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THE ASIAN POKER TOUR.COM: Race to the championship

Race to the championship, Final 8 battle today! Kang and Pham win trophies

Get ready for an exciting day of poker with the Final 8 players of the APT Main Event ready to battle it out for the year’s first APT championship title. Up for grabs is the US$38,020 first place purse, the APT championship trophy, and the APT Championship Ring.

APT Kick Off 2017 Main Event Final 8

Here’s a look at the Final 8 players:

Filipino pro Czardy Rivera won the APT Asian Poker Series Manila back in October 2013. He came close to a second title in April 2016 finishing 5th at the APT Philippines I. At the ongoing APT Main Event, he entered Day 3 as the chip leader and held on to come in today as the top dog with 1,276,000 in chips.

Having a fantastic run in Day 3 was Japan’s Takumi Samejima, a newbie to the APT Main Event final table. He rose from a below average stack to join Rivera as the only other player to cross the seven-digit mark. He enters the day with 1,193,000 in chips.

Running third in chips is Germany’s Karl Peter Charly Wittmann with 749,000 in chips. Wittmann eliminated two players in Day 3 to keep his stack in top form. Wittmann has been hunting for his first APT trophy having come close multiple times at several side events. This is his first Final 8 appearance.

Japan’s GACKT is another neophyte at the Final 8. He finished Day 1A as the chip leader and consistently remained at the upper tier of the chip rung. He finished Day 2 second only to Rivera and comes in today running fourth in chips with 721,000.

The fifth position goes to UK pro Samad Razavi, the most highly decorated poker player at the Final 8. He was the APT RPOY 2016 International bracket winner and the quadruple APT POY champion years 2012-2015. Razavi is the only player at the Final 8 to have two APT Main Event titles, the APT India 2012 and APT Poker Cruise last year. He also has numerous APT side event titles throughout his career. Razavi comes in with 385,000 in chips.

Japan’s Yoichi Uesugi is no stranger to the Main Event final table. He had a few previous deep runs, finishing 4th at the APT Daegu and 6th on the other two occasions. He enters today with 211,000 in chips. In addition to a Final 8 berth, he has already cashed in two side events.

Filipino player Alexis Lim is also a previous APT Main Event champion winning the APT Manila 2016 back in October. He comes in with 130,000 in chips; and bringing up the rear is Singapore’s Phua Si Yang with 126,000 in chips. This is Phua’s first APT Final 8 appearance.

The Asian Poker Tour is on its penultimate day of the APT Kickoff 2017 at Resorts World Manila with the past four days witnessing heated action at the APT Main Event. There were 96 entries for a prize pool of US$139,680.

The Main Event Final 8 will be live streaming in the Live Updates page.

Main Event stories:

GACKT rules Day 1A
Benjamin Gonzva tops Main Event Day 1B
Czardy Rivera emerges as the leader in Main Event Day 2
Czardy Rivera on top of Main Event Day 3, leads Final 8

Side Events Today

Running alongside the APT Main Event are three side events.

1pm – No Limit Hold’em 2 – Buy-in is US$440
3pm – High Rollers – Buy-in is US$2,150 (this is a scheduled two-day event)
5pm – Super Deep Stack Turbo – Buy-in is US$220

William Kang wins the No Limit Hold’em 1

No Limit Hold’em 1 Champion, William Kang

The No Limit Hold’em 1 event resumed today with the final 5 players out of the 49 total entries back at the felt. With everyone now guaranteed a payout, it was a race to the trophy. Finishing on top was William Kang defeating Ko Isayama at the heads up round. Kang earned the US$5,700 first place purse and the event trophy.

Payouts
1st William Kang – UK – US$5,700
2nd Ko Isayama – Japan – US$3,570
3rd Hesham Bucheery – Bahrain- US$2,140
4th Kevin Steele – USA – US$1,570
5th Jin Yong – Malaysia – US$1,280

Tien Quyet Pham wins the Deep Stack Turbo

Deep Stack Turbo Champion, Tien Pham

The Deep Stack Turbo attracted a field of 97 entries for a total prize pool of US$9,410. Coming out on top was Tien Quyet Pham who denied Karl Peter Wittmann’s quest for his first ever APT trophy. Pham earned US$2,250 and the event trophy. Also making it in the money was Hesham Bucheery, finishing 3rd for the third time in his three Final 8 side event appearances at the festival. Another familiar Deep Stack Turbo player was Frenchman Frederic Fauchereau who seems to have a formula for running deep at these events. He finished in 6th place.

Payouts
1st Tien Quyet Pham – Vietnam – US$2,250 (deal made)
2nd Karl Peter Wittmann – Germany – US$1,870 (deal made)
3rd Hesham Bucheery – Bahrain – US$1,130
4th Francis Villamar – Philippines – US$870
5th Hii Wang Kiong – Malaysia – US$750
6th Frederic Fauchereau – France – US$640
7th Alex Torrefranca – Philippines – US$560
8th Yukihiro Kuroda – Japan – US$490
9th Hung Chang Lin – China – US$440
10th Edwin Nava – Philippines – US$410

APT Player of the Series Update

The APT Player of the Series race has been seeing plenty of mobility. Here are the current top five leaders after 10 side events. The top three players at the end of the festival will win exclusive APT POS prizes.

1. Lester Edoc (Philippines) - 226.80
2. Hesham Bucheery (Bahrain) – 198.33
3. Julius Aldave (Philippines) – 194.51
4. John Tech (Philippines) – 153.60
5. George Taylor (Jamaica) – 148.66

Links to Side Event winners:

John Tech wins NLH Welcome Event
Byun Choul Seung wins Ante Up for Charity
Lester Edoc claims the Main Event Warm-Up
Hung Sheng Lin wins the Head Hunter Event
Kai Paulsen wins the OFC Pineapple Progressive (new event)
Wang Ping Yuan wins NLH 1 Day event
Jan Bolotaolo wins the MSW event
Lester Edoc wins second trophy at the WLS event

You can watch the Final 8 action of selected side events in the APT Twitch channel.

Daily highlights of the ongoing festival are also available for your viewing enjoyment at the APT YouTube channel.

For the full schedule, head to the APT Kickoff 2017 event page.

Source: theasianpokertour.com/news/

by SaiKaiAngel