Stanley Weng

The TWD 150,000 APT High Roller has been clinched in style by the USA's Stanley Weng after he held the chip lead from start to finish on the final table and banked TWD 5,053,000 (~$160,685) for his victory. Weng bested a field of 160 entries (114 unique) and defeated Hong Kong's Dicky Tsang in a lengthy heads-up duel that lasted forty-eight hands and spanned three levels. Former APT Main Event winner Tsang fought back valiantly from an eight-to-one chip deficit but ultimately had to settle for the runner-up purse of TWD 3,422,000 (~$108,820) — more than doubling his previous career-best score.

A prize pool of TWD 21,728,000 (~$690,940) was generated with the first prize being the biggest ever the APT High Roller has awarded since its inception.

After his win, Weng caught up with APT Host Gregory "Greg Goes All In" Liow who asked how he was feeling after taking down the title.

"Euphoria, man" replied an ecstatic but relieved Weng.

"Thanks to all of my friends who watched - and family. And thanks for supporting me."

"In the heads-up match, I was getting a little worried, all the chips were going back [to Tsang], it was becoming a challenge but besides that, it was pretty good."

This win is the first APT title of Weng's career and his second of the APT Taipei 2024 series after the American player found his way into the money in the Main Event.

This two-day affair started with 160 runners but that was swiftly whittled down to just thirty-five after the first day of play. Some of the names to make Day 2 but fall short of the money were bracelet winner Jin Hoon Lee (35th), Edward Yam (33rd), Anthony Hu (29th), Jun Obara (28th), and John Perry (26th).

The last man to go home empty-handed was Vietnam's Quang Huy Nguyen after his ace-king couldn't win a flip against the pocket eights of Benjamin Jacobs. From that moment on, everybody was guaranteed a payday of TWD 252,000 (~$8,010) but it was that record-setting top prize that everybody had their eyes on.

UK's Jack Salter (21st), Hon Cheong "Ivan" Lee (13th), Yan Shing "Anson" Tsang (12th), and Frankie Cucchiara (10th) all came up short in their effort to make the final table.

Yan Shing "Anson" Tsang

When the final table got underway, the tournament clock was rolled back a couple of levels to ensure a thirty-big-blind average stack was in play from the start. Weng came into the final table holding over a third of the total chips in play with Tsz Him Chan, Martin Sedlak, Quang Thai Ha, and Leo Tang all having a lot of work to do as he short stacks.

Chen An Lin, who sits seventh on Taiwan's All-Time Money List, was the first to be eliminated in gruesome fashion after his pocket aces were cracked by the king-seven of Moonho Seo. The two players were in the blinds and after a king-high flop, all the chips went into the middle on the turn. Unfortunately for Lin, that turn card had given Seo two pair, and with no improvement on the river, Lin was the first one to make his way off the stage and collected TWD 504,000 (~$16,030) for his run.

An unlucky run of cards saw the demise of Sparrow Cheung from the APT High Roller. First, he lost a flip with pocket queens against Tsang's ace-king, then got his pocket jacks in against the pocket nines of eventual champion Weng. Despite getting the chips in good, Weng turned a flush which left Cheung drawing dead and meant the player from Hong Kong was out in eighth for a payday of TWD 632,000 (~$20,100).

Sparrow Cheung

Another player from Hong Kong, Leo Pang, was quick to join his compatriot on the rail after his ace-nine failed to hold up against the king-queen of Tsang. Nevertheless, Pang can take a lot of positives from the past twelve days as this was his fourth final table of the series and also his career-best score of TWD 632,000 (~$20,100) which he picked up for seventh.

One hand later the field had thinned down even further as Vietnam's Ha called off his last eight big blinds with king-five against Weng's ace-four, who had shoved from the button. There was no improvement for Ha and he exited in sixth for a score of TWD 1,162,000 (~$36,950).

Martin Sedlak was the next player to vacate his seat as his pocket eights couldn't hold up against the ace-queen of Weng. Just like Pang, this was also Sedlak's fourth final table of the series and his career-best score after he locked up TWD 1,499,000 (~$47,670) for fifth.

Martin Sedlak

With four players remaining, Weng had an enormous stack and held over two-thirds of the chips in play which created an interesting dynamic between the other three finalists with severe ICM implications to consider.

Chan had survived three all-in situations on the final table but didn't manage a fourth despite him picking up one of the strongest starting hands of his final table. The player from Hong Kong, who finished runner-up in the APT High Roller last year in Taipei, open-shoved with ace-king and found himself at risk against the pocket queens of Seo. No help arrived for Chan which meant he was eliminated in fourth for TWD 1,869,000 (~$59,435).

Seo's stack was slowly eaten up by the big-blind-ante structure and soon found himself all in with king-seven against the ace-eight of Weng. The South Korean couldn't connect with the board but his payday of TWD 2,281,000 (~$72,535) sees him move up from 61st to 48th on South Korea's All-Time Money List.

Moonho Seo

Weng's chip lead at the start of head-up play was four-to-one but after fourteen hands that had increased to almost a nine-to-one advantage for the American player. However, Tsang fought back to decrease the deficit to just two-to-one in Weng's favor and the comeback was well and truly on.

Tsang's dream of capturing the title came crashing down to earth in spectacular fashion in the last hand of the night after his pocket queens had flopped top set on an all-diamond flop and all the chips had been piled into the middle. Weng had flopped a flush with five-deuce and needed to fade the board pairing on the river to hoist the trophy. One player did improve on the river, but it wasn't Tsang, as Weng drilled a straight flush to scoop the pot and capture the APT Bronze Lion trophy in breathtaking style.

Despite showing the courage of a lion in the heads-up match, Tsang won't be taking the trophy home with him but the TWD 3,422,000 (~$108,820) will make the journey home a bittersweet one. This was Tsang's seventh cash of the 2024 APT Taipei series and his largest-ever payday.

Dicky Tsang & Stanley Weng shake hands

Congratulations to Weng on his first APT title!

The next APT series will be held in Jeju, South Korea, and will run from April 26 to May 5. Visit the APT news page for more information.

See you in Jeju!

Stanley Weng is presented with the APT Bronze Lion trophy by Gregory Liow

Stanley Weng has won the APT High Roller for TWD 5,053,000 (~$160,685).

A full write-up of the day's action will follow shortly.

Dicky Tsang eliminated from the APT High Roller

Dicky Tsang has been eliminated in 2nd place for TWD 3,422,000 (~$108,820).

Hand 118 Dicky Tsang opened to 350,000 and Stanley Weng made the call.

The flop came down a monotone 3 6 Q and Tsang continued with a sizing of 350,000 once it checked to him. Weng didn't waste any time in making the call.

A T hit the turn and after Weng checked, Tsang fired 850,000 into the pot with around 4,000,000 chips behind. Weng then raised to 2,400,000 and Tsang shoved all in. Weng quickly called.

Tsang Q Q

Weng 5 2

What a brutal setup hand to potentially end this heads-up duel. Tsang did still have outs to a full house and would take the chip lead from Weng for the first time on the final table if he managed to do so.

One player did improve on the river, and it wasn't Tsang, as the 4 gave Weng a straight flush to seal the victory.

Tsang fought valiantly during heads-up play but was never going to get away from that hand.

Hand 113 Stanley Weng limped in and Dicky Tsang checked. On the Q K 6 Weng fired 160,000 and won the pot.

Hand 114 Tsang limped in and Weng checked. The flop came 3 3 K and both players checked. A J hit the turn and both checked to the K river. Tsang bet 275,000 and Weng called. Tsang tabled J 2 to win the pot.

Hand 115 Weng raised to 350,000 and Tsang called. The flop fell 3 4 9 and both checked to the 7 turn. Both checked again to the T river and Tsang fired 550,000, and Weng folded.

Hand 116 Weng got a walk.

Hand 117 Weng raised to 350,000 and Tsang called. The flop came A 8 4 and Weng continued for 300,000. Tsang folded.

Hand 107 Stanley Weng limped in and Dicky Tsang raised to 700,000. Weng folded.

Hand 108 Tsang limped in and Weng checked. The flop came 2 Q 9 and both checked to the K turn and the Q river. Weng bet 500,000 and won the pot.

Hand 109 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. The flop fell Q 8 J and Weng took it down with a bet of 160,000.

Hand 110 Weng got a walk.

Hand 111 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. On the A A 9 flop, Weng bet 160,000 and Tsang called. The turn was an 8 and both players checked to see the A river. Weng fired 320,000 and Tsang folded.

Hand 112 Tsang raised to 375,000 and Weng called. The flop came T 7 7 and was checked through, as was the 8 turn. The 6 landed on the river and Weng bet 550,000, Tsang called with K 6 and won the pot with a pair of sixes.

Latest chip counts.

Stanley Weng

Hand 100 Dicky Tsang limped in and Stanley Weng checked. The flop came A J 4 and Tsang bet 175,000. Weng folded.

Hand 101 Weng raised to 325,000 and Tsang called. The flop fell A K 8 and both players checked. The turn brought a 7 and it checked through again to the A river. Both checked and Weng took it down with Q 9 .

Hand 102 Weng got a walk.

Hand 103 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. On the K Q Q board, Weng bet 160,000, and Tsang called. A 7 hit the turn and both players checked to the T river. Tsang bet 300,000 and Weng called. The pot was chopped after Tsang tabled K 3 and Weng had K 5 .

Hand 104 Tsang limped in and Weng made it 500,000. Tsang shoved for 3,700,000 and Weng folded.

Hand 105 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. The flop came 9 6 3 and Weng fired 305,000, Tsang called. A turn 7 saw Weng bet 850,000, and Tsang folded.

Hand 106 Tsang limped in and Weng raised to 500,000, Tsang called. The flop came A 9 3 and Weng's 250,000-chip bet was called. The 2 hit the turn and Weng fired another bet of 750,000, which Tsang called. When the J completed the board, both players checked and Tsang checked back with A 6 to win the pot.

Hand 93 Stanley Weng raised to 240,000 and Dicky Tsang called. The flop came 5 2 5 and both players checked. The turn brought a 5 and Weng took it down with a bet.

Hand 94 Weng got a walk.

Hand 95 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. The flop came A 5 5 and Weng bet 120,000. Tsang called and the T landed on the turn. Both checked to see the 7 hit the river. Weng bet 350,000 and Tsang folded.

Hand 96 Weng got a walk.

Hand 97 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. It was checked through on the Q 7 T 6 K board and Tsang won it with 5 6

Hand 98 Tsang limped in, Weng shoved, and Tsang folded.

Hand 99 Stanley Weng raised to 240,000 and Dicky Tsang called. The flop fell 7 A 9 and Weng continued for 180,000, Tsang called. A Q on the turn was checked through to the 5 river. Weng fired 500,000 and Tsang called. Tsang won it with K 9 for a pair of nines.

Hand 90 Dicky Tsang open-shoved 1,900,000. Stanley Weng folded.

Hand 91 Weng limped in and Tsang checked. The flop came 8 T 7 and both players checked to the 7 turn. Weng bet 120,000 and won the pot.

Hand 92 Tsang raised to 250,000 and Weng called. The flop came Q 9 8 and Tsang continued for 325,000, and Weng called. A 2 turn saw Tsang shove 1,300,000 and Weng called.

Tsang Q J

Weng Q 6

Tsang found the breakthrough after the 8 hit the river which doubled him up.

Dicky Tsang

Hand 85 Stanley Weng limped in and Dicky Tsang shoved all in. Weng folded.

Hand 86 Tsang limped in and Weng raised to 360,000. Tsang folded.

Hand 87 Weng limped in and Tsang raised to 350,000. Weng called and saw a flop of T 2 5 . Both players checked to see the 9 turn, Tsang fired 450,000 and Weng folded.

Hand 88 Tsang limped in and Weng raised to 360,000. Tsang made the call and saw a flop of J 6 5 , which went check-check. The turn J paired the board and Weng bet 260,000, Tsang folded.

Hand 89 Weng limped in and Tsang shoved. Weng folded.