Main Event
Day 2 Completed
2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan
Main Event
Day: 2
Event Info
Final Results
Event Info
Level Info
2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan
Buy-in
27,500 TWD
Entries
306
Level
28
Blinds
30,000 / 60,000
Ante
60,000
Chou Chien Fa Leads Last 32 Players After Day 2 of the Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
In what proved to be a short but action-packed day, play concluded for Day 2 of the 2019 Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event after six 60-minute levels with 32 of the 114 returning survivors from the three starting flights bagging up chips.
It is Taiwan's Chou Chien Fa the man who leads the pack after concluding play with a massive 762,000 in chips. Fa seemed extremely comfortable in the chip leader's position for a man with only four live cashes on his poker resume — a spot he occupied for the majority of play before briefly being usurped by South Korea's Jae Wook Shin.
However, Fa finished with a flourish, chopping a gigantic three-way pot with the Philippines' David Erquiaga with the duo railing the unfortunate Jun Zhu Huang not long after the money bubble had burst.
It was Fa the man who lit the fuse on a hand that would have explosive results, picking up two callers in button Erquiaga and big blind Huang. The trio got all the chips in on a king-queen-four flop with two hearts on the board, Fa and Erquiaga both holding ace-king and Huang drawing extremely live with ace-jack of hearts.
Blanks on the turn and river saw Huang depart in 35th place, becoming the second paying casualty, while Fa and Erquiaga divvied up Huang's chips, with that pot putting Fa squarely at the top of the counts, where he would remain.
Shin was the only other player to bag over 700,000 in chips after crippling the unfortunate Jia Tang in another huge pot that saw the South Korean player briefly flirt with the chip lead before Fa reclaimed the top spot.
Tang was the architect of his own demise after getting frisky on the button and bubble with six-four offsuit, and while that dominated big blind Shin's five-four offsuit, the later check-raised the flop with the same bottom pair as Tang, who made two pair on the turn.
Unfortunately for Tang, that gave Shin a straight draw, which he played aggressively and got there on the river to leave the former short, departing at the hands of Kun Han Lee shortly afterward on the last level of the day when his ace-queen lost a race to the Taiwanese player's pocket jacks to guarantee all 36 remaining players a TWD 50,500 (~$1,610) payday.
Other notables still in contention for the title include Taiwan's Terry Fan (460,000), Hong Kong's Howard Sun (321,000), the UK's Alex Lindop (302,000), Hong Kong's Wing Kei Chan (194,000), Singapore's Richard Lim (169,000) and the USA's Edwin Gerard (154,000).
With 114 player returning for Day 2 and only 36 of them making the money, the action was frantic from the get-go. Notables to come up short of the cash spots included Hong Kong's Sparrow Cheung, Ireland's Mark Gruendemann, the UK's Ben Andrews, current Taiwan No. #1 on the GPI Taiwan List, Pete Chen, and Taiwan All Time Money List No. #1 James Chen.
Of these, Pete Chen came the closest to the cash, departing one off the bubble after coming out on the wrong side of a blind on blind battle against fellow countryman Zong-Ping Yang, who woke up with jacks when Chen shoved with king-six from the small blind.
In addition to the aforementioned Huang, three other players busted in the cash spots before play concluded, with Taiwan's Li-Kuwang Ma, and Hong Kong's Ming Sang Chung and Wei Fan the other players in question, all earning themselves a min-cash of TWD 50,500.
The 32 survivors will return for the penultimate third day at 1:00 p.m. local time (GMT+8) to determine who will earn their place at the final table, with blinds recommencing at 4,000/8,000 with and 8,000 running ante, so join us then.
Day 3 Seat Draw
| Name | Country/Region | Table | Seat | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Kuan Wee | Malaysia | 19 | 1 | 222000 | 28 |
| Alex Lindop | United Kingdom | 19 | 2 | 302000 | 38 |
| Chunsan Fan | China | 19 | 3 | 139000 | 17 |
| Lin Yu Sheng | Taiwan | 19 | 4 | 319000 | 40 |
| Dicky Tsang | Hong Kong | 19 | 5 | 278000 | 35 |
| Edwin Gerard | United States | 19 | 6 | 154000 | 19 |
| Terry Fan | Taiwan | 19 | 7 | 460000 | 58 |
| David Erguiaga | Philippines | 19 | 8 | 338000 | 42 |
| Wai King Cheung | Hong Kong | 20 | 1 | 575000 | 72 |
| Howard Sun | Hong Kong | 20 | 2 | 321000 | 40 |
| Bing Chang Feng | Taiwan | 20 | 3 | 364000 | 46 |
| Chou Chien Fa | Taiwan | 20 | 4 | 762000 | 95 |
| Ling He | China | 20 | 5 | 322000 | 40 |
| Alejandria Argyle | United States | 20 | 6 | 97000 | 12 |
| Kun Han Lee | Taiwan | 20 | 7 | 290000 | 36 |
| Michael Huang | Taiwan | 20 | 8 | 163000 | 20 |
| Jae Wook Shin | South Korea | 21 | 1 | 729000 | 91 |
| Shih Wei En | Taiwan | 21 | 2 | 320000 | 40 |
| Kuang Hung Lee | Taiwan | 21 | 3 | 260000 | 33 |
| Henry Hou | Singapore | 21 | 4 | 129000 | 16 |
| Ping Hsien Chan | Taiwan | 21 | 5 | 313000 | 39 |
| Tsai Yu You Ci | Taiwan | 21 | 6 | 472000 | 59 |
| Chia-Hui Tu | Taiwan | 21 | 7 | 68000 | 9 |
| Cliff Chow | Hong Kong | 21 | 8 | 185000 | 23 |
| Sheng-Chien Cheng | Taiwan | 23 | 1 | 109000 | 14 |
| Chi Hang | Taiwan | 23 | 2 | 468000 | 59 |
| Richard Lim | Singapore | 23 | 3 | 169000 | 21 |
| Wing Kei Chan | Hong Kong | 23 | 4 | 194000 | 24 |
| Shao-Hung Lee | Taiwan | 23 | 5 | 287000 | 36 |
| Toh Soon Lee | Singapore | 23 | 6 | 116000 | 15 |
| Zong-Ping Yang | Taiwan | 23 | 7 | 103000 | 13 |
| Chen-An Lin | Taiwan | 23 | 8 | 118000 | 15 |
End of Day 2 Chip Counts (full)
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
762,000 | 2,000 |
|
729,000 | 129,000 |
|
575,000 | 310,000 |
|
472,000 | 72,000 |
|
468,000 | 190,200 |
|
460,000 | 372,700 |
|
|
364,000 | 288,600 |
|
338,000 | -22,000 |
|
322,000 | -78,000 |
|
321,000 | -49,000 |
|
|
320,000 | 40,000 |
|
319,000 | 319,000 |
|
313,000 | 230,900 |
|
302,000 | |
|
290,000 | -85,000 |
|
287,000 | 217,000 |
|
278,000 | 145,800 |
|
260,000 | 198,600 |
|
222,000 | -138,000 |
|
194,000 | -86,000 |
|
|
185,000 | 51,200 |
|
169,000 | -271,000 |
|
163,000 | 83,000 |
|
154,000 | -96,000 |
|
139,000 | -31,000 |
Fan Departs at the Close of Play
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Play in the Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event has concluded for the day, with 32 players finding a bag at the end of the six 60-minute levels.
It was close to being 33 players, but Hong Kong's Wei Fan departed in the final hand, getting the last of his chips in preflop with 
and finding a caller in the form of the UK's Alex Lindop, holding 
Lindop had Fan covered and while the 
was a good one for the latter, disaster struck on the 
turn, with Lindop making a set. The 
river would be the last card Fan would see dealt in the tournament and he hit the rail in 33rd place for a TWD 50,500 payday.
The rest of the field has bagged and tagged, with play resuming for the penultimate Day 3 at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, August 19. Full end of day counts and wrap to follow.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
302,000 | 102,000 |
|
Busted |
Last Three Hands
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The clock has been paused with 15-minutes remaining in the level and 33 players remaining in the field as the last three hands of Day 2 have been announced.
Three-way Action Spells the End for Huang; Fa Takes Lead
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
A massive three-way pot played out between China's Jun Zhu Huang, Taiwan's Chou Chien Fa, and the Philippines' David Erquiaga that saw Huang bust and Fa climb back into the chip lead.
It was Fa who sparked the action with a middle position open to 15,000, with Erquiaga calling on the button and Huang coming in from the big blind. The 
flop proved to be an explosive one, with Huang jamming for 133,000 and Fa calling, before Erquiaga re-shoved for another 97,000 more. After stacks were counted down and Fa saw how much more it was to call he did so and the three players flipped over their hole cards.
Jun Zhu Huang: 
Chou Chien Fa: 
David Erquiaga: 
Huang had the nut flush draw and a gutshot straight draw, while both Fa and Erquiaga held top, top and would need to fade some outs. The 
was a clean turn, as was the 
river and a disappointed Huang hit the rail in 35th place, while Erquiaga and Fa chopped up her chips. When both players ahd stacked up, it appears that Fa has a monstrous 760,000 stack, making him the current chip leader by some margin.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
760,000 | 270,000 |
|
|
360,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Jia Tang's Departure Bursts the Bubble
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
The bubble has burst, guaranteeing all 36 remaining players a TWD 50,500 (~$1,610) payday. The last man to depart empty-handed was the unfortunate Jia Tang, who was unable to recover from losing that huge pot to Jae Wook Shin just minutes earlier.
Although Tang found 
with which to make a stand, he was unable to best the 
of Kun Han Lee, with Tang's final board in the Poker King Cup Taiwan Main Event running out 
.
Tang hit the rail, Lee stacked up to 375,000 and the rest of the field congratulated themselves on their good fortune at making the money.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
375,000 | 175,000 |
|
|
Busted |
Shih Gives Toh a Sweat
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Soon Lee Toh was getting short, and the bubble is the worst time to be a short-stack. Eventually, Toh elected to make his stand, moving all-in preflop for ~60,000, and with chips to spare, big blind Wei En Shih made the call and the cards were turned over.
Wei En Shih: 
Soon Lee Toh:
Toh looked to be in great shape for a double-up until the 
flop came down to gasps from the rest of the field, who had all crowded around the table to watch the action play out.
The 
turn gave Toh some additional flush outs, though the Singaporean was teetering on the brink of elimination. Fortuitously, the 
river was just what the doctor ordered, counterfeiting Shih's two pair and giving a relieved looking Toh the pot.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
280,000 | -60,000 |
|
120,000 | 40,000 |
Shin Doubles Through Tang
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Jia Tang was cruising along with a decent-sized stack, but that is no longer the case after tangling with Jae Wook Shin in a hand. It was Tang who was the initial aggressor, raising on the button with Shin defending from the big blind.
The flop came down , Shin checked the action over to Tang, who made a continuation bet, and Shin busted out the check-raise, which Tang called to bring the pair to the turn.
Now he had seized the betting lead Shin was loath to lose it, and came out firing, with Tang making the call to keep the duo in action to the 
river. Shin shoved for 190,000 into the already sizable pot and Tang hit the think tank hard. Eventually, he reached a decision and slammed down the call.
Jae Wook Shin: 
Jia Tang:
Given the heavy nature of the betting both pre and post-flop, it came of something of a surprise to see the hands both players turned over, but it was Shin who had the best of it with a straight, which was good for a chunky pot and he powered into the chip lead with a stack of 600,000, while Tang was left with a 27,000 bowl of rice.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
600,000 | 435,000 |
|
27,000 | -313,000 |
Chen's Departure Brings in the Bubble
Level 18
: 3,000/6,000, 6,000 ante
Pete Chen came agonizingly close to the money but has become the latest casualty to bring play to hand-for-hand. It was a battle of the blinds that left Chen crippled, with the Taiwanese player moving all-in from the small blind for around 85,000 with Zong-Ping Yang making the call for his tournament life from the big blind with just 2,000 less.
Pete Chen: 
Zong-Ping Yang: 
It proved to be the right move at the wrong time for Chen, with Yang waking up with pocket jacks, which held on the 
runout to leave Chen with a paltry 2,000 and shoot Yang up to 160,000.
Chen managed to stall for a couple of hands after, but eventually decided to make a stand and tossed in his last two chips three hands later, with Wei En Shih (small blind) and Zong-Ping Yang (big blind) content to check the board down the whole way.
Chen rolled over 
, Zong-Ping Yang showed 
and Wei En Shih won the hand with the mighty to bring the 37 remaining players to the bubble. The clock is now paused as hand-for-hand play commences.
| Player | Chips | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
|
340,000 | 30,000 |
|
|
160,000 | 138,600 |
|
Busted |