APT INCHEON 2026 SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | PLAYER LISTS | IMAGES | WINNERS

• Japan’s Chang Hwan Lee Tames Rose Gold Lion in APT High Roller for KRW 199.87M (~USD 142.7K) & APTC Seat

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA, August 16, 2026 – The Asian Poker Tour's relentless march of record-breaking stops shows no signs of slowing, with APT Incheon 2026 officially entering the history books as the largest and richest APT poker festival in mainland Korean history.

The third festival of the APT’s landmark 20-Year Anniversary season makes it an unprecedented eight consecutive tour stops that have set new APT festival records of one sort or another, be it for entries or prize money—a streak of uninterrupted growth dating back to February 2025.

Run in partnership with Paradise Group at the tournament tables of the palatial Paradise City Casino Resort from August 7-16, the 10-day festival saw 2,329 unique players from 45 combined countries and regions generate 14,059 total entries over 103 trophy events and 3 satellites. Players battled for a record KRW 15,966,848,834 (~USD 11,404,892) in prize money—the most ever awarded at an APT Incheon series.

APT Incheon 2026 Festival Nationality Distribution Graphic

For APT Incheon 2026 Festival Breakdown by Nationality graphic please CLICK HERE

APT Incheon 2026 by the Numbers

The APT Incheon 2026 festival saw close to a 14 percent (13.6%) increase in total festival entries, and a 4 percent (4.4%) increase in prize money over the APT Incheon 2025 festival. The figures mark a continued multi-year surge for the festival in Incheon, which has now more than doubled its overall entries (+108.1%) and boosted prize pools by 86.4 percent since 2023.

APT Incheon Prize Pool Growth 2023-2026

View a graphic of APT Incheon Festival Prize Pool Growth HERE

The series drew two four-figure fields and generated three ten-figure KRW prize pools, led by the APT Incheon 2026 Main Event. The flagship KRW 2.5M (~USD 1,700) tournament set a new mainland Korean record with 1,393 entries (807 unique)—up 8.74 percent year-over-year—and generated a KRW 3,008,880,000 (~USD 2.1 million) prize pool (+8.74%).

Ranking as the second-richest prize pool awarded by the tour in South Korea—just behind the 1,718-entry APT Jeju Classic 2026—it is the eighth-richest APT Main Event of all time. The tournament saw Hong Kong’s Stephen Pang tame the Gold Lion and claim a KRW 411,180,000 top prize; an 8 percent increase over the 2025 champion's payout. Pang also received a USD 10,000 (~KRW 14M) seat to November’s APT Championship Main Event.

Hong Kong’s Stephen Pang won the richest Main Event the tour has ever run in Incheon

However, the largest field of the festival came just as the Main Event was winding down, with the 1,427-entry Event #80: Mini Main Event eclipsing the tour's Korean mainland record set during the flagship tournament. The Incheon Mini Main event also set a new tour Korean benchmark for this tournament, beating the previous high of 1,029 entries set during the 2025 edition for a 38 percent (38.68%) increase in field size and a 22 percent (22.22%) surge in unique participants.

The KRW 1,078,812,000 prize pool was 38 percent larger than its predecessor, with champion Toru Sakiyama’s KRW 189,982,000 top prize representing a 48 percent (48.56%) increase year-over-year. The Japanese player was another to claim a USD 10,000 (~KRW 14M) seat to November’s APT Championship Main Event for his victory.

Japan’s Toru Sakiyama won the APT’s largest-ever Incheon-based tournament

Including the two mainland Korean entry records set in the Main Event, and Mini Main Event, a total of eight tour records were broken during the series.

The Event #1: Korea National Cup, and the Event #74 Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natura8 set new Incheon tour-stop records for entries and prize pool, while the Event #37: High Roller Ultra Stack set a new tour-stop record for entries, prize pool and top prize. The latter two also awarded winners Masatoshi Minowa of Japan and Kunlei Xie of China seats to November’s APT Championship Main Event. The Event #95 Women’s Event set an Incheon tour-stop record for entries.

The Event #69: NL Holdem - Heads Up set a new APT record as the largest ever heads up tournament the tour has ever run, with Taiwan’s Cheng-Yu Chung defeating a field of 61 entries—beating the previous high set at the APT Taipei 2026.

The Event #21: Sunday Super Stack set a new APT country record for entries and unique players; the 505-entry field had a 106 percent (106.12%) increase over the Incheon 2025 edition, with an 82 percent (82.83%) increase in unique entries.

For a breakdown of prize money, player numbers, and records set during the festival you can view the APT Incheon 2026 Festival Breakdown by Prize Pool, Player Numbers & Records HERE.

APT Incheon 2026 Event Prize Pool Contribution

Marquee Events Lead Festival Prize Money

The KRW 15,966,848,836 (~USD 11.4M) in prize money awarded across the APT Incheon 2026 series saw the largest prize pools anchored by three ten-figure KRW events and a strong slate of high-roller tournaments:

• Event #20: APT Main Event: Generated a record KRW 3B (~USD 2.1M) prize pool—more than double its KRW 1.5B guarantee—with Hong Kong’s Stephen Pang tripling his lifetime winnings with a KRW 425,180,000 (~USD 293,700) top prize.
• Event #80: Mini Main Event: Awarded KRW 1.07B / ~USD 770K (269% of guarantee), yielding a career-best KRW 203,982,000 (~USD 135,700) top prize for Japan’s Toru Sakiyama.
• Event #74: Zodiac Classic - Sponsored by Natural8: Crossed the 1-billion threshold at KRW 1.04B / ~USD 746K (208% of guarantee), crowning champion Masatoshi Minowa of Japan who earned a career-best KRW 169,187,000 (~USD 110,850).
• Hard-hitting High Roller Slate: Paced by the #83 Superstar Challenge (KRW 961,350,000 / ~USD 686K), the marquee #92 APT High Roller (KRW 959,040,000 / ~USD 685K), #37 High Roller - Ultra Stack (KRW 863,136,000 / ~USD 619K), and signature #22 APT Super High Roller (KRW 801,705,000 / ~USD 575K).

For APT Incheon 2026 Event Breakdown by Prize Pool, GTD & First Prize graphic please CLICK HERE

In total, the top 10 prize pools combined for KRW 10,307,259,000 /~USD 7.3M (~64.6% of the festival total), with side events adding another KRW 5.66 billion to the grand total.

Japan’s Chang Hwan Lee Tames Rose Gold Lion in APT High Roller for KRW 199.87M (~USD 142.7K) & APTC Seat

Japan’s Chang Hwan Lee tamed the Rose Gold Lion in the APT High Roller

The final signature Lion trophy event of the festival came to a thrilling conclusion in the KRW 5 million (~USD 3,500) APT High Roller, with Japan’s Chang Hwan Lee outlasting a decorated final table featuring two APT signature Lion trophy champions to tame the Rose Gold Lion Trophy.

The marquee tournament attracted 222 entries, generating a substantial KRW 959,040,000 (~USD 685,030) prize pool. Just 51 players returned for the Final Day to battle for the lion’s share, with Lee ultimately banking the KRW 199,870,000 (~USD 142,765) top prize alongside a USD 10,000 (~KRW 14M) seat to November’s flagship APT Championship Main Event.

Lee, a WSOP bracelet winner and high-stakes cash game regular who frequents USD 1M+ games at Hustler Casino, brought both patience and theoretical preparation to bear. After recent close calls—including a second and third-place finish at APT Jeju Classic 2026 in the Baby Superstar Challenge and this very tournament respectively—Lee hit the GTO solvers hard on long flights while juggling his role running four global companies. His dedication paid off in full as he dominated the final stretch.

"There are so many professional players, it was a tough game for me," Lee reflected post-match. "I tried to be patient and respect their actions. After losing USD 1.5 million in high-stakes cash games in Miami, I got the impulse to win a poker tournament and take it down against the pros. It’s a very high honor to have this trophy."

Jun Li congratulates Chang Hwan Lee on his victory

Lee entered heads-up play against the UK’s Jun Li with a 3-to-1 chip lead and never let go of the reins, forcing Li to settle for second best for his second APT Incheon High Roller in a row, although it was with a KRW 134,570,000 (~USD 96,120) consolation prize and the Brit departed with a sporting handshake.

APT Taipei 2026 Main Event champion Chun Shing 'Walter' Lau was denied his shot at a second Mega Lion, rounding out the podium in third place for KRW 94,880,000 (~USD 67,770).

APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 High Roller champion Martin Sedlak was also unsuccessful in his quest to bag a second Rose Gold Lion, finishing in seventh place for KRW 33,740,000 (~USD 24,100), with the final table paying out as follows:

Top Row (L-R:) Konstantin Solovev, Maxim Lykov, Walter Lau, Jun Li, Chang Hwan Lee Bottom Row (L-R): Wai Kiat Lee, Martin Sedlak , Hiroyuki Noda, Shotiwan Wattanalarp

APT HIGH ROLLER FINAL TABLE RESULTS

For APT High Roller Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE

For all APT High Roller Final Results please CLICK HERE

Other notables and former champions to make the paying positions included Japan’s Ryuta Nakai (13th), China’s Yuan Lei (16th), Natural8 Ambassador Nevan Chang (20th), Ireland’s Ryan Plant (22nd), the UK’s Sam Ameen (23rd), APT Jeju Classic 2026 Super High Roller champion Tony Ren Lin (27th), and newly crowned APT Incheon Super High Roller champion Jeremy Chan (30th).

Live Streaming & Blog Coverage

All tournament information can be found on the APT High Roller Final Day tournament page, and you can read all about the high-stakes tournament action via the APT High Roller Final Day Blog. You can also watch how all the action unfolded on the APT High Roller Final Day live stream via the official APT YouTube channel.