Chihwei Fan Tops Main Event Flight A; Edgar Asehan Hoists Gold Gauntlet

Day 5 of the Gods Of Poker Taipei: The Titan Assembly opened with the arrival of the Main Event, headlined by a NT$ 21,000,000 guarantee. With the newly introduced Cronus Golden Window in effect, players wasted no time filling CTP Asia Poker Arena, eager to take advantage of the Double Bubble Protection. 

Flight A played out with two registration levels of 120 minutes each drawing 136 entries, which then turned into a marathon session that stretched beyond twelve hours. When the bubble was finally delivered, 19 players survived into the money. Rising above them all was local star Chihwei Fan, who seized control during the bubble round to finish the day atop the leaderboard with a commanding 2,375,000 in chips.

For the survivors list, click here. 

GOP Main Event: Flight A Recap

Rudy Edenata

The first flight of the Main Event put players to the test with many getting the true taste of the Cronus Structure for the first time. Yet despite the deep starting stack, numerous players still fell during the opening round. Thomas Scheld was the first casualty on a failed bluff against Rudy Edenata.  

Ming Nan Chou

As the day wore on, Ming Nan Chou became the first clear frontrunner after a sweeping three-way with pocket kings over ace-king and ace-queen. That lead was later eclipsed by Alfie Adam, who surged toward the million-chip mark when his pocket aces turned a set that extracted maximum value from Yu Che Liu.

Chun Yu Yeh

Chun Yu Yeh staged his rise with a dramatic straight flush that got paid in full by Fendy Kosasih. From there, Yeh stayed on the offensive, eliminating several players, including Kevin Choi in a textbook coin flip, to remain among the day’s biggest stacks.

Pandora's champion, Soohyeok Lee, also mounted a bid for the chip lead after his pocket aces cleaned out Long Hin Shiao. His run, however, came to a halt on a flip against Edenata. 

Hung Te Lee all in on the bubble

At Level 8, Hung Te Lee became the first player to crest the million mark, but the climb proved short-lived. As the bubble approached, his stack only drained until he ultimately became the last player out, falling to Adam to burst the bubble. 

Before bubble play, the race for the top stack narrowed to Fan, Yeh, and Ryoichiro Takeda. Takeda lost his footing after a failed bluff resulted in a double for Pete Chen. GOP Jeju Main Event finalist Elmer Kalaquian also capitalized during the bubble, steadily accumulating chips to finish among the top stacks

It was Fan, however, who ruled the closing stages, grinding his way clear of the field that met barely any resistance. When Flight A finally wrapped, Fan set the benchmark for the upcoming flights at 2,375,000. 

Top 5 in Chips

Read up on the action via the live reports. 

Flight B is up next, taking place on Tuesday, January 13 starting at 12:30 PM. Registration closes at the start of Level 3 at 4:00 PM. Buy-in is NT$ 45,000. Be sure to jump in before the starting buzzer to be eligible for the Cronus Golden Window - Double Bubble Protection. 

Everything You Need To Know About The Main Event

Edgar Asehan Hoists Gold Gauntlet At GOP Super High Roller

Edgar Asehan wins Gold Gauntlet

Sharing the spotlight with the Main Event was the GOP Super High Roller with just four players left standing, each fighting for the right to claim the coveted Gold Gauntlet.

You can relive the showdown via the livestream recorded on the GOP Facebook page or CTP Twitch.

The event drew 20 elite runners at NT$ 230,000 (∼US$ 7,200) buy-in each for a prize pool of NT$ 4,149,660 (∼US$ 131,000). The final day kicked off with entering chip leader John Niko Costiniano unable to keep it intact to become the first to fall. 

He was followed out by Demigods Challenge champion Marc Rivera to miss his chance at hoisting a second gauntlet. Rivera survived several all in showdowns until Korea's Jin Woo Jung got lucky with his king-three shove that rivered a three to bad beat king-queen. 

The title chase between Philippine's Edgar Asehan and Jung kicked off with both players still very deep. Jung was ahead 65 big blinds to Asehan's 52 big blinds. However, it didn't take long for Asehan to overtake when his suited five-four ran trips. 

Asehan widened his lead after extracting value for his nut flush. From there, he went on to claim the title, the NT$ 1,815,460 (∼US$ 57,500), and the magnificent gauntlet. 

Immediately after his win, Asehan jumped in the Main Event. He was eliminated well before the end of day giving him plenty of time to jump in the Hyper Turbo where he proceeded to take it down. Asehan bested the 20-entry field to bink his second GOP trophy and pad his wallet another NT$ 86,830 in winnings.

For runner-up Jung, despite missing the gauntlet, he still took home a Shield trophy at the day's Hyper Turbo High Roller to add NT$ 148,500 to his winnings. 

David Erquiaga Wins The Titan Stack

David Erquiaga wins Titan Stack

The Titan Stack also reached its conclusion, and again, a Philippine champion emerged from the shadows. David Erquiaga began the day as the lone underdog, the shortest stack among 21 returnees from 140 entries, before storming up the ranks to conquer the field and seize the NT$ 742,000 (~US$ 23,500) top prize. He also picked up his first GOP hardware in the form of the Silver Spartan. 

Later in the night, Erquiaga matched up with fellow countryman Asehan in claiming his second trophy of the day. Erquiaga outlasted the 29 runners of the 5 Card PLO Turbo Bounty to win a Shield trophy plus another NT$ 100,772. 

Other Winners

Along with the winners mentioned above, another eight were crowned and in that lineup was none other than Martijn Gerrits who has consistently won one trophy per day since the event started. At Day 5, he won the Single Day High Roller for his ninth cash this series. He currently leads the Player of the Series race. 

The list of multi-series winners continued to grow as Tony Khoang secured his third title of the festival, while Ma. Arlene Rivera and Chia Yun Wu each added a second victory to their campaigns. For Rivera, the win carried added significance, bringing her Aphrodite Mirror collection to four after previously capturing two at the GOP Jeju debut last December.

For the Day 5 results, click here. 

GOP Taipei Links: 

Schedule
Photos: GOP Taipei
Photos: Champions