight and Flight B

Yu Yun Ling tops TMT Championship Mini Main A
Yu Yun Ling tops TMT Championship Mini Main flights

The Mini Main (NT$ 3M GTD) completed two of its four flights with 205 entries turning up at Flight A and 68 entries for Flight B. The opening flight wrapped up in thrilling fashion with five players attempting to burst the bubble simultaneously. The exciting hand ended with Yuki Shimosaka victorious with the flush. Closing the flight as chip leader was Yu Yun Ling with 835,000 (83 bb) – based on the flight’s ending blinds – topping the 31 ITM qualifiers.

Ko Chia Hsiang deliver bubble at TMT Championship Mini Main B
Ko Chia Hsiang rivers the straight at TMT Championship Mini Main B

At Flight B, the bubble burst on Taiwanese ace Zong Chi He who first lost a showdown to Single Day High Roller 3rd placer Ko Chia Hsiang that crippled his stack. Out of the 11 players advancing to the ITM round, Kao Kuo Wei ended as front runner with 748,000 (49 bb) – based on the flight’s ending blinds.

The Mini Main continues on October 28 with another two flights before heading into Day 2.

Mini Main (NT$ 3M GTD) – Flight A and Flight B

  • Date/s: October 27-28, 2024
  • Buy-in: NT$ 12,000 (~US$ 370)
  • Guarantee: NT$ 3,000,000 (~US$ 93,500)
  • Flight A Results: 205 entries / 31 advanced
  • Flight B Results: 68 entries / 11 advanced

Chia Huang Dominates High Roller

Chia Hung Dominates High Roller at TMT Championship
Chia Hung Dominates High Roller at TMT Championship

The two-day High Roller event attracted a field of 56, each one making the buy in of NT$ 50,000 (~US$ 1,555) to create a NT$ 2,498,800 (~US$ 77,895) prize pool. The field played down to ITM of nine players and returned on the final day to determine a champion. That player ultimately was Chia Huang of Taiwan who dominated the final table from start to finish to earn NT$ 874,800 (~US$ 27,200) along with a prestigious TMT Championship trophy.

Huang is one Taiwan’s up-and-coming players with a long list of final table finishes and a few victories since last year. His latest win was his second largest payday. Huang overcame some of the most decorated players in Asia today, Anton Lu (Australia), Hyunsup Kim (Korea), and fellow Taiwanese players Chao Ting Cheng, Chih Wei Fan, and Kai Hsu. 

High Roller Results

  • Date/s: October 26-27, 2024
  • Buy-in: NT$ 50,000 (~US$ 1,555)
  • Entries: 56
  • Prize pool: NT$ 2,498,800 (~US$ 77,895)
  • ITM: 9 places

Payouts

Place Player Flag Prize (In NTD) In~US$
1 Chia Huang Taiwan 874,800 $27,261
2 Zhi Wang Taiwan 500,000 $15,581
3 Chih Fang Taiwan 306,000 $9,536
4 Kai Hsu Taiwan 218,000 $6,793
5 Chih Wei Fan Taiwan 168,000 $5,235
6 Anton Lu Australia 131,000 $4,082
7 Hyunsup Kim Korea 113,000 $3,521
8 Chao Ting Cheng Taiwan 100,000 $3,116
9 Sang Jun Lee Korea 88,000 $2,742

Shiina Okamoto Wins Single Day High Roller

Shiina Okamoto wins Single Day High Roller at TMT Championship
Shiina Okamoto wins Single Day High Roller at TMT Championship

The Single Day High Roller event drew a field of 17 entries, all competing for 3 ITM spots from the  NT$ 1,220,300 (~US$ 38,000) prize pool. This event was the first of several Single Day High Rollers that the TMT Championship will offer throughout the duration of the series. Coming out on top was Japan’s most popular player today, Shiina Okamoto, who many know as the 2024 WSOP Ladies Championship winner. Okamoto took home the top prize of NT$ 610,000 (~US$ 19,000) along with her first trophy on Taiwan soil.

In a brief interview with SMP, Okamoto shared, “I’m very happy to win because my start was not good. In the beginning of heads up I only had 10 bb so I’m surprised to win it.”

To overcome the odds, Okamoto said, “I had a lot of time to observe him, more than three hours with three players left so I know he doesn’t fold much and that he bluffs many times, so I exploited his type of play.” 

Single Day High Roller Results

  • Date: October 27, 2024
  • Buy-in: NT$ 80,000 (~US$ 2,500)
  • Entries: 17
  • Prize pool: NT$ 1,220,300 (~US$ 38,000)
  • ITM: 3

Payouts

Place Player Flag Prize (In NTD) In~US$
1 Shiina Okamoto Japan 610,000 $19,009
2 Tsai Tse Jui Taiwan 366,100 $11,409
3 Ko Chia Hsiang Taiwan 244,100 $7,607

Alexander Charron Wins 6-Max NLH Freezeout

Alexander Charron wins 6-Max NLH Freezeout at TMT Championship
Alexander Charron wins 6-Max NLH Freezeout at TMT Championship

The 6-Max NLH Shot Clock Freezeout wrapped up the day’s events with 51 players hunting down hoping to be among the eight to earn a payout spot from the NT$ 336,400 (~US$ 10,500) prize pool. The top prize went to champion Alexander Charron of the USA, who took home NT$ 121,100 (~US$ 3,700) and a TMT Championship trophy.

6-Max NLH Shot Clock Freezeout

  • Date: October 27, 2024
  • Buy-in: NT$ 8,000 (~US$ 250)
  • Entries: 51
  • Prize pool: NT$ 336,400 (~US$ 10,500)
  • ITM: 8 places

More games up ahead, make sure to browse the schedule for all the information.

Links:

TMT Championship – SCHEDULE
TMT Championship – Festival Results
TMT Championship – Daily Updates
TMT Championship – Photo Gallery

Author:JJ Duque