Asian Poker Tour (APT) 2019: Chow Cliff wins main event for INR 56,38,406

Asian Poker Tour (APT) visited Taiwan for the first time ever and the brand was at its peak in dishing out first-class live poker experiences at various Asian destinations.

APT Taiwan

The series started on 20th of February and has a total of 23 tournaments scheduled till 3rd of March. The Main Event saw three starting flights, attracting 523 entries. Chow Cliff from Hong Kong claimed the title after a full six-day run, following a heads-up deal with Alan King Lun Lau.

Cliff cleaned out 6 of 9 players on the final table, totally crushing his competition. He went onto eliminate fellow countryman Lau to a runner-up place, after shaking hands on a heads-up deal. Cliff also won his maiden live title along with a payout of TWD 2,443,800 (INR 56,38,406).

Cliff talked about the double up he scored during the heads-up against Lun, joking that it was a fish call. He added – “It’s a dream winning this event! I’ve played tournaments for years but this is my biggest score. I made many mistakes so I’m lucky. Coming into heads up against King Lun, you don’t expect to win.”

A prize pool of TWD 15,219,300 was created with a buy-in of TWD 33,00 (523 entries). It was the largest prize pool ever seen in Taiwan. 76 entries had registered on Day 1A and Day 1B saw 127 more join the action. The numbers were the highest on Day 1C when 246 runners entered the field. The 449-strong field saw only 246 (Day 1A- 34, Day 1B- 64, Day 1C- 147) advance further.

Day 2 saw another 74 entries in the last hour, taking the field size to 523 entries. The field shortened to 92 players, finding a bag to carry forward to Day 3. The money was reached midway during the day with the top 53 players assured to take home at least TWD 63,500 (₹1,46,509).

Pros At APT

These were the few out of the many notable pros who made it in the money - APT title holders Park Yu ‘Sparrow’ Cheung (11th for TWD 227,600), Lim Yohwan (17th for TWD 158,100), Soo Jo Kim (26th for TWD 109,800),and Day 2 chip leader Chung King Fai ‘Keanu’ (18th for TWD 158,100).

Day 3 ended with final nine bagging up one last time. James Jagger (2,820,000) from UK was seen leading the nine-handed final table followed by Cliff (2,095,000). The final table was dominated by the pros from Hong Kong with four other players from the country apart from Cliff making it in the last nine, including Alan Lau, Co Chung Chuen, Lo Hung Leuk and Kwok Chun Kong, while Wang Wei Han was the lone Taiwanese in contention.

Final Table Chip Counts

1. James Jagger – 2,820,000
2. Chow Cliff – 2,095,000
3. Cho Chung Chuen – 2,095,000
4. Wan Wei Han – 1,315,000
5. Lo Hung Leuk Matthaus – 1,155,000
6. Li Min Jie – 1,110,000
7. Kwon Chung Kong – 940,000
8. Alan King Lun Lau – 870,000
9. Jeonggyu Cho – 700,000

Final Table Recap

James Jagger, the initial chip leader, made a rough exit and scored 9th place after his ace-deuce was run down by Cliff’s pocket kings.

Cliff then busted Wan Wei in 8th place with his ace-king, crushing Han’s ace-eight.

The next to be eliminated was Kwon Chung Kong once he ran his jack-ten into Co Chung Cheun’s pocket sevens.

Lau took down Li Min Jie in 6th place with his pocket nines winning the flip against Jie’s ace-queen.

Cliff sent home 3 players one after the other, namely Lo hung Leuk, Jeonggyu Cho and Co Chung Cheun, taking 5th to 3rd places respectively.

Cliff then came up against the formidable Alan King Lun Lau in heads-up play. Cliff was a little short-stacked and struck an ICM deal according to which Lau claimed a larger share of the payout. With the revised payouts agreed upon, the fight for the title resumed.

Cliff clinched a huge double up to turn the game in his favour. On the final hand, Cliff and Lau were all-in for the fourth time in the heads-up clash. Lau was leading with Ace of Clubs and 8 of Hearts against Cliff’s Ace of Diamonds and 5 of Spades but Lau clipped a pair on the flop - 5 of Diamonds, 10 of Spades and Queen of Diamonds. The 9 of Spades and 4 of Spades runout missed both players and in an instant Cliff was declared as the winner of the first-ever APT in Taiwan!

Final Table Results (TWD)

1. Chow Cliff – TWD 2,443,800*
2. Alan King Lun Lau – TWD 2,800,000*
3. Co Chung Chuen – TWD 1,458,200
4. Jeonggyu Cho – TWD 1,053,200
5. Lo Hung Leuk – TWD 787,600
6. Li Min Jie – TWD 607,900
7. Kwok Chun Kong – TWD 482,700
8. Wang Wei Han – TWD 393,300
9. James Jagger – TWD 327,800

*denotes heads-up deal

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