Main Event Day 1bc | 2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan

08-17-2019 17:37 UTC+8

Huang Busts One

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Level 7 : 300/500, 500 ante

Over on the feature table situated on the stage, Michael Huang opened the action on the button with a raise before the player in the small blind moved all-in for a little of 6,000 with Huang making a quick call.

Huang turned over , which was leading his opponent's and stayed in front with the runout coming down to thin the field by one as Huang stacked up to around 55,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Michael Huang	55,000 3,700	3,700

Tags: Michael Huang

08-17-2019 18:00 UTC+8

Chi Joins Six-Figure Club

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Level 7 : 300/500, 500 ante

Action was picked up on the turn in a sizable pot that developed heads-up between Hang Chi (middle position) and a protagonist sitting in the cutoff. The community cards were spread and there was a little over 20,000 already in the pot and Chi had four blue 5k chips on the felt in front of him, representing close to a pot-sized bet.

Chi's opponent spent some time thinking it over but made the call to swell the pot to over 60,000 bringing the pair to the river. There was no betting, and Chi tabled , with his top pair good for the sizable pot when his opponent pulled a disgusted face and pitched his cards into the muck.

Player	Chips	Progress
Chi Hang	103,600 73,600	73,600

Tags: Hang Chi

Level: 8

Blinds: 300/600

Ante: 600

08-17-2019 18:33 UTC+8

Welcome to Poker King Cup Taiwan 2019, poker players!

RazorSharpPro

Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

[L-R:] Pete Chen, Sparrow Cheung, Ray Chiu, Tournament Director Bryan Lo, Poker King Club's Winfred Yu and Vice President, David Chee, Ctpclub''s DavidTai, and Tournament Director, Ross Wen

There was a brief opening ceremony, with Poker King Club President, Winfred Yu, and CTP Chief Executive Officer, David Tai, speaking a few words about the future of poker in Taiwan:

"To our players here today, it is my pleasure to warmly welcome everyone here today for Poker King Cup Taiwan 2019, made possible by our esteemed partner for this event, Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Association (CTP). Thank you to David Tai for facilitating this event, and I hope this is only the beginning of a prosperous partnership for events here in Taiwan."

"We hope you enjoy every minute of our first venture into Taiwan poker events, including the TWD 5 Million guaranteed Main Event, the TWD 86,000 High Roller event that kicks off this Monday, and the Taiwan-only special Formosa Cup that starts tomorrow." [Sunday, August 18]

"I, on behalf of the whole team, thank all our players for your continuous support of Poker King Club and our events, and we can only hope to consistently provide you with the best poker products in the years to come. However, 2019’s not over yet so we ask you all to mark your calendars for our next upcoming event, this time in Danang, Vietnam, where we’ll be running our first-ever Poker King Cup Vietnam! Join us from November 19th to 27th 2019 – see you there."

"Thank all of you for coming, and we hope you all the best of luck on the felt."

The short speeches were followed by a ceremonial toasting as the pair were joined on stage by Taiwan's No. 1 on the GPI Taiwan List, Pete Chen, HKPPA founders, Sparrow Cheung and Ray Chiu, Tournament Director, Bryan Lo, Poker King Club's Winfred Yu and Vice President, David Chee, Ctpclub's David Tai, and Tournament Director, Ross Wen.

08-17-2019 18:33 UTC+8

Day 1C Turbo Flight Underway

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Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

All the Main Event action is not restricted to Day 1B, with the third and final starting flight, Day 1C, getting underway at 6:00 p.m. This follows the same structure as both Day 1A and Day 1B, only with 30-minute blind levels instead of the 40-minute levels the other two starting flights are utilizing. This is expected to wrap up around 12:30 a.m. local time.

So far, there are 11 players competing over two tables with the following players in action:

Player	Chips	Progress
Henry Hou	30,000
Zeng Yi Li	30,000 30,000	30,000
Hwa Yong Joung	30,000
Chi Han Hsieh	30,000 30,000	30,000
Ta Chein Cheng	30,000 30,000	30,000
Wei Cheng Yin	30,000 30,000	30,000
Chih Yen Chen	30,000 30,000	30,000
I Cheng Tsai	30,000 30,000	30,000
Fan Chun San	30,000 30,000	30,000
Chung Chie Kuan	30,000 30,000	30,000
Netnapit Muksatean	30,000 30,000	30,000

08-17-2019 18:41 UTC+8

A Tale of Two Cheungs

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Level 8 : 300/600, 600 ante

There are at least two Cheung's in the field and both are at opposite ends of the chip spectrum presently.

Sitting at bottom end is Hong Kong Poker Player's Association (HKPPA) President Sparrow Cheung, who is piloting his short-stack with over ten-years of professional playing experience. So far, Cheung is doing a pretty good job of staying alive, and has managed to spin his tiny 4,800 stack up to 18,000, but is still under the 30,000 starting stack.

Cheung will have to get something going soon to mount a serious challenge as level 9 is fast approaching, and this is the last level for re-entry, though he can always try his luck on Day 1C, which is running concurrently with Day 1B.

The other Cheung in question is Wai King Cheung, another Hong Kong native, and he is currently sitting a lot higher in the counts than Sparrow with over 50,000 in chips. Wai King Cheung padded out his stack still further in a recent hand, opening the action with a bet of 1,500 and getting three-bet by a neighboring player to the tune of 5,000.

Cheung made the call to take the action heads-up to a flop of , checking the action over to the pre-flop three-bettor, who continuation bet 4,000. This brought a swift check-raise to 10,000 from Cheung, leaving his opponent in a tough spot. With just 12,400 behind there was no amount the player could be without getting a call, meaning he had to be certain he was holding the best hand if he wanted to survive.

After some time in the think tank, Cheung's adversary elected to wait for a better spot and mucked, leaving Cheung to scoop the pot without showdown and climb to 52,000 in chips.

Player	Chips	Progress
Wai King Cheung	52,000 19,000	19,000

Sparrow Cheung	18,000 12,500	12,500

Level: 9

Blinds: 400/800

Ante: 800

08-17-2019 18:50 UTC+8

Last Level for Re-Entry

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Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

A total of 124 players out of 171 entries remain in contention at the start of level 9, which is the last level that players can re-enter, with the registration period ending after the 40-minute dinner break, which is scheduled for the end of the level.

08-17-2019 19:20 UTC+8

Cheung Out, Wang Folds Out Wu

RazorSharpPro

Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

Sparrow Cheung's short-stacked escapades are over and he will have to re-enter should he wish to lock up a Day 2 seat, though he still has close to ten-minutes of the remaining level and all of the 40-minute dinner break to compose himself and get back in action.

Another player who will need to get something going is Jingzhi Wang, though she has just taken some chips from Yu Fai Wu with which to increase her chances of spinning up a stack. It was Richard Lim who was the instigator in this particular hand limping from early position with Wu then responding with a raise to 1,500 from middle position, finding a caller in the player on the button, Wang (small blind), and Lim.

The flop fell and action checked over to Wu, who fired for 2,000. After the player on the button bowed out, Wang moved all-in for close to 18,000 in total and Lim quickly folded. While Wu took his time about it, he too eventually gave it up, leaving Wang free to rake in the pot and climb to 23,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Yu Fai Wu	88,000 -4,000	-4,000
Jingzhi Wang	23,000 4,200	4,200
Sparrow Cheung	Busted

Tags: Yu Fai Wu Jingzhi Wang Sparrow Cheung

08-17-2019 19:25 UTC+8

Gruendemann Doubles Wang

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Level 9 : 400/800, 800 ante

The short-stacked Chin Jen Wang moved in the last of his 3,600 chips in pre-flop and, being as it was not all that much more, was looked up by big blind Mark Gruendemann.

"I'll gamble with you," said Gruendemann, tossing in the extra chips and the cards were turned over.

Mark Gruendemann:
Chin Jen Wang:

Wang had the best hand pre-flop but was the at-risk player. However, the board was a good one for a decent ace with the runout coming meaning Wang's ace-high was good for a double. Wang stacked up to 9,000 while Gruendemann still has plenty and it sitting on a stack of 85,000.

Player	Chips	Progress
Mark Gruendemann	85,000 65,000	65,000
Chin Jen Wang	9,000 -21,000	-21,000

Tags: Mark Gruendemann Chin Jen Wang