APT Taipei 2023 Report Card: A Record-Shattering Series Culminates With Team India Making Five FT Finishes

APT Taipei 2023 Report Card
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  • Attreyee Khasnabis May 9, 2023
  • 4 Minutes Read

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.

Punnat Punsri
Punnat Punsri

 

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.”

Michael Soyza
Michael Soyza

 

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

PlayerEventPrize Amount (TWD)
Punnat PunsriEvent #16: APT Main Event - TWD 30,000,000 GTD1,12,10,400
Phachara WongwichitEvent #43: APT High Roller - 8 Max - TWD 4,500,000 GTD48,00,900
Sam Fung LamEvent #7: APT Super High Roller - 8 Max - TWD 5,000,000 GTD39,97,400
Sung Joo HyunEvent #29: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max37,12,600
John TechEvent #18: Superstar Challenge34,34,700
Yu-Chung ChangEvent #33: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max19,67,880
Sangbeom LimEvent #38: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max19,10,860
Phachara WongwichitEvent #24: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max18,60,410
Daewoong SongEvent #11: Single Day High Roller - 8 Max18,35,480
Seungyeol KimEvent #47: NL - Hold'em - 8 Max15,60,750
Younghee ParkEvent #34: Zodiac Classic - TWD 3,000,000 GTD - Sponsored by Natural813,07,760
Chia Yun WuEvent #2: APT Kickoff – TWD 2,000,000 GTD12,54,100
Kiwanont SukhumEvent #6: Mystery Bounty Hunter - TWD 3,000,000 GTD - Sponsored by Natural811,73,100
Ho Yi ChauEvent #37: Double Stack - TWD 2,000,000 GTD9,91,350
Liam JehuEvent #42: Mini Main Event - TWD ,500,000 GTD8,31,060
Ryuichiro YamakawaEvent #10: Sunday Super Stack7,89,040
Ben LooEvent #25: Freezeout7,86,675
Lap Wai HungEvent #28: Turbo - 8 Max5,83,095
Napat ChokejindachaiEvent #41: Turbo - 8 Max5,48,655
Toshio KataokaEvent #45: Turbo - 8 Max5,35,675
Patrick LiangEvent #32: Turbo - 8 Max4,80,635
Charles Ying Wai WongEvent #19: NL - Hold'em - Single Re-Entry3,82,410
Leo KamiyaEvent #17: Pot Limit Omaha High - Single Re-Entry3,64,425
Tien Loon LingEvent #49: Hyper Turbo - 8 Max3,51,475
Hyun Do JungEvent #22: Turbo - 8 Max3,41,590
Ming Sang ChungEvent #15: NLH - Short Deck - Turbo - 6 Max2,66,730
Hiroki KatoEvent #36: Turbo - 8 Max2,48,175
Adrian ChiewEvent #9: Pot Limit Omaha High - Turbo - 8 Max2,31,705
Yah Loon LimEvent #5: Omaholic (PLO Preflop / NLO Postflop) - Turbo - Sponsored by Natural82,27,910
Chi-Ming YangEvent #14: NLH - Win the Button - Turbo2,20,735
Yu Lin WangEvent #8: Turbo1,92,020
Nicholas Zi Min HengEvent #27: NLH - Super Hold'em (3 Hole Cards) - Turbo1,74,865
Cun Wu HongEvent #31: Pot Limit Omaha High - Turbo - 8 Max1,56,210
Ian LamEvent #48: Hyper Turbo1,53,885
Meng Ling LinEvent #30: Women's Event1,49,595
Yuan Hao ChangEvent #40: Turbo1,20,120
William Wai Lun LamEvent #3: Turbo1,14,600
Lok Ming ChanEvent #21: NLH / PLO - Turbo - 8 Max1,13,830
Heng Zhe HuEvent #35: NLH - Crazy Pineapple - Turbo1,13,435
Yun-Lin LiEvent #46: Micro Main Event1,00,486
Kuan Sheng WuEvent #12: NL - Hold'em92,746

 

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:

  • The series-opener, TWD $2 Million GTD APT Kickoff, set a new record for an APT opening event, registering 751 entries (Flight A – 395 & Flight B – 356) and generating a sizable TWD $6,556,300 prize pool.
  • The APT Super High Roller, with a TWD $150,000 buy-in, set three new records: the largest and richest Super High Roller in APT history for total entries, unique entries, and prize pool, amassing TWD $15,888,600.
  • The Mystery Bounty Hunter – sponsored by Natural8 – gathered a 670-strong field (408 unique), setting a new record for the largest APT Mystery Bounty Hunter field in terms of total field size and unique players. The event also set the record for the biggest Mystery Bounty Hunter prize pool, the final figure coming in at an impressive TWD $9,358,560, including TWD $3,216,000 in bounties.
  • The TWD $30 Million GTD APT Main Event more than delivered on the high expectations by setting a new turnout record mid-way through its second starting flight. The TWD $50,000 buy-in tourney drew an unprecedented 1,434 entries, generating a staggering TWD $62,594,100 prize pool, shattering previous APT records and making it the richest Main Event ever hosted in Taiwan.
  • The record-breaking feats extended beyond the Main Event, with the TWD $5K Event #27 NLH – Super Hold’em (3 Hole Cards) – Turbo, TWD $5,000 Event #30 Women’s Event, and TWD $5,000 Event #31 Pot Limit Omaha High – Turbo – 8 Max all drawing massive fields.

 

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.

Abhinav Iyer
Abhinav Iyer

 

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.

Zarvan Tumboli
Zarvan Tumboli

 

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.

Nishant Sharma
Nishant Sharma

 

Team India’s Scores at APT Taipei 2023

RankPlayerEventPrize Amount
3rdAbhinav IyerTWD $5 Million GTD APT Super High RollerTWD $1,755,700
7thZarvan TumboliEvent #43: APT High RollerTWD $904,300
15thAnkit AhujaTWD $5 Million GTD APT Super High RollerTWD $262,200
6thNishant SharmaTWD $2 Million GTD APT KickoffTWD $245,000
9thZasven SaigalTWD $50K Event #47: NL – Hold’em – 8 MaxTWD $156,100
62ndNishant SharmaTWD $50K APT Taipei Main EventTWD $148,400
106thAbhinav IyerTWD $50K APT Taipei Main EventTWD $110,000
20thKartik VedEvent #38: Single Day High Roller – 8 MaxTWD $106,700
7thRaja Sekhar PuttamsettyEvent #32: NLHE Turbo – 8 MaxTWD $83,900
11thKartik VedTWD $3 Million Mystery Bounty HunterTWD $78,600
22ndJ RajuTWD $3 Million GTD Event #34: Zodiac ClassicTWD $60,000
18thJ RajuTWD $2 Million GTD APT KickoffTWD $49,100
19thJasven SaigalTWD $15K Event #28: Turbo – 8 MaxTWD $31,600
45thZarvan TumboliTWD $2 Million GTD APT KickoffTWD $23,900
76thDeepak BothraTWD $3 Million Mystery Bounty HunterTWD $18,100
14thZarvan TumboliTWD $5K Event #27: NLH – Super Hold’em (3 Hole Cards) – TurboTWD $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.

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