Tobias Peters ships the APT Finale Taiwan Championships Event; Zhou Yueyang wins POS

The Asian Poker Tour closed out its calendar season awarding a total of 23 champions over 12 action-packed days. APT Finale Taiwan 2019 was held from November 28 to December 9 at the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association.

The second half of the festivities witnessed the rise of Netherlands pro Tobias Peters at the featured Championships Event. Also receiving top honors was the finale’s Main Event champion, Zhou Yueyang, at the APT Player of the Series race. We have those stories below along with results of the remaining side events.

Championships Event: TOBIAS PETERS – NT$ 1,848,800 (~US$ 60,500)

The Championships Event was the tour’s second highlight tournament running back to back with the Main Event. It ran from December 5 to 9 drawing a tight field of 159 entries at NT$ 49,500 (~US$ 1,600) each. Among the attendees were well known international pros and numerous APT major title-holders, all of them looking to shave a big slice of the NT$ 6,940,300 (~US$ 227,600) prize pool. In the end, it was Dutch pro Tobias Peters who prevailed to pocket NT$ 1,848,800 (~US$ 60,500) and his first title in Asia.

Day 3 was the make or break day with 23 players left but only 16 guaranteed a return. Two WSOP bracelet winners were among the contenders. Ji Young Kim missed the mark by two spots while Alex Lindop went on to cash in 13th place. The day’s entering chip leader, Eng Loong Choi – APT Vietnam Main Event 3rd place finisher – had a tougher time than in Day 2 to fall in 11th place.

On the final day, three players were on the hunt for their second major APT title: Neil Raine, Carlos Chang, and Punnat Punsri. However, their hopes were crushed all falling before reaching heads up.

The final duel was between Peters and Takao Shimizu who placed 2nd at WPT Vietnam Main Event last year. Peters’s experience and domination in chips gave Shimizu a tough challenge. In just 20 minutes, Peters knocked out Shimizu to bag his first win in Asia.

Final 8 payouts

1st Tobias Peters – Netherlands NT$ 1,848,800
2nd Takao Shimizu – Japan – NT$ 1,232,700
3rd Sera Ota – Japan – NT$ 856,900
4th Punnat Punsri – Thailand – NT$ 618,900
5th Carlos Chang – Taiwan – NT$ 462,900
6th Go Mori – Japan – NT$ 357,200
7th Neil Raine – UK – NT$ 283,700
8th Chi Ying Tsai – Taiwan – NT$ 231,100

APT POS winner: ZHOU YUEYANG

Zhou Yueyang did not only win the Main Event. He was also awarded the APT Player of the Series Title. He came home with the 1st place Trophy, the APT Player of the Series Ring, an exclusive watch, and US$ 800.

Below are his key accomplishments during the series:
– 1st place Main Event
– 1st place High Rollers
– 4th WeLoveSport Super Deep Stack Turbo

Other Winners

Event #11: Pot Limit Omaha Hi

Buy-in: NT$ 11,000 (~US$ 360)
Entries: 46
Prize pool: NT$446,200 (~US$ 14,100)
ITM: 8 places
Winner: Chien Yu Wang – Taiwan NT$ 116,600 (~US$ 3,800)

Event #12: High Rollers Single Day

Buy-in: NT$ 55,000 (~US$ 1,800)
Entries: 55
Prize pool: NT$ 2,667,500 (~US$ 87,500)
ITM: 10 places
Winner: Guo Dong – China – NT$ 600,000 (~US$ 19,700)

Event #13: No Limit Hold’em Single Day

Buy-in: NT$ 7,700 (~US$ 250)
Entries: 84
Prize pool: NT$ 570,400 (~US$ 18,700)
ITM: 14 places
Winner: Keon Yong Ma – Korea – NT$ 132,600 (~US$ 4,300)

Event #14: WeLoveSport Super Deep Stack Turbo

Buy-in: NT$ 7,700 (~US$ 250)
Entries: 74
Prize pool: NT$ 502,500 (~US$ 16,500)
ITM: 13 places
Winner: Peter Chien – Canada – NT$ 139,100 (~US$ 4,500)

Event #15: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo

Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 53
Prize pool: NT$ 257,000 (~US$ 8,400)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Woo Jong Ha – Korea – NT$ 78,100 (~US$ 2,500)

Event 16: 5 Card Pot Limit Omaha Hi: ANTHONY ABRAM – NT$ 80,400 (~US$ 2,600)

Buy-in: NT$9,900 (~US$ 324 )
Entries: 20
ITM: 5 places
Winner: Anthony Abram – Australia – NT$ 80,400

Event #17: Deep Stack Turbo

Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 104
Prize pool: NT$ 504,400 (~US$ 16,600)
ITM: 18 places
Winner: Chris Leung – Hong Kong SAR – NT$ 128,400 (~US$ 4,200)

Event #18: Monster Stack

Buy-in: NT$ 16,500 (~US$ 540)
Entries: 101
Prize pool: NT$ 1,469,500 (~US$ 48,200)
ITM: 17 places
Winner: Ori Kossonogi – Israel – NT$ 380,700 (~US$ 12,500)

Event 19: High Rollers: ZHOU YUEYANG – NT$ 697,500 (~US$ 22,900)

Buy-in: NT$ 77,000 (~US$ 2,500)
Entries: 21
Prize pool:  NT$ 1,425,900 (~US$ 46,700)
ITM: 4 places
Winner: Zhou Yueyang – China – NT$ 697,500

Event #20: Deep Stack Turbo

Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 63
Prize pool: NT$ 305,500 (~US$ 10,000)
ITM: 11 places
Winner: Chi Jen Chen – Taiwan – NT$ (~US$ 88,100)

*This was Chi Jen Chen’s second side event victory at the series.

Event #21: High Rollers Single Day

Buy-in: NT$ 55,000 (~US$ 1,800)
Entries: 31
Prize pool: NT$ 1,503,500 (~US$ 49,300)
ITM: 6 places
Winner: Kotake Yusuke – Japan – NT$ 572,100 (~US$ 18,800)

Event #22: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo

Buy-in: NT$ 5,500 (~US$ 180)
Entries: 51
Prize pool: NT$ 247,300 (~US$ 8,100)
ITM: 9 places
Winner: Muang Min Feng – Taiwan – NT$ 75,200 (~US$ 2,400)

APT schedule in 2020

This concludes the Asian Poker Tour’s 2019 calendar year. They return early next year with a lineup of events. Here’s a quick look at their schedule:

APT Kickoff Vietnam 2020 – January 10 to 21
APT Taiwan – March 4 to 15
APT Vietnam Da Nang – April 7 to 18
APT Philippines – April 27 to May 10 (14 days)
APT Vietnam Ho Chi Minh – June 3 to 14
APT (TBA) – July 1 to 12
APT Korea – Seoul and Incheon – July 25 to August 11 (18 day swing)
APT Philippines – September 10 to 21
APT Taiwan – October 7 to 18
APT Korea Busan – November 4 to 11
APT Finale (TBA) – Dates to be confirmed

Article by Tricia David