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Home / Uncategorized / APPT8 Macau: Final table player profiles

Seat 1: Carlos Chang, 27 (Chinese Taipei) – 935,000 in chips

Carlos Chang is one of Taiwan’s most successful tournament players with over seven years experience in the game. Chang has a number of results in Macau including a victory in the 2012 Asian Poker Tour Macau and a cash result in the 2009 APPT Macau Main Event. His career earnings of over $285,000 place him fifth on the all-time money earners for Taiwan.

Chang likes to stay fit with swimming and running and also enjoys acting, which is a skill that might come in very handy if he has to portray a few stories on this final table.

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Carlos Chang

Seat 2: Thomas Mcgarrity, 23 (Scotland) – 2,865,000 in chips

Thomas Mcgarrity is a 23-year old from Glasgow in the United Kingdom who has six years experience in the game. Mcgarrity describes himself as a “wannabe poker pro”. Mcgarrity started playing £2 sit and gos with his brother and friends before progressing up the limits to now play $5-10 online and HK$100-200 live.

With just one result on his record, which was a small cash in a local tournament back in Nottingham, this will be Mcgarrity’s best poker result regardless of where he finishes on the APPT Macau final table. Away from the tables, Mcgarrity enjoys rugby, golf, reading and hitting the gym.

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Thomas Mcgarrity

Seat 3: Billy “The Croc” Argyros, 54 (Australia) – 325,000 in chips

The man known as “The Croc”, Billy Argyros is one of Australia’s all-time greats. This Australian Poker Hall of Famer has a tournament history dating back to 1989, but has been in a rich vein of form in more recent times. Just last September, Argyros claimed victory at the APPT in Melbourne, and since then has followed up with final tables at major championships in Macau and Noumea. Those results boosted Crocky’s career earnings to over US$1.3 million.

Argyros has results all over the world but his biggest pay day came at the 2008 World Series of Poker where he finished 4th in the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha championship for a collect of US$268,605.

Away from poker, Argyros says he enjoys golf, backgammon and eating, and he’d love nothing more than to become the first person in history to win two APPT titles.

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Billy “The Croc” Argyros

Seat 4: Sailesh Verma, 34 (Hong Kong) – 405,000 in chips

Sailesh Verma is a professional poker player based out of Hong Kong who is generally regarded as a cash game specialist. The 34-year old has played in several Macau poker tournaments over the past 7 years but his first major final table is by far his best career result already.

Verma’s lack of live tournament success prompted a friend to lay 14-to-1 odds on a HK $20,000 wager that he couldn’t finish in the Top 3 within 24 months dating back to October 2013.

The APPT Macau title and more than HK $2.7m should be enough incentive for any poker player. But a long-term prop bet has added yet another layer of excitement for Verma who could win an additional HK $280,000 on Sunday.

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Sailesh Verma

Seat 5: Jean-Marie Peyron, 28 (France) – 435,000 in chips

Jean Marie Peyron has a number of small results to his credit throughout Europe with his best score coming with a second place in an IPT San Remo side event for over US$25,000 in prize money

Peyron has been playing poker for five years and claims that his friends have been the biggest influence on his game. The defining moment for Peyron in the APPT Macau Main Event so far was when he won a hand holding pocket tens against pocket kings right near the bubble. Outside of poker, Peyron enjoys Football.

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Jean-Marie Peyron

Seat 6: Jiajun Liu, 33 (China) – 1,915,000 in chips

Despite only playing poker for one and a half years, Jia Jun Liu considers himself a poker pro. The 33-year old loves tournament poker specifically and he’s certainly shown his passion during the main event where loud screams of excitement have been heard across the casino floor.

Liu is a football fan who tells us that APPT Macau has been the highlight of his short poker career and hopes to follow in the footsteps of countryman Alexandre Chieng who won this event last year.

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Jiajun Liu

Seat 7: Yen Han Chen, 26 (Chinese Taipei) – 520,000 in chips

Yen Han Chen has several results in Macau dating back to 2011, with his best result coming in February this year with a fourth place finish in the ‘ACOP Platinum Series’ Main Event for HK$98,400.

The 26-year old student from Taiwan has played poker for 5 years and is hoping to add to what’s already his biggest highlight in his tournament career. Outside of this tournament, Chen plays HK$50/100 cash games.

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Yen Han Chen

Seat 8: Yat Wai Cheng, 36 (Hong Kong) – 875,000 in chips

Yat Wai Cheng only has one result on his poker resume, but it’s a good one. Last October Cheng finished in fourth place in the 2013 Asia Championships of Poker Main Event. That result was good for HK$1,485,000 (approx US$190,000) in winnings which was enough to propel Cheng into 13th place on Hong Kong’s all-time money earners list.

Cheng has been playing poker for five years, usually hitting the HK$100/200 cash games. In his spare time Cheng loves to travel.

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Yat Wai Cheng

Seat 9: Cyril Andr̩ , 28 (France) Р1,545,000

Frenchman Cyril André is a long way from home, but the 28-year old is certainly making an impression here at the APPT Macau. André is a poker professional with several impressive results to his credit, including an EPT and WSOP cash, but his biggest result was at the 2010 Partouche Poker Tour where seventh place earned over US$260,000 in prize money.

André has over seven years of experience in the game and this is not his first time on a major final table, so he’ll be one to watch on this final table.

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Cyril Andre

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