The Lunar New Year is almost upon us, and Asia’s premier poker tour is looking to get the Year of the Dragon off to a roaring start with APT Taipei 2024.
Running Wednesday, February 28 to Sunday, March 10, the action-packed APT Taipei 2024 Schedule is twenty percent longer than previous series offerings, comprising 105 trophy events and boasting over TWD 150 million (~USD 4.8 million) in prize pool guarantees, with the jewel in the series' crown the TWD 70,000 (~USD 2,270) buy-in APT Main Event which comes with a tour record TWD 65 million (~USD 2 million) guarantee.
Run in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold'em Poker Club (CTP), the festival will run over two venues 1.7km apart; the CTP Asia Poker Arena – Asia's largest permanent poker room – and the CML (Chinese Mahjong League 華人麻將競技聯盟) both located in central Taipei.
The stage is set for what looks likely to be the largest poker festival in Asian Poker Tour history. The previous visit back in April of last year saw Thailand’s top tournament professional Punnat Punsri claim the accolades and the coveted 24K Golden Lion Trophy, cementing his place in the APT record books and outlasting a 1,434-strong field to win the largest and richest Main Event ever to play out in Taiwan.
The first APT festival of 2024 has the potential to eclipse this, with the tour’s eighth visit to the Taiwanese capitol promising triple the prize pool guarantees of the previous outing and more than double the number of events.
With so many quality poker tournaments on offer over the festival, we’ve taken a close look at the schedule to highlight some of the marquee events that you should be pencilling into your diary.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
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APT Main Event (TWD 65M/~USD 2M GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Dates: Mar 3-9
Buy-in: TWD 70,000 (~USD 2,270)
Of course, the biggest draw will be the TWD 70,000 (~USD 2,270) buy-in APT Main Event which boasts the tour’s largest-ever prize pool guarantee of TWD 65 million (~USD 2 million). Action gets underway at the CTP Asia Poker Arena on Sunday, March 3, with the tournament comprising four opening flights with varying level length. Flight A boasts the longest level length of 60 minutes, with Flight B (45 minutes) and Flights C & D (30 minutes for the first 6 levels, 40 minutes thereafter) speeding up the action. Level length is 60 minutes from Day 2 onwards, with the tournament concluding on Saturday, March 9. Will Punsri successfully defend his title, or will a new APT Taipei champion be crowned?
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APT National Cup (TWD 15M/~USD 475K GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Feb 28-Mar 2
Buy-in: TWD 10,000 (~USD 325)
Replacing the APT Kickoff as the opening event for the series, the APT National Cup boasts the best value on the schedule when it comes to buy-in versus guarantee, coming with a TWD 10,000 (~USD 325) price tag for a shot at a prize pool guaranteed at close to half a million USD. Players can even win their seat for free via the APT National Cup Freeroll Freezeout. The tournament comprises five starting flights; Flights A, B & D boast 30-minute levels, running at 11:30am on Wednesday and Thursday, and 11am Friday respectively, Flights C & E come with shorter 15-minute levels and run at 6:30pm on Thursday and Friday respectively. All starting flights pay out the top 14%, with each flight playing down to the top 5% with survivors returning for the Final Day on Saturday, March 2.
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Superstar Challenge
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 1-2
Buy-in: TWD 800,000 (~USD 25,940)
Boasting the biggest buy-in on the schedule, the Superstar Challenge comes with a TWD 800,000 (~USD 25,940) price tag and is expected to draw some of the Asia-Pacific’s top tournament players, with Natural8 Ambassador Danny Tang just one of the many high rolling tournament professionals expected to attend. The two-day tournament gets underway at the Chinese Mahjong League on Friday, March 1, with a live stream available for the Final Day, which plays out at 11:15am on Saturday, March 2.
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Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 (TWD 10M/~USD 317K GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 2-3
Buy-in: TWD 15,000 (~USD $475)
The Mystery Bounty Hunter attracted a record-breaking field on its last outing, drawing 1,115 entries and generating a USD 437,860 prize pool, with the top bounty valued at over USD 40,000. With the tournament boasting a TWD 10 million prize pool guarantee, another four-figure field is a distinct possibility. The two-day event comprises two starting flights both playing out on Saturday, March 2; Flight A boasts 30-minute levels and gets underway at 11am, with Flight B boasting 20-minute levels and playing out at 5:30pm. Mystery Bounties come into play on the Final Day, which plays out at 11:15am on Sunday, March 3.
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APT Super High Roller (TWD 10M/~USD 317K GTD)
Venue: Day 1 – CML (Chinese Mahjong League 華人麻將競技聯盟), Final Day: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 2-3
Buy-in: TWD 300,000 (~USD 9,730)
The second of the festival’s three scheduled flagship events will see the first of the series’ three coveted 24K Lion Trophies awarded – the Pewter Lion APT Super High Roller Trophy. It was poker rookie Sam Lam the man to claim the accolades back during APT Taipei 2023, with the Brit defeating a record field to earn a career-best score of TWD 3.99 million. The APT Super High Roller boasts the second-largest buy-in on the schedule and regularly generates one of the festival’s top three biggest prize purses, setting new APT records for field size and prize pool on its last outing.
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Sunday Super Stack (TWD 2M/~USD 63.8K GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 3
Buy-in: TWD 30,000 (~USD 975)
A fast-paced event with a good structure designed to play out in a day, the Sunday Super Stack set the APT record for largest single day event on its last outing, drawing a 555-strong field and generating a ~USD 150,000 prize pool. There have been some tweaks this series, including an increased buy-in and the tournament comes with a TWD 2 million (~USD 63.8K) guarantee.
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Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 (TWD 20M/~USD 638K GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 7-8
Buy-in: TWD 60,000 (~USD 1,950)
The revamped Zodiac Classic comes with a buy-in price point close to the Main Event and boasts the second-largest guarantee on the schedule with TWD 20 million (~USD 638K) in the prize purse. A two-day event, Day 1 consists of thirteen 40-minute levels with the survivors returning for Day 2 to battle it out for what is likely to be one of the top three prize pools of the series.
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Mini Main Event (TWD 6M/~USD 191K GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 9-10
Buy-in: TWD 22,000 (~USD 715)
Boasting almost the exact same structure as the Main Event at one third of the price, the Mini Main Event offers players great value with a guaranteed prize pool of at least TWD 6 million up for grabs. This two-day event drew a record field back during APT Taipei 2023, which saw 562 players compete for a TWD 4.9 million prize pool and its odds on that we could see a new record at APT Taipei 2024.
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APT High Roller (TWD 11M/~USD 351K GTD)
Venue: Day 1 – CML (Chinese Mahjong League 華人麻將競技聯盟), Final Day: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 9-10
Buy-in: TWD 150,000 (~USD 4,860)
The last of the festival’s flagship tournaments to play out on the schedule, the APT High Roller will see some of the Asia-Pacific’s best compete for the coveted Bronze Lion APT High Roller Trophy. It was Natural8 Ambassador Phachara Wongwichit who claimed that honour back during APT Taipei 2023, defeating a record field of 302 to take a TWD 4.8 million top prize.
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Micro Main Event (TWD 1.5M/~USD 47.8K GTD)
Venue: CTP Asia Poker Arena
Date: Mar 10
Buy-in: TWD 11,000 (~USD 355)
Another record-breaking event back during APT Taipei 2023, the Micro Main Event returns with a bigger buy-in and an even bigger guarantee and offers players a fast-paced take on the Main Event structure that plays out in a day.
For the full APT Taipei 2024 schedule please CLICK HERE.
For further information, please contact press@APT.Poker