Poker pro Scott Margereson dominates a 290-entry field to claim the Rose Gold Lion

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

• Inaugural Baby Zodiac – Sponsored by Natural8 Amasses KRW 289M (~USD 217K) Prize Pool; Malaysia’s Leonard Ng Leads

JEJU, SOUTH KOREA, October 4, 2026 – While the Main Event may have crowned a champion, there is still plenty of gas left in the tank at the APT Jeju 2026 (#APTJeju2026) as the festival entered its tenth day.

Day 10 of the festival saw the third of the signature Mega Lion Trophies awarded with the conclusion of the richest Korean-based APT High Roller in tour history, as well as the debut of the brand new Baby Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8.

Other side event action saw a further 11 events playing out at the tournament tables of LES A Casino inside the Jeju Shinhwa World resort. This included the fan favorite Sunday Superstack - Big Bounty, the Masters Dealer's Choice, a Women’s Event, the PL Omaha Hi-Lo - 5 Card (Big O), and a plethora of Turbo, and Hyper Turbo tournaments. You can read about all of these in the side event press release.

Record-Breaking APT High Roller Action

The KRW 5M (~USD 3,600) APT High Roller saw the UK’s Scott Margereson conquer a 290-entry field—the second-largest Korean-based edition in tour history—and slice through a stacked final table to tame the Rose Gold Lion, capture his second career APT title, and walk away with a massive KRW 252,850,000 (~USD 190,110) top prize; his best result on the tour to date.

In addition to the accolades and a handsome payout, Margereson also locked up a coveted USD 10,000 seat to November's APT Championship Main Event.

Just 65 players out of an initial field of 290 entries—the second-largest Korean-based edition of the tournament and the fifth-largest APT High Roller of all time—returned for the final day showdown.

With the two-day marquee event generating the richest Korean-based APT High Roller prize pool in tour history (and third-richest all-time), only 39 players secured a slice of the KRW 1,274,400,000 (~USD 958,195) prize pool, with min-cashes starting at KRW 8,700,000 (~USD 6,540) and escalating all the way to the top tier.

Margereson came into the final table with a chip lead he would not relinquish, cutting through the remaining final-table opposition like a hot knife through butter and eliminating seven of the eight other finalists on his charge to the title.

Scott Margereson and Yoshifumi Takahashi prepare to duke it out for the Rose Gold Lion

The Brit came into heads up against Japan’s Yoshifumi Takahashi with an insurmountable 5 to 1 chip lead and the match was wrapped up in a single hand with Takahashi moving all in from the button with ace-nine suited and Margereson making the call with king-eight and flopping top pair to close out the win.

"I had nine big blinds at one point on Day 1, so to come back and win it feels incredible. You just have to stay focused and take it one hand at a time," Margereson reflected after his victory.

"When things start going your way at a final table, you just try to stay grounded and keep making the right decisions without getting ahead of yourself."

This win marks Margereson’s second career APT title and his crowning achievement on the tour to date, although the decorated tournament professional is no newcomer to the winner’s circle.

With a live tournament resume dating back to 2012 boasting over USD 5.2 million in cashes—including major live titles and a career Super High Roller crown—Margereson proved once again why he's a formidable force on the global felt.

Familiar with the six-figure stratosphere, this marks the 12th six-figure score of his career, ranking as his seventh largest. Having already cashed the Main Event, the Zodiac Classic, and locked in a third-place final table finish in Event #46 High Roller – Single Day, the UK poker pro has raked in close to USD 235,000 during this festival alone, with his latest victory boosting him into the top 20 on the England All-Time Money List.

Beyond the prize money, the physical hardware holds special meaning for the family man: "My son loves the trophies. We keep them in his room, so bringing home another lion trophy is really special for us," he shared with a smile.

With his win also securing a USD 10,000 seat to the upcoming APT Championship Main Event in Taipei, Margereson is already looking forward to the next leg of the tour.

"I'm really excited for Taipei. The APT events have been fantastic, and locking in the Main Event seat early gives me even more reason to look forward to November," he added.

Runner-up Takahashi parlayed his USD 4,995 in prior live cashes into a career-best USD 126,390 score, multiplying his lifetime earnings more than 26 times over.

Third-place finisher Hongsheng Zhang locked up a career-best KRW 122,960,000 (~USD 92,450) podium finish.

While veteran pro Kunal Patni missed a personal best, his fourth-place KRW 99,250,000 (~USD 74,625) payout marked his largest-ever APT cash. China’s Jiaxian Pan also notched a career-best result in fifth place.

Further down the table, former High Roller champion Martin Sedlak collected KRW 58,890,000 (~USD 44,280) for sixth—his fourth career High Roller final table—followed by Wouter Beltz of the Netherlands, who secured a personal-best APT score in seventh.

Eighth-place finisher Yaoyu He notched his sixth APT final-table appearance, while Natural8 Ambassador Chih Wei Fan capped off the action with his 17th career APT final-table appearance, earning KRW 26,360,000 (~USD 19,820) on his High Roller final table debut.

Back (L-R): Yaoyu He, Scott Margereson, Martin Sedlak, Wouter Beltz, Jiaxian Pan

Front (L-R): Chih Wei Fan, Kunal Patni, Hongsheng Zhang, Yoshifumi Takahashi

APT HIGH FINAL TABLE RESULTS

For APT High Roller Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE

For APT High Roller Results please CLICK HERE

Start-of-day chip leader Higor Seibel came close to making his second final table showing of the series, but departed in 11th place.

APT Big Three champions to run deep but come up short of a place in the final nine included Daniel Neilson (22nd), and Rene von Reden (32nd).

Other notables to make the paying positions included India’s Vinay Boob (12th), the USA’s Dillon Najor (19th), last woman standing Mou Yue (20th), Hong Kong’s Dicky Tsang (25th), Main Event runner up Steve Ng (28th), and Indian bracelet winner Abhinav Iyer (36th).

Full tournament details are available on the APT High Roller tournament page, and live reporting can be followed on the APT High Roller Final Day APT Blog.

Follow all the high stakes action as it played out via the APT High Roller Final Day live stream on the official APT YouTube channel.

Inaugural Baby Zodiac – Sponsored by Natural8 Amasses KRW 289M (~USD 217K) Prize Pool; Malaysia’s Leonard Ng Leads

Leonard Ng is hunting his maiden title after topping Day 1 of the inaugural Baby Zodiac

A brand-new addition to the schedule, the inaugural two-day KRW 1.5M (~USD 1,100) buy-in Baby Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 drew a 223-entry (152 unique) field on its APT debut, with Day 1 action playing out across thirteen 40-minute levels.

Crushing its KRW 125 million (~USD 92,000) guarantee, the tournament generated the festival's tenth-richest purse, amassing a KRW 289,008,000 (~USD 217,300) prize pool.

The top 31 places will finish in the money, with min-cashes starting at KRW 2,540,000 (~USD 1,910) while the eventual champion walks away with a KRW 61,158,000 (~USD 45,980) top prize and a place in tour history.

For Baby Zodiac Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

Leading the way is Malaysia’s Leonard Ng who is gunning for his maiden live tournament title with a stack of 369,500, valued at 123 big blinds when the final day action resumes.

Singapore’s Abraham Ceesvin is breathing down Ng’s neck with four big blinds less, and the former APT Jeju Main Event champion will be returning with 357,000 in chips.

Japan’s Kyosuke Nagami (353,000) rounds out the top three, with APT All-Time Money List #1 Joseph Cheong (209,000) also bagging a top ten stack with 69 players surviving the Day 1 maelstrom.

BABY ZODIAC DAY 1 TOP TEN STACKS

Other notables who successfully circumnavigated the Day 1 tournament minefield include the Netherlands’ Michel Molenaar (205,000), Natural8 ambassador Hua Wei Lin (197,000), the UK’s Ryan Plant (148,000), bracelet winner Maxim Lykov (146,000), Japan’s John Matsuda (127,000), and former APT Jeju High Roller champion Khoa Ang Ngo (127,000).

For Baby Zodiac Day 1 Player List please CLICK HERE

For Baby Zodiac Day 1 Survivors please CLICK HERE

For Baby Zodiac Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

All tournament details are available on the Baby Zodiac – Sponsored by Natural8 tournament page and you can catch up on all the tournament action on the Baby Zodiac Day 1 APT Blog.

The 69 Day 1 survivors will return for the final day at 11:15am (KST) on Monday, October 5 with the tournament playing down to a champion and full coverage available via the APT Blog.