Running 10th November to December 2024, and boasting $20 million in series prize pool guarantees, the third installment of the Asian Poker Tour Online (APTO) is back, bigger and better than ever! The 22-day online series sees Asia’s most prestigious poker tour return to the digital felt for its third official online foray in partnership with Natural8 with the series comprising 20 Trophy Events – each of which will award a real-life APTO trophy to the respective winner – in addition to a daily schedule of satellites and side events.
There are also three exclusive bespoke APT Online Lion Trophies to be won in the $800 Main Event, $1,500 APT High Roller, and $3,000 APT Super High Roller, running 16th November - 1st December, 24th - 25th November, and 1st - 2nd December respectively.
The top three players of the series – tracked via the APT Online Leaderboard – will receive USD $2,500 APT Main Event Live Packages!
First Two APT Online Trophies Awarded
The first two Trophy Events of the APTO 2024 are in the books, and the first of the champions has been crowned. So far, the opening two events have seen 3,059 combined entries compete for $1,127,106 in prize money, with three quarters (75%) of this amount awarded in the two-day $5,000 Event #2: Superstar Challenge – and there is still plenty of action left to come.
Upcoming highlights include the $400 Event #4 APT Double Stack ($250,000 GTD) running Saturday, 14th November, the VND 2.5M (*$98.64) Event #5 Vietnam National Cup (Bounty] (VND 4BN /S157 827 GTD *converted from Vietnamese Dong) running 16th November, the $300 Event #6 Sunday Super Stack ($250.000 GTD) running Sunday, 17th November, and the $100 Event #7 APT Mini Main Event $1M GTD, running 12th to 17th November.
Event #1: APT Online Bounty Kickoff
The $108 Event #1: APT Online Bounty Kickoff kickstarted the series action, with players awarded a progressive bounty of at least $25 for each player eliminated. This saw 2,882 players in action, easily surpassing the tournament’s $202,400 prize pool guarantee, generating a $286,355.52 prize pool (including bounties), with the top 336 places paying out and a min-cash good for $108.93.
The tournament action played out over close to ten hours (9:42:14) with Russia's "A Kirichenko" earning the plaudits and a top prize of $14,284.98, plus a further $14,311.21 in bounties, after cutting a deal with heads-up opponent, Natural8's "Sativa97" of Taiwan, who locked up $14,283.46 for their runner-up finish, claiming another $6,762.22 in bounties.
Brazil's "Lucio Lima" rounded out the winner's podium, taking bronze and a payout of $11,349.61 for third place, earning a further $2,017.60 in bounties, with Natural8's "gimmie_Chicken" and "Benzdum" both making the final table and the top nine paying out as follows:
APT ONLINE BOUNTY KICKOFF FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Rank | Player | Country | Bounty | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A Kirichenko | Russia | $14,311.21 | $14,284.98 + $14,311.21 |
| 2 | Sativa97 | Taiwan | $6,762.22 | $14,283.46 + $6,762.22 |
| 3 | Lucio Lima | Brazil | $2,017.60 | $11,349.61 + $2,017.60 |
| 4 | gimme_Chicken | Hong Kong | $1,285.55 | $9,018.36 + $1,285.55 |
| 5 | ufuk kortan | Cyprus | $1,066.80 | $7,165.97 + $1,066.80 |
| 6 | Confused Farmer | China | $445.31 | $5,694.06 + $445.31 |
| 7 | Jacob Tang | Hong Kong | $2,100.78 | $4,524.48 + $2,100.78 |
| 8 | Benzdum | Thailand | $1,071.09 | $3,595.14 + $1,071.09 |
| 9 | Nartay_esbol | China | $1,229.68 | $2,856.69 + $1,229.68 |
Other notables to cash but come up short of the final table included Natural8 Ambassador "Nevan Chang" (159th for $143.71 plus $412.50 in bounties), Brazil's "Gabriel Baleeiro" (233rd for $$108.93 plus $62.50 in bounties), and APT tour regular "Joshua McCully" (278th for $108.93).
Event #2: Superstar Challenge
While Event #1: APT Online Bounty Kickoff drew the largest field of the APT Online Trophy Events so far, the $5,000 Event #2: Superstar Challenge ($500,000 GTD) proved to be the highlight of the opening weekend of the festival and saw 177 high rolling entries in action over the two-day event competing for a $840,750 prize pool.
It was Natural8's own "ALEU" of Vietnam who proved to be the star of the tournament, claiming the trophy and a top prize of $186,066.62 after defeating high stakes crusher "Roman Hrabec" heads-up, with the Czech Republic native, who resides in Austria, banking $139,530.15 for his runner-up finish.
China's "522" completed the winner's triumvirate, taking away a payout of $104,632.86 for third place. A total of 23 players made the money, with the UK's "Jack Salter" and Natural8's "MisterAnderson" of Canada also making a final table appearance, and APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Superstar Challenge champion Chih Wei Fan cashing in 21st place for a min-cash of $9,528.90.
SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Rank | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ALEU | Vietnam | $186,066.62 |
| 2 | Roman Hrabec | Austria | $139,530.15 |
| 3 | 522 | China | $104,632.86 |
| 4 | Jack Salter | Mexico | $78,463.59 |
| 5 | Emanuel74 | Andorra | $58,839.37 |
| 6 | MisterAnderson | Canada | $44,123.30 |
| 7 | Ofirr cohen | Israel | $33,087.86 |
| 8 | Denis Zelenkin | Argentina | $24,812.37 |
| 9 | Moist | New Zealand | $18,606.68 |
Stay in the loop with the latest news, events, and promotions by following Natural8's official social media accounts. Don't miss out on exciting updates – follow now!
