Tokuho Yoshinaga Takes Out ACOP Platinum Series X Main Event

While the professional poker world continued to recover from the mid-year madness that was the WSOP, a major event quietly took place in the other gaming mecca of the world, Macau.

The Asia Championship of Poker (ACOP) Platinum X Series took place this month, and its Main Event came to a close over the weekend.

Despite the recent instability in Macau caused by the Chinese Government’s crackdown on corruption, the ACOP still managed to get its fair share of players, with 252 of them turning out for the Main Event.

That number was much higher than the 181 players who took to the felt in the last ACOP Platinum IX Main Event, a solid sign that poker will continue to stay strong in Macau despite the overall decline in gaming in the enclave.

After the Main Event was all said and done, it was Japanese player Tokuho Yoshinaga who outlasted the field, winning the tournament and its HK$272,946 (around US$35,000) top place prize.

The top 27 players were in the money in the Main Event, which resulted in intense competition throughout the tournament.

Among the most famous faces to have made it in the money was Team PokerStars pro Celina Lin, who was also the bubble in the race for the final table in the event as she wound up leaving in tenth spot.

It came when Lin was part of a two-player showdown, with Lin holding Pocket Sixes while her opponent had Ace King. With no other Ace or King being shown on the flop or turn, it appeared that Lin was in line for a double up, but it wasn’t to be as another King came on the river.

Although seven of the final nine players came from China or Chinese territories (Hong Kong & Macau), the players who ended up in heads-up play were not from there.

James Goodman was the only non-Asian player to have made it to the final table. The player from the UK settled for second place as he lost in the heads-up play against Yoshinaga.

The Japanese player, on the other hand, won the event, which appears to be just the second time he has placed in the money.

The win may help establish Japan as one of the up and coming nations in the poker world as it marks the second time this month that a Japanese player has won a major poker event. Takahiro Nakai won a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em event at the WSOP, becoming only a second player from the Land of the Rising Sun to claim a World Series gold.