Kung Yu-Chien Takes Down Players Series Taiwan Championship For NT$ 3.6M (~US$ 109K)

Local runner Kung Yu-Chien emerged triumphant at this season's PS Taiwan Championship games, outlasting a field of 862 entries to rewrite his career best live record to NT$ 3,601,000 (~US$ 109,300). Only 14 runners made their way to the felt for the Final Day charge, and didn't take long to see only nine remain on the hunt for the largest share of the NT$ 24,570,000 (~US$ 746,000) prize pool.

Kung came in middle of the pack and found his momentum right at five-handed after delivering Chia Hsiang Ko's elimination in 5th place, to stack half the chips in play. Turning up the heat, Kung went on to deliver the final three eliminations, of which included a quick heads up match against Ji Min Lee for the title. With a commanding 5:1 lead, Kung closed out the victory in just a handful of deals, with a final ace-high battle for Lee's last sixteen big blinds, ship Kung the coveted 24K Gold PS trophy.

Out of the 24 players returning for the Monster Stack Final Day games, it was South Korea's Yichang Kim who clinched the #1 spot, earning him the eye-catching NT$ 602,000 top prize along with his first ever PS trophy. Kim outlasted a field of 160 entries and navigated a final table filled with seasoned competitors to take home the largest share of the NT$ 2,281,000 prize pool. Meanwhile, Day 1 chip leader Sing Wen Chen likewise made a strong run but ultimately fell short of the title, finishing in 5th place.

The Final Day of the Superstar Challenge added another 39 entries, bumping up the final count to 87, breezing through its guarantee to feature a NT$ 9,020,200 grand prize pool. Thirteen finishers were secured a payday following the exit of Malaysia's Isaac Phua, having lost a flip against Anton Lu to suffer a bubble elimination.

The final table was set not long after, with Taiwan's Meng Ling Lin weighing at the bottom of the ranks. Two early double ups were all it took to get Lin back into contention, and from there, she never looked back. Lin became a dominant force at the table, using well-timed aggression to seize several pots. The lone female contender built most of her stack off Moonho Seo and eventually finished him off in 3rd, to come into the final match against Vincent Rubianes with a 2:1 advantage. Lin steadily grinded down her opponent and sealed the victory in a final race to earn the NT$ 2,781,000 top prize and a career-second PS trophy.

One of the last few events on schedule, the High Roller Last Chance recorded a total of 102 entries, generating a NT$ 3,525,200 prize pool shared amongst its top 15 finishers. Two contenders hailing from Hong Kong - Horace King and Chan Lok, made it all the way to the finish line, where a deal was struck between the two. Lok settled for a runner up finish yet cashed in a larger payout of NT$ 796,800, while King was awarded the victory and collected NT$ 657,000 in winnings along with the coveted PS trophy.

Japan’s Takeya Okada made an impressive return to the winner’s circle, capturing his second series victory at The Closer. Okada outlasted a 102-entry field on his way to claiming the NT$ 257,100 top prize and adds another PS trophy to his haul to take home. The two-time champion previously won the Hyper Turbo Knockout and this time banked a larger win, over three times his earlier PS score. Fourteen other players shared a cut of the NT$ 871,500 prize pool, with Taiwan's Yih Chia Shaw taking the one of the two six-figure payouts (NT$) on the list for his runner up finish.