You can probably call Malaysian poker professional Tse Ian Lee somewhat of a late bloomer. Since his debut tournament in 2016 at the Manila Megastack 6, Lee had played sparingly in the following years before the pandemic hit in 2020. He had come back to Manila twice, at the 2017 Manila Megastack 6 and 2018 PokerStars LIVE Manila Super Series 7 with limited success. His best showing pre-pandemic was in 2019 with a decent run at the Brazilian Series of Poker Sao Paulo, High Roller Event.

Tse Ian Lee – Poker Achievements

Tse Ian Lee, would return to live tournament play in 2022 with a table finish at the Asian Poker Tour Vietnam Ho Chi Minh, Single Day High Rollers Event but would participate in only one other event for the rest of the year. Lee would however grind it out in 2023 with more events and develop his skills on the live felt in preparation for a breakout moment. The Malaysian would have deep runs at the Poker Dream Malaysia 2023 High Roller Event and U Series of Poker Ha Noi, doing well at the Super High Roller and High Roller Events for a combined cash of more than $16,000.

The Malaysian would have even more success at home with a table finish at the Poker Dream Malaysia 2023 High Roller Event and later in August, finish runner-up at the Poker Dream 6 Malaysia Mystery Bounty Event banking his highest cash since the start of his career with $17,153. The consistent play for Tse Ian Lee would result in another second-place finish, this time at one of Southeast Asia’s most popular events, the U Series of Poker Ha Noi Superstar Challenge. Lee would best his previous cash and net $78,985. But 2024 would be his most significant year as a poker professional.

In just a few months after his career milestone in Hanoi, Tse Ian Lee emerged victorious in a record-breaking U Series of Poker Da Nang, winning his first ever poker career title clinching the Main Event. The tournament had the largest first prize payout at the USOP and Lee took home this career best cash of $ 287,677. This pushed Tse Ian Lee’s total live earnings to $432,986.

Malaysia’s Ian Lee wins USOP Danang 2024 Main Event for ₫7.12 Billion (~$287K)

While Lee currently sits at 29th in the Malaysia All Time Money List, based on his trajectory from last year, it’s a safe bet that Tse Ian Lee will call and raise his stakes in the coming tournaments.

*Profile by Mike Alcazaren