Who’s in and who’s at the brink of elimination; Opening results of the GPL China Season 2 – Taiwan Tour

Opening day saw six teams sign up for the Global Poker League (GPL) China Season 2 – Taiwan Tour and after undergoing three varied tournament formats, the great divide was laid out. On the upper tier were CTP Taipei, CNHK TW, and HKPPA. These teams have secured their slot in the finals. As for the bottom half – AJPC X MVP Japan, Bitb Asia, and HKPPA Premier League – these teams will meet again to chase the last chance slot to get back in the game.

Advancing Teams

CTP Taipei

• Yu Shao Kang (team leader)
• Justin Chi Jen Chu
• Wang Wei Han
• Chiu Chi An
• Ping Hsien Chan

HKPPA

• Park Yu “Sparrow” Cheung (team leader)
• Alan King Lun Lau
• Tung
• Edward Yam
• Kevin Tse

CNHK TW

• Chen An Lin (team leader)
• Ray Chiu
• Xiao Yin He
• Hsing Tai
• Ta Wei Tou

Bottom Teams

AJPC X MVP Japan

• Tsuneaki “Buddha” Takeda (team leader)
• Ken Yagura
• Yuri Ishida
• Mitsuru Sano
• Takura Suzuki

Bitb Asia

• Danny Tang (team leader)
• Kiat Lee
• Vincent Li
• Dennis
• Andy Chan

HKPPA Premier League

• Chiang Kan Hing (team leader)
• Wu Ming Kit “Frankie”
• Li Tung Hon
• Ng Siu Kei
• Fung Ping Ching

Recap

Action began with each player in the five-man team immediately tested. The 2v2v2 (six-max) had two representatives from each team seated at the same table. Two tables ran simultaneously. Also running were two tables of 3v3v3 (9-handed) with three representatives from each team seated at the same table.

The first game to complete was the 2v2v2 six-handed match. This was dominated by the CNHK TW team. They earned the top two points in their heat. The second game – 3v3v3 event – saw the HKPPA rake in the most points followed by AJPC X MVP Japan. The most impressive performance however was not from either of the two but from the CTP Taipei team leader, Yu Shao Kang. Kang denied the AJPC X MVP Japan team a sweep of the top three points by single-handedly picking off each of them at four-handed.

At the end of these two games, here were the results:

• HKPPA: 28 + 51 = 79 points
• AJPC X MVP Japan: 28 + 45 = 73 points
• CNHK TW: 36 + 27 = 63 points
• CTP Taipei: 24 + 37 = 61 points
• Bitb Asia: 32 + 17 = 49 points
• HKPPA Premier League: 20 + 21 = 41 points

The third game was the 1v1v1v1v1v1 (six-max table, two tables) with one team member per table. This was a big game-changer. The second-ranked AJPC X MVP Japan team saw both of their reps drop out thus missing their chance to advance to the finals. At the completion of the game, here were the final results:

• CTP Taipei: 181 points
• HKPPA: 179 points
• CNHK TW: 143 points
• AJPC X MVP Japan: 113 points
• Bitb Asia: 89 points
• HKPPA Premier League: 81 points

The top three teams will return on Saturday, December 22 for the GPL Final Day. The bottom three teams will return tomorrow – Friday, December 21 – for the GPL Repechage Match. For those unfamiliar with this round, the bottom teams will battle it out for the last slot in the GPL Final Day. Only one team will secure that spot.

Payouts

It is well worth noting what these teams are playing for. Other than of course the glory of being recognized as the GPL China Season 2 champion, the top two teams will be awarded:

1st NTD 698,400 (~US$22,700)

2nd NTD 465,600 (~US$15,100)

Somuchpoker is on site and will continue to bring you recaps on the GPL China Season 2 Taiwan Tour. We will also provide recaps of the Main Event which begins tomorrow – Friday, December 21 at the Chinese Texas Holdem Poker Association (CTP) room in Taipei.