After four thrilling days of action-packed poker, the APT Taipei Poker Classic Main Event–the largest international poker tournament ever to play out in Taiwan with 1,991 total entries–has been reduced to the the final nine players.
With a sizable TWD 86,011,200 (~USD 2,724,460) in the purse, these nine finalists are playing for a share of the biggest prize pool the APT has ever awarded in Taiwan.
All nine are already guaranteed a payday of TWD 1,087,000 (~USD 34,235), with the eventual winner entering the APT history books and walking away with the largest first place prize ever awarded at a Taiwanese poker tournament – a hefty TWD 14,413,200 (~USD 453,960) winners purse, plus the award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy and all the accolades that go with it.
To see how we got to this point, you can check out the coverage on the APT Blog.
You can also view all the action as it played out via the live stream on the official APT YouTube channel.
The stage is set, the curtains are raised, all that remains is to introduce the players, so let us take a look at the lucky few and examine the poker credentials of our potential future champions-in-waiting:
| Seat | Name | Country | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Junichi Hashimoto | Japan | 5,000,000 | 25 |
| 2 | Man Lok Chan | Macau | 8,800,000 | 44 |
| 3 | Jae Wook Shin | South Korea | 8,325,000 | 42 |
| 4 | Chih Wei Fan | Taiwan | 8,500,000 | 43 |
| 5 | Dhanesh Chainani | Singapore | 18,300,000 | 92 |
| 6 | Sio Fat Lau | Macau | 7,925,000 | 40 |
| 7 | Abraham Ceesvin | Singapore | 13,750,000 | 69 |
| 8 | Andy Chen | Canada | 3,650,000 | 18 |
| 9 | Rene Von Reden | Germany | 4,050,000 | 20 |
Junichi Hashimoto
Seat 1: Starting on the dealer’s left is Junichi Hashimoto who is hunting his second APT title and the Japanese player boasts USD 9,500 in live tournament cashes. With some wiggle room at the final table, Hashimoto’s solid play throughout the tournament sees him positioned as one of the middle stacks with 25 big blinds. Can he navigate a potentially tough seat draw and avoid clashing with the bigger stacks at the final table? Hashimoto will have to rely on his play once again to climb the pay jumps at a tricky final table, but is already guaranteed a career-best score.
Man Lok Chan
Seat 2: Boasting two prior APT final table appearances both coming at the APT Jeju 2024, Macau's Man Lok Chan is hunting both his maiden live tournament title, and APT title. APT Jeju is also where Chan claimed his career best score in the KRW 3.5M Event #46 Single Day High Roller, which was good for USD 35,770. With 44 big blinds, Chan has a decent chance of improving on this, only needing to finish in eighth place or better.
Jae Wook Shin
Seat 3: Jae Wook Shin is no stranger to tournament play with over USD 700,000 in live tournament cashes. The South Korean supremo has multiple first place and final table finishes to his name and is well-traveled on the global poker circuit. He is without a doubt one of the most experienced at the final table and odds on to make a run at the podium. The challenge for Shin comes in the seat draw; being behind two of the most fearsome players on the table. Only a third-place finish or above will see Shin set a new personal best.
Chih Wei Fan
Seat 4: Local Chih Wei Fan has becoming somewhat of a Taiwanese poker legend since his APT Taipei 2023 Main Event final table appearance after playing an epic hand against Natural8 Ambassador Punnat Punsri. Fan cemented his star status after taking down the Superstar Challenge earlier this festival for a career-best score and is once again hunting glory in an APT Main Event.
Dhanesh Chainani
Seat 5: Dhanesh Chainani is one of the more experienced players in the final nine, boasting 22 APT final table appearances, two APT titles and over USD 600,000 in live tournament winnings on his resume. The Singaporean is on the hunt for his first major tournament title and will be returning in pole position in the chip counts with 92 big blinds. Only a fifth place finish or better will see the Chainani earn a career-best score.
Sio Fat Lau
Seat 6: Macau’s Sio Fat Lau is surprisingly not the only member of the final table to come from the Las Vegas of the East. Lau is in a similar position to his compatriot at the final table, with a middle stack and plenty of chips to play. Having said that, Lau will have the best seat at the table, the one to the left of chip leader Chainani, putting him in the best position of the middle stacks to make a run at the pole positions. This is Lau's maiden APT final table, and the Macanese player is already guaranteed the biggest result of his poker career to date.
Abraham Ceesvin
Seat 7: The second of two Singaporeans at the final table, Abraham Ceesvin boasts close to USD 260,000 in live tournament cashes, with his best result coming back at the APT Incheon 2023 where he finished fourth in the Superstar Challenge for a USD 67,920 payday. Three of Ceesvin's four career titles have come in APT events, and just like compatriot Chainani he is looking for his first major title. A sixth place finish or above will see Ceesvin claim a career-best score.
Andy Chen
Seat 8: Andy Chen from Canada finds the odds stacked against him and is coming in as the shortest stack with 18 big blinds. Regardless of the outcome tomorrow, Chen will leave with the highest cash of his career. On his way to the final table, Chen famously cracked fellow final table hopeful Dylan Foster’s aces with suited queen-tens. Can Chen find similar run good tomorrow as he attempts his David vs Goliath final table run?
René von Reden
Seat 9: René von Reden’s run to the final table was not an easy one. Multiple all-ins for his tournament life and winning pots just to stay on edge of survival has culminated in the German having the second shortest stack, valued at 20 big blinds. Similar to Chen, Von Reden will walk away from the Main Event significantly boosting his live tournament earnings and his first tournament cash on Asian soil is already guaranteed to be the biggest of his poker career.