Action packed Day 2 at U Series of Poker (USOP) Taiwan with an influx of new players arriving at the Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City. By night’s end, pots bloated and another batch of first time USOP winners were minted. Here are the highlights.
Mystery Bounty draws 388 for NTD 5.6M prize pool; Justin Geronimo bags big
The Mystery Bounty was the hottest item of the day to see the NTD 3M guarantee breached well before the start of the last flight. The last two flights brought in a combined 293 entries for 388 total and a prize pool of NTD 5,645,400 (~USD 181,510). Filipino player Justin Geronimo crushed the felt, bagging a huge 717,000, to earn the overall chip lead entering Day 2.
Coming Day 2 on Sunday, January 7 starting at 12:15pm, 49 players will return, each one guaranteed a piece of the pot and a chance at drawing for mystery bounty prizes. The most hunted will be the NTD 450,000 (~USD 14,470) biggest bounty followed by second largest of NTD 250,000 (~USD 8,040) with one reserved for the final table. In addition to bounties, NTD 768,600 (~USD 24,700) awaits the eventual champion.
Date: January 5 to 7, 2024
Buy in: NTD 16,500 (~USD 528)
Guarantee: NTD 3,000,000 (~USD 96,450)
Total entries: 388
Total prize pool: NTD 5,645,400 (~USD 181,510)
Day 2 / ITM; 49 players
Flight results
Flight A: 95 entries / 12 ITM
Flight B: 151 entries / 19 ITM
Flight C: 142 entries / 18 ITM
Chips in play: 9,700,000
Average stack: 197,959
Day 2 opening blinds: 3000-6000 ante 6000
Day 2 qualifiers – 49 players
| Player | Flag | Stack | BB |
| Justin Geronimo | Philippines | 717,000 | 120 |
| John Perry | Australia | 521,000 | 87 |
| Cha Hua Tsai | Taiwan | 481,000 | 80 |
| Jae Won Choi | South Korea | 435,000 | 73 |
| Yong Jie Syu | Taiwan | 408,000 | 68 |
| Kean Wei Tan | Malaysia | 385,000 | 64 |
| Zhe Ming Lee | Taiwan | 369,000 | 62 |
| Jian Yu Chen | Taiwan | 362,000 | 60 |
| Wai Huen Lee | Hong Kong | 296,000 | 49 |
| Hsien Lee Chiu | Taiwan | 273,000 | 46 |
| Chien Yu Wang | Taiwan | 261,000 | 44 |
| Kar Wee Chee | Malaysia | 237,000 | 40 |
| Yu Hsiu Juan | Taiwan | 220,000 | 37 |
| Shau Hong You | Taiwan | 219,000 | 37 |
| Chien Fa Chou | Taiwan | 217,000 | 36 |
| Nien Heng Li | Taiwan | 216,000 | 36 |
| Tsu Lin Tsao | Taiwan | 212,000 | 35 |
| Yu Kai Wang | Taiwan | 209,000 | 35 |
| Chang Hau Huang | Taiwan | 201,000 | 34 |
| Kyle Bao Diep | Vietnam | 191,000 | 32 |
| Li Han Huang | Taiwan | 187,000 | 31 |
| Jun Li | UK | 179,000 | 30 |
| Jia Yu Liu | Taiwan | 175,000 | 29 |
| Patrick Liang | Taiwan | 157,000 | 26 |
| Yu Hua Chang | Taiwan | 151,000 | 25 |
| Jamel Sarray | Italy | 150,000 | 25 |
| Edwin Dela Cruz | Philippines | 141,000 | 24 |
| Kai Yi Sun | China | 140,000 | 23 |
| Huan Bin Chang | Malaysia | 129,000 | 22 |
| Ryuji Ito | Japan | 127,000 | 21 |
| Justin Tsui | Australia | 125,000 | 21 |
| Po Yuan Huang | Taiwan | 124,000 | 21 |
| Nguyen Dieu Phuong Linh | Vietnam | 122,000 | 20 |
| Kuan Yu LIn | Taiwan | 119,000 | 20 |
| Fan Yu Tseng | Taiwan | 116,000 | 19 |
| Chieh Chi Liu | Taiwan | 115,000 | 19 |
| Clement Haro | France | 115,000 | 19 |
| Zong Chi He | Taiwan | 110,000 | 18 |
| Chih Wei Chen | Taiwan | 101,000 | 17 |
| Masato Nagamine | Japan | 100,000 | 17 |
| Tse An Lee | Taiwan | 91,000 | 15 |
| Yiu Cheong Ho | Hong Kong | 80,000 | 13 |
| Yi Hsiang Lu | Taiwan | 77,000 | 13 |
| Le Ngoc Minh | Vietnam | 75,000 | 13 |
| Aladin Reskallah | France | 63,000 | 11 |
| Ging Yu Huang | Taiwan | 60,000 | 10 |
| Hong Yu Hsieh | Taiwan | 60,000 | 10 |
| Chi Jen Chen | Taiwan | 40,000 | 7 |
| Tao Chu | Taiwan | 36,000 | 6 |
WILLIAM JIA wins maiden USOP title at High Roller Warm Up
The High Roller Warm Up brought some of the region’s most decorated to the tables which included two-time USOP super high roller winner Hoang Hai Nam on his first Taiwan venture. The event drew 61 entries to more than double the guarantee. The lone Australian at the final table, William Jia, topped the tough competition, denying local favorite Nevan Yu Chung Chang a back to back, to clinch his first ever USOP title. Included in the win was the first High Roller Series trophy and a cool payout of NTD 915,400 (~USD 29,430).
Jia resumed from his strong 2023 run where he reached an impressive 14 final tables on his first Asian circuit experience. This earned him over $360,000 in winnings. Today’s win marks Jia’s second cash of the series having finished 3rd at opening day’s Mini High Roller.
Date: January 6, 2024
Buy in: NTD 50,000 (~USD 1,600)
Guarantee: NTD 1,000,000 (~USD 32,150)
Entries: 61
Prize pool: NTD 2,692,235 (~USD 86,560)
ITM: 10 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | William Jia | Australia | 915,400 |
| 2 | Nevan Yu Chung Chang | Taiwan | 525,000 |
| 3 | Sean Ooi | Malaysia | 328,500 |
| 4 | Tao Chu | Taiwan | 222,000 |
| 5 | Kuo Chen Hung | Taiwan | 168,300 |
| 6 | 137,300 | ||
| 7 | Ping Hsien Chan | Taiwan | 118,500 |
| 8 | King Lun Alan Lau | Hong Kong | 105,000 |
| 9 | Paul Nattapatsiri | Thailand | 91,500 |
| 10 | Chia Chaing Ko | Taiwan | 80,800 |
VINCENT CHAUVE holds head high at the Big Bounty
Decorated French player Vincent Chauve was the last head hunter remaining at the Big Bounty to clinch his first ever USOP title. On Chauve’s road to victory, he cleaned out nine hunters, each one paying out NTD 5,400 for NTD 48,600 in bounties. Added to the first prize payout of NTD 97,700, the champ collected a combined NTD 146,300 (~USD 4,700).
Date: January 6, 2024
Buy in: NTD 12,000 (~USD 385)
Entries: 52
Cash pool: NTD 264,000 (~USD 8,500)
Bounty pool: NTD 280,800 (~USD 9,030)
ITM: 7 places
*Bounties not included in payouts
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Vincent Chauve | France | 97,700 |
| 2 | Thomas Liffick | UK | 58,100 |
| 3 | Yutang Wang | Taiwan | 35,600 |
| 4 | Naoya Yamashiro | Japan | 25,100 |
| 5 | Jae Won Choi | South Korea | 19,800 |
| 6 | Federico Faranda | Germany | 15,800 |
| 7 | Chih Hung Ho | Taiwan | 11,900 |
Shao Me Yang wins maiden USOP title at Pot Limit Omaha Turbo
31 Pot Limit Omaha enthusiasts came out for the variant’s evening turbo, among them was Taiwan’s Shao Me Yang, a known frequenter of PLO games. Yang took it to the limit to bring home a maiden USOP title and NTD 94,700 (~USD 3,045) in winnings.
Date: January 6, 2024
Buy in: NTD 8,000 (~USD 255)
Entries: 31
Prize pool: NTD 210,500 (~USD 6,770)
ITM: 4 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Shao Me Yang | Taiwan | 94,700 |
| 2 | Kuan Hua Huang | Taiwan | 56,800 |
| 3 | Man Chung Tsui | Hong Kong | 35,800 |
| 4 | Tiger Beng Wei Ong | Malaysia | 23,200 |
VIVIAN WANYU LO shines at Six Max Hyper Turbo for first live win
Swell turnout at the day’s last trophy event with a roaring 93 signups for the Six Max Hyper Turbo. The short-handed fast-paced game wrapped up in under five hours. It was a maiden victory for USOP’s Vivian Wanyu Lo after putting the brakes on the more achieved Japanese pro Nobuaki Sasaki at heads up. Lo became the first female to win at the series. In addition to lifting her career first trophy, Lo also walked away with a cool payout of NTD 126,000 (~USD 4,050).
Date: January 6, 2024
Buy in: NTD 5,000 (~USD 160)
Entries: 93
Prize pool: NTD 397,000 (~USD 12,765)
ITM: 12 places
| Rank | Player | Flag |
Payout in NTD
|
| 1 | Vivian Wanyu Lo | Taiwan | 126,000 |
| 2 | Nobuaki Sasaki | Japan | 75,400 |
| 3 | Keon Young Oh | South Korea | 47,600 |
| 4 | Anton Zhen Zhao Lu | Australia | 30,800 |
| 5 | Ray Chiu | Hong Kong | 23,800 |
| 6 | Weichen Lin | Taiwan | 18,900 |
| 7 | Joshua Soo Tjan | Malaysia | 15,900 |
| 8 | Kaihung Hu | Taiwan | 13,900 |
| 9 | Sigma Nguyen | Vietnam | 12,600 |
| 10 | Mao Lun Yu | Taiwan | 11,500 |
| 11 | Yoo Eunjung | South Korea | 10,700 |
| 12 | Clayton Jacobs | Taiwan | 9,900 |
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. This ensures players plenty of chances to become a USOP champion. Buy ins range from NTD 5,000 (~USD 160) up to NTD 50,000 (~USD 1,590). With two days in the books, the mantle is down to 35 trophies. Claim yours!
In partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP), the festival runs from January 5 to 15, 2024 at the Asia Poker Arena. It is headlined by the NTD 15,000,000 (~US$ 478,270) guaranteed MAIN EVENT which gets underway starting January 11 and runs until January 15. Buy in set at NTD 33,000 (~USD 1,075).
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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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