U Series of Poker (USOP) wrapped up another exciting day at the Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, Taiwan. On Day 5, the room was quickly abuzz as the Mini Main drew a large crowd to well exceed its guarantee and high-profile players flocked for the High Roller Megastack. The day closed with Chau Hau Tsai and Jeong Yim as chip leaders, Romain Bier scoring a career third USOP title, and Yun Li locking up her first USOP win. Here are the highlights.
Mini Main Event – update
The final two entry flights of the Mini Main brought a surge of 546 entrants. With an initial 201 joining on Day 1A, the cumulative entries soared to an impressive 747. This more than tripled up the NTD 2 Million prize pool, reaching a substantial NTD 6,521,300 (~USD 210,600).
As the day concluded, 69 players secured their spots, making a total of 95 players advancing to the Day 2 / ITM round. Taiwan’s Chau Hau Tsai claimed the overall chip lead with 107 bb, closely followed by Hong Kong’s Alan Lau King Lun with 102 bb. UK’s Thomas Liffick rounded out the top three with 99 bb.
Play resumes on Wednesday, January 10 at 12:15pm. Everyone is guaranteed a piece of the boosted pot, for the eventual champion, a seven figure NTD payout awaits. We will have the official prize posted once it has been made available.
Date: January 7 to 9, 2024
Buy in: NTD 10,000 (~USD 320)
Guarantee: NTD 2,000,000 (~USD 64,663)
Entries: 747
Prize pool: NTD 6,521,300 (~USD 210,600)
ITM: 95 advance
Chips in play: 22,410,000
Average stack: 235,895
Day 2 opening blinds: 4,000-8,000 ante 8,000
| Player | 姓名 | Flag | Stack | BB |
| Chau Hau Tsai | 蔡少華 | Taiwan | 852,000 | 107 |
| Lau King Lun Alan | Lau King Lun Alan | Hong Kong | 817,000 | 102 |
| Thomas Liffick | Thomas Liffick | UK | 789,000 | 99 |
| Kai Liang Chang | 張凱量 | Taiwan | 668,000 | 84 |
| Zi Wei Tung | 童梓惟 | Taiwan | 622,000 | 78 |
| Yu Yong Lin | 林煜湧 | Taiwan | 571,000 | 71 |
| Chris Shiao | 蕭淳瑋 | Taiwan | 563,000 | 70 |
| Jung Chou Chen | 陳榮州 | Taiwan | 558,000 | 70 |
| Li Wei Wang | 王立為 | Taiwan | 552,000 | 69 |
| Zhi Yu Wang | 王智宇 | Australia | 545,000 | 68 |
| John Jay Magadan | John Jay Magadan | Philippines | 533,000 | 67 |
| Wing Sze Ho | 何詠詩 | Hong Kong | 515,000 | 64 |
| Rundulf Martin Gonzales | Rundulf Martin Gonzales | Philippines | 444,000 | 56 |
| Yan Xin Ng | 黃衍心 | Singapore | 406,000 | 51 |
| Hsin Hui Peng | 彭新輝 | Taiwan | 351,000 | 44 |
| Fan Yu Tseng | 曾凡語 | Taiwan | 350,000 | 44 |
| Ging Yu Huang | 黃敬淯 | Taiwan | 346,000 | 43 |
| Dexter Santos | Dexter Santos | Philippines | 345,000 | 43 |
| Cheng En Tsai | 蔡承恩 | Taiwan | 336,000 | 42 |
| Chien Hsiang Hung | 洪健祥 | Taiwan | 324,000 | 41 |
| Chih Feng Li | 李志峯 | Taiwan | 317,000 | 40 |
| Kai Jan Chou | 周楷然 | Taiwan | 311,000 | 39 |
| Yan Wen Yee | Yan Wen Yee | Malaysia | 308,000 | 39 |
| Nguyen Thanh Phat | Nguyen Thanh Phat | Australia | 304,000 | 38 |
| Xiang Guang Chang | Xiang Guang Chang | Malaysia | 298,000 | 37 |
| Jereld En Zhi Sam | 沈恩至 | Singapore | 298,000 | 37 |
| Tzu Shiang Chen | 陳梓翔 | Taiwan | 283,000 | 35 |
| Chun An Chou | 周俊諳 | Taiwan | 280,000 | 35 |
| Jennifer Cassell | Jennifer Cassell | Australia | 280,000 | 35 |
| Chia Ta Tsai | 蔡佳達 | Taiwan | 279,000 | 35 |
| Federico Faranda | Federico Faranda | Germany | 268,000 | 34 |
| Meng Song Kuo | 郭孟松 | Taiwan | 261,000 | 33 |
| Shao Hung You | 游少鴻 | Taiwan | 260,000 | 33 |
| Jhan Sing Lai | 賴展興 | Taiwan | 255,000 | 32 |
| Ya Ting Chou | 周雅婷 | Taiwan | 254,000 | 32 |
| Duc Kien Tran | Duc Kien Tran | Vietnam | 249,000 | 31 |
| Leong Juns | Leong Juns | Malaysia | 240,000 | 30 |
| Kuan An Chen | 陳冠安 | Taiwan | 238,000 | 30 |
| Chien Wei Lin | 林健偉 | Taiwan | 234,000 | 29 |
| 楊翔安 | 楊翔安 | Taiwan | 228,000 | 29 |
| Oliver Schulze | Oliver Schulze | Germany | 223,000 | 28 |
| Meng Ling Lin | 林孟伶 | Taiwan | 206,000 | 26 |
| Kuo Wei Kao | 高國崴 | Taiwan | 205,000 | 26 |
| Pak Hei Chan | 陳柏熙 | Hong Kong | 204,000 | 26 |
| Fu An Huang | 黃福田 | Taiwan | 198,000 | 25 |
| Chih Wei Chen | 陳志惟 | Taiwan | 182,000 | 23 |
| Kuang Hung Lee | 李光紘 | Taiwan | 181,000 | 23 |
| Choi Yun Lam Kevin | Choi Yun Lam Kevin | Hong Kong | 177,000 | 22 |
| Yashiro Naoki | Yashiro Naoki | Japan | 176,000 | 22 |
| Napat Buranatavonsom | Napat Buranatavonsom | Thailand | 173,000 | 22 |
| Shmuel Yacov Aizih | Shmuel Yacov Aizih | Israel | 173,000 | 22 |
| Masato Nagamine | Masato Nagamine | Japan | 160,000 | 20 |
| Yiu Cheong Ho | 何耀昌 | Hong Kong | 160,000 | 20 |
| Hsien Lee Chu | 曲獻立 | Taiwan | 155,000 | 19 |
| Tan Ong Kwan | Tan Ong Kwan | Malaysia | 154,000 | 19 |
| Hak Do Kim | Hak Do Kim | Korea | 151,000 | 19 |
| Chi Ho Ling | Chi Ho Ling | Hong Kong | 149,000 | 19 |
| Sorawit Suriyakarn | Sorawit Suriyakarn | Thailand | 149,000 | 19 |
| Romain Bier | Romain Bier | France | 146,000 | 18 |
| Nguyen Huu Cao Tri | Nguyen Huu Cao Tri | Vietnam | 144,000 | 18 |
| Tuck Heng Wang | Tuck Heng Wang | Singapore | 139,000 | 17 |
| Chang Le Lin | 林長樂 | Taiwan | 138,000 | 17 |
| Wei Hao Huang | 黃偉豪 | Taiwan | 135,000 | 17 |
| Hsu Sheng Chang | 張旭昇 | Taiwan | 133,000 | 17 |
| Wai Shun Poon | 潘韋信 | Hong Kong | 132,000 | 17 |
| Pi Ying Hsu | 許必穎 | Taiwan | 132,000 | 17 |
| Paul Yugendra | Paul Yugendra | Malaysia | 128,000 | 16 |
| Kai Hung Hu | 胡凱閎 | Taiwan | 126,000 | 16 |
| Justin Geronimo | Justin Geronimo | Philippines | 122,000 | 15 |
| Kaiser Huang | Kaiser Huang | Taiwan | 121,000 | 15 |
| Yick Kuen Kiew | 邱一均 | Singapore | 114,000 | 14 |
| Shao Tang Lu | 呂紹堂 | Taiwan | 111,000 | 14 |
| Chien Yu Lin | 林千聿 | Taiwan | 109,000 | 14 |
| Yun Ping Li | 李允平 | Taiwan | 105,000 | 13 |
| Lai Koon Lim | Lai Koon Lim | Singapore | 103,000 | 13 |
| Haram Joo | Haram Joo | South Korea | 92,000 | 12 |
| Tse An Lee | 李哲安 | Singapore | 90,000 | 11 |
| Masayuki Murata | Masayuki Murata | Japan | 88,000 | 11 |
| Chi Jen Chen | 陳紀任 | Taiwan | 87,000 | 11 |
| Seo Hojin | Seo Hojin | Korea | 87,000 | 11 |
| Si Yang Phua | Si Yang Phua | Singapore | 86,000 | 11 |
| Yung Yu Chen | 陳永裕 | Taiwan | 84,000 | 11 |
| Shun Jian Yu | 余順堅 | Singapore | 75,000 | 9 |
| Wai Huen Lee | 李煒桓 | Hong Kong | 73,000 | 9 |
| Ta Wei Wei | 魏大為 | Taiwan | 68,000 | 9 |
| Yuan Fu Lo | 羅元甫 | Taiwan | 58,000 | 7 |
| Tsung En Yeh | 葉琮恩 | Taiwan | 55,000 | 7 |
| Ka Hei Choi | 蔡家熙 | Hong Kong | 52,000 | 7 |
| Jonathan Looi | Jonathan Looi | Malaysia | 51,000 | 6 |
| Aladin Reskallah | Aladin Reskallah | France | 50,000 | 6 |
| Dou Houng Chien | 簡道桓 | Taiwan | 45,000 | 6 |
| Kei Hong Leong | Kei Hong Leong | Singapore | 32,000 | 4 |
| Zong Chi He | 何宗奇 | Taiwan | 25,000 | 3 |
| Yi Chun Lin | 林怡君 | Taiwan | 24,000 | 3 |
| Wen Yen Chiu | 邱文言 | Taiwan | 13,000 | 2 |
High Roller Megastack – Day 1 update
The High Roller Megastack continued to demonstrate its popularity with 92 top guns signing on at NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,200) each. This generated a prize pool of NTD 8,120,900 (~USD 262,260) which was over three times the advertised guarantee. The event bagged up at ITM of 14 players led by USOP newcomer Jeong Yim from South Korea.
Other notables making the cut were Thailand’s Punnat Punsri, Australia’s Yita Choong, Malaysia’s Webster Chih Wei Lim, South Korea’s Seung Mook Jung, and Hong Kong’s Ivan Hon Cheong Lee to mention a few.
When play resumes, everyone is guaranteed NTD 190,800 (~USD 6,160), however what they will be aiming for is the hefty NTD 2,463,300 (~USD 79,550) top prize.
Date: January 9 to 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,200)
Guarantee: NTD 2,500,000 (~USD 80,740)
Entries: 92
Prize pool: NTD 8,120,900 (~USD 262,260)
ITM: 14 places
Chips in play: 23,000,000
Average stack: 1,642,857
| Jeong Yim | Korea | 3,625,000 |
| Punnat Punsri | Thailand | 2,990,000 |
| Hoong Kiat Alex | Malaysia | 2,605,000 |
| Win Meng Tan | Malaysia | 2,015,000 |
| Yita Choong | Australia | 1,750,000 |
| Paul Nattapatsiri | Thailand | 1,685,000 |
| Webster Lim | Malaysia | 925,000 |
| Seung Mook Jung | Korea | 640,000 |
| William Jia | Australia | 635,000 |
| Matthew Belcher | Uk | 570,000 |
| Hon Cheong Lee | Hong Kong | 427,000 |
| Anton Lu | Australia | 420,000 |
| Dae Woong Song | South Korea | 340,000 |
| Justin Tsui | Australia | 330,000 |
ROMAIN BIER wins career third USOP trophy at 6-Max Turbo
At the USOP season ender in Da Nang, Vietnam, Romain Bier lifted an impressive two trophies. The winning streak continued at season opener USOP Taiwan. Bier outlasted the 70-entry field, denying Chang Xiang Guang a second series title, to capture a career third USOP trophy and NTD 123,600 (~USD 3,990).
Date: January 9, 2024
Buy in: NTD 6,000 (~USD 195)
Entries: 70
Prize pool: NTD 353,100 (~USD 11,400)
ITM: 9 places
| Rank | Player | Flag | Payout in NTD |
| 1 | Romain Bier | France | 123,600 |
| 2 | Xiang Guang | Malaysia | 70,600 |
| 3 | Yew Tong | Malaysia | 43,300 |
| 4 | Chun An Chou | Taiwan | 30,900 |
| 5 | Shuwei Huang | Taiwan | 23,800 |
| 6 | Dexter Santos | United States | 18,500 |
| 7 | Lasse Lien | Norway | 15,900 |
| 8 | Chi Lun Huang | Taiwan | 14,100 |
| 9 | Kai Liang Chang | Taiwan | 12,400 |
YUN LI wins first USOP title at Crazy Pineapple
CTP regular Yun Li bagged a career first USOP title at the Crazy Pineapple event. Li outlasted the 37 entry field for a payout of NTD 64,800 (~USD 2,100). She became the third female to ship it at the ongoing festival.
Date: January 8, 2024
Buy in: NTD 5,000 (~USD 160)
Entries: 37
Prize pool: NTD 158,000 (~USD 5,100)
ITM: 5 places
| Rank | Player | Flag | Payout in NTD |
| 1 | Yun Li | Taiwan | 64,800 |
| 2 | Tsz Man Lau | Hong Kong | 39,500 |
| 3 | Ken Suen | Hong Kong | 23,700 |
| 4 | Yung Yu Chen | Taiwan | 17,400 |
| 5 | Masato Nagamine | Japan | 12,600 |
USOP Taiwan 2024
Following a booming 2023, USOP opens the new year with a bigger and richer Taiwan festival. Compared to its launch last year, the schedule has increased from 23 trophy events to 45 trophy events. With four days in the books, 18 have already been claimed. Time to win yours!
In partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP), the festival runs from January 5 to 15, 2024 at the largest brick and mortar poker room in the region, Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City.
Main Event coming up!
The festival’s crown jewel MAIN EVENT will take the spotlight starting January 11. Event runs until January 15. For this edition, the guarantee has been bumped up to NTD 15,000,000 (~US$ 478,270), which is NTD 5M more than last year’s launch. To enter, four flights are scheduled. Buy in is NTD 33,000 (~USD 1,075).
Links:
USOP Taiwan – Coverage
USOP Taiwan – Player Guide
*Photos by CTP and USOP
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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