Latest Highlights: Three Steps to Glory for Anand Rathi at Natural8 Open Main Event; Ting Chieh Yang Wins Sunday Superstack
The first headliner of PS Championship IV is officially in the books with the Natural8 Open Main Event crowning its champion at Asia Poker Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. Also drawing a large crowd was the Natural8 Open Mini Main Event and the Sunday Superstack.
Have a read below on the latest highlights from the tournament floor.
Dream Debut For Anand Rathi at Natural8 Open Main Event
Three steps stood between Anand Rathi and the Natural8 Open Main Event title. As an avid cash game player, his journey began with winning a NT$ 4,000 satellite.
Anand RathiFrom there, Rathi survived Flight C to reach the money in his first-ever live tournament, then continued his deep run all the way through Day 2. The final step came at heads up, where an ICM deal saw Rathi crowned champion, completing his quest from satellite qualifier to hoisting the coveted PS trophy.
On his road to the crown, Rathi survived his own brushes with elimination, including a dramatic rivered straight. He also delivered four knockouts at the final table, more than any other player.
Sponsored by Natural8, Asia's leading online platform, the NT$ 16,500 buy-in event generated a NT$ 5,117,904 prize pool, with 56 players earning a share. Listed below are the final 9 payouts.
| Place | Player | Payout (NT$) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anand RathiIndia | 622,504* |
| 2 | Kaihung HuTaiwan | 820,000* |
| 3 | Po Yu ChenTaiwan | 390,000 |
| 4 | Zhan Xi GuoTaiwan | 280,000 |
| 5 | Cheng Wei PengTaiwan | 211,800 |
| 6 | Kazuki FukudaJapan | 179,000 |
| 7 | Do Yun KuSouth Korea | 150,000 |
| 8 | Anson ChoyHong Kong | 123,000 |
| 9 |
*ICM Heads Up deal
For the full payouts, click here.
Read up on the final table action via the live updates or for the blow-by-blow action head to the recorded stream on the Players Series YouTube channel.
Natural8 Open Mini Main Event
The Natural8 Open Mini Main Event was one hot ticket, drawing 402 entries at NT$ 5,500 each to generate a NT$ 1,846,627 prize pool. But getting a piece of it - and reaching the final day - was no easy task.
Each of the six starting flights played down to 15% of the field to reach the money, then pushed even further until only 5% remained. By the end of the flights, the 402 entry field had been whittled down to just 23 players, all returning for the final race to the title.
Bagging up the largest stack was Kenta Urashima with 1,200,000, that's equivalent to exactly 100 big blinds entering the final day. When action resumes on Tuesday, August 25 at 11:00 AM, blinds will kick off at 6,000-12,000 ante 12,000 with levels increasing at a brisk 20 minutes.
Live updates will be running throughout until the champion is crowned.
| Player | Chips | Table / Seat |
|---|---|---|
| Kenta UrashimaJapan | 1,200,000 | 9-7 |
| Sheng Min ChouTaiwan | 954,000 | 10-1 |
| Ting Pang TsaiTaiwan | 932,000 | 10-6 |
| Kim JihwanSouth Korea | 792,000 | 8-3 |
| Ming Che YangTaiwan | 772,000 | 9-2 |
| Jaeyoung JeonSouth Korea | 674,000 | 8-1 |
| Yu Jen ChenTaiwan | 657,000 | 10-7 |
| Martin Von KnoblochParaguay | 635,000 | 9-1 |
Ting Chieh Yang Breaks Through in Sunday Superstack
Ting Chieh Yang captured his first-ever Players Series title after overcoming a 128-entry field in the Sunday Superstack. From the NT$ 15,000 buy in, the event generated a NT$1,658,880 prize pool, with 20 players reaching the money and Yang ultimately locking up the NT$404,880 top prize.
At heads up, standing in Yang's way was Zheng Shun-Yi, who was chasing his second title of PSC IV after already taking down the 6-Max event. However, there would be no repeat victory as Yang defeated the in-form Zheng to secure the trophy.
For the festival results and payouts, click here.
More action lies ahead at PS Championship IV as the festival moves into its second half. Taking center stage from Wednesday, August 26 through August 31 is the main headliner, the PS Championship Main Event with five starting flights offered for a chance at the NT$15,000,000 guaranteed prize pool.
For the all the info, click here.
