Sam Hung wins USOP Taiwan Main Event

It took Taiwan’s Sam Chen Yu Hung just under eight hours of final table play to clinch the U Series of Poker Taiwan Main Event title and lock up a career high live tournament payout of NTD 5,383,000 (~USD 173,300). Hung entered heads up on a 2:1 deficit against South Korea’s Gyeong Byeong Lee, grinded to the chip lead, then nailed it shut on a straight over missed draw.

“It always feels good to take down a title! It was a good one but tough. I was playing tight in the beginning because ICM is important at the final table and there were two shorter stacks. Luckily I took down some big pots and was able to build up my stack. When I was heads up, I found some of his (Lee’s) leaks and tells, so I set up some traps and it worked.”

Watch Hung’s final table victory via the USOP – YouTube channel

Main Event numbers and payout

Buy in: NTD 33,000 (~USD 1,056)
Guarantee: NTD 15,000,000 (~USD 482,230)
Total entries: 1,100
Prize pool: NTD 32,010,000 (~USD 1,030,500)
Total ITM: 140 players

USOP Taiwan – Main Event Day 1
USOP Taiwan – Main Event Day 2

Final 9 results

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD	~USD conversion
1	Sam Chen Yu Hung	Taiwan	5,383,000	173,300
2	Gyeong Byeong Lee	South Korea	3,774,000	121,500
3	Yu Sheng Lin	Taiwan	2,449,000	78,850
4	Chi Jen Chen	Taiwan	1,815,000	58,440
5	Oliver Schulze	Germany	1,372,000	44,170
6	Minh A Nguyen	Vietnam	1,109,000	35,700
7	Po Wen Fang	Taiwan	916,000	29,490
8	Chin Wei Lim	Malaysia	726,000	23,375
9	Yu Chen	Hong Kong	538,000	17,320

Full results: USOP Taiwan – Festival Results

Final Table recap

Running January 11 to 15, 2024 at the CTP Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, the USOP Taiwan Main Event shattered all expectations with 1,100 turning up over four starting flights for a smashing prize pool of NTD 32,010,000 (~USD 1,030,500). Impressively, this was the third consecutive seven figure USD prize pool produced by the brand. The money flowed at Day 2 with the biggest cuts determined on Day 3 at the final table.

The final table opened with a powerhouse lineup led by overwhelming chip leader Gyeong Byeong Lee. Hong Kong’s Yu Chen was the first casualty, falling to Yu Sheng Lin on a dominated pocket pair. Lin was one of four players holding up the torch for Taiwan. Chip leader Lee distanced himself further by railing Malaysia’s Webster Chin Wei Lim in 8th place, then the Taiwan list trimmed to three players when Po Wen Fang lost a flip against Hung to exit in 7th place.

At six remaining. Lin won back to back showdowns against Vietnam’s Minh A Nguyen with pocket Tens over big slick and pocket Kings over pocket Eights. Nguyen exited in 6th place.

Hungry Hung

Down to  five players, Hung earned his second elimination in Germany’s Oliver Schulze with pocket Threes staying ahead of Ace-Seven offsuit. Shortly after, Hung cleaned out Chi Jen Chen for his third knockout with over to bring the field to three players and take the lead.

However, Hung’s time up top was short with Lee grinding successfully to reclaim it. Lee went on to eliminate Lin with spiking the Ace to dust . This gave Lee a 2:1 chip lead entering heads up against Hung.

Heads Up

The first five minutes saw no change in stack sizes until two pair over two pair switched them up. On a a board , Hung won a big pot holding over . From there, despite Lee’s efforts, the South Korean pro could not break Hung’s momentum. The final hand arrived with Lee shoving on a flop . Lee had draw, Hung snapped with straight. The turn was and river .

Links:

USOP Taiwan – Coverage
USOP Taiwan – Player Guide

*All photos by USOP and CTP