The year 2023 may well have been the busiest year of live poker for Asian players. While many outshined, Somuchpoker has picked 20 players for our top performers list. We previously posted the first 15. Here is the final batch of Asian aces.
REN LIN – China
Ren “Tony” Lin, a formidable force in the world of poker, hails from China and has garnered widespread acclaim for his strategic prowess and unwavering composure at the tables. Lin proved himself a player to watch in 2023 by dominating tournaments outside of Asia.
His most significant win was at the WPT World Championship, where Lin captured the Alpha8 title and bagged a USD 1,045,781 top prize. His jaw-dropping win immediately followed his record-breaking stint at the WPT World Championship $40M guaranteed event, where he placed 20th—the deepest run by any Asian player to date.
Lin also nearly earned himself a gold bracelet twice, when he reached 2nd place at consecutive WSOP events. He placed 3rd and 2nd place at the PCA and 2nd and 1st place with a USD 10,000 buy-in at the PokerGO Pot Limit Omaha.
JOHN TECH – Philippines
In 2023, John Tech rode the wave of record-breaking wins for the Philippines starting with a huge win at Asian Poker Tour (APT) Taipei Superstar Challenge for a payout of around USD 110K. Mid-year, he shined at Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila, collecting the most final table cashes (five) which included a 4th place Main Event finish and 2nd at the Super High Roller. He took home an impressive prize fund of USD 115,230. To close out 2023, he nearly won a second Superstar Challenge title, placing 2nd at the Asia Poker Festival (APF) festival. Tech has now climbed to 3rd on the Philippines’ All-Time Money List.
ANKIT AHUJA – India
4th on the Indian All-Time Money List is Ankit Ahuja, who won the EPT Cyprus Main Event in 2023. As of October 2023, the impressive player raked USD 2.1 million in live tournament earnings, following a 5th-place finish at the ESPT Main Event.
Ahuja’s EPT Cyprus win is just one of his other 2023 successes, namely a 5th place finish at the EPT Barcelona Main Event and a 2nd place finish at the UKPT High Roller. Ahuja is also a regular in the Las Vegas poker scene, often participating in big stack tournaments and appearing at iconic poker rooms like the Venetian.
NGUYEN QUANG HUY – Vietnam
Nguyen Quang Huy, a luminary in poker, represents Vietnam’s burgeoning talent on the global stage. He is one of Vietnam’s most recognized players, with most of his big cashes originating from high-roller events.
The legendary player closed out the year strong at U Series of Poker (USOP) Da Nang and at Asia Poker Festival (APF) Hanoi. At USOP, he notched four final table cashes and two runner-up finishes at high-roller events. At APF, he took home a total of USD 110,400 and claimed the title “biggest earner.”
Nguyen’s unbelievable 2023 finish succeeded other wins, including 4th place at the WPT Prime Billionaire High Stakes, 2nd place at the USOP Hanoi High Roller Megastack, 2nd place at the APT Phu Quoc Single Day High Roller, 1st place at the Poker Dream 7 Vietnam Single Day High Roller, and 1st place at the WPT Vietnam Billionaire Club High Stakes Challenge.
RENJI MAO – China
Chinese young gun Renji Mao blazed a personal best 2023 trail across the felt; $684,483 of his $749,194 total career earnings came from this year alone. His highlight win came at the 2023 WSOP $800 NLH Deep Stack Event where he snatched his first ever gold bracelet defeating a top-notch field of 4,747 entries with his aggressive play at the final table. It was the biggest win of his young career and earned him likewise, his biggest cash haul at $402,588. He is now 1 of only 4 Chinese golden bracelet winners.
Mao rode the momentum of his WSOP victory to a series of wins and deep runs spread across the year which included a win at the APT Summer Series Da Nang Single Day High Roller for VND 634,860,000 (~$26,835).
*Article by Zoe Alcazaren
Previous articles on 20 of Asia’s Top Performers in 2023:
[1 of 4] Top live poker achievements by Asia players in 2023 – five of 20 players
[2 of 4] Top live poker achievements by Asia players in 2023
[3 of 4] Top live poker achievements by Asia players in 2023
Tricia David
Tricia David has long experience as a recreational poker player and has been covering poker events since 2010 for numerous outfits in Asia. She spent one year working part time with Poker Portal Asia then became editor and lead writer for all event coverage of the Philippine Poker Tour (PPT). Under the PPT, she overlooked content for their website, and produced live updates on all their events. In addition, she served as the live and online events website content writer for the Asian Poker Tour. Currently, she does live events reporting in Asia for online news site Somuchpoker and is also one of their news contributors.
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