USOP Taiwan Day 3 highlights: Clement Haro, Ying Zhe Huang, Chia Yun Wu, Wei Jen Wang win trophies; SS challenge down to final 9
To date, the theme of the festival has been first time U Series of Poker (USOP) winners. That trend continued with Clement Haro, Ying Zhe Huang, Chia Yun Wu, Wei Jen Wang, and Tan Ong Kwan claiming trophies on Day 3 of festivities. In addition, the Superstar Challenge bagged up at the Final 9 led by UK’s Matthew Belcher. Here are the highlights.
CLEMENT HARO scores a mil at Mystery Bounty
French Poker Team “Cimitarra” is off to a great start with their very own Clement Haro rising from 9 bb at the final table to champion at the Mystery Bounty.
“It feels good to win, especially when friends are around! It’s my first win in live. Effectively I started the FT with 9 bb. I can’t say that I owned my opponents post-flop or that I put a lot of pressure by 3-betting light, I just pushed my stack many times on the middle and got lucky.”
For Haro’s maiden live title, he pocketed NTD 768,600 plus 6 bounties amounting to NTD 337,000 (one bounty was the second largest worth NTD 250K), for a career high grand total payout of NTD 1,105,600 (~USD 35,700). He became the first player to win NTD seven figures!
Wai Huen Lee draws biggest bounty
Hong Kong’s Wai Huen Lee was the most envied player after he drew the lone big bounty reward of NTD 450,000 (~USD 14,470). Lee earned NTD 25,900 for 27th place plus two bounty rewards to bring his grand total payout to NTD 555,900 (~USD 17,950) putting him top five in winnings.
Date: January 5 to 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 16,500 (~USD 530)
Guarantee: NTD 3,000,000 (~USD 96,450)
Total entries: 388
Total prize pool: NTD 5,645,400 (~USD 181,510)
ITM: 49 players
*Payouts do not include bounties
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Clement Haro | France | 768,600 |
| 2 | Tsu Lin Tsao | Taiwan | 538,000 |
| 3 | John Perry | Australia | 345,000 |
| 4 | Chien Yun Wang | New Zealand | 228,000 |
| 5 | Justin Jerome Geronimo | Philippines | 176,000 |
| 6 | Chang Huan Bin | Malaysia | 146,000 |
| 7 | Kean Wei Tan | Malaysia | 122,000 |
| 8 | Kuanyu Lin | Taiwan | 99,500 |
| 9 | Gingyu Huang | Taiwan | 77,000 |
| 10 | Zhe Ming Lee | Taiwan | 64,500 |
| 11 | Zong Chi He | Taiwan | 64,500 |
| 12 | Chih Wei Chen | Taiwan | 64,500 |
| 13 | Po Yuan Huang | Taiwan | 54,300 |
| 14 | Yong Jie Syu | Taiwan | 54,300 |
| 15 | Shao Hong Yu | Taiwan | 54,300 |
| 16 | Chang Hau Huang | Taiwan | 44,500 |
| 17 | Jamel Sarray | Italy | 44,500 |
| 18 | Kar Wee Chee | Malaysia | 44,500 |
| 19 | Hsien Lee Chiu | Taiwan | 37,100 |
| 20 | Ryuji Ito | Japan | 37,100 |
| 21 | Justin Tsui | Australia | 37,100 |
| 22 | Kai Yi Sun | China | 30,800 |
| 23 | Jae Won Choi | Hong Kong | 30,800 |
| 24 | Yiu Cheong Ho | Hong Kong | 30,800 |
| 25 | Edwin Dela Cruz | Philippines | 25,900 |
| 26 | Masato Nagamine | Japan | 25,900 |
| 27 | Wai Huen Lee | Hong Kong | 25,900 |
| 28 | Jian Yu Chen | Taiwan | 21,100 |
| 29 | Kyle Bao Diep | Vietnam | 21,100 |
| 30 | Nguyen Dieu Phuong Linh | Vietnam | 21,100 |
| 31 | Yu Hsiu Juan | Taiwan | 21,100 |
| 32 | Fan Yu Tseng | Taiwan | 21,100 |
| 33 | Aladin Reskallah | France | 21,100 |
| 34 | Chau Hau Tsai | Taiwan | 21,100 |
| 35 | Chien Fa Chou | Taiwan | 21,100 |
| 36 | Chieh Chi Liu | Taiwan | 21,100 |
| 37 | Li Han Huang | Taiwan | 19,300 |
| 38 | Yu Kai Wang | Taiwan | 19,300 |
| 39 | Yu Hua Chang | Taiwan | 19,300 |
| 40 | Tse An Lee | Singapore | 19,300 |
| 41 | Lin Nien Heng | Taiwan | 19,300 |
| 42 | Jasper Liu | Taiwan | 16,300 |
| 43 | Patrick Liang | Taiwan | 19,300 |
| 44 | Hong Yu Hsieh | Taiwan | 19,300 |
| 45 | Jun Li | United | 19,300 |
| 46 | Yi Hsiang Lu | Taiwan | 17,600 |
| 47 | Le Ngoc Minh | Vietnam | 17,600 |
| 48 | Chi Jen Chen | Taiwan | 17,600 |
| 49 | Tao Chu | Taiwan | 17,600 |
Superstar Challenge – Final Table
The biggest names in the APAC circuit came out for the Superstar Challenge with 62 ponying up the NTD 160,000 (~USD 5,120) buy in.
Among the new high roller arrivals were Triton champions Punnat Punsri, Webster Chin Wei Lim, South Korea’s Yohwan “BoxeR” Lim, and France’s Anthony Cierco.
The Superstar Challenge was the most expensive event scheduled. The prize pool surged to NTD 9,021,000 (~USD 291,330) with the top 10 earning a cut.
Day 1 bagged up at the final 9 players led by UK’s Matthew Belcher with 36 bb. Also in the lineup, sitting with the second largest stack was Vietnam’s Hoang Hai Nam. He will be looking to score his second Superstar Challenge title.
The remaining players are guaranteed to earn NTD 306,700 (~USD 9,900) each. Awaiting the eventual winner is a mighty NTD 3,067,000 (~USD 99,000) first prize. Action resumes on Monday, January 8 at 2:15pm. Follow the action via the livestream on U Series of Poker YouTube channel.
Date: January 7 to 8, 2024
Buy in: NTD 160,000 (~USD 5,120)
Guarantee: NTD 3,500,000 (~USD 113,030)
Entries: 62
Prize pool: NTD 9,021,000 (~USD 291,330)
ITM: 10 places
Chips in play: 12,400,000
Average stack: 1,377,778 (23 bb)
Final table opening blinds: 30,000-60,000 ante 60,000
Final Table by chip rank – 9 players
| Seat | Player | Flag | Stack | BB |
| 6 | Matthew Belcher | UK | 2,185,000 | 36 |
| 2 | Nam Hai Hoang | Vietnam | 2,055,000 | 34 |
| 5 | Samuel Wilkinson | UK | 1,980,000 | 33 |
| 1 | Chia Hsiang Ko | Taiwan | 1,480,000 | 25 |
| 3 | Yan Wen Yee | Malaysia | 1,400,000 | 23 |
| 9 | Chih Wei Fan | Taiwan | 1,310,000 | 22 |
| 4 | Kean Wei Tan | Malaysia | 800,000 | 13 |
| 7 | Anton Lu | Australia | 665,000 | 11 |
| 8 | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 535,000 | 9 |
YING ZHE HUANG wins first USOP title at Sunday Super Stack
Local player Ying Zhe Huang made his mark at the Sunday Super Stack, outlasting a roaring 187 entry field for a career high payout of NTD 501,000 (~USD 16,180). This amount lone was more than double his current live earnings!
Impressive run as well for 2nd placer, Junya Matsukawa, earning his first ever live tournament payout of NTD 341,800 (~USD 11,040).
Date: January 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 12,000 (~USD 385)
Guarantee: NTD 1,000,000 (~USD 32,150)
Entries: 187
Prize pool: NTD 1,977,200 (~USD 63,570)
ITM: 24 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Ying Zhe Huang | Taiwan | 501,000 |
| 2 | Junya Matsukawa | Japan | 341,800 |
| 3 | Chun Yu Yang | Taiwan | 202,700 |
| 4 | Zi Wei Tung | Taiwan | 123,300 |
| 5 | Yu Fan Tsai | Taiwan | 95,000 |
| 6 | Paul Yugendra | Singapore | 78,900 |
| 7 | Yu Yong Lin | Taiwan | 67,200 |
| 8 | Yuto Tamaki | Japan | 58,600 |
| 9 | Sheng Hong Yu | Taiwan | 50,300 |
| 10 | Ching Chia Lin | Taiwan | 43,300 |
| 11 | Kennie Tay | Singapore | 43,300 |
| 12 | Jun Li | United | 43,300 |
| 13 | 36,600 | ||
| 14 | Liang Sheng Yeh | Taiwan | 36,600 |
| 15 | John Tech | Philippines | 36,600 |
| 16 | 30,400 | ||
| 17 | Ai Ming Johnson | Singapore | 30,400 |
| 18 | Joe Chen | Taiwan | 30,400 |
| 19 | John Jay Magadan | Philippines | 24,200 |
| 20 | Thai Nguyen | Vietnam | 24,200 |
| 21 | Le Vu | Vietnam | 24,200 |
| 22 | Ming Jie Wu | Taiwan | 18,300 |
| 23 | Jihua Zhang | Taiwan | 18,300 |
| 24 | Cheli Lin | Taiwan | 18,300 |
First win in 2024 for CHIA YUN WU at Short Deck
Considerably one of the most well known local players is Chia Yun Wu, winner of multiple Taiwan Millions Tournament (TMT) awards including Player of the Year numerous times. Wu added another feather to his cap after besting the 17 entry field of the Short Deck event for his first ever USOP title.
Date: January 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 15,000 (~USD 480)
Entries: 17
Prize pool: NTD 222,700 (~USD 7,190)
ITM: 3 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Wu Chia Yun | Taiwan | 111,400 |
| 2 | Chun Nam Fung | Hong Kong | 66,800 |
| 3 | Shao Me Yang | Taiwan | 44,500 |
TAN ONG KWAN wins first USOP title at Turbo
After five USOP final tables last year, Malaysia’s Tan Ong Kwan finally closed one out. Tan bested the 84 entry field of the Turbo event to claim his first ever live title and a payout of NTD 136,600 (~USD 4,400).
Date: January 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 6,000 (~USD 190
Entries: 84
Prize pool: NTD 423,700 (~USD 13,683)
ITM: 11 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Tan Ong Kwan | Malaysia | 136,600 |
| 2 | Kuo Chen Hung | Taiwan | 82,600 |
| 3 | Yiu Cheong Ho | Hong Kong | 51,400 |
| 4 | Tsu Lin Tsao | Taiwan | 34,700 |
| 5 | Masato Nagamine | Japan | 26,500 |
| 6 | Yi Min Chang | Taiwan | 21,200 |
| 7 | Yunying Jheng | Taiwan | 17,600 |
| 8 | Oroku Maon | Japan | 14,800 |
| 9 | Takahito Oikawa | Japan | 13,700 |
| 10 | Peter Lin | Australia | 12,700 |
| 11 | Sebastian Tan | Singapore | 11,900 |
WEI JEN WANG wins first USOP title at Double Board – Single Winner
The night wrapped up with another speedy and fun event, the Double Board – Single Winner, which was first introduced at USOP Da Nang. The event drew 39 runners. Taiwan dominated, claiming all five payouts. At the top was Wei Jen Wang for his first ever USOP title.
Date: January 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 5,000 (~USD 160)
Entries: 39
Prize pool: NTD 166,500 (~USD 5,375)
ITM: 5 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Wei Jen Wang | Taiwan | 68,300 |
| 2 | Pi Ying Hsu | Taiwan | 41,600 |
| 3 | Tim Yeh Yeh Szu | Taiwan | 25,000 |
| 4 | Yang Jie Xu | Taiwan | 18,300 |
| 5 | Yuan Hsu Lee | Taiwan | 13,300 |
USOP Taiwan 2024
Following a booming 2023, USOP opens the new year with a bigger and richer Taiwan festival. Compared to its launch last year, the schedule has increased from 23 trophy events to45 trophy events. With three days in the books, 13 have already been claimed. Time to win yours! Buy ins range from NTD 5,000 (~USD 160) up to NTD 160,000 (~USD 5,120).
In partnership with theChinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP),the festival runs fromJanuary 5 to 15, 2024 at the largest brick and mortar poker room in the region, Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City.
Main Event coming up!
In just a few days, the festival’s crown jewel MAIN EVENT will take the spotlight featuring a NTD 15,000,000 (~US$ 478,270) guarantee. Four entry flights are scheduled startingJanuary 11. Event runs until January 15. Buy in set at NTD 33,000 (~USD 1,075).
Links:
USOP Taiwan – Coverage
USOP Taiwan – Player Guide
*All photos by USOP and CTP
