USOP Taiwan Main Event turnout through the roof as prize pool catapults to over USD 1 Million; Singapore’s Guan Hao Tan leads in 139 players

The U Series of Poker (USOP) has once again proven itself an unstoppable force in the Asian live scene, amassing an incredible 1,100 Main Event entries for a colossal prize pool of NTD 32,010,000 (~USD 1,030,500). The substantial turnout was fueled by the last two flights, adding a roaring 615 entries to the initial 485 from earlier heats. This was the third consecutive seven figure USD prize pool by the USOP, following in the footsteps of record-breakers USOP Da Nang and USOP Hanoi. 

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

Day 1 results

Day 1A results: 203 entries / 26 advance
Day 1B results: 282 entries / 36 advance
Day 1C: 412 entries / 52 advance
Day 1D: 203 entries / 26 advance

Main Event numbers

Buy in: NTD 33,000 (~USD 1,056)
Guarantee: NTD 15,000,000 (~USD 482,230)
Total entries: 1,100
Prize pool: NTD 32,010,000 (~USD 1,030,500)
Total ITM: 140 players

Main Event – Day 2 Chip Counts

Day 2 – Top 10 in chips

Rank	Player	Flag	Stack	BB
1	Guan Hao Tan	Singapore	1,112,000	111
2	Tsun Yin Ng	Hong Kong	1,101,000	110
3	Jun Li	United Kingdom	1,073,000	107
4	Minh Nguyen	Vietnam	958,000	96
5	Chung Howe Sean	Singapore	930,000	93
6	King Chun Leung	Hong Kong	838,000	84
7	Yan Jie Wu	Taiwan	805,000	81
8	Yi Hsiang Lu	Taiwan	763,000	76
9	Mark Gruendemann	Ireland	712,000	71
10	Chih Wei Fan	Taiwan	694,000	69

Day 2 info

139 players move on to Day 2, taking place on Sunday, January 14, 2024 starting at 12:15pm. Everyone is guaranteed a minimum payout of NTD 43,000 (~USD 1,385). The agenda for the players is to secure a final table spot where a hefty NTD 5,383,000 (~USD 173,300) payout awaits the champion!

Day 1C review

The CTP Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, Taiwan filled to capacity as local and international players poured in for  Main Event Day 1C. With 485 entries already on record from the previous flights, the NTD 15 Million guarantee was instantly shattered at the starting buzzer with no telling how high it would go.

By the end of registration, the tally was 412 entries, to nearly reach 1,000 entries. The heat closed with 52 players bagging up. Singapore’s Guan Hao Tan racked up 111 bb to slide into the top spot of the overall Day 2 qualifiers list. At his heels was Vietnam’s Minh Nguyen with 96 bb.

Other notable survivors were festival event winners Chih Wei Fan and Calvin Kean Wei Tan both with 69 bb, South Korea’s Gyeong Byeong Lee, Philippine’s Dexter Santos who was the only player to bag up a second stack, and Taiwan’s Zong Chi He. 

Day 1D review

With the prize pool certain to breach a million USD, another 203 jumped in the final flight – Day 1D Turbo – to drive the total entries to 1,100. In turn, the prize pool further ballooned to over NTD 32 Million, roughly USD 1 Million. The final heat closed with 26 survivors. Hong Kong’s King Chun Leung topped the counts with 84 bb followed by Philippine’s John Tech with 66 bb, Singapore’s Shun Jian Yee, South Korea’s Yo Hwan Lim, and Australia’s Dylan Wayne Foster completed the top 5.