TMT Championship: Van Nam Nguyen takes down Kick Off; Guan Chen, and Lin Feng Yu claim side event wins; Chao Ting Cheng leads High Roller Final Table

The second day of the inaugural TMT Championship games at Asia Poker Arena, Taipei rounded up another full house with four side events running on schedule. The day’s focus was on the final day of featured event, Kick Off, where Vietnam’s Van Nam Nguyen eventually emerged victorious. Guan Lun Chen, together with Lin Feng Yu, shared the winner’s circle, having taken down the Megastack and Head Hunter side events respectively. Aside from the newly minted winners, Chao Ting Cheng joined the spotlight, having bagged the lead to start the High Roller Final Table rounds.

TMT Championship – SCHEDULE
TMT Championship – Inaugural Festival

Van Nam Nguyen wins Kick Off for NT$ 709,500 (~US$ 21,995)

A twelve hour Day 2 grind laid ahead with 71 survivors out of the 462-entry field returning back to the felt, each guaranteed a share of the NT$ 3,943,700 (~US$ 122,980) prize pool. Running thirty minutes on the clock, it took nine levels of play before the final table was set with Van Nam Nguyen leading the pack, albeit with a minor advantage.

Chips evened out an hour in, leaving it to be anybody’s game with seven players remaining in contention. Fu Chun Wei ran up a storm, having delivered back to back eliminations – Wu Yi Wei (6th) and Che Chun Chu (7th), to inch over the lead. Nguyen on the other hand, bounced back in the game after busting Li Wei Wang in 5th place to amass nearly half the chips on the table. Action continued with Fu quickly catching up by three handed play, only to succumb shortly after getting entangled with Nguyen, to eventually finish in third place.

Up against a 3:1 disadvantage into heads up play, last opponent Yumi Ogose came close to clinching the win, having managed to turn the tables following two double ups. The final hand however, saw Ogose suffer a bad beat against Nguyen with her Q♥Q♠ outdrawn by the Vietnamese’ J♥4♦ on flop J♠9♣5♥. The runout came 6♦4♥, landing two pair for Nguyen, along with the final victory. Ogose settles for a runner up finish, while Nguyen earns the biggest payout on the list at NT$ 709,500 (~US$ 21,995) for his crushing display.

Kick Off Review

• Date/s: October 25-26, 2024
• Buy in: NT$ 10,000 (~US$ 310)
• Guarantee: NT$ 3,000,000 (~US$ 93,500)
• Entries: 462
• Prize Pool: NT$ 3,943,700 (~US$ 122,980)
• ITM: 71 players

Kick Off Final Table Results

Backtrack on all the day’s action via SMP Live Updates

Guan Lun Chen captures Megastack victory

Following a ten hour grind, local runner Guan Lun Chen closed out the win at the Megastack side event, having bested the 114-entry field. Chen entered the final table round with the lead and secured the title in just over an hour of play. For his dominating performance, Chen banked a NT$ 272,000 (~USD 8,480) payday, along with the TMT trophy.

• Date: October 26, 2024
• Buy-in: NT$ 10,000 (~US$ 310)
• Entries: 114
• Prize pool: NT$ 973,200 (~US$ 30,335)
• ITM: 18 places

Megastack Final Table Results

Lin Feng Yu closes out Head Hunter win

The final side event on schedule, Head Hunter, drew to a close following eight hours on the tournament floor with Lin Feng Yu standing tall over the 125-entry field. Lin closed out the win across a quick 90 minute final table gameplay, and earned the NT$ 73,500 (~US$ 2,290) top prize in addition to his eight bounty prizes. Lin delivered four eliminations across the final rounds, bringing up his total to a worthy NT$ 89,500 (~US$ 2,790) in winnings.

• Date: October 26, 2024
• Buy-in: NT$ 20,000 (~US$ 620)
• Entries: 125
• Prize pool: NT$ 515,400 (~US$ 16,065)
• ITM: 19 places

Head Hunter Final Table Results

*Excluding bounty prizes

Chao Ting Cheng leads High Roller Final Table

Action on High Roller Day 1 has wrapped up with local runner Chao Ting Cheng leading the charge, having just delivered the bubble to close the day’s games. Out of the 56-entry field, only nine players remain in contention for the title, each guaranteed a share of the NT$ 2,498,800 (~US$ 77,895) pot. The focus however, stands to be on the NT$ 874,800 (~US$ 27,270) listed top prize, with Cheng in the best position to take it down.

• Date/s: October 26-27, 2024
• Buy-in: NT$ 50,000 (~US$ 1,555)
• Entries: 56
• Prize pool: NT$ 2,498,800 (~US$ 77,895)
• ITM: 9 places

High Roller Full Payouts

1st – NT$ 874,800
2nd – NT$ 500,000
3rd – NT$ 306,000
4th – NT$ 218,000
5th – NT$ 168,000
6th – NT$ 131,000
7th – NT$ 113,000
8th – NT$ 100,000
9th – NT$ 88,000

Level 13: 3,000 / 6,000 ante 6,000
Average stack: 311,111 (51 BB)
Total chips in play: 2,800,000

High Roller Final Table Chip Counts