Chen And Pan Take Down Macau Poker Cup's Biggest Events

The world’s biggest gambling resort, Macau, is home to one of Asia’s most popular tournament series known as the Macau Poker Cup. Between August 28th and September 13th, the City of Dreams casino subsequently played host to its 23rd edition, of which two tournaments from its eighteen events schedule stood out above the rest, namely the Red Dragon Main Event, and the US$10,300 High Roller event.
The Red Dragon Main Event attracted a record 945 players to create a prize pool worth just short of HK$10 million, or around US$1.3 million. Three days later, and Yue Feng Pan (photo) triumphed over the field to collect the tournament’s HK$2,108,000 (US$272,000) top prize, whilst also giving China its eighth Red Dragon title. As the 30-year-old commented following his victory:
“I feel so happy right now. I just love the competition of tournaments and being able to prove myself against all my opponents.”
Final Table Results (HK$):
1 Yue Feng Pan $2,108,000
2 Shao Po Liu $1,239,520
3 Tse Jui Tsai $750,000
4 Zhixiong Tan $539,000
5 Long Wen Zhu $269,500
6 Ming Min Wu $269,500
7 Xong Xin Liu $225,500
8 Huafeng Gu $196,000
9 Bin Wen Ren $166,500
The High Roller event attracted 75 player field, and after two days of action it would be James Chen who would emerge atop the field to collect its HK$1,704,000 (US $219,850) first place prize. The Chinese Taipei player did it in style, too, and on the final hand of a heads-up which lasted just minutes, Yoshimichi moved all his chips in on the turn with a pair of tens, only to be called by Chen with pocket jacks. The river card changed nothing, and as a statement from the competition’s sponsor, PokerStars, explains:
“The pace throughout the day gave no indication that the final table would be over so quickly, but Chen simply dominated and ensured it was a short night at the felt.”
Final Table Results ($US):
1 James En Ning Chen $219,850
2 Makoto Yoshimichi $144,115
3 Tom Alner $93,668
4 Liang Yu $72,122
5 Wayne Zhang $50,447
6 Yan Cai $43,222
7 Scott Davies $35,997
8 Xiang Zhu $32,449
9 Huidong Gu $28,836