# Who's The Winner
**Who's The Winner** (胜者为王) is a Hong Kong gambling-themed television drama series produced by Asia Television (ATV) in three parts broadcast between 1991 and 1993, totaling 82 episodes. The first two parts follow the vegetable seller Shek Chi-hong (石志康, played by Nathan Chan Ting-wai) as he learns gambling skills and rises through the casino world, while the third part is a separate story about the gambler Ching Yik-fung (程逸风, played by [Simon Yam](https://www.edgepedia.org/simon-yam)). The series is regarded as a classic of ATV's 1990s drama output and helped make gambling dramas a television genre in Hong Kong.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [2](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/2711439?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Production | Hong Kong Asia Television (ATV); gambling drama series in three parts, 82 episodes total[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Broadcast | Part I premiered 2 September 1991; Part II on 5 October 1992; Part III on 15 November 1993[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Directors | Yuen Chui-yin (袁再显) for the first two parts; Lung Shiu-kei (龙绍基) for the third[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Lead cast | Nathan Chan, Jackie Lui, Joey Meng, Paul Chun, Eddy Ko (Parts I–II); Simon Yam, Kent Tong, Kwong Wa, Joey Meng (Part III)[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) |
| Ratings | Part I peaked at 21 rating points on premiere, with a series-high 25 points for the finale; Part II opened at an average of 12 points and reached 21[3](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B) • [4](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BII%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B%E7%84%A1%E6%95%B5?variant=zh-hans) |
| Part III budget | HK$30 million, with location filming at casinos in France and Monaco[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042) |
| Current rights | Held by The Walt Disney Company; the trilogy was uploaded to Disney+ on 29 March 2023[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042) • [6](https://www.am730.com.hk/%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/368827/%E4%BA%9E%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87-%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B-%E4%B8%B2%E6%B5%81%E4%B8%8A%E6%9E%B6-%E5%BE%A9%E4%BB%87-%E8%B3%AD%E5%8D%9A%E5%8A%87%E6%83%8526%E5%B9%B4%E5%BE%8C%E8%A2%ABtvb%E7%85%A7%E6%8A%84) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
In the gambling world of Hong Kong and Macau around 1990, Nip Man Long (Paul Chun) is the reigning tyrant of the tables, a man whose card skill is matched only by his taste for scheming off it. He wins constantly, and the people he wins against do not always survive the loss. In the first scene, Shek Chi-hong (Nathan Chan), the son of a vegetable seller with no money and no connections, happens to watch a game between Chiang Jan, a former gambling king, and Nip Man Long. The contest plants a fascination in him that never leaves. From there the series splits its attention between Chi-hong's slow, hungry education in gambling and the grudges gathering around Nip Man Long.
Among the grudge-holders is Chiang Pak-ki (Jackie Lui), son of the deposed king Chiang Jan, who wants Nip Man Long destroyed and is willing to use anyone to do it. Chi-hong makes enemies the cheap way: early in his time around the tables he is falsely accused of cheating, and only the intervention of Fong Chun saves his life. The accusation teaches him that in this world the table is the least dangerous place in the room.
As Chi-hong's talent matures, Pak-ki sees his weapon. He befriends Chi-hong and quietly steers the younger man's gift toward his own revenge, the two of them eventually going into partnership and opening a rival casino to challenge Nip Man Long's empire directly. For a while the plan works: the upstart house draws players, the king feels the pressure, and Chi-hong, half-witting, becomes the blade in someone else's hand.
**The turn the series is remembered for comes when Nip Man Long decides that protecting his name as the king matters more than any rule of decency.** The partner who turns out to be his lever is Chiang Hiu-suet, his mistress, who defects to Chi-hong and Pak-ki's side and gives the enemy what she knows. Nip Man Long answers by burning their casino to the ground. Pak-ki dies in the fire, the revenge he built his whole life around dying with him, and Chi-hong is left standing in the ashes holding both the grief and the guilt of having been the instrument. The series closes on Chi-hong, furious and bereaved, vowing a final death-duel with Nip Man Long at the gambling table itself, winner take everything.
### Characters
**Shek Chi-hong** (Nathan Chan) is the audience's way in: a poor kid with a vendor's hands and a gambler's eye, whose talent is discovered rather than sought. His arc runs from curiosity to mastery to grief, and the series keeps asking whether the gift was worth what it cost him.
**Nip Man Long** (Paul Chun) is the villain as an institution. Brilliant at cards and ruthless in strategy, he wins so reliably that the drama's real question is never whether he can be beaten at the table, but what he will do when he starts losing everywhere else.
**Chiang Pak-ki** (Jackie Lui) is the avenger whose revenge needs a hero to operate it. Charming, patient, and not entirely honest about his motives, he turns Chi-hong from a friend into a weapon.
**Cheung Ka-wai** (Joey Meng) is Chi-hong's love interest, the emotional counterweight to the tables. **Chiang Hiu-suet** (Suet Lei) is the mistress whose defection lights the fuse of the finale, and Fong Chun is the veteran who saves Chi-hong's life when a false cheating charge nearly ends it.
### Sequels, spin-offs, and adaptations
The series launched a franchise. ATV commissioned *Who's The Winner II: Invincible* (胜者为王II天下无敌), 30 episodes premiering October 5, 1992, and a third part followed in 1993 with a HK$30 million budget and location filming in France and Monaco, bringing the trilogy to 82 episodes. A fourth season aired in 2010. The original was also known in circulation under the alternate title 《赌煞》.
## The three series
**Part I (1991).** The first series, 《胜者为王》, premiered on ATV on 2 September 1991. It stars Nathan Chan as Shek Chi-hong, an honest vegetable seller who takes a job in the casino of the gambling magnate Nip Man-long (聂万龙, played by Paul Chun) and learns gambling skills under the former gambling king Chun Gin (蒋真, played by Eddy Ko). The story ends with Shek defeating Nip Man-long in a world gambling championship.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) The supporting cast included Jackie Lui, Joey Meng, Elaine Ng, Nick Cheung, and Lee Heung-kam.[7](https://tv-1.chinesemov.com/tv/1991/Whos-the-Winner) Sources disagree on the episode count: Baidu lists 22 episodes,[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) while the Tvinfo Wiki lists 30 episodes for the local broadcast and 22 for the overseas version,[3](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B) and the database chinesemov lists 30 episodes of 45 minutes each.[7](https://tv-1.chinesemov.com/tv/1991/Whos-the-Winner) The series was ATV's highest-rated drama of that period.[3](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B)
**Part II: 天下无敌 (1992).** 《胜者为王II天下无敌》 (Who's The Winner II), 30 episodes, premiered on 5 October 1992. Nathan Chan, Margie Tsang, Angie Cheong, and Yang Chun joined returning cast members. The plot centers on Shek Chi-hong's contest with the American gambling king Cheung Tin-ting (张天鼎, played by Yang Chun) and exposes Cheung's earlier betrayal of Hung Fung (洪峰, played by Ng Yiu-king), who was wrongfully imprisoned.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [8](https://neodb.social/tv/season/4OVRuZMg9eQ04C49EL1GYP) It aired against TVB's drama 《大时代》; its first-week average rating was 12 points, rising to 14 points over the following two weeks and peaking at 21.[4](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BII%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B%E7%84%A1%E6%95%B5?variant=zh-hans) The series was later named one of ATV's classic dramas of the 1990s.[2](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/2711439?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
**Part III: 王者之战 (1993).** 《胜者为王III王者之战》 (Who's The Winner III), 30 episodes, premiered on 15 November 1993 and ran until 24 December in the Monday-to-Friday 19:00 slot on ATV Home.[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042) It is a new story with no character connection to the first two parts.[9](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E3%80%8A%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B%E2%85%A2%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0%E3%80%8B/2844042) Simon Yam plays Ching Yik-fung, known as the "gambling devil" and widely acknowledged as the world's top gambler; Chuen Kuen (蒋权, played by Eddy Ko), resentful of that status, conspires with Ching's friend Yik Tin-yeung (易天扬, played by Kent Tong) against him. Ching is framed, has the tendons of his hand cut, and is cast out of the gambling world, and the series follows his fight back.[1](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink) • [10](https://neodb.social/tv/season/4HYmonbqeN28qRRPj2TPjf) ATV spent HK$30 million on the production and filmed at casinos in France and Monaco.[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042) The theme song was 《宇宙皇子I 在斗争之中》, with insert songs sung by [Ekin Cheng](https://www.edgepedia.org/ekin-cheng) and [Jacky Cheung](https://www.edgepedia.org/jacky-cheung).[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042)
## Production background
The screenwriter Chan Kiu-ying joined ATV in the late 1980s as creative manager of the drama division and launched notable works including Who's The Winner (1991).[11](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/CHAN-Kiu-ying_e.pdf) The series followed the success of the film 《赌神》 ([God of Gamblers](https://www.edgepedia.org/god-of-gamblers)), and the actor Jackie Lui recalled in an interview that the production employed a gambling-skills coach to teach the cast sleight-of-hand techniques, with the flashier moves performed by doubles.[12](https://m.xinminweekly.com.cn/content/38746.html) Benny Chan (陈木胜) served as one of the directors on the first two seasons.[6](https://www.am730.com.hk/%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/368827/%E4%BA%9E%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87-%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B-%E4%B8%B2%E6%B5%81%E4%B8%8A%E6%9E%B6-%E5%BE%A9%E4%BB%87-%E8%B3%AD%E5%8D%9A%E5%8A%87%E6%83%8526%E5%B9%B4%E5%BE%8C%E8%A2%ABtvb%E7%85%A7%E6%8A%84)
Contemporary commentary credits the series with helping to start the 1990s gambling-drama boom in Hong Kong and with filming its gambling techniques in a flamboyant, almost wuxia-like style.[2](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/2711439?fromModule=lemma_inlink) A retrospective review in The Paper noted that the series' success rested on vivid characterization, giving the gambling duels the momentum of a martial-arts ensemble story.[13](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1738691)
## Later history and streaming
ATV produced a 2010 remake, 《胜者为王之争霸》, also called the fourth part of the series and released in mainland China as 《金钱本色》, starring [Julian Cheung](https://www.edgepedia.org/julian-cheung), Ada Choi, and Chapman To under producer Lai Kin-kok.[14](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2015/0402/c120837-26791658-6.html) Part III was rebroadcast in 2003 and 2010.[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042)
The rights to the series, including adaptation and remake rights, are now held by [The Walt Disney Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-walt-disney-company), and the trilogy was made available on Disney+ on 29 March 2023.[5](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042) The Hong Kong newspaper am730 reported the streaming release and noted that TVB's 2017 gambling drama 《乘胜狙击》 had been accused of copying the series' plot and setting; that drama's editor Lau Ching-wah had earlier worked on Part III.[6](https://www.am730.com.hk/%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/368827/%E4%BA%9E%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87-%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B-%E4%B8%B2%E6%B5%81%E4%B8%8A%E6%9E%B6-%E5%BE%A9%E4%BB%87-%E8%B3%AD%E5%8D%9A%E5%8A%87%E6%83%8526%E5%B9%B4%E5%BE%8C%E8%A2%ABtvb%E7%85%A7%E6%8A%84)
## References
1. [胜者为王（1991-1993年播出的ATV系列剧集）, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/61703457?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
2. [胜者为王（1991年袁再显执导的剧情电视剧）, Baidu Baike](https://bkso.baidu.com/item/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B/2711439?fromModule=lemma_inlink)
3. [勝者為王, Tvinfo Wiki](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E8%83%9C%E8%80%85%E4%B8%BA%E7%8E%8B)
4. [胜者为王II天下无敌, Tvinfo Wiki](https://tvinfo.fandom.com/zh/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BII%E5%A4%A9%E4%B8%8B%E7%84%A1%E6%95%B5?variant=zh-hans)
5. [勝者為王Ⅲ王者之戰, 中文百科全書](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8BIII%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0/2844042)
6. [亞視劇《勝者為王》串流上架 復仇+賭博劇情26年後被TVB照抄, am730 (29 March 2023)](https://www.am730.com.hk/%E5%A8%9B%E6%A8%82/368827/%E4%BA%9E%E8%A6%96%E5%8A%87-%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B-%E4%B8%B2%E6%B5%81%E4%B8%8A%E6%9E%B6-%E5%BE%A9%E4%BB%87-%E8%B3%AD%E5%8D%9A%E5%8A%87%E6%83%8526%E5%B9%B4%E5%BE%8C%E8%A2%ABtvb%E7%85%A7%E6%8A%84)
7. [Who's the Winner (1991), chinesemov](https://tv-1.chinesemov.com/tv/1991/Whos-the-Winner)
8. [Who's The Winner II, NeoDB](https://neodb.social/tv/season/4OVRuZMg9eQ04C49EL1GYP)
9. [《勝者為王Ⅲ王者之戰》, 中文百科全書](https://www.newton.com.tw/wiki/%E3%80%8A%E5%8B%9D%E8%80%85%E7%82%BA%E7%8E%8B%E2%85%A2%E7%8E%8B%E8%80%85%E4%B9%8B%E6%88%B0%E3%80%8B/2844042)
10. [胜者为王3王者之战, NeoDB](https://neodb.social/tv/season/4HYmonbqeN28qRRPj2TPjf)
11. [Hong Kong Filmmakers Search: CHAN Kiu-ying, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.filmarchive.gov.hk/documents/6.-Research-and-Publication/06-02-Filmmakers-Search/English/CHAN-Kiu-ying_e.pdf)
12. [经历生死劫，回首影视路, 新民周刊](https://m.xinminweekly.com.cn/content/38746.html)
13. [赌片已死，再无江湖, 澎湃新闻 (2017)](https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_1738691)
14. [58年香港亚洲电视或成历史 回顾昔日经典热播剧, 人民网 (2015)](https://media.people.com.cn/n/2015/0402/c120837-26791658-6.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › International serial drama and telenovelas › East Asian drama series › Hong Kong and Taiwanese serial drama*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license