Grabbing a selfie with the champ during his championship photo shoot.   I first met Indonesia's Rudy Edenata during the Players' Series in Taipei. I met him and knew of him because I was covering as a live reporter and it's part of my job to know the players I'm covering, so I came across his name. A few months later, I was back in Taipei for the Gods of Poker tournament as a player at the GOP Influencer Conquest event. I ran into my dear friend JC Ann Sotelo, whom I've known since the pandemic, and who out of nowhere had to decided to pick up poker. She had won a ladies tournament in her first try taking home a trophy. It wasn't as spectacular. They were just two players heads up and it was done in one hand. JC had pocket eights against the aces of her opponent. She made a set, cracked the aces and won a trophy. She was also part of the GOP Influencer Conquest event and she won that too. During her stint there at Taipei, she hung out with her crew, which includ...

Tony Ren Lin Hello from Jeju! Its day 8 of the APT Jeju Classic 2026 and things are winding down. As usual, it's always amazing to rekindle friendships and make new ones. I'm always happy for APT because of these opportunities. One of the best things was getting to fanboy over Tony Ren Lin and grab a selfie with him. This was even before he won the APT Super High Roller and follow it up with a win in the APT Superstar Challenge. I wanted a picture with him for the simple reason that he is a person who faced adversity, accepted the consequences with grace and professionalism, then continued to be the person that he is. Last year, Tony Ren Lin was banned from the WSOP and removed from GGPoker as its ambassador following a "cheating-scandal." Lin made an apology, accepted the consequence and moved on. The WSOP suspension would be lifted and he would cash in WSOP Paradise, and while he may have lost his GGPoker ambassador-ship, an opportunity came for him to jump in with ...