Akira Takasugi

The 2025 APT Taipei Main Event has come to a dramatic close inside the Red Space venue in Taipei, Taiwan, as Japan's Akira Takasugi cemented his name into the history books by conquering the largest and richest APT Main Event ever held in the tour’s 19-year history.

Takasugi outlasted a record-shattering field of 2,547 entries, collecting the lion’s share of the massive TWD 121,033,440 (~$3.7 million) prize pool, along with an APT Championship Main Event seat valued at TWD 350,000. For his efforts, the Japanese pro earned a life-changing TWD 19,009,440 (~$586,710) and the glory of lifting the most sought-after trophy on the APT calendar.

The final table was packed with storylines — from comebacks, coolers, and cracked aces, to relentless aggression and a clinical closing out display from Takasugi. After a seven-hour rollercoaster, it was Takasugi who proved to be the best, defeating Iat Man Leong heads-up to claim the title and secure the most prestigious victory of his career.

2025 APT Taipei Main Event Final Table Results

*Plus an APTC Main Event Seat worth TWD 350,000

Final Table Action

The final table started off rather slow, as expected, with everyone playing snug and hoping to ladder up the pay jumps. But after about 40 minutes of nerve-racking poker, Rintaro Kagawa put Leong virtually all in on the river. Leong eventually called with a rivered boat and was thrilled to see he got there against Kagawa's turned Broadway straight. That pot catapulted Leong into the chip lead and left Kagawa near the bottom of the counts.

An hour later, the only female player and only former APT Main Event champion left in the field was out in ninth for TWD 1,500,000 (~USD 46,300). Dang Thi Hue got the majority of her short stack in preflop with ace-ten, then committed the rest on the flop with second pair. Kagawa had outflopped her with a pair of queens holding king-queen, and no help from the dealer meant the end of Hue’s run.

Dang Thi Hue

Now Kiwanont Sukhum of Thailand occupied the bottom spot, but that quickly changed when his pocket tens held in a flip against Nishant Kumar's Big Slick — and suddenly Kumar was the one on life support.

As the blinds crept up, Wayne Lam kept the pressure on, steadily chipping up while the rest of the finalists jostled for position. Kumar nearly tripled his stack when he jammed his three big blinds over an open with pocket fives. Owen Chong over-jammed behind with ace-queen to isolate, but the safe runout kept Kumar alive — and put Chong into the danger zone.

Owen Chong

Next to hit the rail was Chong — and in brutal fashion. He shoved ace-four of hearts and was called by Kano Shinichiro, who had the same hand in clubs. A chop looked almost guaranteed, but a three-club flop left Chong drawing dead, with just a bad beat story and TWD 1,969,000 (~USD 60,770) for his eighth-place finish.

Still unable to recover from the early cooler, Kagawa was out next in seventh for TWD 2,721,500 (~USD 84,000). His ace-queen couldn’t improve despite flopping a flush draw versus Shinichiro’s pocket nines.

Yet again, Sukhum found himself as the short stack — a spot he’s clearly studied well. He survived an all-in against Lam when his ace-queen made two pair versus Takasugi’s queen-jack.

Kiwanont Sukhum

But the very next hand, Sukhum called off his twelve big blinds from the big blind after Takasugi shoved from the small. Sukhum's queen-ten was dominated by king-ten, and this time Sukhum couldn’t pull off another escape. He was out in sixth, banking TWD 3,564,000 (~USD 110,000).

Kumar had shown he wasn’t afraid to get aggressive, but after losing a flip earlier, he was forced to tighten up. Still, he doubled up to ten big blinds with ace-five against Leong’s king-ten. Just a few hands later, he jammed over Leong’s open with ace-seven of spades — only for Shinichiro to wake up with pocket aces in the blinds.

Shinichiro looked comfortable — that is, until two spades came on the flop. The turn was clean, but a rivered spade gave Kumar life and sent his rail into a frenzy.

Nishant Kumar

With five players left, the stacks evened out. It felt like whoever made the move to take control would end up lifting the trophy. Takasugi showed no fear — raising and barreling relentlessly to take the chip lead, a spot he wouldn’t give up again.

The stalemate finally broke when Leong jammed queen-jack from the small blind and Kumar — maybe feeling invincible after cracking aces — called off with slightly fewer chips holding pocket fives. A jack on the flop sealed Kumar’s fate. He bowed out in fifth for TWD 4,419,500 (~USD 136,400).

With APT Championship tickets worth TWD 350,000 up for grabs for a podium finish, the jump from fourth to third meant more than just money. Takasugi knew this, and he leaned on the pressure, building up to half the chips in play.

Kano Shinichiro

His aggressive play paid off again when he rivered a flush against Shinichiro’s trips, leaving the Japanese player with under ten bigs. Shinichiro moved all in shortly after with ace-nine, but ran into Takasugi’s pocket queens. No help came, and Shinichiro was out in fourth for TWD 5,292,500 (~USD 163,350).

Down to three, Leong and Lam were virtually tied behind Takasugi’s mountain of chips. Lam was next to fall, and in a particularly nasty way.

Takasugi opened the button — as he had been doing nonstop — and Lam jammed two sevens from the small blind. Leong woke up with pocket queens and had a chance to take the tournament heads-up. A seven in the window gave Lam a glimmer of hope, but a queen followed right behind it, giving both players a set. No miracle came, and Lam had to settle for third and TWD 6,867,000 (~USD 211,950).

Wayne Lam

Heads-up began with Takasugi holding a 2:1 chip lead, which he quickly stretched to 4:1 thanks to relentless aggression — and a little run-good.

Eventually, Leong found a double with ace-ten against Takasugi’s queen-ten to narrow the gap, but it didn’t shift the momentum. Takasugi just went right back to grinding, slowly bleeding Leong down to ten big blinds.

Akira Takasugi and Iat Man Leong

In the final hand, Takasugi jammed king-six, and Leong made his stand with queen-deuce suited. Both flopped a pair, but Takasugi held the lead, and the river bricked out. Just like that, Takasugi was crowned APT Taipei 2025 Main Event Champion.

He shook hands with Leong — who earned TWD 10,133,000 (~USD 312,750) for his incredible runner-up finish — before sprinting to his rail to explode in celebration.

When asked by the APT announcer if he had anything to say to the world watching him win the Main Event, Takasugi kept it simple:

“I am the best.”

What a champion!

Akira Takasugi

In a tournament filled with twists, talent, and tension, it was Takasugi who had the final say — etching his name into APT history as the champion of its biggest Main Event ever.

Iat Man Leong

Hand 147 Akira Takasugi shoved from the button, and Iat Man Leong called off his last 11,000,000 from the big blind. With the cards turned over, Takasugi had the opportunity to clinch the title.

Iat Man Leong: Q 2

Akira Takasugi: K 6

Takasugi was ahead with king-high, needing only a clean runout from the dealer to be crowned the champion.

The flop came K T Q , giving both players a pair. Takasugi remained in front with top pair, but Leong still had outs.

The turn brought the 8 , changing nothing. Takasugi was now just one card away from sealing the win in the biggest APT Main Event in history.

The river fell the 4 —and it was all over. Takasugi had done it. From a field of 2,546 entries, he stood alone as the APT Taipei 2025 Main Event Champion.

He shook hands with Leong, who bowed out in second place with an outstanding runner-up performance worth TWD 10,133,000 (~USD 312,750).

Iat Man Leong

Hand 144 Akira Takasugi got a walk in the big blind.

Hand 145 Iat Man Leong got a walk.

Hand 146 Leong raised to 2,400,000 from the button with 9 8 and Takasugi defended his big blind holding 9 4 .

The dealer put out a flop of 5 K Q and Takasugi checked. Leong bet 2,000,000, which Takasugi called.

The J fell on the turn and both players checked to see the 5 hit the river. Takasugi bet 5,000,000 and Leong let go of his hand.

Akira Takasugi

Hand 141 Takasugi folded and Leong won the pot.

Hand 142 Leong raied the button to 2,400,000 with K 3 and Takasugi called from the big blnd with Q 5

On the flop of Q 2 7 , Takasugi checked to Leong who continued for 1,600,000. Takasugi called.

The J came on the turn, and it went check-check.

The board-pairing J hit on the river, where Takasugi bet 3,500,000 and won the pot.

Hand 143 Takasugi raised to 2,400,000 with T 4 and Leong called with K 3

A flop ran out 5 J T , Takasugi got a pair. The action went check-check.

The T landed on the turn, improving the Japanese player to trip tens, and it was another check round.

The 2 hit on the river. Leong fired out 5,000,000 and Takasugi raised to 14,000,000. Leong folded.

Hand 137 Iat Man Leong got a walk.

Hand 138 Akira Takasugi got a walk.

Hand 139 Takasugi raised to 2,400,000 with 4 3 from the button and Leong called holding Q 4 .

On the K J K flop Leong check-folded to Takasugi's bet of 1,200,000.

Hand 140 Leong opened J 2 on the button with a min-raise and won the pot.

Iat Man Leong

Hand 132 Leong folded and Takasugi won the pot.

Hand 133 Takasugi shoved on the button and won the pot.

Hand 134 Leong folded and Takasugi won the pot.

Hand 135 Takasugi folded and Leong won the pot.

Hand 136 Leong shoved all in for 14,000,000 and Takasugi snap-called.

Akira Takasugi: Q T

Iat Man Leong: A T

Leong was ahead on the flop of 4 K 6 . The 8 hit on the turn, leaving Takasugi drawing thin.

The river brought a 2 , locking up a double-up for Leong.

Akira Takasugi

Hand 130 Iat Man Leong limped the button and Akira Takasugi checked his option.

The 2 A K flop checked through to see the A on the turn.

Takasugi checked and Leong bet 1,500,000. Takasugi called.

The T river checked through and Leong took down the pot with K 2 .Takasugi mucked Q 3 .

Hand 131 Takasugi raised to 2,000,000 with 5 5 and Leong defended with T 8

On the monotone K T 6 flop, Leong check-called a bet of 1,000,000 from Takasugi.

Leong checked the 8 turn and Takasugi bet 3,000,000 to see the 9 roll off on the river. Leong checked, and Takasugi bet 10,000,000, forcing Leong to fold.

Akira Takasugi

Hand 127 Takasugi raied to 2,000,000 on the button with K 4 and Leong calld from the big blind with 9 7 .

On the flop of 5 T 3 , Leong checked to Takasugi, who bet 2,500,000 and Leong folded.

Hand 128 Leong called on the button with T 3 and Takasugi raised to 3,500,000 with A Q to win the pot.

Hand 129 Takasugi raised to 2,000,000 on the button with K 4 and Leong called with 7 5 from the big blind.

On the flop of 9 4 7 , Leong checked to Takasugi, who bet 1,500,000. Leong cranked it up to 4,500,000 and Takasugi called.

The A hit on the turn and Leong bet 5,000,000, only to be jammed on by Takasugi for 62,000,000. Leong snap-folded.

Hand 124 Iat Man Leong called with J T on the button and Akira Takasugi checked wiht K 5 from the big blind.

On the flop of K Q 2 , it went check-check.

The 7 hit on the turn, wher Akira bet 2,500,000 and Leong called.

The Q showed on the river, Takasugi checked to Leong, who bet 2,500,000. Takasugi called to win the pot.

Hand 125 Takasugi raied to 2,000,000 in the button with 5 3 and Leong three-bet to 5,000,000 with Q J to win the pot.

Hand 126 Leong raised the button to 2,000,000 with A J and Takasugi called with T 6 .

A flop ran out A A K , and Takasugi checked to Leong who bet 1,000,000. Takasugi folded.

APT Main Event

The APT Taipei Main Event has seen remarkable growth over the years, showcasing the continued success and prestige of the Asian Poker Tour. An analysis of the prize pool figures reveals a constant upward trend, underscoring the event’s increasing popularity and the expansion of poker in the region.

• - Taipei Poker Growth

The prize pool for APT Taipei 2025 has skyrocketed to an astounding TWD 121,033,440 – almost double that of APT Taipei 2023, which set the bar two years ago with a prize pool of TWD 62,594,100.

This dramatic increase not only highlights the success of the event but also demonstrates the growing appeal of poker tournaments in Asia. With each successive year, APT's prescence in Taipei has delivered ever-larger guarantees and even bigger field numbers, culminating in this series' largest and richest Main Event in APT's 19-year history.

Additionally, the guaranteed prize pools (GTD) have also experienced consistent growth. For instance, APT Taipei 2023 had a GTD prize pool of TWD 30,000,000, APT Taipei 2024 and the Taipei Poker Classic 2024 saw a GTD prize pool of TWD 65,000,000. The APT Taipei 2025 took it even further with a GTD prize pool of TWD 70,000,000, continuing the upward trajectory.

APT Main Event Trophy

This growth reflects the APT's commitment to providing world-class poker experiences, offering players greater opportunities to win life-changing amounts of money.

As the APT continues to evolve, it has cemented its place as one of the leading poker tours in the world, attracting both seasoned professionals and passionate amateurs.

The increasing prize money demonstrates the trust players have in the APT’s ability to deliver top-tier events, and the Taipei stop remains a highlight on the poker calendar.

With an upward trajectory in prize money and participation, the APT Taipei Main Event looks poised for even greater achievements in the future, strengthening its reputation as a premier destination for poker. With the APT Championship Series coming this November, one question remains — will the records be broken yet again?