Zhiyi Wang claimed a career-best score in the largest opening event ever to play out in Korea

- China’s Zhiyi Wang Wins Record Breaking National Cup for KRW 102M (~USD 72.8K)

- Danny Tang Cements Superstar Status With Superstar Challenge Win

- China’s Dajie Zhou Leads Tour's Largest Korean-Based Super High Roller

- Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 Sets New Tour County Record

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

JEJU, SOUTH KOREA, September 27, 2025 – The Asian Poker Tour’s fifth ever visit to the volcanic island of Jeju has resulted in an early eruption of poker action with multiple records broken on just the first two days of the ten-day festival.

The second day of the series started strong with the conclusion of the largest opening event any poker operator has ever run in the country, with the record-breaking 760-strong KRW 850,000 (~USD 600) APT National Cup playing down to an exciting conclusion.

Another event to play down to a thrilling finish was the priciest on the schedule.

The tour’s richest Korean-based iteration of the KRW 35M (~USD 25,000) Superstar Challenge paid out the richest first prize the tour has ever awarded for the event in the country, with accomplished poker professional Danny Tang booking his seat to the APT Championship Main Event in November.

And if that’s not enough to get the juices flowing, there was also action in the opening day of the KRW 15M (~USD 10,640) APT Super High Roller.

This proved to be another tour record breaker, attracting its largest-ever Korean-based field and generating the richest prize pool the tournament has ever awarded in the country.

Then there was also the KRW 1.1M (~USD 780) Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8, which drew a four figure field to set yet another tour country record, making it the fourth-largest iteration of the tournament in tour history.

China’s Zhiyi Wang Wins Record Breaking National Cup for KRW 102M (~USD 72.8K)

The largest opening event ever to play out in Korea has crowned a champion, with China’s Zhiyi Wang overcoming a 760-entry field in the KRW 850,000 (~USD 600) APT National Cup to claim the lion’s share of the largest prize pool the tournament has ever generated in the country.

The KRW 536,190,336 (~USD 382,990) prize pool makes this the richest opening event the tour has ever run in South Korea, and the fourth richest opening event in APT history.

Just 108 survivors from the three starting flights returned for the Final Day, with all remaining players guaranteed a payout of at least KRW 1,351,000 (~USD 965).

However, no one was playing for a min-cash, and after fifteen action-packed 30-minute levels which played out over eight hours, it was China’s Zhiyi Wang who was the last man standing.

Wang overcame compatriot Chang Liu after a back and forth heads-up battle that spanned close to two full levels.

Wang claimed a career-best KRW 92,004,336 (~USD 65,720) top prize—the largest the tour has ever awarded for this event in the country and third-largest APT National Cup prize ever awarded—after the two players cut an ICM deal when play reached two-handed, leaving KRW 3.9 million (~USD 2,850) and the title and trophy on the table to compete for.

While Wang came into the match with close to a 3-to-1 chip lead, Liu was not prepared to go down without a fight, battling back to take the chip lead before Wang edged back in front and closed out the win to earn his maiden live tournament title.

Liu also earned a career-best KRW 72,210,000 (~USD 51,580) score for his runner-up finish.

The Middle Kingdom dominated the paying positions at the top of the tournament, with compatriot Jie Zhu rounding out the winner’s podium and earning KRW 44,084,000 (~USD 31,490) for his third-place finish.

APT NATIONAL CUP RESULTS

For all **APT National Cup Results **please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be found on the APT National Cup Final Day tournament page and you can read about all the action via the APT Blog.

Danny Tang Cements Superstar Status With Superstar Challenge Win

Danny Tang Claimed a third career APT title with his Superstar Challenge victory

Boasting the biggest buy-in on the APT schedule, the KRW 35 million (~USD 25,000) Superstar Challenge is one of the highlights of the festival, with the tournament regularly attracting some of the game’s best and brightest.

Just 16 poker superstars out of an initial field of 40 entries returned for the Final Day to duke it out for a share of the richest prize pool the event has ever generated in South Korea, with the KRW 1,326,000,000 (~USD 947,140) purse making it the third richest Superstar Challenge in tour history.

With only the top six places getting paid over 60 percent of the returning players would depart empty-handed for their two days of hard graft.

Notables such as two-time former champion Joseph Cheong, former winner Joshua McCully, start-of-day chip leader Punnat Punsri, and APT Incheon 2023 High Roller champion **Thanisorn Saelor **were just some of the big names to come up short of a place in the paying positions.

Instead, it was UK-Hong Kong native and decorated poker professional Danny Tang who proved his superstar credentials, overcoming Australia’s Ricky Huang heads-up to claim the KRW 446,080,000 (~USD 318,630) top prize – the largest this tournament has ever awarded.

In addition to the six-figure score, Tang also booked his ticket to the APT Championship Main Event, running in Taipei, Taiwan in November, valued at KRW 14 million (USD 10,000).

Tang showcased just why he sits at #1 on the Hong Kong All-time Money List with over USD 34.4 million in career tournament winnings, battling back from a 2-to-1 chip deficit to claim a third career APT title to accompany his notable list of poker accolades, which include a World Series bracelet and trophies from almost every other poker tour you can name.

While it was fortune and glory for Tang, the result proved to be a heart-breaking one for Huang, who fell at the final hurdle in a big buy-in APT tournament for a second time this year, having finished runner-up in the APT Manila Classic Super High Roller back in February.

Huang, who was gunning for his maiden live tournament title, looked noticeably disappointed to have been unable to convert his heads-up chip lead into victory.

However, the Aussie can content himself with a career-best KRW 308,320,000 (~USD 220,230) score, which should take the edge off somewhat.

Former APT Taipei 2025 Superstar Challenge champion Biao Ding rounded out the winner’s podium, earning KRW 196,800,000 (~USD 140,570) for his third-place finish, although his #2 position on the China All-Time Money List remains unchanged.

SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE RESULTS

For Superstar Challenge Results please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be viewed on the Superstar Challenge – Final Day tournament page, and you can read all about it on the APT Blog or watch the action as it played out via the Superstar Challenge Live Stream on the official APT YouTube channel.

China’s Dajie Zhou Leads Tour's Largest Korean-Based Super High Roller

Dajie Zhou bagged the overnight chip lead in the APT Super High Roller

All the record-breaking action was not exclusive to the opening two events, with the festival continuing to deliver more vinyl smashing high-stakes tournament thrills.

Day 2 of the series opened with another gem with the KRW 15M (~USD 10,640) APT Super High Roller getting underway at 11:15am (KST) and drawing a field of 97 entries (65 unique) to set a new tour country record for the tournament, surpassing the record set last month at the APT Incheon 2025.

Of course, a record field means a record prize pool, and the top 13 places will earn a share of the KRW 1,340,782,500 (~USD 950,910) purse generated – the richest the tour has ever awarded in the country, and the third-richest of all-time for this event.

The In addition to the sizable KRW 348,252,500 (~USD 246,990) on offer for first place—also a tour county record—the eventual champion will earn one of the juiciest prizes of festival and claim one of seven coveted seats to the APT Championship Main Event worth KRW 14M (USD 10,000).

For APT Super High Roller Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

It is China’s Dajie Zhuo who will be returning in the best of positions to lay claim to this, concluding the sixteen 40-minute Day 1 levels played with a stack of 2,450,000, valued at just over 81 big blinds when play resumes for the Final Day.

Zhou is joined at the top of the counts by compatriot Mingcong Chen (2,315,000), and the Czech Republic’s Roman Hrabic (2,265,000), with the trio the only three players to bag over 2 million in chips, and the latter doing so after finishing in fourth in the Superstar Challenge, which was good for a KRW 150,880,000 (~USD 107,770) payday.

APT SUPER HIGH ROLLER TOP TEN STACKS

A total of 22 players survived the Day 1 action, with other notables to find a chip bag at the end of the evening’s play including Australia’s Anton Lu (800,000), Hong Kong’s Hon Cheong “Ivan” Lee, and the USA’s Joseph Cheong (365,000), all through the latter will be returning as the shortest stack.

For APT Super High Roller Day 1 Player List please CLICK HERE

For APT Super High Roller Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be viewed on the APT Super High Roller Day 1 tournament page and you can read about how the action played out via the APT Blog.

The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am on Sunday, September 28, with the tournament playing down to a champion. Full coverage will be available on the APT Blog, and you can watch all the action as it happens on the APT Super High Roller Live Stream which will be broadcast on the official APT YouTube channel.

Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 Sets New Tour County Record; Vietnam’s Minh Thang Tran Leads

Vietnam’s Minh Thang Tran topped Flight B to claim the overall chip lead in the Mystery Bounty Hunter

Last but by no means least, there was yet more record-setting action in the KRW 1.1M (~USD 780) Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8, which drew a four figure field of 1,111 entries (575 unique) over its three starting flights.

This makes it the fourth-largest iteration of the tournament in tour history, setting a new tour country record for the event, surpassing the one set just six weeks previously at the APT Incheon 2025.

The total prize pool (including bounties) stands at a sizable KRW 1,055,921,111 (~USD 748,880), making it the richest Mystery Bounty tournament the tour has ever run in Korea, and the second richest of all time, just behind the record-setting APT Taipei 2025 iteration of the tournament.

This is split between the KRW 722,620,000 (~USD 512,500) prize pool, and the KRW 333,300,000 (~USD 236,380) bounty pool, with the mystery bounties coming into play on the Final Day.

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Prize Pool, Payouts and Bounties please CLICK HERE

Just 157 players remain in contention, with 14 percent of each of the three starting flights making it through.

It is Vietnam’s Minh Thang Tran who will return in pole position after topping the 394-entry Flight B and bagging up a chip leading stack of 588,000.

Tran will be joined at the top by China’s Jie Zhang (560,000) who finished atop of the 448-entry Flight A, and Germany’s Jessica Vierling, who finished a close second to Tran on Flight B.

The USA’s **Yoon Ho Choi **(534,000) bagged the third largest Flight B stack and will be returning third in the overall counts, with Flight C frontrunner Lili Tang of China (525,000) rounding out the top five, with the top ten as follows:

MYSTERY BOUNTY TOP TEN STACKS

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight C Player List please CLICK HERE

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Flight C Survivors List please CLICK HERE

For Mystery Bounty Hunter Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

All tournament information can be viewed on the Mystery Bounty Hunter - Sponsored by Natural8 tournament page.

The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am (KST) with the tournament playing down to a champion.