Poker Dream has gained a reputation for attracting both experienced players and promising newcomers to their events. Among them was Eng Siang Ewe, a relatively unknown poker player who scored a big win today. The opening day of Poker Dream Taiwan is no exception as many players eagerly joined the TWD 80K Single Day High Roller, the first major event of the tournament. This event served as a warmup for the rest of the tournament and allowed players to test their skills. Eng Siang Ewe joined this event and managed to win his first major tournament trophy.
Eng Siang Ewe Wins His First Major Tournament in Poker Dream Taiwan
The TWD 80K Single Day High Roller event brought together many experienced players including 19 poker stars. All of them tried their luck in winning this event. The participant count rose to 29 players, with several having multiple re-entries to increase their chances. All of this was for a respectable prize of TWD 2,070,368 (approximately USD 67,375).
Among the people who attended were Winfred Yu, the Poker Dream found, Singaporean poker sar Alex Lee, and award-winning player Steve O’Dwyer of Ireland. The event gave the audience quite a show as these stars along with many others were able to show off their skills and leave the audience on the edge of their seats.
Steven O’Dwyer was unable to make it to the money round after losing to former Triton SHRS GG Super Millions champion Webster Lim. He continued to play until only he and Eng Siang Ewe remained. Despite not being as successful as Webster Lim, Eng Siang Ewe had a substantial chip lead.
The two of them continued to battle it out for the win, but Eng Siang Ewe maintained his lead and even widened the gap. Eventually, he managed to eliminate Webster Lim with a Queen and Five of Clubs.
After this win, Eng Siang Ewe had a brief interview where he admits that this was his first major career win. He previously only reached second place in his last two tournaments. He also admits that he will place in other events and hopes to win more trophies.
“It was a really fast end. He had two pairs and I had open ended flush draw and I hit it. I am very happy to win. I will be here until the event ends and I will play all the other events, all the high rollers.”
Eng Siang Ewe, Winner of the TWD 80K Single Day High Roller Event
With this win, Eng Siang Ewe will take home the winner’s trophy and a cash prize of TWD 766,000 (USD 24,927) for his achievement.
Other Event Updates
The TWD 80K Single Day High Roller event wasn’t the only tournament that happened today. The Taiwan Open also took place with a guaranteed prize pool of TWD 2 million. This tournament would have three flights and three different buy-ins so that players of all levels would be able to join.
Today was the opening of Flight A which saw a large number of players joining the event. Flight B was meant for high-rollers with a larger buy-in fee but also a larger prize pool. Lastly, there was Flight C which had the smallest entrance fee which was the most casual of the events.
Having these three options was a smart decision as in total, these three flights attracted more than 452 players. This created a prize pool worth 2,526,600 TWD or the equivalent to around 82,220 USD.
So far, the chip leader seems to be Hong Kong poker player Cheuk Him Tsang. He was part of Flight C (Turbo) and managed to get a stack of 77 Big Blinds. Cheuk and the other top players are expected to come back for Day 2 of the event to compete for the prize pool.
The Dream Poker Taiwan event has just gotten started but it is already heating up with many hoping it will even surpass the previous Dream Poker Event in the Philippines.
To get the details about that event, you can read our post on Dream Poker Philippines Announcement.