It is around this time of year when all eyes in the world of poker in Asia turn to the Grand Lisboa Poker Room for the grand finale of the Macau Poker Cup series hosted by PokerStars Macau. I just arrived from Hong Kong, in time to cover the Main Event which starts with Day 1A tomorrow, and concluding through the weekend. MPC regulars and newcomers from around the region are expected to join the expected field of 250+ players along with Team Asia Pro Players: Raymond Wu, Celina Lin, Bryan Huang and new team member Vivian Im.

At the end of the tournament, I’ll head home to HK to continue what has been a crazy but exciting October – photographing two weddings before dropping back in Macau at the end of the month to cover Legend 6.

Oh yeah, I also turned 30 last week =)

Earlier this week, Slash made the last stop of his Asia Tour in 2011 at KITEC in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong. Opening was Australia’s Twenty Two Hundred and fronting for Slash’s band was Myles Kennedy. This was the second time I was shooting as official photographer for Slash in Hong Kong – here’s my blog post from his July 2010 show in Hong Kong.

Its embarrassing but I tend to get star struck in the presence of celebrities, particularly rock legends that I grew up listening to. This time around, I tried to play it cool, especially backstage, but I think there is an excitement with being in the presence of rockstars that I’ll probably never really outgrow. As expected, Slash was extremely respectful, shook my hand at the end of the meet-and-greet photoshoot, and said it was good to see me again (I won’t lie, I thought it was pretty cool that he remembered me).

The setlist consisted of a lot of stuff from the last show, with the exceptions of a few songs. Noteworthy: Doctor Alibi, one of my favorite songs from the latest album. Patience, one of my favorite GnR songs of all time. I had to put down my camera and just enjoy that one =)

 
Twenty Two Hundred frontman, Ben Lawoko-Leaney

Slash takes the stage

the fans of Hong Kong

Last week I photographed the highly anticipated Legend Fighting Championship 4 event at Hong Kong’s AsiaWorld-Expo. It was a night of solid fights put together by Legend, but I particularly appreciated the attention to smaller details (commonly overlooked by many event promoters in the region, IMHO): professionalism from the fighters, efficient refereeing and judging, proper beer and concessions, a MMA-savvy crowd – stuff like that. On top of all that, the venue was at near capacity which I think bodes very well for the sport’s growth in Hong Kong.

During the fights itself, as a photographer, I’ve realized its pretty near impossible to pay complete attention with your face buried into the back of a huge camera. Nevertheless, here are some thoughts on some of the matchups that night.

Mark Eddiva, Philippines vs. Alex Lee, Hong Kong
Lee clearly had the hometown crowd behind him, and he nearly ended the fight in the first round when he dropped Eddiva with knees. But Eddiva recovered and secured a crucifix which allowed him to pound away at Lee’s face (a la Hughes-BJ Penn). Lee escaped, but right into a rear-naked choke. Would’ve been great to see the HK native win, but it was great to see the fans support him anyways.

Wang Sai, China vs. Alex Niu, China
Possibly the most exciting fight of the night, Wang and Niu traded precision striking as both fighters showcased their entire muay-thai repertoire. But Niu got the better of the exchanges and landed full mount several times, on his way to an unanimous decision.

Li Jingliang, China vs. Tony Rossini, Australia
Most of the first round was spent on the ground with Li tucking his chin from Rossini’s rear-naked choke. In the second round, Rossini grabbed another takedown but gave up his neck to a guillotine that Li eventually choked him out with. Although he didn’t tap, I remember catching a glimpse of Rossini’s eyes looking towards the ref before he eventually went out. Thats heart right there.

Yao Honggang, China vs. Mick Mortimer, Australia
Although Mortimer dropped him early, Yao quickly recovered to fight what would be a back and forth battle. This was one of those fights where as a photographer it was hard to keep track of scoring, but judges gave the unanimous decision to Yao.

Yohan Mulia Legowo, Indonesia vs. Jo Nam Jin, South Korea
Jo fought this like his opponent had stole something. Seemingly upset at Legowo for grabbing the tape on his gloves, Jo pranced and taunted before dishing out some serious ground and pound, leading to a rear naked choke in Round 2.

Kim Hoon, South Korea vs. Rod MacSwain, New Zealand
With the Welterweight Belt on the line, Kim dropped MacSwain early, but allowed the Kiwi to come back and dominate the remainder of the fight. The fight was a story of heavy hands coupled with strong defense on the ground. MacSwain won the unanimous decision and the Welterweight Title.

Nam Yui Chul, South Korea vs. Adrian Pang, Australia
A rematch of Legend 1′s main event (involving a controversial point deduction and draw decision), Nam and Pang promised to be a good one. The bad intentions were written all over each fighter’s demeanor before the fight even started. Somewhat surprisingly though, both fighters maintained discipline with their strikes from what was clear respect for each other. As the fight went on Pang seemed to be getting the better of the standing exchanges and growing in confidence. Nam, sensing he might have been behind in the score cards, began to flurry with more desperation, but in the end Pang won the split decision and held on to his Lightweight Title.

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Backstage

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Vivek Mahbubani

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Chris Chan

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Chris Mellen

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Matina Leung

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Fab

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This was also my first assignment that I was able to shoot with the new Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR2. For the gear heads out there, it is delicious.

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Constructing the final table hole cams

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Main Event Champion trophy

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Best part of the final table – really, really mean staredowns!

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PokerStars Team Asia Pro: Celina Lin

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PokerStars Team Asia Pro: Bryan Huang

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PokerStars Team Asia Pro: Raymond Wu