With 2024 just around the corner, Taiwan is putting up a challenge as the top destination for Asian poker. Situated amidst countries that breed top players it is an easy yes for live tournament players.
To kick off the New Year, the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP Club) is set to host a month-long event in Taipei City dubbed, Asia Poker Carnival, which features back-to-back events by three major brands and a combined prize pool guarantee of over NTD 60 Million, approximately 2 million USD.
The festivities get underway on 5 January and will run through 5 February, 2024. All the action takes place at the Asia Poker Arena, the largest brick and mortar poker room in the region.
Here’s what to expect from the upcoming APC in 2024.
U Series of Poker: January 5 – 15
First up on the roster is the U Series of Poker Taiwan which runs from 5 to 15 January 2024. The festival features a guaranteed prize pool of NTD 40,000,000 (~$1.28 Million).
For a buy-in of NTD 33,000 (~USD 1,054), players stand a chance at winning a piece of the NTD 15,000,000 (~USD 479,200) guaranteed Main Event prize pool.
Last season saw Filipino player Edwin dela Cruz crowned as the first-ever live USOP Main Event champion.
The best part about USOP Taiwan is that it caters to players of every level from your weekend warriors to serious high rollers. The 11-day event will see a jampacked schedule of 45 trophy events and 24 satellite tournaments.
Japan High Roller Festival: 16 to 23 January
Following USOP is the Japan High Roller Festival, with a Main Event buy-in of NTD 100,000 (~USD 3,200). The festival runs from 16 to 23 January 2024. Not much info has been released however players can start purchasing packages.
The Main Event will be closely watched as the organizers attempt to set a new record.
The JHR has previously hosted one full blown festival in Taiwan held back in March 2019. The 19-game lineup saw local pro En Ching “Jack” Wu claim the Main Event. In January 2023, JHR teamed up with CTP to form a festival called the CTP Championship Series X Japan High Roller. 15 out of the 32-game lineup were JHR tournaments.
Taiwan Millions Season 15: 19 January to 5 February
Perhaps the most anticipated event of the first quarter’s awaited Asia Poker Carnival is the Taiwan Millions Tournament. Since its inception, it has ballooned in size and in prizes. Now in its 15th iteration, the homegrown TMT features a guarantee of NT$ 20,000,000 (~USD 638,950) which should be easily breached given that the previous season paid out over NTD 58.5 Million (~USD 1.849 Million).
The Main Event will be closely watched as the organizers attempt to set a new record. At the previous edition, TMT 14 Main Event drew a towering 3,485 field for a stunning prize pool of NTD 22.8+ Million, roughly USD 728K. This was an incredible boost from its inaugural launch of just 420 entries. Local pro Chiayun Wu shipped it for a massive NTD 3.6 Million (~USD 114,900).
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