Rob Hollink

The remaining 9 players in the TWD 93,000 (~USD 3,000) [Event 6] Natural8 Cup Championship Freezeout have bagged their chips and successfully made the final table.

There was plenty of action on the felt from all players in this event, as the day began with 71 runners filling the tables at the Red Space Events Centre here in Taipei.

Play got underway just after the money bubble burst last night, with everyone guaranteed at least TWD 148,400 (~USD 4,790).

There were many casualties and bad beats throughout the day, eventually reducing the field to the final nine. All players returning tomorrow have locked up TWD 683,600 (~USD 22,050), but each of them have their eyes on the top prize of TWD 7,538,480 (~USD 243,180), which also comes with an APTC Main Event ticket worth TWD 311,000 (~USD 10,000).

Final Table Chip Count

*Big Blinds as of Level 27

The Netherland's Rob Hollink topped the counts, finishing the night with a commanding 3,555,000 stack. Hollink started strong, securing a double up early through a hand in which he connected on the flop and turn to bust table mate Anusorn Asiralertsiri.

By the middle of the day, Hollink had built a towering stack, though he did drop some chips in a battle with Jon Rounce-Sue.

One of Hollink’s most pivotal hands came when he doubled after flopping trips and got maximum value from Chang Seog Chae.

Hollink held firm throughout the evening and, in one of the last hands of the night, picked off a bluff from Rounce-Sue to stay on top.

The Philippine's Christopher Mateo followed close behind after an impressive day. Mateo entered play near the top of the counts with 791,000, placing him 4th out of the 71 returnees. He steadily maintained and built his stack to over 2 million by the middle of the day.

Mateo's path wasn’t without resistance, especially with Natural8 Ambassador Kitty Kuo on his left applying pressure throughout, and Mateo ended up doubling Kuo up after she out kicked him.

Mateo kept track of their confrontations, and when Kuo ramped up the pressure he found a fold after she jammed over his small blind raise. Despite that setback, Mateo surged back to the top entering the final two tables, helped significantly by a late-night pocket aces pickup that sent Kazuhiro Shirazwa to the rail.

Kitty Kuo

Kuo is the last woman standing in the event, and rounds out the podium. Kuo began the day with 168,000 but was active from the start, accumulating chips along the way. She took some from Mike Takayama in an early pot , and later from Xi Zhan Guo, which eventually lead to his elimination from the tournament.

Kuo's double through Christopher Mateo boosted her stack to 720,000, but she lost a chunk to Anthony Spinella getting ace-seven in against ace-eight. She later doubled back through Fabian Rolli in what turned out to be one of his final hands, helping her end the night in third.

Remaining Prize Pool:

Adrian State

Romania's Adrian State staged the biggest comeback of the day, bagging chips and returning for Day 4. State started well when he picked up eights and knocked out Derek Chen. But Kuo was confronting him and knocked him down to just 115,000 just an hour before the end of the night.

State's luck changed and he saw back-to-back doubles, spinning his stack back up to 875,000 within just minutes of nearly being out. He kept up the momentum and saw himself at risk again but secured yet another double through Dohang Na.

State saw to the end of Fabian Rolli, and finished in 6th position going into the final table, making for an epic late night comeback.

South Korea's Chang Seog Chae is also under the spotlight and has already crushed his own record for his previous best career cash, guaranteeing himself more than double his total lifetime earnings. This result is especially sweet after he was the bubble boy in another recent Taipei-based Main Event. Chae returns with a around 27 big blinds to play with, sitting in 7th place.

Shiina Okamoto

Japan's Shiina Okamoto returned today and reached the final three tables. She held a steady stack for most of the day but was knocked down by compatriot Hajime Watanabe in a blind-vs-blind battle.

Okamoto's tournament run ended shortly after when she committed her final chips with ace-king against Dohang Na’s pocket threes and found no help on the board.

Many notables arrived and exited throughout the day, including the last remaining Natural8 Ambassador Sparrow Cheung and APT 2025 Jeju Main Event champion Abraham Ceesvin. Both fell to the same early fate, busting within minutes of Day 3 starting.

The final day resumes tomorrow, Saturday, 22 November, at 11:15 a.m., and will play down to a champion. Action begins at Level 26 with blinds at 25,000/50,000 and a 25,000 big blind ante, but with only two minutes left in the level, it will quickly progress to Level 27 at 30,000/60,000 with a 60,000 ante. Levels remain 60 minutes long, and full coverage will be available on the live stream with a 30-minute delay.

For the APT Live Stream: Click HERE

Be sure to check back tomorrow for continued APT live reporting from the Natural8 Cup Championship as we follow the action all the way to the crowning of our first champion.

The Final Table has been reached, marking the end of Day 3.

Stick around as a full recap of today’s action is coming shortly.

Dohang Na opened to 100,000 in late position and was called by the blinds, Kitty Kuo in the small and Rob Hollink in the big blind.

The flop came 5 7 8 and all three players checked. After a check on the 3 turn, Hollink fired 75,000 prompting Na to go all-in for 795,000. Kuo snap-called while Hollink got out of the way. Both Na, at risk, and Kuo went to showdown.

Dohang Na: A Q

Kitty Kuo: 5 5

Kuo had caught a set on the flop. Na still had a chance to improve with his flush draw but the river fell 8 , giving Kuo a ful house and sending Na out, one place short of the final table.

Rob Hollink check-called Jon Rounce-Sue's bet of 115,000 on a flop of 2 T 7 with around 300,000 chips in the middle.

The turn fell 4 and action went check-check.

The river fell T .

Looking slightly confused Rounce-Sue fired 125,000 and Hollink flat-called.

Rounce-Sue tabled J 9 for a complete bluff. Calmly, Hollink showed A 7 for a two pair on the board.

Kuzihiro Shirazawa

After doubling-up, Kazuhiro Shirazawa found himself all-in again and at risk for his last 500,000 against Christopher Mateo.

Kazuhiro Shirazawa: 9 9

Christopher Mateo: A A

Board ran 6 2 3 J 7

No more miracles came for Shirazawa and he was sent to the payout cage to collect his 11th place loot.

Fabian Rolli

While Kirazawa doubled-up in the other table, another Battle of The Blinds was going on.

Fabian Rolli had made an "almost all-in" jam for 205,000, leaving a 5,000 chip behind. Adrian State defended his big blind with just a call.

The board ran out 9 9 6 K 5

Rolli checked his option and eventually put in his last chip when State bet it out.

Fabian Rolli opened a formidable A 3 but it wasn't enough to defeat State's 7 5 which made a pair of fives for the win, sending Rolli out of the tournament.

Fabian Rolli opened to 100,000 from under the gun, leaving a single 25,000 chip behind. Action folded around to Jon Rounce-Sue who moved a stack of 200,000 in to force the action, and after Rolli checked the action on the other table, he called.

Fabian Rolli: K 9

Jon Rounce-Sue: T 5

The A Q 2 7 4 runout brought in little sweat, and Rolli secured a double and remained alive.

Kazuhiro Shirazawa

Action folded to the blinds and Bawoo Hyun Shik Yun moved all-in on the small blind to pressure the shorter stacked big blind of Kazuhiro Shirazawa.

Shirazawa accepted the challenge and risked his last 275,000.

Bawoo Hyun Shik Yun: Q 2

Kazuhiro Shirazawa: 5 5

Board ran 6 T A T 2

Shirazawa's fives survive and manage to give him a life-saving double up.

Bawoo Hyunsik Yun

Bawoo Hyunshik Yun opened from under the gun and Kazuhiro Shirasawa, who was sitting to his direct left, moved all in for 1,400,000.

Yun called, putting his 1,200,000 stack at risk, and the players went to showdown.

Bawoo Hyunshik Yun: 9 9

Kazuhiro Shirasawa: A K

Yun held on the T 9 A flop, improving to a set.

The 7 turn and 2 river didn't change anything, and Shirasawa was left with 200,000.

Action was picked up with Adrian State all-in and at risk yet again, this time against Dohang Na.

The pot was already around 1,000,000 when the all-in showdown occurred on a board of 2 K 9 5 6 . State had only 545,000 behind and was covered by Na.

Adrian State: A A

Dohang Na: K T

Na had caught top pair on the flop but couldn’t beat State’s pocket aces. State scooped the pot for another double, pulling himself closer to the final table.