APT INCHEON SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | IMAGES | WINNERS | PLAYER LISTS
INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA, September 2, 2023 – The largest and richest South Korean Main Event in APT history has crowned a champion, with Japan's Shoichiro Tamaki claiming the lion's share of the sizable KRW 1,867,347,000 (~USD $1,411,975) prize purse and taming the coveted golden lion.
Playing out at the tournament tables of the luxurious Paradise City Casino, just 16 players out of the record-breaking 930-strong KRW 2,300,000 APT Incheon, South Korea 2023 Main Event field returned for the fourth and final day.
All remaining players were already guaranteed a KRW 15,300,000 (~USD $11,570) payday, but all were set on reaching the final table and claiming the Main Event crown.
Tamaki returned in the driving seat with the chip lead, and while the Japanese player had to overcome a couple of bumps in the road when play became short-handed he managed to keep his foot on the gas and arrive safely in dreamland.
"I hoped, I hoped, but I didn't expect," said an overwhelmed Tamaki immediately after his victory.
"This is... so big... in my life," Tamaki stated, before saying a few words in Japanese to his fans back home.
"Thanks to everyone, I was able to win the championship! Thank you for your support. I was happy with your messages – it was really encouraging. Thank you!" Tamaki stated, before bowing and heading off to the cashier to collect the largest score of his poker career.
Tamaki collected a KRW 271,447,000 (~USD $206,030) top prize for his maiden live title win after cutting a three-way ICM deal with China's Tsz To Wan and Thailand's Napat Chokejindachai.
The trio left KRW 26,347,000 (~USD $20,000) on the table, in addition to the title and trophy.
It was Thailand's Chokejindachai who hit the rail first 30 hands later, falling to Wan and collecting KRW 222,200,000 (~USD $168,650) for his third place finish.
This gave the Chinese player a slender four-to-three chip lead coming into the heads-up confrontation.
However, Tamaki would not be denied, upping the aggression and making some great calls to wrest back the lead.
It took twenty-nine hands of back-and-fourth heads-up play for Tamaki to whittle Wan down to his last 12 big blinds.
The Chinese player tried to retake the initiative with an aggressively played open-ended straight draw, with Tamaki making the call with bottom pair and fading both the turn and river to clinch the title.
Still, Wan will not be disappointed with the KRW 211,200,000 (~USD $160,300) he received for his runner-up finish after winning his seat online for free in an invitation-only influencer event hosted by Natural8 for an infinite value return on investment.
MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS
- 1st: Shoichiro Tamaki (Japan) – KRW 271,447,000
- 2nd: Tsz To Wan (China) – KRW 211,200,000
- 3rd: Napat Chokejindachai (Thailand) – KRW 222,200,000
- 4th: Veleriy Pak (Uzbekistan) – KRW 110,900,000
- 5th: Abraham Ceesvin (Singapore) – KRW 86,300,000
- 6th: King Wai Cheung (Hong Kong) – KRW 63,900,000
- 7th: Jason Lau (Malaysia) – KRW 45,700,000
- 8th: Masahiro Adachi (Japan) – KRW 32,600,000
- 9th: Raul Martinez Gallego (Spain) – KRW 25,700,000
Singapore's Adrian Chua came within touching distance of the final nine, departing in tenth place at the hands of Chokejindachai for a KRW 21,300,000 payday.
The rest of the last sixteen who came up short of the final table included APT Super High Roller Series champion Milos Petakovic (11th for KRW 21,300,000), last woman standing Inaba Katsuhiro (12th for KRW 19,000,000), online Day 3 qualifier Zhanhui Zheng (13th for KRW 19,000,000), Japan's Wataru Kosugi (14th for KRW 17,200,000), Russia's Artem Sofronov (15th for KRW 17,200,000), and New Zealand's Tran Tu (16th for 15,300,000).
For Main Event Results please CLICK HERE
You can read a full recap of the Day 4 action and follow Tamaki's journey to the Main Event title via the APT blog.
You can also watch the action as it played out via the APT Final Table Live Stream using the below links:
All tournament information can be found on the Main Event tournament page.
APT Incheon, South Korea 2023 Main Event final table. TOP (L-R): Abraham Ceesvin; Masahiro Adachi; Jason Lau; Gallego Raul Martinez; King Wai Cheung. BOTTOM (L-R): Napat Chokejindachai; Veleriy Pak; Shoichiro Tamaki; Tsz To Wan
Japan's Riku Mieda Wins Record-Breaking Double Stack for KRW 45.6M (~USD $34.5K)
Japan's Riku Mieda made his maiden APT cash a memorable one winning the record-breaking Event #58 Double Stack
Just 65 players out of a record-breaking field of 335 entries returned for the second and final day of the KRW 800,000 Event #58: Double Stack - KRW 150,000,000 GTD, all looking to win a place in the hallowed money spots and earn their share of the KRW 233,964,000 (~USD $178,218) prize pool.
The tournament restarted at 12.15pm local time, with blinds recommenced at 40,000/80,000 with an 80,000 big blinds ante, with the action playing out over fourteen 30-minute levels.
It was Japan's Riku Mieda who will be going down in the APT history books after winning the tour's largest-ever South Korean Double Stack event.
Mieda defeated Bao Qiang Ho after a heads-up battle that spanned close to two levels to deny the Singaporean a third Series title and clinch his maiden APT title and the largest cash of his poker career, taking a KRW 45,604,000 (~USD $34,530) top prize in addition to the silver lion silhouette trophy.
Ho, who was making his fourth final table of the Series and his sixth cash, took KRW 28,960,000 (~USD $21,930) for his runner-up finish – his second-largest score of the festival and sixth-largest career score.
Russia's Aleksei Varashev rounded out the winner's podium, taking KRW 21,710,000 (~USD $16,440) for third place, with the final table paying out as follows:
DOUBLE STACK FINAL TABLE RESULTS
- 1st: Riku Mieda (Japan) – KRW 45,604,000
- 2nd: Bao Qiang Ho (Singapore) – KRW 28,960,000
- 3rd: Aleksei Varashev (Russia) – KRW 21,710,000
- 4th: Bojan Berberovic (Serbia) – KRW 17,570,000
- 5th: Shiina Okamoto (Japan) – KRW 13,850,000
- 6th: Shun Tanno (Japan) – KRW 10,580,000
- 7th: Tsubasa Kamei (Japan) – KRW 7,770,000
- 8th: Kazuaki Fukagawa (Japan) – KRW 5,710,000
- 9th: Shotaro Mitsuishi (Japan) – KRW 4,680,000
France's Bastien Joly narrowly missed out on his second final table appearance of the Series, cashing in 10th place for KRW 3,930,000.
Other notables to cash but come up short of a place in the final nine included China's Xixiang Luo (12th for KRW 3,460,000), double Series title winner Sparrow Cheung (34th for KRW 1,500,000), and Singapore's Sean Tan (41st for KRW 1,330,000).
For Event #58: Double Stack - KRW 150,000,000 GTD Results please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack tournament page.
Serbia's Milos Skrbic Leads Final 40 of Second Largest APT High Roller in History
Serbia's Milos Skrbic leads the second largest APT High Roller in the tour's 15-year history
With the last of the Series' coveted lion trophies up for grabs and a sizable KRW 350,000,000 (~USD $265,500) guarantee, Day 1 of the KRW 4,500,000 APT High Roller got underway at 12.30pm local time.
The event drew a 207-strong field (145 unique) making it the second-largest APT High Roller event in the tour's 15-year history.
With a meaty KRW 813,199,500 (~USD $616,930) prize pool up for grabs, and a top prize of KRW 171,939,500 (~USD $130,420) for the eventual winner, in addition to the coveted bronze lion APT High Roller trophy, the final day promises to be an epic affair.
For APT High Roller Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE
The Day 1 action played out over sixteen 40-minute levels, with Serbia's Milos Skrbic making a late surge to the top of the leaderboard on the last level played.
By the time the tournament clock ticked into the red, Skrbic had bagged up a stack of 1,413,000 and will be keen to repeat the performance that saw him claim his maiden APT title in Event #59 NL Single Draw Mix just a day prior.
Japan's Wataru Kosugi followed up his Main Event fourteenth place finish by bagging the second-largest stack of 1,087,000, with Singapore's Sechariah Sheng Quek (1,029,000) the only other player to bag a seven figure stack and round out the top three.
Natural8 Ambassador Hua-Wei "Wei Wei" Lin enjoyed a decent day at the felt, bagging the seventh largest stack of 801,000.
Uzbekistan's Veleriy Pak was anorther Main Event player who put on a stellar showing, following up his fourth place final table finish by bagging up the ninth largest stack, with the top ten as follows:
APT HIGH ROLLER TOP TEN DAY 1 STACKS
- Milos Skrbic (Serbia) – 1,413,000
- Wataru Kosugi (Japan) – 1,087,000
- Sechariah Sheng Quek (Singapore) – 1,029,000
- Thanisorn Saelor (Thailand) – 891,000
- Jeffrey Lo (Hong Kong) – 841,000
- Dicky Tsang (Hong Kong) – 822,000
- Hua-Wei Lin (Taiwan) – 801,000
- Yuichi Sumida (Japan) – 755,000
- Veleriy Pak (Uzbekistan) – 730,000
- Kaoru Kishimoto (Japan) – 706,000
The top 31 places will payout, with a min-cash good for KRW 7,160,000 (~USD $5,430).
A total of 40 players made it through to Day 2, with all former APT lion taming flagship trophy winner's hitting the rail as play progressed, with Natural8 Ambassador Phachara Wongwichit, Malaysia's Shung Er Sua and Serbia's Milos Petakovic coming up short.
Notables still in contention include Brazil's Largo Sebastian (603,000), Malaysia's Kokwai Sim (591,000), China's Xixiang Luo (424,000), Hong Kong's Yan Shing "Anson" Tsang (331,000), France's top tournament player Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier (270,000), and Singapore's Jun Hao Wu (106,000) – the latter of whom is bringing in the short stack.
For APT High Roller Day 1 Survivors please CLICK HERE.
You can read all about the APT High Roller Day 1 action via the APT Blog.
All tournament information can be found on the APT High Roller tournament page.
The final day gets underway at 12.15pm local time, with the APT live stream starting at 2.30pm and the tournament will play down to a champion.
Japan's Masato Kashiwabara Leads Event #63: Mini Main Event - KRW 200,000,000 GTD
Japan's Masato Kashiwabara holds the overall lead in the Mini Main Event after topping Flight A
The last of the Series' marquee events – the KRW 700,000 Event #63: Mini Main Event - KRW 200,000,000 GTD – drew a combined field of 377 (249 unique), generating a KRW 230,384,700 (~USD $174,750).
A combined total of 54 players remain in contention after the two starting flights played out, all guaranteed a payday of KRW 1,140,000 (~USD $865), with the eventual winner walking away with a KRW 44,784,700 (~USD $33,970 top prize.
For Mini Main Event Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE
The opening Flight A kicked off at 12pm local time, playing out concurrently with the Main Event.
This saw a field of 203 entries (164 unique) fight it out over nineteen 30-minute levels, with Japan's Masato Kashiwabara topping the counts with a stack of 935,000 to bring the overall chip lead into Day 2.
The USA's John Marshall (690,000), and Japan's Chisato Usuda (666,000) round out the top three Flight A stacks, with a total of 29 players making the Day 2 cut and the top ten as follows:
MINI MAIN EVENT FLIGHT A TOP 10 STACKS
- Masato Kashiwabara (Japan) – 935,000
- John Marshall (United States) – 690,000
- Chisato Usuda (Japan) – 666,000
- Zeyu Chen (China) – 585,000
- Jun Li (United Kingdom) – 579,000
- Pimpat Vajrasevee (Thailand) – 479,000
- Guang Guo Piao (China) – 445,000
- Chien-Chih Weng (Taiwan) – 424,000
- Runch Pornraksamanee (Thailand) – 352,000
- Xiaolu Li (China) – 334,000
For Event #63: Mini Main Event - KRW 200,000,000 GTD Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Mini Main Event tournament page.
China's Shading Guo bagged the biggest Flight B stack in the Mini Main Event
Flight B saw a further 174 players (144 unique) enter the action and duke it out over twenty-three 20-minute levels.
A total of 25 players made it through, with China's Shudong Guo topping the Flight B counts after bagging up a stack of 596,000 – putting him fourth in the overall counts.
Japan's Hideaki Ohashi (594,000), and China's Chengbei Li (552,000) rounded out the top three Flight B stacks, with the top ten as follows:
MINI MAIN EVENT FLIGHT B TOP 10 STACKS
- Shudong Guo (China) – 596,000
- Hideaki Ohashi (Japan) – 594,000
- Chengbei Li (China) – 552,000
- Honoka Miki (Japan) – 452,000
- Kei Shinagawa (Japan) – 426,000
- Meguri Dewa (Japan) – 409,000
- John Tech (Philippines) – 401,000
- Aleksei Sei (Russia) – 398,000
- Shohei Arai (Japan) – 327,000
- Sparrow Cheung (Hong Kong) – 292,000
For Event #63: Mini Main Event - KRW 200,000,000 GTD Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Event #63: Mini Main Event - KRW 200,000,000 GTD Day 2 Draw please CLICK HERE
The final day gets underway at 12.15pm with the tournament playing down to a champion.
All tournament information can be found on the Mini Main Event tournament page.
SIDE EVENT ACTION
Japan's Maromu Awaya Clocks Up Maiden Title Win in Event #62: Midnight Tick Tock
Japan's Maromu Awaya claimed his maiden APT title in Event #62 Midnight Tick Tock
Playing out in the early hours of Saturday morning, the KRW 300,000 Event #62: Midnight Tick Tock drew a 107-strong field (87 unique), making it the second largest Tick Tock field of the Series so far.
The action played out over thirty-one levels, with players duking it out for a share of the KRW 28,023,300 (~USD $21,255) prize pool.
It was Japan's Maromu Awaya who clocked the win, with the final three players agreeing on an ICM chop and playing it out for a further KRW 570,000 in cash, plus the trophy and title.
Awaya defeated compatriot Rikuto Sashida heads-up to claim a top prize of KRW 4,773,000 (~USD $3,620) and his maiden live tournament title.
Sashida scored KRW 5,850,000 (~USD $4,440) for second place, with South Africa's Darren Brooks rounding out the podium and taking KRW 4,710,000 (~USD $3,570) for third.
A total of 15 players made the money, with the final table paying out as follows:
MIDNIGHT TICK TOCK FINAL TABLE RESULTS
- 1st: Maromu Awaya (Japan) – KRW 4,773,000
- 2nd: Rikuto Sashida (Japan) – KRW 5,850,000
- 3rd: Darren Brooks (South Africa) – KRW 4,710,000
- 4th: Kei Takahashi (Japan) – KRW 2,620,000
- 5th: Kim Kijoon (Japan) – KRW 2,120,000
- 6th: Yu-Chi Liu (Taiwan) – KRW 1,650,000
- 7th: Mingzhi Ma (China) – KRW 1,300,000
- 8th: Ryan Park (United States) – KRW 990,000
- 9th: Hiroyasu Watanabe (Japan) – KRW 730,000
For Event #62: Midnight Tick Tock Results please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Event #62 Midnight Tick Tock tournament page.
APT Taipei Main Event Finalist Teng-Kuei Hsu Claims Maiden Title in Event #65: NL Hold'em - Freezeout
Taiwan's Teng-Kuei Hsu claimed his maiden live tournament title in Event #65 NL Hold'em Freezeout
The KRW 1,500,000 Event #65: NL Hold'em - Freezeout got underway at 3pm local time, drawing 86 players and generating a KRW 112,617,000 (~USD $85,420) prize pool.
It took twenty-five 25-minute levels to find a champion, with APT Taipei, Taiwan 2023 Main Event finalist Teng-Kuei Hsu claiming a KRW 26,940,000 (~USD $20,435) top prize after cutting an ICM deal with heads-up opponent Shunsuke Ishikawa of Japan.
Both players locked up a KRW 26,047,000 (~USD $19,760) payout, playing it out for a further KRW 893,000 in cash, plus the trophy and title.
Hsu – who finished in fifth place at the APT's largest-ever Main Event back in May for a career-best TWD $2,595,400 / USD $84,345 – also managed a deep run in this Series' Main Event, finishing in 24th place for a KRW 9,700,000 payday.
The Taiwanese player was not to be denied a third time, defeating Ishikawa to claim his maiden live tournament title.
Japan's Masato Shimizu rounded out the winner's podium, taking KRW 14,410,000 (~USD $10,930) for third.
A total of 11 players made the money, with the tournament paying out as follows:
NL HOLD'EM FREEZEOUT RESULTS
- 1st: Teng-Kuei Hsu (Taiwan) – KRW 26,940,000
- 2nd: Shunsuke Ishikawa (Japan) – KRW 26,047,000
- 3rd: Masato Shimizu (Japan) – KRW 14,410,000
- 4th: Ryo Kanemaru (Japan) – KRW 11,090,000
- 5th: Chalermporn Nutteecharoen (Thailand) – KRW 8,780,000
- 6th: Yoshitsugu Kaneko (Japan) – KRW 6,870,000
- 7th: Norihiro Yokoyama (Japan) – KRW 5,410,000
- 8th: Ryosuke Watanabe (Japan) – KRW 4,220,000
- 9th: Reiji Kono (Japan) – KRW 3,210,000
- 10th: Hajime Murase (Japan) – KRW 2,820,000
- 11th: Ryo Matsunagi (Japan) – KRW 2,820,000
For Event #65: NL Hold'em - Freezeout Results please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Event #65: NL Hold'em - Freezeout tournament page.
Japan's Shinya Maeda Rides Pineapple Express to Victory in Event #66: Crazy Pineapple - Hyper Turbo
Japan's Shinya Maeda rode the pineapple express to victory, claiming his maiden tournament title in Event #66 Crazy Pineapple Hyper Turbo
The KRW 300,000 Event #66: Crazy Pineapple (Get 3, discard 1 post flop) - Hyper Turbo is one of the more fun events on the schedule and always attracts a lively field.
This Series proved no exception, with 68 entries (55 unique) all anteing up and attempting to ride the pineapple express to victory and earn a share of the KRW 17,809,200 (~USD 13,500) prize pool.
The action played out over twenty turbo-charged 10-minute levels with Japan's Shinya Maeda showcasing his fruit-picking skills to the best effect, defeating compatriot Yuya Kaneko heads-up to take the KRW 5,209,200 (~USD $3,950) top prize and his maiden tournament title.
Kaneko collected KRW 3,740,000 (~USD $2,835) for second place, with fellow countryman Manabu Sakaihara completing the winner's triumvirate and taking KRW 2,430,000 (~USD $1,840) for third.
A total of nine players made the money, with the tournament paying out as follows:
CRAZY PINEAPPLE HYPER TURBO RESULTS
- 1st: Shinya Maeda (Japan) – KRW 5,209,200
- 2nd: Yuya Kaneko (Japan) – KRW 3,740,000
- 3rd: Manabu Sakaihara (Japan) – KRW 2,430,000
- 4th: Sebastian Winkelmann (Germany) – KRW 1,830,000
- 5th: Kyoshiro Suzuki (Japan) – KRW 1,420,000
- 6th: Tin Long Cheng (Hong Kong) – KRW 1,100,000
- 7th: Yuri Ishida (Japan) – KRW 870,000
- 8th: Hiroyoshi Yorioka (Japan) – KRW 680,000
- 9th: Tatsuya Mori (Japan) – KRW 530,000
For Event #66: Crazy Pineapple - Hyper Turbo Results please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Event #66: Crazy Pineapple - Hyper Turbo tournament page page.