APT Taipei 2026 — April 22 to May 3; 12 Days, 172 Events, Over TWD 207 Million (~USD 6.5 Million) in Prize Pool Guarantees
The Asian Poker Tour continues its milestone 20-year celebration and returns to Taiwan for the second series of the 2026 poker season – the APT Taipei 2026.
Historically the tour’s most successful stop, all five Taipei-based New Era festivals have set international poker records and the 126th APT festival is expected to continue that trend.
Like its record-breaking predecessors, the festival is run in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) and is running from Wednesday, April 22 to Sunday, May 3 at the Red Point Center’s cavernous Red Space 多元商務空間 venue located in central Taipei.
The APT Taipei 2026 is 20 percent longer than the previous record-breaking offering and 38 percent larger with a whopping 172 tournaments (including satellites) squeezed into the twelve-day schedule.
Headlined by a Main Event with a TWD 70 million (~USD 2.2 million) guarantee the action-packed series comes with over TWD 207 million (~USD 6.5 million) in prize pool guarantees with the tour’s other two signature Lion Trophy events—the TWD 330,000 APT Super High Roller and the TWD 120,000 APT High Roller—both boasting eight-figure (six in USD) prize pool guarantees!
In addition to the mouth-watering guarantees, the APT Taipei 2026 will also award seats to the APT Championship 2026 (APTC) Main Event; there are seven seats up for grabs, with the top three finishers in the Main Event, and the winners of the APT Super High Roller, the APT High Roller, the Superstar Challenge, and the Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 all claiming a spot in the USD 5M guaranteed season-ending showpiece taking place from November 13–29, 2026 in Taipei.
The jam-packed schedule offers something for everyone, with buy-ins ranging from TWD 3,500 (~USD 110) all the way up to TWD 777,000 (~USD 25,330) across 122 Hold’em tournaments that include 35 high roller events, and 16 women’s events, 27 Omaha events, 9 draw games, and 7 dedicated mixed games.
In addition to the fan favorites like the APT National Cup, the Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8, the Sunday Super Stack, the Mini Main Event and Micro Main Event, and the Ultra Stack, there are also 14 events making their APT debut.
New events include a single re-entry TWD 500,000 (~USD 16,300) buy-in Single Day Super High Roller, a heads-up pot limit Omaha tournament, and the APT’s first-ever heads-up women’s event. There's also an eclectic selection of brand-new mixed game formats including Deca Dugi, a Badugi tournament comprised of ten different variants, a High Hand Jackpot NLH tournament where the highest recorded winning hand for each level of late registration wins their full buy-in back, and Backwards Hold’em where the board is played backwards with the river dealt first.
Regardless of the size of your bankroll there’s plenty of great value tournaments to be played; read on as we take a closer peek at the festival’s key events looking at the buy-in, structure, guarantee, and potential field size estimates based on the tour’s previous offerings.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Guarantee: TWD 70,000,000 (~USD 2,216,000)
Date: April 26-May 2, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 55,000 (~USD 1,740)
Japan’s Akira Takasugi won the largest Main Event in APT history at APT Taipei 2025
Headlining the APT Taipei 2026 festival, the Main Event comes with a sizable TWD 70 million (~USD 2.2 million) guarantee which, outside of the USD 5 million guaranteed APT Championship Main Event, is one of the largest tournament guarantees the tour has ever offered.
The centerpiece of the series will see players duke it out at the felt in an attempt to tame the iconic 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy, with the top three finishers also receiving a ~USD 10,000 seat to the APT Championship 2026 Main Event running at the end of the year from November 13-29 at Red Space 多元商務空間 in Taipei.
Expect it to be big. While the tour’s flagship tournament has averaged 1,345 entries in the New Era, in Taipei this number is significantly higher with the tournament setting new international entry records for Taiwan three years in a row.
The 2025 edition of the tournament was the APT’s largest-ever Main Event, drawing a massive 2,547 entries from 45 countries and regions, generating a staggering TWD 121 million (~USD 3.7 million) prize pool with Japan’s Akira Takasugi claiming victory and a monster TWD 19 million (USD 586,710) top prize – the third richest first place prize the tour has ever awarded.
Players start with 40,000 in chips and have the choice of four starting flights, running April 26-28. Flight A features ten 60-minute levels, while Flight B consists of six 45-minute levels followed by four 60-minute levels. The turbo Flights C and D have quicker levels, comprising six 30-minute levels followed by four 45-minute levels. From Day 2 onwards, the tournament adopts 60-minute levels, with late registration closing before the start of Day 2 on Wednesday, April 29.
The chance of a fourth consecutive international entry record remains a distinct possibility so this is a tournament that should not be missed.
Guarantee: TWD 15,000,000 (~USD 475,000)
Date: April 22-25, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 12,000 (~USD 380)
Taiwan’s Shi Rong Wang claimed a career best score in the richest-ever APT National Cup at APT Taipei 2025
A staple of the series since the close of 2023, the APT National Cup has drawn four-figure fields in Taipei for the last three years in a row, averaging 1,724 entries. The 2025 iteration of the tournament was the richest-ever, attracting 2,161 entries and generating a sizable TWD 21.2 million (USD 656,000) prize pool with Taiwan’s Shi Rong Wang claiming the largest top prize the tournament has ever awarded – a hefty TWD 3.4 million (~USD 106,000).
Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Yuan won the largest-ever National Cup, defeating a 2,305-strong field at APT Taipei 2024 to bank a TWD 2.26 million (USD 71,700) top prize.
The tournament generates an average prize pool in excess of USD 273,000. Players start with 30,000 in chips and have six starting flights to choose from; A, C, & E come with 30-minute levels, while B, D, & F are turbo 15-minute levels. While only the top 5 percent of each field will make the Final Day, the top 14 percent of each respective Day 1 will make the money.
Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8
Guarantee: TWD 20,000,000 (~USD 633,000)
Date: April 25-26, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 20,000 (~USD 630)
South Korea’s Jung Sangjun won the largest and richest Mystery Bounty tournament in APT history at APT Taipei 2025
A firm favorite with the player base, the two-day Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 gets underway on Sunday, April 26 and comes with three starting flights. While the tournament averages 799 entries and a prize pool in excess of USD 370,000, the last three iterations of the tournament to play out in Taipei have all drawn four-figure fields, with the number of entries increasing by an average of 37 percent per tournament.
The APT Taipei 2025 edition set a new tour record for field size, prize pool and top prize, with South Korea’s Jung Sangjun overcoming a 1,724-entry field to claim the lion’s share of the TWD 24.3 million (USD 750,000) prize pool, banking a TWD 2.7 million (USD 84,000) top prize.
Players start with 30,000 in chips, with Flight A coming with 25-minute levels. Flight B comes with 20-minute levels, and Flight C boasts 15-minute levels. The top 14 percent of each flight will make the Final Day and the money, which is when the mystery bounties kick in.
Guarantee: TWD 15,000,000 (~USD 475,000)
Date: April 25-26, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 330,000 (~USD 10,450)
Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Minh won an APTC Main Event seat with his APT Taipei 2025 Super High Roller victory
The second of five tournaments running during the festival to award an APT Championship Main Event seat, the APT Super High Roller is one of the tour’s three signature tournaments which awards the eventual champion with one of the APT’s coveted three mega lion trophies – the Pewter Lion APT Super High Roller trophy.
Past champions include poker legend Isaac Haxton, Japan’s Nozomu Shimizu, and Julian Warhurst, with the latter the only player to have tamed two mega lion trophies, claiming his first during the APT Summer Series Da Nang Super High Roller in 2023 and following this up by taking down the Freezeout Championship at the APT Championship 2025.
While the record for defeating the tournaments’ largest field of 156 entries that Shimizu set during the APT Hanoi Billions still stands, it is Haxton who won the richest iteration of the tournament, overcoming 137 entries at APT Taipei 2024 to claim the lion’s share of the TWD 37.8 million (USD 1.2 million) prize pool, winning a TWD 9 million (USD 288,000) top prize.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Quang Minh won the last Taipei-based Super High Roller, triumphing over 122 entries to claim a TWD 9.2 million (USD 285,000) top prize.
Players begin with 250,000 in chips with a shot clock active from the start. Each player receives two 30-second time banks, with one additional time bank awarded at every scheduled break. Day 1 on Saturday, April 25 comprises sixteen 40-minute levels, with survivors returning on Sunday to play down to a champion.
Guarantee: TWD 5,000,000 (~USD 158,000)
Date: April 26, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 30,000 (~USD 950)
Japan’s Taiga Tanida won the tour’s richest ever Sunday Super Stack at APT Taipei 2025
There’s no better way to spend a Sunday than by playing poker, with the Sunday Super Stack offering players a shot at winning a slice of a USD six-figure prize pool in just a single day. Players start with a 100,000 in chips and compete over 25-minute levels, shortening to 20-minute levels after the close of registration.
The tournament averages 276 entries and a prize pool of over USD 128,000. South Korea’s Junghyun Lee still holds the record for defeating the largest number of entries (555) set during the APT Hanoi Billions 2023.
The richest iteration of the tournament came during the APT Taipei 2025 with Japan’s Taiga Tanida overcoming a 386-strong field to claim the lion’s share of the TWD 10 million (USD 308,000) prize pool and bank the richest top prize the tournament has ever awarded – a hefty TWD 1.9 million (USD 60,000).
Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8
Guarantee: TWD 25,000,000 (~USD 791,000)
Date: April 30-May 1
Buy-in: TWD 85,000 (~USD 2,690)
Hong Kong’s Kwan Chun Kit won the tour’s largest and richest Zodiac Classic at APT Taipei 2025
Following an increase to the buy-in at APT Taipei 2024, the Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 has drawn progressively larger fields and seen ballooning prize pools with the last iteration of the tournament to play out in Taiwan setting an all-time tour record for the event for entries, prize pool, and top prize.
It was Hong Kong’s** Kwan Chun Kit** who overcame the 626-entry field to earn the largest slice of the record TWD 43.2 million (USD 1.3 million) prize pool, taking home an impressive TWD 8.2 million (USD 254,000) top prize.
APT All-Time Money List #1 Joseph Cheong made tour history at the APT Jeju 2025, becoming the only player to have won the event twice after defeating a 449-entry field to claim the lion’s share of the KRW 1.2 billion (USD 914,000) prize pool, taking home a KRW 244.5 million (USD 175,000) top prize.
Alongside the Mini Main Event, the tournament boasts the largest guarantee of the festival outside of the Main Event, drawing an average field of 285 entries and generating an average prize pool of over USD 491,000.
Day 1 of the two-day tournament gets underway on Friday, May 1 with thirteen 40-minute levels scheduled and starts with a shot clock in effect. Players start with 40,000 in chips and two 30-second time banks, receiving another time bank at every scheduled break.
Guarantee: TWD 25,000,000 (~USD 791,000)
Date: May 1-2, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 30,000 (~USD 950)
Taiwan’s Hung Te Lee earned a career best score in the tour’s largest and richest Mini Main Event at APT Taipei 2025
Modelled after the structure of the Main Event but designed to wrap up in two days, the Mini Main Event offers great value with the second-largest guarantee on the schedule – an enticing TWD 25 million (~USD 791,000) prize pool guarantee.
While the tournament averages 609 entries and generates a prize pool in excess of USD 318,000, in Taipei these numbers are higher with the APT Taipei 2025 iteration of the tournament setting the tour record for the event, drawing a massive 1,760-entry field and generating a seven-figure USD prize pool.
It was Taiwan’s Hung Te Lee who entered the annals of tour history, earning the largest slice of the massive TWD 38 million (USD 1.1 million) prize pool, and banking a career best TWD 6.5 million (USD 201,000) top prize – the richest the tournament has ever awarded.
Players start with 30,000 in chips and have the choice of three starting flights which all run on Saturday, May 2; Flight A comes with 25-minute levels, Flight B comes with 20-minute levels, and Flight C comes with 15-minute levels with the top 14 percent of each flight making the Final Day and the money.
Guarantee: TWD 20,000,000 (~USD 633,000)
Date: May 2-3, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 120,000 (~USD 3,800)
Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan made tour history at APT Taipei 2025 winning the tour’s largest and richest APT High Roller
The final signature event of APT Taipei 2026, the APT High Roller returns with a TWD 20 million (~USD 633,000) guarantee and the prestigious Rose Gold Lion Trophy on the line, in addition to an APTC Main Event ticket for the eventual champion.
The last time the tour came to Taipei for a regular APT festival the tournament drew its largest-ever field of 415 entries and generated its richest-ever prize pool of TWD 39.4 million (USD 1.2 million), with Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan claiming the biggest first place prize in the tournament’s history – a hefty TWD 7.5 million (USD 248,000) top prize.
Other notables to have previously tamed the Rose Gold Lion include Natural8 ambassadors Phachara Wongwichit, and Eric “Six Poker” Tsai, as well as Thailand’s Thanisorn Saelor, and Australia’s Daniel Nielson. The tournament averages 217 entries and a prize pool of over USD 691,000 and the Taipei 2026 edition could well break the previous record set by Quan.
Players begin with 100,000 in chips, with a shot clock in play from the start. Each player receives two 30-second time banks, with an additional time bank issued at every scheduled break. Day 1 on Saturday, May 2 consists of sixteen 40-minute levels, with the surviving contenders returning on Sunday to battle it out for the title and trophy.
Guarantee: TWD 10,000,000 (~USD 316,000)
Date: May 2-3, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 21,000 (~USD 665)
The Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz won the largest-ever Ultra Stack top prize at APT Taipei 2025
Formerly the Double Stack and rebranded as the Ultra Stack at APT Jeju 2025, this popular multi-flight tournament offers excellent value with a TWD 10 million (~USD 316,000) guarantee and regularly draws one of the larger fields of the festival, averaging 565 entries and generating an average prize pool of over USD 263,000.
The record number of 1,175 entries for the tournament was set during the APT Hanoi Billions 2023, but the richest iteration of the event played out at the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 with South Korea’s Dongjae Kim defeating a 951-entry field—the largest the tour has run in Taipei—to claim the lion’s share of the TWD 16.4 million (USD 520,000) prize pool, earning a TWD 2.25 million (USD 70,000) top prize.
However, the record for the tournament’s richest-ever top prize came during APT Taipei 2025, with the Philippines’ Jeorge Lagatuz triumphing over a 930-strong field to claim a TWD 2.28 million (USD 75,000) first place prize.
Players start with 60,000 in chips and have a choice of three flights to choose from, all running on Saturday, May 2; Flight A comes with 25-minute levels, Flight B comes with 20-minute levels, and Flight C comes with 15-minute levels with the top 14 percent of each flight making the Final Day and the money.
Guarantee: TWD 2,000,000 (~USD 63,000)
Date: May 3, 2026
Buy-in: TWD 12,000 (~USD 380)
Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani won the tour’s largest and richest Micro Main Event at the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024
Just like its bigger brother the Mini Main Event, the Micro Main Event mirrors the Main Event structure but is designed to play out in a single day with a budget friendly TWD 12,000 (~USD 380) buy-in and a decently sized TWD 2 million (~USD 63,000) guarantee.
Players start with 40,000 in chips and battle it out at the baize over 20-minute levels, with the tournament drawing an average field of 258 entries and generating an average prize pool in excess of USD 64,000.
Singapore’s Dhanesh Chainani holds the record for defeating the largest and richest iteration of the tournament at the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024, overcoming a 635-entry field to earn the largest slice of the TWD 5.9 million (USD 187,000) prize pool, claiming a sizable TWD 1.1 million (USD 36,000) top prize.
However, it is Taiwan’s Kuan Chieh Wang who is the current Taipei title holder after overcoming a 629-entry field at APT Taipei 2025 to claim the lion’s share of the TWD 5.6 million (USD 185,400) prize pool, earning a TWD 881,600 (USD 28,800) top prize.
APT Taipei 2026 Key Events*
- APT Main Event (TWD 70M/~USD 2.2M GTD): April 26-May 2 – TWD 55K/~USD 1,740 buy-in
- APT National Cup (TWD 15M/~USD 475K GTD): April 22-25 – TWD 12K (~USD 380) buy-in
- Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 (TWD 20M/~USD 633K GTD): April 25-26 – TWD 20K (~USD 630) buy-in
- APT Super High Roller (TWD 15M/~USD 475K GTD): April 25-26 – TWD 330K (~USD 10,450) buy-in
- Sunday Super Stack: (TWD 5M/~USD 158K GTD) April 26 – TWD 30K/~USD 950 buy-in
- Superstar Challenge: April 27-28 – TWD 800K/~USD 25,330 buy-in
- Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 (TWD 25M/~USD 791K GTD): April 30-May 1 – TWD 85K/~USD 2,690 buy-in
- Baby Superstar: May 1 – TWD 165K/~USD 5,220 buy-in
- Mini Main Event (TWD 25M/~USD 791K GTD): May 1-2 – TWD 30K/~USD 950 buy-in
- Ultra Stack (TWD 10M/~USD 316K GTD): May 2-3 – TWD 21K/~USD 665 buy-in
- APT High Roller (TWD 20M/~USD 633K GTD): May 2-3 – TWD 120K/~USD 3,800 buy-in
- Micro Main Event: (TWD 2M/~USD 63K GTD): May 3 – TWD 12K/~USD 380 buy-in