After five days of tournament poker, the record-breaking 1,393-entry APT Incheon 2026 Main Event has reached its final nine players.

The finalists are battling for the largest shares of the KRW 3,008,540,000 (~USD 2,148,960) total prize pool, with each player already guaranteed at least KRW 38,580,000 (~USD 27,560).

The top three finishers will also receive seats to the USD 10,000 APT Championship Main Event in Taiwan this November. The eventual champion will walk away with KRW 523,720,000 (~USD 374,085), an APTC Main Event seat, and the award-winning 24K gold APT Main Event Lion Trophy.

The full action leading to the final table can be found on the APT blog.

Hong Kong’s Stephen Pang leads the way with 13,550,000, while China’s Shoumin Zhang is his closest challenger with 10,585,000. Thailand’s Phachara Wongwichit is the most decorated player remaining and can become the first player to win two APT Mega Lion trophies.

The stage is set, so let us introduce the final nine and examine the poker credentials of the potential champions-in-waiting:

Yifu He (United States) – 3,450,000 (22 big blinds) - Seat 1

Yifu He enters the final table with 3,450,000 and is one of the most experienced players remaining, with USD 1,681,142 in recorded live tournament earnings.

He has recorded cashes in the United States, South Korea, and the Bahamas, where he played during the WSOP Paradise festival. Much of his poker career has been spent in Las Vegas, with his results including several deep runs at the WSOP.

His only previous APT cash came earlier this series when he finished 97th in the Mystery Bounty Hunter. His second APT cash has now taken him all the way to the Main Event final table.

Phachara Wongwichit (Thailand) – 5,610,000 (35 big blinds) - Seat 2

Thailand’s Phachara Wongwichit is the most accomplished player at the final table, bringing USD 2,936,610 in live tournament earnings and eight APT victories into the final day.

Wongwichit recorded his first APT cash with a tenth-place finish in the 2018 APT Macau Championships Main Event. He has since reached 32 APT final tables and remarkably finished in every position from first through ninth across those appearances.

The Thai professional also reached the APT Phu Quoc 2023 Main Event final table, eventually finishing fourth. He therefore joins Kano as one of only two players in the final nine with a previous APT Main Event final table appearance.

The APT Taipei 2023 High Roller champion can now become the first player to capture two APT Mega Lion trophies. Sixth place or better would also take his recorded live tournament earnings beyond the USD 3 million mark.

Shoumin Zhang (China) – 10,585,000 (66 big blinds) - Seat 3

China’s Shoumin Zhang returns second in chips with 10,585,000 and has USD 85,422 in recorded live tournament earnings.

Zhang claimed his only recorded live tournament trophy earlier this festival, winning the Hyper Turbo No Limit–7 Card Stud (6 Games) for KRW 2,060,000. He also cashed the APT Jeju Classic 2026 Main Event, finishing 128th for KRW 4,650,000, but has now gone considerably deeper in Incheon. A seventh-place finish or better would earn Zhang a new career-best score.

Stephen Pang (Hong Kong) – 13,550,000 (85 big blinds) - Seat 4

Hong Kong’s San Hon “Stephen” Pang enters the final table as the chip leader with 13,550,000. He has USD 146,631 in recorded live tournament earnings and claimed his first APT title in the Tick Tock BOOM! event at APT Taipei 2026.

Pang has made his previous APT final tables count, recording three third-place finishes, one fifth, and two sevenths alongside his victory in Taipei. Remarkably, this is his first APT Main Event cash, and an eighth-place finish or better would earn him a new career-best score.

Kazuki Koyama (Japan) – 2,775,000 (17 big blinds) - Seat 5

Japan’s Kazuki Koyama returns with 2,775,000 and has just USD 730 in recorded live tournament earnings from three previous cashes.

None of those results came on the APT, meaning Koyama’s first tour cash has taken him directly to the Main Event final table. Even ninth-place money would be worth almost 38 times his previous recorded career earnings, and he remains in contention for his first live tournament title.

Tempei Kotani (Japan) – 6,935,000 (43 big blinds) -Seat 6

Japan’s Tempei Kotani enters the final table third in chips with 6,935,000 and has USD 22,033 in recorded live tournament earnings.

Kotani already reached one final table this festival, placing eighth in a turbo event for KRW 1,650,000. His only two previous APT cashes both came at the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024, where he finished runner-up in the Limit Triple Draw Lowball Mix and fourth in Limit Triple Draw 2-7.

The mixed-game specialist has now shown his No Limit Hold’em credentials by reaching the biggest final table of his career. His guaranteed ninth-place payout is already more than four times his previous best live cash of USD 6,162.

Shinichiro Kano (Japan) – 6,190,000 (39 big blinds) - Seat 7

Shinichiro Kano returns with 6,190,000 and is one of two players among the final nine with a previous APT Main Event final table appearance.

The Japanese player finished fourth in the APT Taipei 2025 Main Event and has cashed every APT Main Event held so far in 2026, placing 186th at APT Jeju Classic and 253rd at APT Taipei before reaching the final nine in Incheon.

Kano has yet to win a recorded live tournament trophy, but his impressive Main Event consistency has given him another opportunity to change that. He also has the chance to improve on his fourth-place finish in Taipei, which remains his largest live score.

Ryo Fujita (Japan) – 2,130,000 (13 big blinds) - Seat 8

Japan’s Ryo Fujita enters as the shortest stack with 2,130,000 but brings considerable APT experience to the final table. He has USD 57,800 in recorded live tournament earnings and finished 46th in the Mystery Bounty Hunter earlier this series.

According to APT records, this is Fujita’s 20th tour cash and eighth final table appearance, but his first cash in an APT Main Event. His previous APT results include four Mini Main Event cashes and one Micro Main Event result, and he has now converted that experience into a breakthrough run on the tour’s biggest stage.

Takeru Endo (Japan) – 4,215,000 (26 big blinds) - Seat 9

Japan’s Takeru Endo returns with 4,215,000 and has USD 3,267 in recorded live tournament earnings.

This appears to be Endo’s first APT cash, and it has already developed into a Main Event final table worth at least KRW 38,580,000 (~USD 27,560). His guaranteed payout is more than eight times his previous recorded live earnings, making him one of the final table’s biggest surprise packages.