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The APT Taipei 2023 drew to a close on May 7, making history as the most groundbreaking series in APT’s chronicles. Over ten days, the 41-event series had 1,989 unique players from 42 nations competing for a share of a whopping TWD $225,123,032 in prize money.
The TWD $30 Million GTD APT Main Event, which constituted 27% of the total prize pool, witnessed 881 players from 37 countries vying for a share of the record-shattering TWD $62,594,100 prize pool. Punnat Punsri from Thailand emerged victorious, seizing the 24K golden lion trophy and TWD $11,210,400 in first-place prize money – banking the biggest paycheque awarded in a poker tournament in Taiwan.
PokerGuru anchor Saumya Paithankar, who was at the venue covering the event, caught up with Michael Soyza, a partner at APT Events Private Limited. Talking about the success of the series, Soyza said, “We weren’t expecting the series to be this successful, which is very good, barring some logistical issues. But it’s a good problem to have. We are very happy with how it turned out.”
While Thailand claimed the two most prestigious titles, locals made the biggest dent, lifting ten APT trophies, followed closely by South Korea and Hong Kong, each securing six.
In comparison to their performances at the previous two APT stops this year, Team India displayed a more modest performance due to the smaller group of players who attended the series. They achieved 16 scores, including five final table finishes, but unfortunately, no New Era APT trophy.
India’s first solo WSOP bracelet winner, Abhinav Iyer, claimed the team’s single-biggest score of TWD $1,755,700 with a third-place finish in the TWD $5 Million GTD APT Super High Roller. Zarvan Tumboli was the most consistent scorer, with three deep runs totaling TWD $940,100.
APT Taipei 2023 Winners
Player Event Prize Amount (TWD)
Punnat Punsri Event #16: APT Main Event - TWD 30,000,000 GTD 1,12,10,400
Phachara Wongwichit Event #43: APT High Roller - 8 Max - TWD 4,500,000 GTD 48,00,900
Sam Fung Lam Event #7: APT Super High Roller - 8 Max - TWD 5,000,000 GTD 39,97,400
Sung Joo Hyun Event #29: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max 37,12,600
John Tech Event #18: Superstar Challenge 34,34,700
Yu-Chung Chang Event #33: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max 19,67,880
Sangbeom Lim Event #38: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max 19,10,860
Phachara Wongwichit Event #24: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max 18,60,410
Daewoong Song Event #11: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max 18,35,480
Seungyeol Kim Event #47: NL - Hold'em - 8 Max 15,60,750
Younghee Park Event #34: Zodiac Classic - TWD 3,000,000 GTD - Sponsored by Natural8 13,07,760
Chia Yun Wu Event #2: APT Kickoff – TWD 2,000,000 GTD 12,54,100
Kiwanont Sukhum Event #6: Mystery Bounty Hunter - TWD 3,000,000 GTD - Sponsored by Natural8 11,73,100
Ho Yi Chau Event #37: Double Stack - TWD 2,000,000 GTD 9,91,350
Liam Jehu Event #42: Mini Main Event - TWD ,500,000 GTD 8,31,060
Ryuichiro Yamakawa Event #10: Sunday Super Stack 7,89,040
Ben Loo Event #25: Freezeout 7,86,675
Lap Wai Hung Event #28: Turbo - 8 Max 5,83,095
Napat Chokejindachai Event #41: Turbo - 8 Max 5,48,655
Toshio Kataoka Event #45: Turbo - 8 Max 5,35,675
Patrick Liang Event #32: Turbo - 8 Max 4,80,635
Charles Ying Wai Wong Event #19: NL - Hold'em - Single Re-Entry 3,82,410
Leo Kamiya Event #17: Pot Limit Omaha High - Single Re-Entry 3,64,425
Tien Loon Ling Event #49: Hyper Turbo - 8 Max 3,51,475
Hyun Do Jung Event #22: Turbo - 8 Max 3,41,590
Ming Sang Chung Event #15: NLH - Short Deck - Turbo - 6 Max 2,66,730
Hiroki Kato Event #36: Turbo - 8 Max 2,48,175
Adrian Chiew Event #9: Pot Limit Omaha High - Turbo - 8 Max 2,31,705
Yah Loon Lim Event #5: Omaholic (PLO Preflop / NLO Postflop) - Turbo - Sponsored by Natural8 2,27,910
Chi-Ming Yang Event #14: NLH - Win the Button - Turbo 2,20,735
Yu Lin Wang Event #8: Turbo 1,92,020
Nicholas Zi Min Heng Event #27: NLH - Super Hold'em (3 Hole Cards) - Turbo 1,74,865
Cun Wu Hong Event #31: Pot Limit Omaha High - Turbo - 8 Max 1,56,210
Ian Lam Event #48: Hyper Turbo 1,53,885
Meng Ling Lin Event #30: Women's Event 1,49,595
Yuan Hao Chang Event #40: Turbo 1,20,120
William Wai Lun Lam Event #3: Turbo 1,14,600
Lok Ming Chan Event #21: NLH / PLO - Turbo - 8 Max 1,13,830
Heng Zhe Hu Event #35: NLH - Crazy Pineapple - Turbo 1,13,435
Yun-Lin Li Event #46: Micro Main Event 1,00,486
Kuan Sheng Wu Event #12: NL - Hold'em 92,746
Records Set & Broken
Right from Day 1, the APT Taipei 2023 was shattering records left, right, and center.
Some of the most notable records surpassed during the series include:
Team India’s Run at APT Taipei 2023
Though Team India’s performance was relatively muted compared to the previous two APT stops this year, with 16 deep runs, including five FT finishes, their efforts were still noteworthy.
WSOP bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer secured the largest single score among the Indian participants with his third-place finish in the TWD $5 Million GTD APT Super High Roller, earning TWD $1,755,700. Coupled with his 106th place finish in the TWD $30 Million GTD APT Main Event, where he won TWD $110,800, Iyer’s total winnings amounted to TWD $1,866,500.
Spartan Poker Team Pro Zarvan Tumboli not only made the most in-the-money finishes from the team at three but also FT-ed Event #43: APT High Roller on the final day. Tumboli secured seventh place, taking home TWD $904,300. This marked Tumboli’s third cash of the series and his first final table appearance, bringing his festival earnings to TWD $940,100.
Although India did not secure a New Era APT trophy, their five title pursuits were praiseworthy. Gamezy Poker Pro Nishant Sharma nearly etched his name in history by becoming the first Indian to win an APT New Era trophy. However, he finished five positions shy of the top spot in the record-breaking TWD $2 Million GTD APT Kickoff, earning TWD $245,000 in sixth place.
Team India’s Scores at APT Taipei 2023
Rank Player Event Prize Amount
3rd Abhinav Iyer TWD $5 Million GTD APT Super High Roller TWD $1,755,700
7th Zarvan Tumboli Event #43: APT High Roller TWD $904,300
15th Ankit Ahuja TWD $5 Million GTD APT Super High Roller TWD $262,200
6th Nishant Sharma TWD $2 Million GTD APT Kickoff TWD $245,000
9th Zasven Saigal TWD $50K Event #47: NL – Hold’em – 8 Max TWD $156,100
62nd Nishant Sharma TWD $50K APT Taipei Main Event TWD $148,400
106th Abhinav Iyer TWD $50K APT Taipei Main Event TWD $110,000
20th Kartik Ved Event #38: Single Day High Roller – 8 Max TWD $106,700
7th Raja Sekhar Puttamsetty Event #32: NLHE Turbo – 8 Max TWD $83,900
11th Kartik Ved TWD $3 Million Mystery Bounty Hunter TWD $78,600
22nd J Raju TWD $3 Million GTD Event #34: Zodiac Classic TWD $60,000
18th J Raju TWD $2 Million GTD APT Kickoff TWD $49,100
19th Jasven Saigal TWD $15K Event #28: Turbo – 8 Max TWD $31,600
45th Zarvan Tumboli TWD $2 Million GTD APT Kickoff TWD $23,900
76th Deepak Bothra TWD $3 Million Mystery Bounty Hunter TWD $18,100
14th Zarvan Tumboli TWD $5K Event #27: NLH – Super Hold’em (3 Hole Cards) – Turbo TWD $11,900
APT Taipei 2023 proved to be a monumental event that surpassed expectations and broke multiple records. Players from around the globe showcased their skills, contributing to an unforgettable ten-day poker extravaganza.
As the curtains closed on this groundbreaking series, players eagerly await the next APT stop, the APT Summer Series Hanoi, which will run from May 26 to June 4 at the Grand Loyal Poker Club in Vietnam.