The second WPT Prime Taiwan has shown that poker is booming in Asia by setting a new record and paying out more than $1.2 million in prize money.
Seonguk Huh won the 2023 WPT Prime Taiwan main event and $197,741 after beating a record-breaking field at the Asia Poker Arena. (Image: WPT)
The main beneficiary of another successful WPT Prime main event was Seonguk Huh. The South Korean had 11 live cashes prior to the $1,000 Prime event at the Asia Poker Arena in Taiwan.
All of Huh’s cashes have been in 2023 but, despite coming close to winning a live event, he’s fallen short at five final tables. All that changed on August 21 when Huh topped a field of 1,359 entries to win his first title and $197,741.
WPT Prime Taiwan calls out to an international audience
Such is the WPT’s allure that the second annual Prime event in Taiwan attracted players from all four corners of the globe.
Naturally, Asian poker players were the most numerous, but international players Yannick Leonard and Guillem Segarra made it through the masses. Segarra, from Spain, finished ninth, while Frenchman Yannick finished second to Huh.
This combination of local and international players pushed the prizepool beyond its $1 million guarantee. Not only that, it made WPT Prime Taiwan the biggest of its kind.
The WPT’s fledgling poker tour has been breaking records since the start of 2023. However, the trend actually started back in 2022 when the WPT Prime Championship raised the bar. That season-ending showpiece attracted 5,430 entries and gave the winner, Stephen Song, a $712,650 payday.
WPT Prime can’t stop breaking records
The momentum created by the 2022 season finale carried over into the new year and WPT Prime Paris. A total of 1,071 entries anted up in the French capital to set a new tour record but it only lasted for a few weeks.
By the time registration ended at WPT Prime Gold Coast in March, 1,224 entries had anted up over three starting flights. That set another WPT Prime record and allowed the winner, Sheng Ye, to take home more than $240,000.
Success often breeds success, and that was the case in Taiwan late last week. With support from the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club, WPT Prime Taiwan beat the previous record by 135 entries. A record-breaking tournament is notable in and of itself, but to set the record in an emerging poker market like Asia is even more impressive.
2023 WPT Prime main event result
- Seonguk Huh – $197,741*
- Yannick Leonard – $131,790
- Seung Hun “Manny” Ko – $97,559
- Jacky Wang – $72,935
- Tung Wing Wong – $55,069
- Dongkyu Kim – $41,990
- Tao Wei Chang – $32,353
- Feng Wen Chen – $25,147
- Guillem Segarra – $19,806
*Winner also receives a free seat in the $10,400 WPT World Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The World Poker Tour’s renaissance continues, but so too does the rise of poker in Asia. That’s resulted in another big event and more six-figure payouts. The tour now rolls on to Liechtenstein and Madrid in September before the WPT Prime Championship takes place at the Wynn Las Vegas in December.
