Ten new champions emerged from the packed schedule on the GOP Taipei 2026 Day 3 on the CTP Asia Poker Area.
Taiwan’s Chih Feng Li storming to victory within the flagship GOP Olympians occasion—his second title of the pageant—whereas Filipino grinder Marc Rivera etched his title into historical past by snagging the sequence’ first elite Gauntlet award.
As fields swelled and ensures shattered, the Participant of the Collection contest tightened dramatically, setting the stage for an explosive run via January 18.
Olympians Epic: Li’s Double Triumph
The highlight shone on the GOP Olympians, the pageant’s inaugural big-ticket showdown with a modest TWD 12,000 (~$380) buy-in that exploded into 351 entries over six beginning flights.
Gamers obliterated the TWD 3 million assure, vying for a juicy TWD 3,639,168 prize pool ($115,020) that rewarded 51 within the cash. Native hero Chih Feng Li lifted the Silver Spartan trophy and TWD 771,968 ($24,400).
Li’s path featured a jaw-dropping cooler: his pocket fives flopped a set, turned quads, and obliterated an opponent’s aces, rocketing him up the leaderboard.
The ultimate desk flew by early—Wei Kai Lin bowed out ninth, Thailand’s Kongjaroentin Tanik eighth, Chia Chaing Ko seventh—earlier than Terry Gonzaga cracked Chuang Lin Cheng’s queens with fours for sixth and a fleeting chip lead. Hengzhe Hu’s aces met their destiny towards Li’s fives in fifth, and Gonzaga’s kings KO’d Fong in fourth, and Shun Yi Zheng ousted Gonzaga third to enter heads-up with an enormous edge.
Li dodged an early all-in shove, grinded again via 36 arms of swings, and sealed it when Zheng’s A-3 couldn’t maintain towards his A-7. Olympians payouts highlights:
Chih Feng Li (Taiwan) – TWD 771,968 ($24,400), SPI 1,291.64Shun Yi Zheng (Taiwan) – TWD Cron470,200 ($14,860), SPI 913.33Terry Gonzaga (Philippines) – TWD 318,600 ($10,070), SPI 745.73Fong Shaing Li (Taiwan) – TWD 231,200 ($7,305), SPI 645.82Hengzhe Hu (Taiwan) – TWD 176,200 ($5,570), SPI 577.64Chuang Lin Cheng (Taiwan) – TWD 139,300 ($4,405), SPI 527.31Chia Chaing Ko (Taiwan) – TWD 113,300 ($3,580), SPI 488.19Kongjaroentin Tanik (Thailand) – TWD 94,200 ($2,975), SPI 456.66Wei Kai Lin (Taiwan) – TWD 79,700 ($2,520), SPI 430.55
Gauntlet Milestone for Rivera
Within the reverse nook of the buy-in spectrum, Marc Rivera’s steely heads-up efficiency within the TWD 330,000 ($10,400) Demigods Problem—a tiny five-entry winner-takes-all—netted him TWD 1,520,475 ($48,055) and the black Gauntlet sleeve, his first GOP {hardware}.
Battling e-sports legend turned poker professional Yohwan “BoxeR” Lim, Rivera clung to his lead via intense exchanges, proving why he’s a rising drive with over $263K in regional cashes.
Facet Occasions and Leaderboard Fireworks
Day 3’s eight facet occasions stored the motion relentless, fueling Martijn Gerrits’ surge to Participant of the Collection lead on six cashes and three trophies—although Alfie Adam denied him a fourth by successful the 5 Card NL Omaha Hyper Turbo for his second title. Hanh Tran lurks second, with Adam and Pasith Teeka Uttamakorn nipping at their heels.
Pandora’s Thriller Bounty (TWD 18K buy-in) charged previous 215 entries via 4 flights, smashing its TWD 3M GTD at TWD 3,343,680 ($105,780); 31 survivors return led by Jun Liang Deric Lee’s towering 1.204M stack, forward of Nishant Kumar (895K) and Soohyeok Lee (781K).
Highlight on Chih Feng Li
Chih Feng Li, Taiwan’s high-volume maestro ranked #67 on 2026 SPI (1,638 factors), now sits on $176,876 in Asia-Pacific earnings throughout 100 occasions and 94 cashes. His profession watermark: a $68,285 third within the 2022 WPT Prime Taiwan Fundamental Occasion. Simply final November, he conquered APT Taipei’s NT$15K PL Omaha Hello-Lo (Occasion #25) for ~$8,499, showcasing versatility in Maintain’em, PLO, and Huge O.
Latest deep runs—like thirtieth in OLA Taipei Fundamental and sixth in AJPC Samurai Mini Fundamental—cement his grinder ethos, thriving in Asia’s booming mid-stakes grind.
Day 4 ramps up with Pandora’s Day 2 finale, GOP Tremendous Excessive Curler flights (TWD 120K, TWD 3M GTD), Titan Stack continuations (TWD 19K), and the Cronus Golden Window perk—double bubble buy-ins refunded for pre-Stage 1 entries in key occasions just like the Fundamental.
