Shi Rong Wang Claims First Titan Stack Daily Trophy at Gods of Poker The Trial of Wisdom Opening Day

For the second time in 2026, the Gods of Poker live tour is visiting Taiwan and the festival dubbed as The Trial of Wisdom features a total of 77 tournaments from September 18 to 27, 2026. The tournament series is held in cooperation with the Chinese Texas Hold'em Poker Association (CTP Club), which was founded in 2015 and paved the way to make the card game legal and recognised as game of skill in the country.

The opening day of the festival at the Asia Poker Arena featured a total of seven tournaments with buy-ins ranging from as little as NT$ 3,500 all the way to NT$ 110,000 and local low stakes grinders got some extra value right away thanks to a healthy overlay in the NT$ 777,000 guaranteed Titan Stack Daily. With another six of these tournaments looming, perhaps you want to tell your poker playing friends to drop by Jianguo North Road in the following days.

Shi Rong Wang Wins the first Titan Stack Daily Event

Taiwan's Po Cheng Lai was the first casualty of the entire tournament series but re-entered right away in the Titan Stack Daily NT$ 5,500 buy-in with other notables such as Anthony Abram, Shi Rong Wang, and Gonzalo Padilla already seated right from the start. Shun Yi Zheng followed suit when he ran into the top pair top kicker of Ching Yao Hsiao in the second level of play. The action picked up from there with eight casualties mid-way through the third level such as Shigeru Tsunematsu before the end of the registration brought in an influx of new entries.

Ultimately, the daily highlight event closed with a total of 88 entries and the average with the new adjusted Cronus structure was nearly 43 big blinds with 73 players left in contention. It didn't take long for the action to pick up and Chieh Chang Cheng lost his short stack with queens against ace-ten when two aces appeared on the board for Yu Chen Huang. Masanori Kanno, Ryusei Azumaya and Lian An Jian all bowed out, too.

Huang's next all-in showdown came with pocket jacks against the ten-nine suited of Bo Sheng Zhang, who couldn't hit running cards to survive with half of the field gone. Chi Jen Chen with two top 100 finishes in the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas under his name in the last two years, busted in a three-way all-in when his K ♠️ Q ♠️ couldn't get there against Zhe Yan Zhang with the A ♣️ Q ♥️ when an ace on the turn sealed Chen's fate.

Chi Jen Chen

Some of those who departed thereafter were Kin Wai Kwong, Paul Wee, Boh Jun Sim and Liang Su. Down to the final two tables, Yu Heng Zhen was the run-away chip leader with more than three times the average while Wen Kai Tu in the next seat doubled his severe short stack with A ♣️ A ♥️ against the K ♣️ K ♥️ of Li Han Chen. Shih Lei Hsu busted in the very next hand when running an ace into the pocket jacks of Leh Hua Wei. Tu became the casualty with a queen-rag moments later as the bubble was rapidly looming.

Ling Jie Lin

Zhen then went runner-runner with A ♥️ Q ♠️ against the K ♣️ K ♥️ of Tu thanks to the J ♠️ 10 ♠️ 9 ♥️ 6 ♠️ 7 ♠️ runout to bring the field on the stone bubble. It took a couple of hands until Ling Jie Lin was all-in with 9 ♦️ 7 ♦️ on the button and both blinds called, ten-high won it for Po Yi Liu to let the bubble burst. Wei then scored a double knockout to become the second chip millionaire. Ting Hsu Hsieh was moved as a result and pushed all-in with the chips still racked up when arriving at his new seat. He flipped over pocket aces and Shi Rong Wang looked him up with 10 ♠️ 10 ♦️ to spike the 10 ♥️ on the river.

The September 18 Titan Stack Daily Finalists

Seven players from Taiwan were among to keep the trophy on home soil when the final table began and the second all-in showdown was certainly the most memorable one. Ka Ho Leung had lost a flip the hand prior and jammed for just over one big blind with the 10 ♠️ 4 ♣️ one hand before he was forced all-in. Chip leader Zhen raised, then called the all-ins of Po Yi Liu with 9 ♦️ 9 ♥️ and Jaewon Kim in the big blind with the A ♠️ A ♣️ . Zhen's Q ♠️ Q ♦️ needed another “Lady Gaga” and found it on the K ♦️ Q ♥️ 3 ♦️ 10 ♥️ 2 ♥️ board for the triple knockout.

Just a little triple knockout on the opening day

Zhe Yan Zhang then got it in with pocket fives against the K ♣️ 9 ♣️ of Wei, who rivered a flush with the 5 ♣️ to score the next elimination. Wei's worries about ICM hell next to Zhen vanished when the two biggest stacks clashed with Wei calling a big check-raise on a king-high turn. His nut flush draw missed but A ♥️ Q ♣️ made broadway to crack top set of kings. Wang then doubled through the former dominator and Zhen had to settle for fifth when A ♦️ 4 ♣️ were beaten by the K ♠️ 8 ♣️ of Po Cheng Lai.

Chang Yu Lai got the ladder and then lost crumbs with J ♣️ 3 ♣️ against the Q ♥️ 3 ♦️ of Wang to bring the field to the final three. Wang then jammed 21 big blinds with sevens into Wei's kings and escaped thanks to a straight on the turn. He extended the lead shortly after, but then jammed K ♦️ 4 ♥️ at the wrong time as Wei was not folding A ♥️ J ♥️ to get back on track. However, in two hands it was all over for Wei. Lai doubled through him with K ♥️ 6 ♦️ versus A ♠️ 8 ♣️ and then flopped a flush with Q ♥️ 10 ♥️ to beat 7 ♦️ 7 ♠️ in a flip to go from short stack to chip leader for the heads-up with Wang.

The chip leader curse continued as Wang won the next two all-ins. He first prevailed with A ♣️ Q ♥️ versus K ♠️ Q ♦️ and then came out on top with K ♦️ Q ♥️ versus Q ♠️ 10 ♥️ on a jack-high board. When the stacks were counted, his stack covered by a single big blind to secure the victory for the young gun.

Chia Yun Wu

Perhaps the loudest cheers came from Event #2 5-Card PL Omaha - Double Board Bomb Pot when local CTP Club legend Chia Yun Wu could be heard throughout the entire tournament area. With nearly $1.5 million in cashes – almost all from Taipei City – he is one of the most well-known players in the country. Wu was one of the chip leaders on the money bubble with a staggering 65 big blind average with Hsiao Wei Wu and Yen Chung Chen fighting for survival as the two short stacks.

Yen Chung Chen

Chen was forced in once and survived via chop, then survived the next all-in showdown to increase his severe short stack with another chop. The third attempt at a spin saw his double-suited rundown miss a straight draw and that let the bubble burst. It didn't take long thereafter to crown a champion as Chiu Hu Yen earned the trophy after a heads-up deal with both Wu's missing out on the winner shot which Yen claimed after taking NT$ 39,860 for first.

Rudy Edenata

Early front runner in the Titan Stack High Roller Flight A was Rudy Edenata after he knocked out Yuh Jiun Chuang from Taiwan. Fendy Kosasih arrived soon after when the check-in at his hotel had opened and they tussled for a while with Rene von Reden, who won the APT Main Event at this very venue two years ago. Kosasih would be the next to fall and Edenata was still in the driver's seat, though, von Reden smirked after he had earned the last chips of Kosasih.

Von Reden was chipped down to fewer than 15 big blinds after running into a full house when he made a stand with 10 ♦️ 3 ♣️ for flopped top pair and was up against the J ♣️ 5 ♣️ of Edenata for bottom pair and flush draw. The 10 ♠️ turn and A ♦️ river brought no flush for the Indonesian but trips for the German, who then more than doubled thereafter by scooping several pots. When they came back from the break, Edenata three-bet preflop to 7.5 big blinds and flopped the bottom end of the straight with the 3 ♠️ 2 ♠️ . Von Reden's 6 ♣️ 4 ♣️ made two pair and they got it in after the 6 ♦️ 5 ♦️ 4 ♦️ 8 ♥️ turn for the 5 ♠️ river to brick.

Rene Von Reden

Kosasih came back for the evening flight against Hong Kong's Chi Shing Man and dropped to seven blinds within the first two levels after the end of the late registration. With 10 ♦️ 7 ♦️ he doubled through A ♠️ 8 ♦️ but was then caught bluffing on a missed gutshot to drop back to a short stack. It was ultimately a flip with 6 ♦️ 6 ♣️ against A ♣️ 8 ♠️ that decided his fate in counterfeit fashion on the 9 ♥️ 9 ♣️ 7 ♦️ J ♠️ 7 ♥️ board.

Man will return tomorrow to battle against Edenata for his share of the NT$ 576,000 prize pool with the rose GOP gauntlet trophy up for grabs as well.

Dutch live poker veteran Rob Hollink added a trophy for his cabinet on the first day when he took down the NT$ 16,500 Midday Mid Stakes for NT$ 108,000 in heads-up against Taiwan's Sheng Ju Shih.

Rob Hollink

Hollink was also considering to jump into the Hyper Turbo High Roller but ultimately opted against it, after which Kia Hung Hu claimed the trophy and NT$ 86,400 top prize. Japan's Kengo Ito topped 24 entries in Event #6 Hyper Turbo for NT$ 30,320 and a shiny trophy for the trip back home.

Many Japanese players also entered the first of seven flights for the NT$ 3 Million guaranteed Accumulator Event, which produced 34 entries in Flight A. The top five players secured a cash prize and Takahiro Baba claimed the largest chip tally so far.

Flight A survivors:

If any of these five players enter one of the remaining six flights and bag up chips, they will add to their total tally and claim a NT$ 25,000 bonus each time they make it through. This also applies for everyone else giving this challenge a shot with the final day slated to take place on September 24.

Speaking of the Accumulator Event, the second flight is available on Day 2 of the Trial of Wisdom, along with several other events that with more info in a nutshell below.

At 12.30 p.m. local time - that is half past noon - the perfect time to stroll into the live poker action after bragging a boba tea near the venue - the cards will go in the air. Rudy Edenata and Hong Kong's Chi Shing Man will battle for the gorgeous rose gauntlet trophy with Edenata looking to increase his GOP trophy cabinet.

A special edition of the Titan Stack Daily also kicks off at the same time with a NT$ 11,000 price tag and a NT$ 1 Million guarantee. All players receive 70,000 in chips and the late registration is open until 3.15 p.m. local time with approximately 13.5% of the field in the money. Potential overlay and extra value alert for this one, guys!

If you fancy five cards instead of two, Event #9 Big O will run alongside with the same starting time and end of late registration.

At 1 p.m. local time, a NT$ 38,500 Single Day High Roller is slated to kick off and will award the more fancy slightly larger golden trophy that last night's Hyper Turbo players were hoping to snatch.

Another fancy trophy is up for grabs in the NT$ 5,500 Aphrodite's Event (Women's) with the start at 2 p.m. and end of late registration until 4.20 p.m. .

The NT$ 16,500 Mid Stakes Event returns in the same time slot as yesterday followed by a NT$ 27,500 Turbo High Roller at 6.30 p.m. . Flight B of the Accumulator starts at 7 p.m. and closes the registration at 9.45 p.m. local time - you definitely don't want to miss that one.

Last but not least there are another two Hyper Turbo Events for the night owls and you can find all of the tournament information, structures etc on the GOP website right here.