The 2024 Asian Poker Tour (APT) Taipei Poker Classic has made history in Asian poker with the main event drawing in a record turnout. Chi Wei Fan, Peter Kiem, and Yita Choong emerged victorious in the Superstar Challenge, High Roller – Double Stack, and the third Single Day High Roller, respectively. Here is a recap of the side events as well as the Main Event.
2024 APT Taipei Poker Classic Main Event Creates NTD 86 Million (~$2.7 Million)
The 2024 Asian Poker Tour Taipei TWD 50,000 Main Event attracted 1,991 entries, building a gigantic prize pool of NTD 86,011,200 ($2,722,735). The top 295 finishers are guaranteed a share of the staggering seven-figure prize pool, with the champion set to collect NTD 14,413,200 ($452,000).
Day 3 of the Main Event has come to a close at the CTP Asia Poker Arena. The money bubble burst with the elimination of Kelvin Lee. Among the four Indians who made it to Day 3 of the event, Natural8 India Director and Ambassador Kunal Patni was the first player to finish in the money, exiting in 264th place for TWD 77,000). He was followed by fellow Indians Saransh Garg (190th for TWD 90,000), and Raju Jaruplavath (100th for TWD 100,000). Somasekhar Sanampuri started the day with the shortest stack (5 BB) among the Indians and failed to gain the momentum, becoming the first player to exit the event empty-handed.
Day 3 of the main event is already in books. Singapore’s Abraham Ceesvin is in pole position with 4,570,000 in chips heading into Day 4 of the APT Main Event, making him a strong contender for the trophy and the TWD 14,413,200 (~$453,430) among the 47 runners. All the remaining players are guaranteed at least TWD 230,000 (~$7,235) but their eyes are all on the coveted top prize and the title.
Notable players still in contention are APT Superstar Challenge 2024 Champion Chih Wei Fan (12th), WSOP bracelet winner Konstantin Held (8th) ,Dominik Nitsche (24th), Dylan Foster (41st) Tsz Him Chan (42nd) and Dhanesh Chainani (15th).
Top 10 Chip Counts After Day 3
| Position | Name | Chips |
| 1 | Abraham Abdulla Ceesvin | 4,570,000 |
| 2 | Ting Yi Tsai | 3,765,000 |
| 3 | Kosuke Miyoshi | 3,425,000 |
| 4 | Keigo Kubo | 3,295,000 |
| 5 | Chi Ho Yeung | 3,190,000 |
| 6 | Ting Hao Wu | 2,965,000 |
| 7 | Nguyen Trung Quan | 2,780,000 |
| 8 | Konstantin Held | 2,715,000 |
| 9 | Hoi Ting Lee | 2,300,000 |
| 10 | Kazumasa Higuma | 2,100,000 |
Chi Wei Fan Wins the 2024 APT Taipei Superstar Challenge
Taiwanese player Chi Wei Fan is now among the prestigious winners of the Asian Poker Tour’s Superstar Challenge. The NTD 800,000 ($25,100) buy-in Superstar Challenge drew 27 entrants, creating a prize pool of NTD 20,454,525 ($647,910). Only the top four players received payouts.
The final four returned for the last day, all vying for the APT Superstar Challenge trophy and the top prize. Fan was the short stack among the final four, while Daniel John Neilson held the chip lead after knocking out defending champion Josh McCully on the money bubble.
Despite being the short stack, Fan doubled up and advanced to a heads-up battle against Neilson. In the heads-up match, Neilson initially held a small chip lead, but Fan quickly turned the tables after cracking Neilson’s pocket aces with his Qh-6c, leaving Neilson with just 11 big blinds.
The final hand saw Neilson put his remaining stack in the middle, with 10d-5c against Fan’s 10c-8c. The board ran out Jh-4h-9s-8s-8h, giving Fan trip eights and ending Neilson’s deep run in second place.
Final Table Standings
| Rank | Player | Prize (NTD) |
| 1st | Chih Wei Fan | 8,590,525 |
| 2nd | Daniel John Neilson | 5,727,000 |
| 3rd | Stephen Kyung Hyun Song | 3,682,000 |
| 4th | Charles Waymel | 2,455,000 |
Peter Kiem Achieves Victory in the 2024 APT Taipei High Roller – Double Stack
The 2024 APT Taipei Poker Classic NTD 60,000 ($1,880) buy-in High Roller – Double Stack attracted 182 players to the CTP Asia Poker Arena, generating a prize pool of NTD 9,434,880 ($298,660), which was shared among the top 27 finishers.
Sixty-three players returned for the final day, with former APT Main Event champion and bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer leading the chip count. While Iyer held the lead for most of the day, US poker pro-Peter Kiem climbed the chip ladder and eventually defeated Iyer in the heads-up battle. Kiem took home NTD 2,089,880 ($66,150), while Iyer settled for NTD 1,411,000 ($43,741).
Final Table Standings
| Rank | Player | Prize (NTD) |
| 1st | Peter Kiem | 2,089,880 |
| 2nd | Abhinav Iyer | 1,411,000 |
| 3rd | Tomoki Terashima | 971,000 |
| 4th | Dylan Wayne Foster | 792,000 |
| 5th | Yuu Xin Liu | 631,000 |
| 6th | Ka Chun Tsui | 485,000 |
| 7th | Grant Wang | 353,000 |
| 8th | Chia Yun Wu | 256,000 |
| 9th | Abraham Abdulla Ceesvin | 211,000 |
Yita Choong Claims First APT Trophy in the Single-Day High Roller
The high roller events at APT always attract attention, and the 2024 APT Taipei Poker Classic Single Day High Rollers were no exception. The third NTD 100,000 ($3,130) buy-in Single Day High Roller event drew 85 entrants, creating a total prize pool of NTD 7,344,000 ($232,470), with payouts to the top 11 players.
After twelve hours of intense poker play, the final table was formed with players from seven different countries. Australia’s Yita Choong emerged victorious, claiming his first Asian Poker Tour (APT) trophy and NTD 2,019,000 (~$63,742), adding to his $2.3 million in career earnings. Choong, who already holds multiple U Series of Poker and Australian Poker Tour titles, was thrilled to add another prestigious trophy to his collection.
Standings
| Rank | Player | Prize (NTD) |
| 1st | Yita Choong | 2,019,000 |
| 2nd | Tanupat Punjarojanakul | 1,436,000 |
| 3rd | Phachara Wongwichit | 940,000 |
| 4th | Jason Park Lun Wong | 723,000 |
| 5th | Yu Chung Chang | 573,000 |
| 6th | Ka Shing Leung | 448,000 |
| 7th | Yuji Yaginuma | 353,000 |
| 8th | Asa Gregory Smith | 275,000 |
| 9th | Thanisorn Saelor | 209,000 |
Keep following PokerProNews for the latest updates from the ongoing APT Taipei Series.
Image Credit: Asian Poker Tour
