• Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan Tames Rose Gold Lion in Record-Breaking APT High Roller; Wins Career-Best TWD 7.5M (~USD 248K) Top Prize & APTC Main Event Ticket

• Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz Chops Double Stack with Dave “Spade” Erquiaga; Claims APTC Main Event Ticket

• Taiwan’s Kuan Chieh Wang Wins TWD 881K (~USD 28.8K) Career-Best Score with Micro Main Event Victory

• Main Event Champion Akira Takasugi Wins Player of the Series (POTS)

APT TAIPEI 2025 SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | PLAYER LISTS | IMAGES | WINNERS

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, May 4, 2025 – For the fourth visit to Taipei in a row the Asian Poker Tour came and conquered, setting a fourth consecutive Taiwanese poker record for largest and richest poker series ever to run in the region.

The series eclipsed the prize pools and player numbers of the previous largest and richest festival ever to play out in the region—the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024— making it the most successful poker series ever to run in Taiwan by every metric, and the most successful APT festival in the tour’s 19-year history!

Run in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) from April 25 to May 4 at the brand-new Red Space 多元商務空間 the ten-day festival saw 3,549 unique players from 51 combined countries and regions generate 22,909 total entries over 118 Trophy Events and 6 satellites, with players competing for a gigantic TWD 612 million (~USD 20 million) in prize money.

For a breakdown of the festival by nationality please CLICK HERE

In addition to making Taiwanese poker history, the festival saw four tournaments generate seven-figure USD prize pools, with an impressive 11 tournaments awarding over half a million USD in prize pool payouts.

Four tournaments drew four-figure entry fields, with the APT Main Event the biggest of these – making it the largest and richest tournament ever to run in Taiwan.

APT Taipei 2025 by the Numbers

An impressive 16 tour records were broken during the series with the TWD 55,000 APT Main Event beating the previous record set during APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024.

The APT High Roller was the second of the tour’s signature tournaments to set a new tour record for field size, unique players, prize pool, and first place prize.

Key events like the Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8, the Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8, the Mini Main Event, and the Baby Superstar Challenge also set new tour records for field size, unique players, prize pool, and first place prize, as did numerous side events including the High Roller – Ultra Stack, the Teams Event, the NL Hold’em Freezeout, and the Hyper Turbo Home Games – Atomic Pineapple, the latter of which broke a record twice with both Atomic Pineapple tournaments proving a popular attraction with the players.

Adding to the excitement, poker legend John Juanda also won the tour’s largest and richest Single Day High Roller, banking over TWD 3.5 million (USD 110,000).

Poker legend John Juanda claimed his second APT High Roller title in the tour’s largest-ever Single Day High Roller tournament

For a breakdown of prize money, player numbers, and records set during the festival you can view the APT Taipei 2025 Festival Breakdown by Prize Pool, Player Numbers & Records HERE.

Close to a fifth (19.7%) of the series prize money was awarded in the tour's largest-ever Main Event, which saw 2,547 entries (1,276 unique) from 45 countries & regions compete for the largest prize pool of the festival—a hefty TWD 121 million (~USD 3.7 million)—with Japan's Akira Takasugi taming the award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy and walking away with the largest winner’s purse of the series.

For Main Event Breakdown by Country/Region please CLICK HERE with a graphic available HERE.

It was Kwan Chun Kit earning the lion’s share of the festival’s second-largest prize pool which came in the record-breaking Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8, with the Hong Kong player taking home the fourth largest first place prize of the festival – a massive TWD 8,222,620 (~USD 253,785).

It was Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan taming the Rose Gold Lion in the APT High Roller in the third richest event of the festival, which you can read about in more detail below.

The record-breaking Mini Main Event proved to be the third largest of the festival in terms of entries, attracting 1,760 (1,004 unique), and the fourth richest in terms of prize pool, with Taiwan’s Hung Ting Lee claiming the sixth-richest top prize of the series.

It was the third of the APT’s signature tournaments—the APT Super High Roller—rounding out the top five richest tournaments of the series, with Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Minh taming the Pewter Lion and taking home the third richest top prize of the festival.

View a graphic of Event Breakdown by Prize Pool, GTD & First Prize HERE

View a graphic of Festival Prize Pool Percentage by Event HERE.

Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan Tames Rose Gold Lion in Record-Breaking APT High Roller; Wins Career-Best TWD 7.5M (~USD 248K) Top Prize & APTC Main Event Ticket

A total of 85 players out of a record-breaking field of 415 entries comprised of 278 unique players returned for the Final Day of the tour’s largest and richest APT High Roller, all looking to tame the award-winning Rose Gold Lion APT High Roller trophy.

With only the top 55 places paid, and the richest-ever APT High Roller prize pool of TWD 39,091,600(~USD 1,277,500) on the line—the third largest of the festival—competition for a place in the paying positions was intense.

There was also the not-so-small matter of the TWD 7,586,600 (~USD 247,930) top prize—the fifth richest of the festival—to consider, with the eventual champion also receiving a TWD 350,000 Asian Poker Tour Championship (APTC) Main Event ticket.

It was APT regular Nguyen Trung Quan of Vietnam who showcased his lion-taming skills to the best effect, overcoming Thailand’s Alexander Wice after an epic 33-hand back-and-forth heads-up battle that spanned close to a full 40-minute level, with Quan bringing a 17 big blind chip lead into the match.

However, Wice did not make it easy, with the Thai player battling back from elimination to seize the chip lead for a spell, before Quan regained the momentum and closed out the match on the 137th hand of the tournament, his queen-ten of hearts spiking top pair on a ten high double heart flop and fading Wice’s nut flush and two over card redraws to take the title.

Quan already boasted over USD 650,000 in live tournament winnings on his poker resume before this record-breaking win and had already come within touching distance of APT glory having run deep in the APT Hanoi Billions for USD 63,000, which was the largest result of his poker career until this tournament.

Quan has now quadrupled his previous best career result with his APT High Roller victory representing the richest cash of his poker career, moving him into the top ten on the Vietnam All-Time Money List, granting him his second career APT live title in the process.

While Wice, who came within a single river card of victory will rue what could have been, the Thai player can now boast two top three finishes in two of the largest events on the APT Taipei 2025 schedule having claimed the second largest score of his poker career in the Superstar Challenge where he finished in third for TWD 5,113,500 (~USD 157,825).

The TWD 4,808,500 (~USD 157,140) runner-up prize represents Wice’s third-best career score, which should take the sting out of coming up short of the trophy.

While Wice headed off to commiserate with his Thai rail, Quan took time out from celebrating with his rail to pose for his winner’s photograph and say a few words to his family and friends back in Vietnam.

“Thank you to my family and friends who have been present with me for these 10 days, and for their unwavering support throughout my whole journey to the point I became champion,” an elated Quan stated in his post-match interview.

“I got nervous when my opponent started doubling up, but knowing I have my family’s support I just focused on my game. I will join every APT in Taiwan. Thank you! Yeahhh!!!” he concluded before celebrating wildly with his watching rail.

APT HIGH ROLLER FINAL TABLE RESULTS

Natural8 Ambassador Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang came agonizingly close to making a final table appearance, exiting in tenth place for a TWD 617,500 payout.

Other notables to cash but come up short of the final table included APT Summer Series Da Nang 2023 Super High Roller champion Julian Warhurst (11th for TWD 617,500), APT Manila Classic Main Event champion Daniel Lee (12th for TWD 535,500), APT Summer Series Hanoi 2023 Super High Roller champion Shung Er Sua (14th for TWD 473,000), South Korea’s Gab Yong Kim (20th for TWD 387,000), Natural8 India Ambassador Kunal Patni (22nd for TWD 348,000), and APT Taipei 2024 High Roller champion Stanley Weng (30th for TWD 269,500).

For APT High Roller Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE.

For APT High Roller Results please CLICK HERE.

You can read about all high rolling action via the APT Blog or follow all the action as it played out via the APT High Roller Final Day live stream.

All tournament information can be found on the APT High Roller - Final Day tournament page.

Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz Chops Double Stack with Dave “Spade” Erquiaga; Claims APTC Main Event Ticket

Lagatuz claimed his third APT title and the largest career cash in the Double Stack

One of the festivals 11 tournaments to award over USD half a million in prize pool payouts, just 131 players out of a field of 930 entries (579 unique) returned for the Final Day of the TWD 20,000 (~USD 650) Double Stack.

All remaining players already guaranteed a payout of TWD 30,500 (~USD 1,000) from the TWD 15,624,000 (~USD 510,590) prize pool, but it was the APT silver lion silhouette trophy, top prize and APTC Main Event seat valued at TWD 350,000 that all were gunning for.

It was Flight B frontrunner Jeorge Lagatuz who claimed the accolades, with the Filipino successfully piloting his big stack to victory.

It proved to be a Filipino versus Filipino finale, with Lagatuz and compatriot David “Spade” Erquiaga electing to strike a heads-up deal for the prize money, playing it out for the trophy and APTC ticket.

Both players received a payout of TWD 2,289,000 (~USD 74,804), with Lagatuz claiming his third APT title and the largest cash of his poker career in the process.

Taiwan’s Chen Shen Huang rounded out the last of the podium positions, taking a career-best TWD 1,218,000 ~USD 39,800) for his third-place finish.

APT Taipei Poker Classic Main Event finalist Dhanesh Chainani made an impressive 26th APT final table appearance, collecting TWD 711,500 (~USD 23,250) for his fifth-place finish, and Flight C frontrunner Mizuki Kurokawa of Japan claimed a top nine finish, banking TWD 526,500 (~USD 17,200) for sixth, with the final table paying out as follows:

DOUBLE STACK FINAL TABLE RESULTS

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

Other notables to run deep included Ireland’s Ryan Plant (20th for TWD110,500), start-of-day chip leader Po Chieh Chang (46th for TWD 51,000), Japan’s Hirotoshi Nakabo (58th for TWD 44,000), Hong Kong’s Hon Cheong “Ivan” Lee (69th for TWD 44,000), and the UK’s Percy Chao (82nd for TWD 37,000).

For Double Stack Results please CLICK HERE.

For Double Stack Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE.

All tournament information can be found on the Double Stack Final Day tournament page.

Taiwan’s Kuan Chieh Wang Wins TWD 881K (~USD 28.8K) Career-Best Score with Micro Main Event Win

Kuan Chieh Wang claimed his maiden live tournament title in the Micro Main Event

The last of the guaranteed key events on the APT Taipei 2025 schedule, the TWD 11,000 (~USD 360) Micro Main Event more than doubled the TWD 2 million (~USD 61K) guarantee drawing a total of 629 entries (487 unique), making it the second-largest Mini Main Event in tour history, sitting just behind the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 edition of the tournament.

This generated the tour’s second-largest Mini Main Event prize pool of all-time, with players competing for a TWD 5,673,681 (~USD 185,414) purse, with a total of 87 players making the paying positions.

It was Taiwan’s Kuan Chieh Wang earning the plaudits, cutting a deal with heads-up opponent Gilbert Fook of Mauritius that saw the two chop the remaining prize money straight down the middle, both receiving career-best scores of TWD 881,600 (~USD 28,810) apiece with Wang walking away with his first live tournament title in the process.

Taiwan’s Szu Han Chen completed the top triumvirate, taking TWD 484,000 (~USD 15,820) for his first recorded live cash, with the final table paying out as follows:

MICRO MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS

Other notables to cash included the Philippines Benjamin Ebarle (11th for TWD 76,000), South Korea's Soo Bum Kim (55th for TWD 22,000), and Taiwan’s Chi Jen Chen (57th for TWD 20,000).

For Micro Main Event Results please CLICK HERE.

For Micro Main Event Player List please CLICK HERE.

All tournament information can be found on the Micro Main Event tournament page.

Main Event Champion Akira Takasugi Wins Player of the Series (POTS)

The exciting Player of the Series (POTS) promotion has been claimed by Japan’s Akira Takasugi!

In addition to winning the tour’s largest and richest Main Event, Takasugi earned a further two series cashes, including another final table appearance which came in the record-breaking Event #19: Hyper Turbo Home Games - Atomic Pineapple where he finished 3rd for TWD 39,500 (~USD 1,219).

The Japanese player also cashed the record-breaking Event #12: Mystery Bounty Hunter - Sponsored by Natural8, earning a further TWD 16,500 (~USD 509) for his 226th place finish for total festival winnings of TWD 19,065,440 (~USD 639,000).

Being as he has already locked up an Asian Poker Tour Championship (APTC) Main Event ticket with his momentous APT Taipei 2025 Main Event win, Takasugi earned APT credit worth the TWD 350,000 value of the ticket. Congratulations Akira – we’ll see you at the APTC!