The Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association wrapped up its 2021 calendar season with a record smashing 6th Anniversary Series. Taking place from December 1 to 12, locals and a handful of foreigners from all over Taiwan converged at the main CTP Poker Club in Taipei to amass a grand prize pool of NT$ 17,696,700 (~US$ 636,332) across 23 events. Out of the 6,728 total entries, the bulk of it was seen at the Taiwan Alliance Special Event opener which pulled in a record breaking 3,416 entries. Among the biggest winners were Main Event champion Yu Liu, Super High Roller champion Zhe Ming Lee, two time series winner Shih Kai Chiu, and event opener champion Yi Hsian Chen. Well known local pro Chi Jen Chen was hailed Player of the Series. Here are all the winners and event highlights.
Festival scores and achievements
Event 1 to 11 prize pool: NT$ 16,635,100 (~US$ 598,159)
Daily Deep Stacks 1 to 12 prize pool: NT$ 1,061,600 (~US$ 38,173)
Total entries: 6,728
Record field: Taiwan Alliance Special Event – 3,416 entries
Biggest pot: Main Event – NT$ 6,312,000 (~US$ 226,965)
Main Event winner: Yu Liu
Two time winner: Shih Kai Chiu
Two time Daily Deep Stack winner: Chin Te Lai
Event #1: Taiwan Alliance Special Event – YI HSIAN CHEN – NT$ 632,600 (~US$ 22,747)
Kicking off the action was Event #1: Taiwan Alliance Special Event opener with eight starting flights offered across the festival’s first four days. With the continued growth of CTP Club members through the years, the goal was to breach 3000 entries for a new Taiwan record field. At the end of registration, it did more than meet that goal with 3,416 in participation for a prize pool of NT$ 4,099,200 (~US$ 147,398). Navigating through the masses was player Yi Hsian Chen who turned his NT$ 1,500 (~US$ 54) buy-in into a personal high tournament payout of NT$ 632,600 (~US$ 22,747).
Date: December 1 to 5
Buy in: NT$ 1,500 (~US$ 54)
Guarantee: NT$ 1,000,000 (~US$ 35,957)
Entries: 3,416
Prize pool: NT$ 4,099,200 (~US$ 147,398)
ITM: 325 places
Final table payouts
1st Yi Hsian Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 632,600
2nd Kuei Lin Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 447,500
3rd Kai Fong Hsuei – Taiwan – NT$ 293,300
4th Hui En Chou – Taiwan – NT$ 215,700
5th Hui Liang Kuo – Taiwan – NT$ 159,000
6th Cheng En Ho – Taiwan – NT$ 129,200
7th Syuanyi Jhuo -Taiwan – NT$ 99,500
8th Kangtai Pang – Taiwan – NT$ 81,000
9th Chian Chiu – Taiwan – NT$ 63,300
YU LIU wins the Main Event for NT$ 1,020,000 (~US$ 36,677)
Headlining the series was the Main Event with a hefty 1,578 showing up across four starting days. With buy in at NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 180) each, it more than doubled the NT$ 3 Million guarantee for a sweeter prize pool of NT$ 6,312,000 (~US$ 226,965). Out of the 189 players that earned a cut, it was Yu Liu earning all the glory as he pocketed the largest series payout of NT$ 1,020,000 (~US$ 36,677). This was Liu’s second known victory; two years prior he won the CTP Championship Series Kick Off event.
Date: December 9 to 12
Buy in: NT$ 5,000 (~US$ 180)
Guarantee: NT$ 3,000,000 (~US$ 107,873)
Entries: 1,578
Prize pool: NT$ 6,312,000 (~US$ 226,965)
ITM: 189 places
Final table payouts
1st Yu Liu – Taiwan – NT$ 1,020,000
2nd Cheng Hung Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 720,000
3rd Ting Wei Liu – Taiwan – NT$ 470,000
4th Cheng Shuo Mai – Taiwan – NT$ 350,000
5th Zhihao Huang – Taiwan – NT$ 262,000
6th Jia Chi Lee – Taiwan – NT$ 211,200
7th Shen Sun Chou – Taiwan – NT$ 172,000
8th Deng Kai Deng – Taiwan – NT$ 135,000
9th Yishun Lee – Taiwan – NT$ 102,000
Player of the Series – CHI JEN CHEN
One of the most coveted honors was the Player of the Series title awarded to the player with the most points at the completion of the festival. Local pro Chi Jen Chen topped the tally with his six cashes. For his achievement, Chen was awarded a NT$ 15,000 Taiwan Millions Tournament Package. Here’s a look at his festival runs:
72nd – Event #1 Taiwan Alliance Special Event
6th – Event #3 High Roller Single Day Event
2nd – Super High Roller Single Day Event
4th – Daily Deep Stack #1
1st – Daily Deep Stack #10
5th – Daily Deep Stack #11
Festival POS winners:
1st Chi Jen Chen – NT$ 15,000 Taiwan Millions Tournament Package
2nd Tsung En Yeh – NT$ 8,000 Taiwan Millions Tournament Package
3rd Kai Fong Hsuei – NT$ 5,000 Taiwan Millions Tournament Package
Event #4: GIANT Stack Event – CHAO MIN FAN – NT$ 221,400 (~US$ 7,960)
The NT$ 3,500 (~US$ 126) buy-in GIANT Stack event was another crusher that turned its NT$ 300K guarantee into a much juicier NT$ 952,000 (~US$ 34,232) prize pool. After three days of play, Chao Min Fan outlasted the 340 entry field. He banked the NT$ 221,400 (~US$ 7,960) first prize and a trophy to begin his collection.
Date: December 6 to 8
Buy in: NT$ 3,500 (~US$ 126)
Guarantee: NT$ 300,000 (~US$ 10,787)
Entries: 340
Prize pool: NT$ 952,000 (~US$ 34,232)
ITM: 41 places
Final table payouts
1st Chao Min Fan – Taiwan – NT$ 221,400
2nd Jun Zhong Wang – Taiwan – NT$ 140,400
3rd Shan Guang Tsai – Taiwan – NT$ 88,100
4th Tzu Wei Wang – Taiwan – NT$ 69,000
5th Chin Wei Chien – Taiwan – NT$ 50,000
6th Jenli Liu – Taiwan – NT$ 40,500
7th Ker Paw Lin – Taiwan – NT$ 31,900
8th Po Cheng Yang – Taiwan – NT$ 27,100
9th Chang Yufan – Taiwan – NT$ 22,400
SHIH KAI CHIU wins both Mega Stack Events
The only player to champion two featured events was Shih Kai Chiu who won both Mega Stack Events. At Event: #2: Mega Stack Event, Chiu topped the 106 entry field and at Event #10: Mega Stack Event, Chiu beat a larger 155 field. For his incredible achievement, Chiu earned a combined NT$ 178,100 (~US$ 6,403). Based on his tracked live scores, these two wins were his biggest yet.
Event: #2: Mega Stack Event
Date: December 5
Buy in: NT$ 3,000 (~US$ 108)
Entries: 106
Prize pool: NT$ 254,400 (~US$ 9,148)
ITM: 12 places
Winner: SHIH KAI CHIU – Taiwan – NT$ 67,400 (~US$ 2,423)
Event #10: Mega Stack Event
Date: December 12
Buy in: NT$ T$ 3,500 (~US$ 126)
Entries: 155
Prize pool: NT$ 434,000 (~US$ 15,605)
ITM: 18 places
Winner: SHIH KAI CHIU – Taiwan – NT$ 110,700 (~US$ 3,980)
Super High Roller Single Day Event: ZHE MING LEE – NT$ 659,600 (~US$ 23,718)
On the final day, 40 entered the Super High Roller Single Day Event with each one coughing up the NT$ T$ 53,000 (~US$ 1,906) buy in. This was the festival’s most expensive tournament which generated a healthy prize pool of NT$ 2,000,000 (~US$ 71,915). Among the 6 players in the money, it was Zhe Ming Lee seizing the win for a handsome NT$ 659,600 (~US$ 23,718) payday. Lee defeated decorated local pro Chi Jen Chen at heads up. This was Lee’s third known live cash which trumped his previous live win of NT$ 305,000. His career earnings were boosted to over US$ 35K.
Date: December 12
Buy in: NT$ T$ 53,000 (~US$ 1,906)
Entries: 40
Prize pool: NT$ 2,000,000 (~US$ 71,915)
ITM: 6 places
Payouts
1st Zhe Ming Lee – Taiwan – NT$ 659,600
2nd Chi Jen Chu – Taiwan – NT$ 455,900
3rd Sin Ren Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 291,000
4th Yi Wei Peng – Taiwan – NT$ 223,100
5th Wei Chen Liu – Taiwan – NT$ 174,600
6th Ping Hsien Chan – Taiwan – NT$ 135,800
Other High Roller Events
Event #3: High Roller Single Day Event
Date: December 5
Buy in: NT$ 22,000 (~US$ 791)
Entries: 59
Prize pool: NT$ 1,180,000 (~US$ 42,430)
ITM: 8 places
Winner: CHIH WEI FAN – Taiwan – NT$ 343,300 (~US$ 12,344)
Event #7: High Roller Single Day Event
Date: December 8
Buy in: NT$ 15,000 (~US$ 540)
Entries: 81
Prize pool: NT$ 1,093,500 (~US$ 39,320)
ITM: 11 places
Winner: TAI WEI TOU – Taiwan – NT$ 291,700 (~US$ 10,485)
2nd Chen An Lin – Taiwan – NT$ 207,300
Other Events
Event #5: Pot Limit Omaha
Date: December 6
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 90)
Entries: 54
Prize pool: NT$ 108,000 (~US$ 3,883)
ITM: 7 places
Winner: TSUNG EN YEH – Taiwan – NT$ 35,600 (~US$ 1,280)
*Also placed 3rd at the next PLO event for NT$ 14,700
Event #6: Pot Limit Omaha
Date: December 7
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 90)
Entries: 49
Prize pool: NT$ 98,000 (~US$ 3,524)
ITM: 6 places
Winner: MIN FENG HUANG – Taiwan – NT$ 35,300 (~US$ 1,269)
Event #8: Freezeout Event
Date: December 8
Buy in: NT$ 2,500 (~US$ 90)
Entries: 52
Prize pool: NT$ 104,000 (~US$ 3,740)
ITM: 7 places
Winner: PHILIP KING CHUNG WANG – Taiwan – NT$ 34,400 (~US$ 1,237)
Daily Deep Stack winners
Whether or not the CTP CLUB is hosting a festival, the Daily Deep Stack is usually the last event offered. The tournament has since been included in every homegrown festival. For this series, Chin Te Lai bagged two out of the 12 games for a combined NT$ 51,100 (~US$ 1,837) payout. Lai was the only player to accomplish this feat.
#1: Chia Lin Huang – Taiwan – NT$ 11,200
#2: Chien An Hou – Taiwan – NT$ 17,300
#3: Kuo Yuan Wei – Taiwan – NT$ 13,800
#4: Chin Te Lai – Taiwan – NT$ 21,600
#5: Chun Wei Wu – Taiwan – NT$ 28,000
#6: Nobu Yuki – Japan – NT$ 34,400
#7: Shih Lei Hsu – Taiwan – NT$ 34,900
#8: Pi Ying Hsu – Taiwan – NT$ 29,000
#9: Kai Fong Hsuei – Taiwan – NT$ 35,400
#10: Chi Jen Chen – Taiwan – NT$ 41,000
#11: Chin Te Lai – Taiwan – NT$ 29,500
#12: Yih Chia Shaw – Taiwan – NT$ 38,000
Up Next at the CTP Poker Club
Following this event, the hustle and bustle continues at the poker room with the Taipei City Poker Open NT$ 1 Million guaranteed running from December 16 to 19. Buy in is NT$ 2,000. After a short break for the holidays, the CTP Club lights up the new year with fireworks, featuring the highly popular Taiwan Millions Tournament. Now into its 11th season, the TMT is the biggest homegrown festival held twice a year. The event is scheduled from January 4 to 24, 2022.
