USOP Taiwan Day 6 highlights: Jennifer Cassell ships Mini Main; Yita Choong, Keon Young Oh lift #2; Seung Hun Ko, Lin Wei Ka, Wei Ting Chen score wins

With Day 6 in the books, the U Series of Poker (USOP) season opener is now halfway through at Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, Taiwan. The wall-to-wall action saw Yita Choong and Keon Young Oh become the first multi-winners, Jennifer Cassell rise at the Mini Main, joined by three other USOP maiden title-holders Seung Hun Ko, Lin Wei Kai, and Wei Ting Chen. Here are the highlights.

USOP Taiwan – Coverage
USOP Taiwan – Player Guide
USOP Taiwan – Festival Results
USOP Taiwan – Main Event info

“Staying patient and disciplined” granted JENNIFER CASSELL the Mini Main Event victory

Wedged in the middle at the start of Day 2, Australia’s Jennifer Cassell went on to glory at the Mini Main for her first win outside of home soil. Cassell banked NTD 1,176,000 (~USD 37,775) and her first USOP title.

“I’m very fortunate to be able to travel to other countries and play poker. Taipei is my favorite place I’ve visited for poker, which makes this win even sweeter. I’m very excited and feel as though it’s a great achievement! It feels amazing to have such great support behind me from my partner Bert Perry & fellow Australians, some that have also travelled here and others back home.

It’s a great feeling to start the year with a significant win. It will set me up for a nice year ahead, I hope. As for the tournament itself: it’s incredibly tough to run so deep in a large field MTT, you really need a lot of luck on your side. For me staying disciplined and patient while short stacked was a key to my success.”

The two-day Mini Main drew a towering crowd of 747 entries propelling the prize pool to NTD 6,525,500 (~USD 209,786). Among the 95 advancing players, frontrunners Chau Hau Tsai and Alan Lau Kin Lun were in prime form to take it very deep. Tsai secured a spot at the final table, finishing in 5th place, however Lau was not so fortunate, stopped early in 66th place.

For Malaysia’s Chang Xiang Guang, it was another impressive run. He earned his third final table cash with a 3rd place berth.

Date: January 8 to 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 10,000 (~USD 320)
Guarantee: NTD 2,000,000 (~USD 64,297)
Entries: 747
Prize Pool: NTD 6,525,500 (~USD 209,786)
ITM: 95 places

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD
1	Jennifer Cassell	Australia	1,176,000
2	Daniel Yang	Taiwan	825,000
3	Chang Xiang Guang	Malaysia	531,600
4	Pi Ying Hsu	Taiwan	393,200
5	Chau Hau Tsai	Taiwan	300,300
6	Chih Wei Chen	Taiwan	238,000
7	Tzu Shaing Chen	Taiwan	197,000
8	Shun Jian Yee	Singapore	155,600
9	Kuo Wei Kao	Taiwan	117,600
10	Kai Jan Chou	Taiwan	97,500
11	Nguyen Huu Cao	Vietnam	97,500
12	Kai Liang Chang	Taiwan	97,500
13	Li Wei Wang	Taiwan	77,600
14	Cheng En Tsai	Taiwan	77,600
15	Fan Yu Tseng	Taiwan	77,600
16	Yashiro Naoki	Japan	64,200
17	Chien Wei Lin	Taiwan	64,200
18	Kuan An Chen	Taiwan	64,200
19	Chun Wei Shiao	Taiwan	52,600
20	Tse An Lee	Singapore	52,600
21	Wingsze Ho	Hong Kong	52,600
22	Chi Ho Ling	Hong Kong	44,700
23	Tan Ong Kwan	Malaysia	44,700
24	Zhiyu Wang	Australia	44,700
25	Federico Faranda	Germany	37,200
26	Chi Jen Chen	Taiwan	37,200
27	Zi Wei Tung	Taiwan	37,200
28	Chi Der Lei	China	30,500
29	Joe Chen	Taiwan	30,500
30	Thomas Liffick	UK	30,500
31	Chun An Chou	Taiwan	30,500
32	Sorawit Suriyakarn	Thailand	30,500
33	Dexter Santos	Philippines	30,500
34	Lee Kuang Hung	Taiwan	30,500
35	Phat Nguyen	Australia	30,500
36	Gingyu Huang	Taiwan	30,500
37	Kaiser Huang	Taiwan	26,600
38	Ya Ting Chou	Taiwan	26,600
39	Chih Feng Li	Taiwan	26,600
40	Chia Ta Tsai	Taiwan	26,600
41	Yu Yong Lin	Taiwan	26,600
42	Mongsong Kuo	Taiwan	26,600
43	Hsu Sheng Chang	Taiwan	26,600
44	Weihao Huang	Taiwan	26,600
45	Jim Wang	Singapore	26,600
46	Hsinhui Peng	Taiwan	23,500
47	Yan Xin Ng	Singapore	23,500
48	Jereld Sam	Singapore	23,500
49	Chang Le Lin	Taiwan	23,500
50	Yan Wen Yee	Malaysia	23,500
51	Romain Bier	France	23,500
52	Rundulf Martin Gonzales	Philippines	23,500
53	Paul Yugendra	Malaysia	23,500
54	John Jay Magadan	Philippines	23,500
55	Oliver Schulze	Germany	21,300
56	Chien Hsiang Hung	Taiwan	21,300
57	Masato Nagamine	Japan	21,300
58	Fu An Huang	Taiwan	21,300
59	Yiu Cheong Ho	Hong Kong	21,300
60	Richard Kim	Canada	21,300
61	Juns Leong	Malaysia	21,300
62	Jonathan Looi	Malaysia	21,300
63	Napat Buranatavonsom	Thailand	21,300
64	Yuan Fu Lo	Taiwan	19,400
65	Justin Jerome Geronimo	Philippines	19,400
66	King Lun Alan Lau	Hong Kong	19,400
67	Chien Yu Lin	Taiwan	19,400
68	Tran Duc Kien	Vietnam	19,400
69	Shaotang Lu	Taiwan	19,400
70	Ta Wei Wei	Taiwan	19,400
71	Kim Hak Do	South Korea	19,400
72	Meng Ling Lin	Taiwan	19,400
73	Yun Lam Kevin Choi	Hong Kong	19,400
74	Pak Hei Chan	Hong Kong	17,600
75	Shao Hong Yu	Taiwan	17,600
76	Wai Shun Poon	Hong Kong	17,600
77	Haram Joo	South Korea	17,600
78	Tsung En Yeh	Taiwan	17,600
79	Xsien Lee Qu	Taiwan	17,600
80	Yun Ping Li	Taiwan	17,600
81	Kaihung Hu	Taiwan	17,600
82	Yungyu Chen	Taiwan	17,600
83	Lai Koon Lim	Singapore	15,900
84	Haruto Murata	Japan	15,900
85	Wen Yen Chiu	Taiwan	15,900
86	Yick Kuen Hiew	Singapore	15,900
87	Seo Hojin	South Korea	15,900
88	Wai Huen Lee	Hong Kong	15,900
89	Kei Hong Leong	Singapore	15,900
90	Zong Chi He	Taiwan	15,900
91	Si Yang Phua	Singapore	15,900
92	Ka Hei Choi	Hong Kong	14,300
93	Dou Houng Chien	Taiwan	14,300
94	Aladin Reskallah	France	14,300
95	Yi Chun Lin	Taiwan	14,300

YITA CHOONG lifts second series title at High Roller Megastack

Second series win for Yita Choong! The Australian high roller’s first USOP visit was in Da Nang  in November where he missed his chance at victory numerous times. Not the case though in Taiwan. Choong won the opening day Mini High Roller, then at Day 6, he outshined at the High Roller Megastack for his series second title. Choong became the first player to win two trophies at USOP Taiwan.

The High Roller Megastack attracted an elite crowd of 92 runners for a substantial prize pool of NTD 8,120,900 (~USD 261,076).  The top 14 got paid with Choong banking the NTD 2,436,300 (~USD 78,250) first prize. He is now closing in on NTD 3M in series winnings.

Date: January 9 to 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,215)
Guarantee: NTD 2,500,000 (~USD 80,372)
Entries: 92
Prize Pool: NTD 8,120,900 (~USD 261,076)
ITM: 14 places

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD
1	Yita Choong	Australia	2,436,300
2	Hon Cheong Lee	Hong Kong	1,502,400
3	Punnat Punsri	Thailand	901,400
4	Win Meng Tan	Malaysia	588,800
5	Jeong Yim	South Korea	454,800
6	Seung Mook Jung	South Korea	373,600
7	Hoong Kiat Alex	Malaysia	316,700
8	Webster Chih Wei Lim	Malaysia	276,100
9	Matthew Belcher	UK	243,600
10	Justin Tsui	Australia	215,200
11	Paul Nattapatsiri	Thailand	215,200
12	William Jia	Australia	215,200
13	Anton Zhen Zhao Lu	Australia	190,800
14	Dae Woong Song	South Korea	190,800

USOP newcomer SEUNG HUN KO wins Midweek Superstack

On his first-ever USOP stop, South Korea’s Seung Hun Ko rose above the sizable 161 entry field of the popular Midweek Superstack to capture the coveted win and the NTD 560,400 (~USD 18,000) top prize. Strong finish as well for High Roller Warm Up champion William Jia who placed 4th.

Date: January 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 15,000 (~USD 480)
Guarantee: NTD 1,000,000 (~USD 32,149)
Entries: 161
Prize Pool: NTD 2,108,300 (~USD 67,779)
ITM: 21 places

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD
1	Seung Hun Ko	South Korea	560,400
2	Juns Leong	Malaysia	367,000
3	Kennie Tay	Singapore	216,300
4	William Jia	Australia	131,700
5	Conor Grimsley	UK	101,600
6	Toshio Kataoka	Japan	84,200
7	Yung Yu Chen	Taiwan	72,900
8	Dou Houng Chien	Taiwan	64,300
9	Jun Li	United	56,000
10	Kuan Hua Huang	Taiwan	48,500
11	Kwok Yip	Hong Kong	48,500
12	Kyle Bao Diep	Vietnam	48,500
13	Napat Buranatavonsom	Thailand	41,100
14	Napat Chokejindachai	Thailand	41,100
15	Ting Yao Lin	Taiwan	41,100
16	Oliver Schulze	Germany	34,200
17	Kaiser Huang	Taiwan	34,200
18	Ya Ting Chou	Taiwan	34,200
19	Edwin Dela Cruz	Philippines	27,500
20	Lee Ka Chun	Hong Kong	27,500
21	John Tech	Philippines	27,500

Local player LIN WEI KAI wins Pot Limit Omaha

With a long list of deep runs and wins at CTP local events, Lin Wei Kai added a USOP title for his victory at Pot Limit Omaha. The event attracted a strong field of 66 entries. Lin denied Pot Limit Omaha Turbo winner Shao Me Yang a second title, defeating him at heads up. For his triumph, Lin earned a cool NTD 242,000 (~USD 7,775).

Date: January 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 12,000 (~USD 384)
Entries: 66
Prize Pool: NTD 691,500 (~USD 22,231)
ITM: 9 places

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD
1	Lin Wei Kai	Taiwan	242,000
2	Shao Me Yang	Taiwan	138,400
3	Liang Su	Taiwan	84,700
4	Zhiyu Wang	Australia	60,500
5	Tiger Beng Wei Ong	Malaysia	46,700
6	Rundulf Martin Gonzales	Philippines	36,300
7	Chih Feng Li	Taiwan	31,100
8	Kuan Yu Lin	Taiwan	27,600
9	Cheli Lin	Taiwan	24,200

Second series title for KEON YOUNG OH at Freezeout

Another multi-winner emerged at Day 6 with South Korea’s Keon Young Oh bringing it home at the Freezeout event. Oh was the last man standing out of the 104 player field to turn his NTD 6K buy in to a cool NTD 160,000 (~USD 5,140). Oh’s first win was at the Bounty Hunter Turbo two days prior.

Date: January 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 6,000 (~USD 192)
Entries: 104
Prize Pool: NTD 524,600 (~USD 16,865)
ITM: 13 places

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD
1	Keon Young Oh	South Korea	160,000
2	Yin Sum Chan	Hong Kong	98,400
3	Kensuke Tajika	Japan	60,300
4	Hok Shing Ho	Hong Kong	39,300
5	Maeng Seonghun	South Korea	30,700
6	Haram Joo	South Korea	24,500
7	Xin Hua Lai	Singapore	20,900
8	John Jay Magadan	Philippines	18,100
9	Chia Yu Lin	Taiwan	16,000
10	Tzi Wei Hwang	Taiwan	14,400
11	Lee Jung Yeol	South Korea	14,400
12	Tomohiro Yamada	Japan	14,400
13	Yashiro Naoki	Japan	13,200

WEI TING CHEN wins first USOP title at 10/10/10

The last event of the day was the uber-fast short stacked 10/10/10 event. Players start with a 10k stack, blinds go up every 10 minutes, and players only have 10 seconds to act. Needless to say it was a rush to the finish line with Taiwan’s Wei Ting Chen prevailing for his first USOP win and NTD 90,700 (~USD 2,900). Among the finishers was Philippine player Justin Jerome Geronimo for his second final table cash.

Date: January 10, 2024
Buy in: NTD 5,000 (~USD 160)
Entries: 59
Prize Pool: NTD 251,900 (~USD 8,098)
ITM: 8 places

Rank	Player	Flag	Payout in NTD
1	Wei Ting Chen	Taiwan	90,700
2	Bojia Su	Taiwan	53,300
3	Ho Koon Leong	Singapore	33,400
4	Yi Hsuan Chen	Taiwan	22,700
5	Justin Jerome Geronimo	Philippines	17,600
6	Nam Ho Kim	South Korea	13,900
7	Dexter Santos	Philippines	11,300
8	Chien Hua Lo	Taiwan	9,000

USOP Taiwan 2024

In partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP), USOP Taiwan runs from January 5 to 15, 2024 at the largest brick and mortar poker room in the region, Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City. With six days in the books, 26 of the 45 trophies have already been claimed. Time to win yours!

*Photos by CTP and USOP