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The Rise Of APT: Transforming the Poker Scene In Asia

Ever since its inception in 2008, Asian Poker Tour(APT) has evolved into one of the most premium poker series brands in the Asian poker circuit. It has managed to build a loyal fan following across the Asian subcontinent as well as for players across the globe. Year on year, the series has managed to grow bigger and larger in scale.

This year has already managed to break all records for APT. So far, the series has recorded astounding growth in numbers after the brand’s change of ownership last year.

Soon after APT Events Private Limited undertook the new management, new goals were set in place for the series. The focus was ‘regional and international expansion.’ At the start of the year, in January itself, APT set the objectives of what to expect from the brand going forward. Initiating a partnership with Asia’s largest online poker room, Natural8, APT struck a deal to have Natural8 as its Title Sponsor under a five-year agreement.

Upcoming APT Events To Look Forward To In 2023

APT CEO Fred Leung said, “2023 is going to be a transformative year for the Asian Poker Tour, and inking this deal with Natural8 is a massive step towards reaching our new era initiatives. This collaboration with N8 will greatly improve our live event offerings and provide opportunities for players that didn’t previously exist.”

The duo celebrated their newfound partnership with the APT’s debut on the online platform, Natural8 to host the Asian Poker Tour Online (APTO) series, featuring a $10,000,000 in guaranteed prizes. Apart from the sponsorship deal, the upcoming tours will include a lot of new changes, such as the introduction of fresh new games, varying tournament structures, and increased buy-ins.

Despite increasing the entry field, the focus on building larger prize pools turned out to be successful. The best example of this was the recently concluded APT series in Taipei in May. The event crushed the brand’s $1.5 Million prize pool record set during its 2008 APT Macau festivities.

The success of APT Taipei 2023

The APT Taipei 2023 Main Event gathered a massive entry field of 1,434, which exceeded the advertised NT$ 30,000,000 (~US$ 977,500) guarantee. The buy-in for this event was raised to NT$ 50,000 (~US$ 1,650), which led to the generated prize pool increasing to NT$ 62,594,100 (~US$ 2,034,185). This made it the largest-ever prize pool in the history of APT, with Thailand’s Punnat Punsri claiming the title for NT$ 11,210,400 (~US$ 364,300).

Additionally, the series also recorded its largest APT High Roller tournament, which attracted a total of 302 entries generating a prize pool of NT$ 26,364,600 (~USD $860,930). Eventually, Phachara Wongwichit won the title for APT High Roller winner pocketing  NT$ 4,800,900 (~US$ 153,310) in winnings.

Furthermore, the ongoing APT Summer Series Da Nang 2023 is going on in full swing. The edition is also all set to break records for APT scaling new heights and taking the series to a wider audience.

For more news and updates, keep reading Gutshot Magazine or follow us on our social media handles. We are present on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Telegram.

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