Paul Kiem defeats William Teoh on the first hand of Heads-Up to claim APT Championships Event

Ben Wilson / 30 Nov 2022

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PASAY CITY, Philippines – Paul Kiem of the United States wins the Championships Event in the Asian Poker Tour (APT) 2022 Philippines in record-breaking fashion, needing only one hand to be dealt in the Heads-Up duel against William Teoh of Malaysia to collect the top prize of PhP4,196,300 (US$74,008) besting a field of 236 entries at the Grand Wing Casino, Newport World Resorts here.

315529731_502400715170429_2220710835677493760_n.jpg Paul Kiem (USA) needed only one hand in Heads-Up to win the APT Championships Event

Kiem, whose older brother Peter is a veteran on the tour, came into the Heads-Up encounter for the title with a stack of 8.6 million after busting out third placer James Mendoza of the Philippines. Prior to that he was in a huge hand against Teoh wherein which he almost leveled the chip-counts.

Before coming over on the prodding of Peter, Paul had a few cashes in Los Angeles and Las Vegas but none anywhere close to the significance of this haul.

Teoh, on the other hand, lands his second runner-up finish in the Championships Event as also feel short against eventual titlist Dave “Spade” Erquiaga last September.

Making it to two straight Heads-Up showdowns, though, is more than impressive for the young Malaysian whose aggressive brand of play has made him among the most feared competitor in the field.

314866486_1453503205175617_3379254469009149140_n-1024x683.jpg (R) William Teoh (MAS) made it to the Heads-Up finale in back-to-back stagings

Teoh collected PhP2,797,700 (US$49,342) for his amazing effort while Mendoza got PhP1,944,900 (US$34,302) for his third place finish.

Here are complete payouts of the Final 8 in the Championships Event:

  1. Paul Kiem (USA) – PhP4,196,300 (US$74,008)
  2. William Teoh (MAS) – PhP2,797,700 (US$49,342)
  3. James Mendoza (PHI) – PhP1,944,900 (US$34,302)
  4. William Fasano (ENG) – PhP1,404,800 (US$24,776)
  5. Renniel Galvez (PHI) – PhP1,050,000 (US$18,519)
  6. Bell Perez (PHI) – PhP810,800 (US$14,300)
  7. Li Lok Ching (AUS) – PhP643,800 (US$11,354)
  8. Jose Drilon (PHI) – PhP524,600 (US$9,252)
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