Asian Poker Tour Championship Gets Underway with Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout

TAIPEI, TAIWAN, November 13, 2025 – Welcome to the inaugural Asian Poker Tour Championship; the largest tournament series ever to run on the Asian continent.

Run in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) at the cavernous Red Space 多元商務空間 venue and headlined by the TWD 311,000 (USD 10,000) buy-in APT Championship Main Event Freezeout carrying a TWD 156M/USD 5M guarantee—the largest in Asian poker history—the festival comprises 20 Championship Events, plus a further 180 side events and satellites, and boasts over TWD 288 million (~USD 8.7 million) in prize pool guarantees.

In addition to setting an international poker record for the largest guaranteed Asian-based tournament, the APT’s most ambitious festival yet will see a new pride of lions making their tour debut.

The tour’s trademark gleaming golden lion trophies are on hiatus until the start of the APT 2026 poker season, with 20 brand new APT Championship Lion Trophies introduced exclusively for this festival for the winners of the APT Championship Events.

CHAMPIONSHIP EVENTS*

[Event 0] Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout: Nov 13 – TWD 13,000/~USD 430 buy-in
[Event 1] National Cup Championship (TWD 12,000,000/~USD 396,000 GTD): Nov 14-16 – TWD 15,000/~USD 500 buy-in
[Event 2] Mystery Bounty Championship - Single Re-Entry (TWD 15,000,000/~USD 495,000 GTD): Nov 16-17 – TWD 35,000/~USD 1,155 buy-in
[Event 3] Ultra Stack Championship (TWD 20,000,000/~USD 660,000 GTD): Nov 17-19 – TWD 25,000/~USD 825 buy-in
[Event 4] 7 Max Championship - Single Re-Entry: Nov 17-18 – TWD 80,000/~USD 2,640 buy-in
[Event 5] PLO Championship - Single Re-Entry: Nov 18-19 – TWD 100,000/~USD 3,300 buy-in
[Event 6] Natural8 Cup Championship Freezeout (TWD 31,000,000/~USD 1,000,000 GTD): Nov 19-22 – TWD 93,000/~USD 3,000 buy-in
[Event 7] Super High Roller Championship: Nov 21-23 – TWD 777,000/~USD 25,150 buy-in
[Event 8] Mixed Games Championship - 9 Game - Single Re-Entry: Nov 21-22 – TWD 70,000/~USD 2,310 buy-in
[Event 9] Women's Championship: Nov 21-22 – TWD 35,000/~USD 1,155 buy-in
[Event 10] Superstar Championship - Single Re-Entry: Nov 23 – TWD 1,500,000/~USD 50,260 buy-in
[Event 11] APT Championship Main Event Freezeout (TWD 156,000,000/~USD 5,000,000 GTD): Nov 24-28 – TWD 311,000/~USD 10,000 buy-in
[Event 12] Mini Main Event Championship: Nov 25-27 – TWD 35,000/~USD 1,155 buy-in
[Event 13] High Roller Championship: Nov 27-29 – TWD 466,000/~USD 15,080 buy-in
[Event 14] Teams Championship: Nov 27-28 – TWD 30,000/~USD 990 buy-in
[Event 15] Micro Main Event: Nov 28-29 – TWD10,000/~USD 330 buy-in
[Event 16] 50K Freezeout Championship: Nov 28 – TWD 50,000/~USD 1,650 buy-in
[Event 17] Mini High Roller Championship: Nov 28-30 – TWD 233,000/~USD 7,540 buy-in
[Event 18] Turbo Championship: Nov 29 – TWD 35,000/~USD 1,155 buy-in
[Event 19] Trip Saver (TWD 3,000,000/~USD 90,000 GTD): Nov 29-30 – TWD 35,000/~USD 1,155 buy-in

*USD amount for comparison only, values may fluctuate due to currency conversion rates

Blog & Live Stream Coverage

Championship Events 0-18 will all be featured in the APT Blog, and live stream coverage of the following events can be found exclusively on the official APT YouTube channel:

Final Day of [Event 6] Natural8 Cup Championship Freezeout – 11:45am (TST) Sat, Nov 22.
Final Day of [Event 7] Super High Roller Championship – 11:45am (TST) Sun, Nov 23.
Final Day of [Event 10] Superstar Championship – 11:45am (TST) Mon, Nov 24.
Day 2 of [Event 11] APT Championship Main Event Freezeout – 11:30am (TST) Tue, Nov 25.
Day 3 of [Event 11] APT Championship Main Event Freezeout – 11:45am (TST) Wed, Nov 26.
Day 4 of [Event 11] APT Championship Main Event Freezeout – 11:45am (TST) Thur, Nov 27.
Final Day of [Event 11] APT Championship Main Event Freezeout – 11:45am (TST) Fri, Nov 28.
Final Day of [Event 13] High Roller Championship – 11:45am (TST) Sat, Nov 29.
Final Day of [Event 17] Mini High Roller Championship – 11:45am (TST) Sun, Nov 30.

Wang Bo Hsiang Wins Inaugural Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout to Tame First APTC Lion Trophy

Event 0 Asia Gaming Industry Championship winner Wang Bo Hsiang .JPG CTP dealer Wang Bo Hsiang claimed the inaugural Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout title

Before the sharks from across Asia and beyond descend upon Taipei it was the poker industry insiders' time to shine.

While the 17-day APT Championship festival proper does not get underway until Friday, November 14, the unofficial start of the series began with the single day TWD 13,000 (~USD 420) buy-in [Event 0] Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout.

This special Championship Event was limited to casino employees and poker industry persons – including organizers/operators, media personnel, and poker celebrities/influencers, and drew a total field of 76 entries.

While poker is a zero sum game, this tournament is the exception to the rule, with APT and CTP owners donating all their winnings from the event to charity.

In addition, APT owners Daren Yoon and Michael Soyza — alongside special advisor Victor Chong — are pledging a minimum contribution of TWD 500,000 (~USD 16,180) to the Eden Social Welfare Foundation (伊甸社會福利基金會); founded in 1982 to champion the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups.

David Tai (CEO) and Raymond Wong (Director of International Marketing) from the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) will be donating TWD 100,000 (~USD 3,235).

With both David Tai and Victor Chong making the final table, finishing in second and third place respectively, that proved to be an additional combined charitable donation of TWD 263,000 (~USD 8,510).

The tournament proved to be a veritable who’s who of the Asian poker industry with an eclectic mix of industry operators, bloggers, floor staff and Natural8 ambassadors competing over twenty-six 20-minute levels for a slice of the TWD 815,109 (~USD 26,380) prize pool, with 11 of them making the paying positions.

In addition to the APT owners and CTP management, other notable entries included Triton Poker CEO Andy Wong, Gods of Poker CEO Ray Chiu, the Hong Kong Poker Players’ Association Managing Director (HKPPA) Stephen Lai, and Poker Information Manager for the GPI and the Hendon Mob Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers.

They were joined by APT hosts Greg “Greg Goes All-in” Liow, and Hsiao Chin “Elfin” Lin, with Natural8 Ambassadors Sparrow Cheong, Phachara Wongwichit, Yu Chung “Nevan” Chang, Hua-Wei “Wei-Wei” Lin, Eric “Six Poker” Tsai, and Chih Wei Fan adding some professional flair, alongside former APT Main Event champion Punnat Punsri, with locals Chen An Lin, and Li Ta Hsu also getting in on the action.

However, it was CTP dealer Wang Bo Hsiang, playing in his first-ever poker tournament, who tamed the pewter lion and claimed the very first APT Championship trophy ever awarded, defeating CTP CEO David Tai heads-up to earn a TWD 225,109 (~USD 7,285) top prize – which should be enough to keep him afloat for a while if he has employment issues after beating his boss for the title…

“Honestly, I can’t quite find the words to describe how I feel right now, but I’m really happy. I want to say—Brother Yong (David), sorry, but I also wanted to get the trophy,” Hsiang confessed in his post-match winner’s interview.

“I hope all the bosses can forgive me and let me keep this job. I’m currently an employee at CTP, and right now, I’m the dealer. This is my first APT Trophy, and I’m both happy and excited to be playing in this event.”

“This actually means a lot to me, because I haven’t really achieved any notable poker results before. This is my biggest accomplishment so far. APT has always been one of the biggest events in Asia,” Hsiang continued.

“I just hope that poker in Taiwan keeps getting better and better. This is also the first time the APTC is being held in Taiwan, which adds more exposure and opportunities here. I’m truly grateful to CTP for giving me this opportunity.”

Tai earned TWD 159,000 (~USD 5,145) for his runner-up finish, which he will be donating to charity, alongside third place finisher Victor Chong, who cashed for TWD 104,000 (~USD 3,365).

Other notable finalists included Natural8’s Hua Wei Lin (5th), and local poker club operator Li Ta Hsu (9th), with the final table paying out as follows:

FINAL TABLE RESULTS

Final Table Asia Gaming Industry (TOP - L-R) Victor Chong, Sasha Guerin, Jing Yu Huang, Li Ta Hsu, Cheng Huang Shao (BOTTOM - L- R)David Tai, Hua-Wei Lin, Seunguk Hwang, Hsiang Wang Bo

Place	Player	Country	Prize	Prize (USD)
1	Wang Bo Hsiang	Taiwan	225,109	7,285
2	Hsing Hsiung Tai	Taiwan	159,000	5,145
3	Victor Chong	Malaysia	104,000	3,365
4	Sasha Nejad Guerin	United States	80,000	2,590
5	Hua Wei Lin	Taiwan	64,000	2,070
6	Seunguk Hwang	South Korea	50,000	1,620
7	Huang Shao Chen	Taiwan	39,000	1,260
8	Jing Yu Huang	Taiwan	31,000	1,000
9	Li Ta Hsu	Taiwan	23,000	745

Taiwan’s Wang Hung Che and Iwen Chu rounded out the last of the paying positions, finishing in tenth and eleventh place respectively.

For Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout Player List please CLICK HERE

For Asia Gaming Industry Championship Freezeout Results please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the Asia Gaming Industry Championship tournament page and you can follow all the action as it played out via the APT Blog.