Upcoming live festivals in Asia: CTP Championship Series x Japan High Roller, APL Hong Kong, APT Hanoi, USOP: Poker2U-Taiwan Series
After a rush of lucrative season openers lighting up the Asian region, the next wave of games is at hand. Make sure to mark them down.
CTP Championship X Japan High Roller Series: January 27 to February 6
Popular card room, Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association aka CTP Club and Japan High Roller team up for an eleven day affair from January 27 to February 6. This event has been in the works for some time but was shelved due to the pandemic. With borders now open, the much awaited series is back on track. The event features 29 trophy events of buy ins from NT$ 2,000 (~$65) to NT$ 100,000 (~$3,300) and a total guarantee of NT$ 7 Million.
Key events are the Championship Event which opens with a rich NT$ 4 Million (~$131,870) guarantee and the Main Event with a NT$ 3 Million (~$98,900) guarantee. A big turnout is expected with players from both Taiwan and Japan having won seats in the past years.
APL Hong Kong – January 28 to February 6
Brace yourself for APL Hong Kong! Formerly known as Asia Poker League, the Ace Poker League (APL) will host a ten-day festival at Match Poker Esports Arena in Central, Hong Kong from January 28 to February 6, 2023. A total of 12 tournaments are scheduled. This is the second ever international live poker event to be hosted on Hong Kong turf.
Back at the 2019 APL Finale Vietnam, APL CEO Judic Kim and Hong Kong Game Club’s Ricky Cheung, entered a partnership that would increase the presence of the brand in Hong Kong. With the pandemic throwing a wrench on those plans, it led to a three-year hiatus. Despite this, in mid December, APL and HKGC announced APL Hong Kong. Two weeks ago, more good news arrived. Hong Kong borders were finally declared open to tourism with no quarantine required.
Qualifiers and satellites to APL Hong Kong have been running every Wednesday and Thursday since December 21. The last of it was held onsite today. Players still looking to get in the event will have to try their luck when doors open on January 28.
APT Hanoi – February 3 to 12
The Asian Poker Tour opens its 2023 season at the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP) in Hanoi, Vietnam. The ten-day festival runs from February 3 to 12, 2023 featuring VN₫ 20 Billion (~$852,900) in guarantees. Players can expect this figure to be easily crushed with 41 trophy events lined up and an APT Main Event boasting a VN₫ 10,000,000,000 (~$ 426,400) guarantee. Tournament buy ins range from VN₫ 4,400,000 (~$185) to VN₫ 107,000,000 (~$4,560).
With Vietnam a hotbed of thrilling poker action, international players of varying skill levels are expected to fly in. Make sure to give the schedule a micro look as there are plenty of games on offer daily, especially for low to mid-ranged stakes. For those interested in events with guarantees, eight are scheduled. High rollers are also covered with six events on tap.
Last year, the APT resumed its live circuit tour after being grounded for two years. The brand staged a total of 12 festivals and paid out over US$ 15.2 Million. The APT Summer Hanoi at the VSOP was the richest of all the Vietnam stops, amassing VN₫ 43.8 Billion (~$1.86+ Million.
USOP: Poker2U – Taiwan Series – February 10 to 19
One of the new poker organizations emerging during the pandemic was U Series of Poker. After holding three highly successful online events, the brand now dives into the live arena with ten days of games taking place at partner venue Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) in Taipei City, Taiwan.
Dubbed as USOP: Poker2U-Taiwan Series, the young brand comes out very strong with NT$ 20 Million (~US$ 625,600) in guaranteed prize pools. The Main Event packs the heftiest guarantee of VN₫ 10,000,000 (~$326,300). In total, 23 tournament trophies are up for grabs. The series runs from February 10 to 19, 2023.
As early as now, players can avail of the Early Bird Package with two prices offered: Standard $660 and Premium $1,733. Also announced today on the USOP facebook page are USOP limited edition power banks. To acquire one of these exclusive items, make sure to DM the USOP.
