It’s officially the Year of the Dragon and this month the Asian Poker Tour is set to celebrate that by hosting what many are predicting will be the largest poker festival in its history – APT Taipei 2024.
A whopping 105 events are scheduled for the 11 days of action, running from Wednesday, February 28 to Sunday, March 10, with close to $5 million (TWD 150 million) in guarantees.
That includes an APT Main Event record guarantee of $2 million (TWD 65 million) and the $25k buy-in Superstar Challenge.
We’re talking a lot of poker and a lot of money, so much in fact that it’s going to take two venues in Taipei City to host it all – the CTP Asia Poker Arena (Asia's largest permanent poker room), and the Chinese Mahjong League.
The CTP is the Chinese Texas Hold'em Poker Club, and its partnership is central to the success of this year’s APT Taipei, the 8th hosting of the festival.
2024 APT Taipei highlights
- Main Event, March 3-9
- Buy-in: $2,270 (TWD 70,000)
Four opening flights of diminishing level-lengths kick off the six-day event, won last year by Thailand’s Punnat Punsri, who overcame a monster field of 1,434 runners to pocket the $365,270 ($11,210,400 TWD) top prize.
That was the largest first-place prize ever to be awarded in a Taiwanese poker tournament, and with this year’s Main Event set to be bigger and even richer, you can expect that and plenty more records to be broken along the way.
- Micro Main Event, March 10
- Buy-in: $355 (TWD 11,000)
If your budget doesn’t stretch to a full ME seat, the return of yet another record-breaking event from last year, the Micro Main Event, may be for you. With an even bigger guarantee, it’s described as “a fast-paced take on the Main Event structure that plays out in a day”.
- APT Superstar Challenge, March 1-2
- Buy-in: $25,940 (TWD 800,000)
One of the biggest draws, for poker fans at least, will be the $25k SHR, aka the SuperStar Challenge. With modern-day high-roller legend and Natural8 ambassador Danny Tang expected to play, the two-day Superstar Challenge will see a final table livestreamed from the Chinese Mahjong League.
Last year’s Superstar Challenge (with a $10k buy-in) saw Filipino pro John Tech emerge triumphant, with England’s Jack Sinclair in the money. The even higher stakes this time round will doubtless attract the top Asia-Pacific high roller tournament players.
Among the other APT Taipei 2024 highlights are:
- APT Super High Roller, March 2-3
- Buy-in: $9,730 (TWD 300,000)
- APT National Cup, February 28-March 2
- Buy-in: $325 (TWD 10,000)
- Mystery Bounty Hunter – March 2-3
- Buy-in: $475 (TWD 15,000)
The full APT Taipei 2024 schedule can be found here.
Things to do in Taipei when you bust
Officially known as Taipei City, you won’t be stuck for fascinating places to visit. Start with Longshan Temple, on Dragon Mountain – perfect for the Year of the Dragon celebrations.
If you have the energy, a hike up Elephant Mountain shows off Taipei in all its glory, while a trek around the hip Ximen (Little America) district is the perfect way to see how younger Taipei citizens live.
