Leonard Ng

Day 1 of the Baby Zodiac Classic saw 223 entrants make their way to Les A Casino to take part in the inaugural event, all eager to claim one of the dwindling APT Lion Trophies up for grabs as the series nears its end.

Following a swift 13 levels of play, Malaysia's Leonard Ng emerged as the chip leader of the remaining 69 players after bagging up 369,500. Hot on his tail is 2025 APT Jeju Main Event Champion Abraham Ceesvin with 357,000, and rounding out the top three is Kyosuke Nagami of Japan, who secured a stack worth 353,000 by the time the last card was dealt.

Ng appears relatively new to the tournament poker scene, with the majority of his results coming in just the past year. His current best score came earlier in 2026 at the APT Jeju Classic, where he placed runner-up in a Single Day High Roller event for $16,905. Ng has a chance to record a new career-best score should he navigate his chip lead into a fourth-place finish or higher.

BABY ZODIAC CLASSIC DAY 1 TOP TEN STACKS

Abraham Ceesvin

The event drew a notable crowd of APT regulars, many of whom enjoyed a productive Day 1. Among those who will bring healthy stacks into Day 2 include Michel Molenaar (205,000), Natural8 Ambassador Hua Wei Lin (197,000), Hiroyuki Noda (181,500), Sebastian Toro (180,000), Ryan Plant (148,000), and Maxim Lykov (146,000).

A bit further down the leaderboard are Xin Xin (45,500), David "Spade" Erquiaga (39,000), Renji Mao (34,500), and Pete Chen (17,000) – all of whom still have a fighting chance, but will plenty of work to do in order to make a deep run.

Renji Mao

Among the less fortunate who entered, but were unable to make it through to Day 2 include Daisuke Abiko, Stanley Weng, Ankit Ahuja, Daniel Lei, and recently crowned APT Jeju Main Event Champion Jianfeng Sun, who busted one bullet early in the day and opted not to reenter.

The field generated a total prize pool of KRW 289,008,000 (~USD 217,300), more than doubling the KRW 125,000,000 guarantee. A total of 31 players will make the money, with a min-cash being worth KRW 2,540,000 (~USD 1,910) and the eventual winner taking home KRW 61,158,000 (~USD 45,980) in addition to the APT Silver Lion Silhouette Trophy. Here's a look at the full payout schedule:

BABY ZODIAC CLASSIC PAYOUTS

APT Silver Lion Silhouette Trophy

The remaining 69 players will return on October 5 at 11:15 a.m. to play down to a winner. Action will resume on Level 14, which features blinds of 1,500/3,000 with a 3,000 big blind ante. Levels will last 40 minutes each, with breaks held after every three.

With the money bubble just on the horizon and plenty of talent still in the hunt, the Baby Zodiac Classic is set for an action-packed conclusion. For all the latest, be sure to check out the APT blog until the final card has been dealt and a champion has been crowned. Delayed live stream coverage of Day 2 will also be available on the APT YouTube and Twitch channels.

For the full survivor list, click here.

Play has now concluded for the night and the remaining 69 players are bagging up their chips to return for the final day tomorrow, October 5.

Stay tuned for a brief recap of the day along with full survivor chip counts.

Yun Xun opened to 5,000 on the button and was called by Motokatsu Uhara in the small blind and Dvan Ir De in the big blind.

Action checked to Xun and he bet 2,600 on the K 7 Q flop. Uhara called, but De folded.

Uhara then check-called a hefty 13,000 bet from Xun on the 5 turn before both players checked down on the 9 river.

Uhara flahsed A J and Xun said, "I can beat that!" as he tabled 2 2 to claim the pot.

The clock has now been paused and the floor has announced that five hands will be dealt for the night.

At the conclusion of the hands, the surviving players will bag up their chips to return for the final day tomorrow, October 5.

Yuhan Wang made it 5,000 to play from middle position and Yixi Tang three-bet to 17,000 from the next seat. Yun Long Jin sat in the very next seat, then four-bet all-in for 84,000. Action came back to Wang, who five-bet all-in and had both players covered. Tang made the call and it was off to the races they went.

Yun Long Jin: A T

Yixi Tang: K K

Yuhan Wang: A T

Tang was looking great for a treble up until the door card made an appearance on the A 8 J flop to send Jin and Wang into the lead.

Tang got no help on the 6 turn nor the 9 river and was brutally sent to the rail whilst Wang picked up the small side pot and chopped the main pot with Jin.

Michel Molenaar

Michel Molenaar opened to 4,000 from the cutoff and called after Tarun Guwalani three-bet to 11,300 on the button.

Molenaar check-called a 5,300 bet from Guwalani on the 8 9 A flop and then both players checked on the 4 turn.

Molenaar bet enough to put Guwalani all in for his last 38,000 on the A river and Guwalani went deep into the tank.

Guwalani slid his time extensions in one-by-one as he agonized over his decision before eventually taking one last look at his hole cards and tossing them face down into the muck.

With that pot, Molenaar now sits with a well-above average stack of about 170,000.

Leonard Ng made it 4,000 to play from early position and was looked up by Matthew Chan in the next seat.

On the T K 4 flop Ng continued for 5,000 and Chan made the call.

The players checked down the 5 turn to see the 8 peel off on the river.

Ng fired out a river bet of 7,500 and after a brief tank, Chan tossed in the call. In response Ng tossed his cards into the muck and Chan was pushed the pot without having to show his cards.

Anderson Dakotaleath

The following players have been eliminated after the end of late registration.

Tarun Guwalani

Tang Tian opened to 4,000 from middle position and found calls from Michel Molenaar on the button and Tarun Guwalani in the small blind.

The flop came 5 7 J and Guwalani checked to Tian who continued for 7,600. Molenaar folded and Guwalani made the call.

The dealer flipped over the 2 as the turn and Guwalani checked it over to Tian once again who fired out a second barrel of 14,000. Guwalani flat-called once more.

The action went check-check on the 8 river and Guwalani tabled Q J for top pair and was pushed the pot when Tian mucked his hand.

Hua Wei Lin

Yasushi Saito and Hua Wei Lin got into a preflop raising war that ended with Saito five-bet shoving for 60,000 from the big blind. Saito verified the amount and tanked a bit, but eventually stuck in a call from the cutoff to put the Natural8 ambassador at risk.

Hua Wei Lin: 7 7

Yasushi Saito: A 4

The 4 K T gave Lin a bit of a sweat after pairing Saito's four, and the J turn gave him additional outs to a Broadway straight.

The 2 river bricked out, however, and Lin doubled her stack to over six figures.