Michael Foo

New Zealand's Michael Foo has clinched the APT Super High Roller title at the APT Incheon 2025 series, delivering a stellar performance to claim a career-best top prize of KRW 319,292,500 (~USD 229,210) after 10 hours of intense poker at Paradise City Casino in Incheon, South Korea.

Foo not only secured the prestigious Pewter Lion Trophy but also earned a KRW 13,930,000 (~USD 10,000) APT Championship Main Event seat for the upcoming APTC in Taipei in November.

Foo outlasted a tough field, defeating Malaysia's Jeremy Chan in a swift heads-up battle to win the lion’s share of the KRW 1,230,202,500 (~USD 883,132) prize pool — the richest this event has ever generated in the country.

Chan, whose previous best live cash was USD 48,531, nearly quadrupled his live earnings with this event, taking home KRW 223,790,000 (~USD 160,650) for second place—his biggest career payout to date. While disappointed to miss the trophy, Chan leaves with a significant prize and a career milestone.

Today's win of $229,210 propels Foo closer to the $1,000,000 live cash mark, boosting his lifetime earnings from $517,667 to $746,877 and moving him from 15th to just outside the Top 10 on New Zealand's All-Time Money List. Foo made excellent progress during Day 1 of the event, finishing as the chip leader and never really looking back.

APT Super High Roller Final Table Results

*in addition to an APT Championship (APTC) Main Event seat valued at KRW 13,930,000 (USD 10,000)

23 players survived Day 1, outlasting 89 entries (62 unique) and were all vying for a shot at the title when play kicked off this morning.

It took 19 gruelling levels of play for the money bubble to be reached, and it was the USA's Stanley Weng who was the unfortunate bubble boy, with Thailand's Thanisorn Saelor falling in 13th place for a min-cash. Still, Weng and Saelor were the only players left who already owned a Lion Trophy, and both knew what it took to win a tournament of this magnitude.

Stanley Weng

Germany's Fabian Schmidt was 10th to be eliminated, and played well during his deep run. Despite starting towards the bottom of the pack at the end of Day 1, Schmidt built up a healthy stack throughout the day - before running into Charlie Chiu's shove with Big Slick who doubled through Schmidt.

Chiu would be eliminated in 11th a short while later, and Schmidt got the last of his chips in against Ewe Eng Soon who spiked the 9 on the river to complete his flush and knock out Schmidt in brutal fashion. The two tables were then merged, and the final nine were ready to play.

When the final table kicked off, Soon was a considerable chip leader with 5,075,000, over 30 big blinds ahead of his next closest competitor, Ryuta Nakai. Foo was hot on Nakai's heels, however, with only a couple of big blinds less.

Within the first 10 hands of the final table Foo had lost about a third of his stack, but when he eliminated Shoichiro Hamada in 9th place with ace-jack suited, he effectively doubled his stack and surged into the chip lead.

Shoichiro Hamada

A few hands later, China's Jieming Xu was the next to fall in eighth at the hands of Nang Quang Nguyen. Nguyen had shoved with ace-queen suited, and Xu made the call with king-five suited. Nguyen spiked an ace on the flop and Xu's run came to an end.

Foo spent the next hour or so grinding to extend his lead, growing his stack from around 5,000,000 to over 6,300,000 through a series of small but calculated plays. Foo's lead was cut short, however, when Soon's huge three-barrel bluff propelled him into the lead, outplaying Nakai with just king-high. Soon maintained this momentum throughout much of the event.

Next to fall was Nguyen, who's no stranger to the APT circuit with two titles under his belt. Nguyen lost out when Japan's Takashi Kawauchi made a straight on the river to crush Nguyen's flopped top pair.

Nang Qaung Nguyen

After that, the 6th, 5th, and 4th place players were eliminated in relatively quick succession. Ryuta Nakai lost to Chan's ace-high, giving Chan a much-needed boost to his stack.

Takashi Kawauchi was eliminated in 5th place when he moved all-in with ace-seven suited post-flop. Chan, having paired an eight on the flop, was quick to call and took another chunk of chips.

Chan lost all this momentum and hard-earned chips, however, when he three-bet shoved against Foo in a later hand, in a pot worth over 12,000,000 chips. Foo called with jacks versus Chan's king-three suited and raked in the massive pot to surge into the lead, where he stayed for the rest of the event.

Japan's Hirokazu Kobayashi went home in 4th place after an extraordinary day. Despite being the short stack multiple times, he came back from the brink when he spiked his out on the river, much to the dismay and amusement of his tablemates.

Kobayashi was up against Chan, tens versus jacks, and Chan remarked that Kobayashi would likely spike a ten on the river. No such luck came for him, though, and he was sent home.

Hirokazu Kobayashi

Foo's stack had swelled to around 15,000,000 by the time 3rd place came around, with Ewe Eng Soon's tens up against Foo's ace-six offsuit. An ace on the flop and a six on the turn sealed it for Soon and he was sent to the payout desk for around $106,090, which takes his all-time earnings to well over $500,000.

Heads-Up Play

Foo had about a two-to-one chip advantage over Chan, with his 15,000,000 to Chan's 7,000,000. Foo used this to his advantage in the first few hands of heads-up play to muscle Chan out of more than one pot.

Only eight hands were played before Foo got it all in against Chan, with Foo holding ace-seven offsuit and Chan with king-jack offsuit. An ace on the flop all but secured it for Foo, and the rest of the runout changed nothing, crowning him the victor. Chan still massively surpassed his best-ever live cash but looked visibly upset at missing out on the prestigious title.

Reflecting on his win, Foo admitted that the Pewter Lion Trophy was the "best he'd ever seen" and potentially more meaningful than the money. Foo said he'd never entered an APT event before and had only vacationed in South Korea. When he heard about APT Incheon, he decided to "come over and have a look." Following this win, he’s certain to return for future events. We’ll likely see him in Jeju and the APT Championship in Taipei!

Michael Foo has won the 2025 Super High Roller event here at the Paradise Casino and Resort in Incheon, South Korea.

Stay tuned for a full recap of the day's events!

Jeremy Chan

Hand No. 131: Michael Foo shoved all-in and Jeremy Chan made the call on his big-blind.

Michael Foo: A 7

Jeremy Chan: K J

Board: T A K 8 4

Foo hit top pair on the flop, but Chan still had outs after also making a pair. However, the runout didn't improve Chan and he had to settle for a runner-up finish while crowning Foo as the APT Super High Roller champion.

Jeremy Chan walks away with a healthy KRW 223,790,000 (~$ 160,650).

A full recap of the entire event will be made available shortly.

Heads-up play has now began between Michael Foo and Jeremy Chan.

Hand 123: Foo folded the button and Chan got a walk.

Hand 124: Chan raised to 600,000 from the button and Foo defended in the big.

The dealer flipped over 2 A T and Foo checked. Chan bet 450,000 and Foo made the call.

The turn came the 7 , Foo looked at his cards and then checked his option. Chan checked behind him.

The river was the 8 , both players checked through and Chan turned over T 4 for middle pair, beating Chan's K J for an overcard.

Hand 125: Chan got a walk.

Hand 126: Chan limped in, Foo checked his option.

The dealer turned over J 2 9 , and both players checked through the T turn.

On the 3 river, Foo led out for 400,000 and Chan made the call, taking down the pot with 9 8 for middle pair, beating Foo's 5 4 stone bluff.

Hand 127: Foo jammed on the button and got it past Chan.

Hand 128: Chan limped the button and Foo checked his option.

The flop came K 7 3 and both players checked.

On the A turn, Foo placed 300,000 into the middle. Chan made the call.

The T came on the river, Foo check-folded a 1,200,000 bet from Chan.

Hand 129: Chan got a walk.

Hand 130: Chan limped from the button and Foo raised to 900,000. Chan made the call.

The dealer spread the flop 8 8 K , and Foo put 1,200,000 into the middle, promting a quick fold from Chan.

Two players remain and are given a short break before the final heads-up duel.

Ewe Eng Soon

Hand No. 121: Michael Foo raised to 800,000 on the button and scooped the blinds.

Hand No. 122: Ewe Eng Soon shoved all-in for 1,600,000 on the button and Michael Foo called from the big blind.

Michael Foo: A 6

Ewe Eng Soon: T T

Board: 6 2 4 A Q

Foo made a pair on the flop and improved to two pair on the turn to eliminate Soon in 3rd place for KRW 147,780,000 (~$106,090).

Jeremy Chan

Hand No. 116: Jeremy Chan limped in from the small blind, Michael Foo checked his option in the big.

The dealer fanned out 5 6 5 T 8 as both players checked through all three streets.

They chopped the pot, with Chan holding K Q and Foo with K Q .

Hand No. 117: Chan raised to 600,000 on the button, Foo shoved from the small blind and got it through.

Hand No. 118: Ewe Eng Soon raised to 600,000 in the small blind, Chan defended in the big.

The dealer spread A J K , Soon bet 400,000 which was called by Chan. The turn came the 2 , Soon checked and Chan bet 1,100,000, leading to a fold from Soon.

Hand No. 119: Soon shoved for 1,600,000 on the button, Chan asked for a count in the small blind before letting it go.

Hand No. 120: Foo shoved from the small blind and got it through. Soon joked looking at his six-seven offsuit about calling.

Hand No. 110: Jeremy Chan raised to 500,000 and took down the blinds.

Hand No. 111: Jeremy Chan raised from under the gun to 500,000. Michael Foo on the small blind three-bet to 1,500,000. Chan surrendered. Foo showed the pocket jacks.

Hand No. 112: Jeremy Chan got a walk on his big blind.

Hand No. 113: Jeremy Chan limped on the small blind. Big blind Michael Foo raised to 900,000 and Chan got out of the way.

Hand No. 114: Ewe Eng Soon got a walk on his big blind.

Hand No 115: Michael Foo raised to 800,000 on the button and Jeremy Chan moved all-in on his big blind.

Foo tanked and folded.

Hirokazu Kobayashi

Hand No. 109: Jeremy Chan raised to 625,000 from the small blind, Hirokazu Kobayashi defended the big and moved all in for 2,600,000.

There was laughter at the table considering Kobayashi has had a particular aptitude at getting it done on the river over the course of the final day.

Hirokazu Kobayashi: T T

Jeremy Chan: J J

The dealer flipped over 9 5 9 for the flop. The remainder of the board ran out 9 8 and Kobayashi's phenomenal run came to an end.

Chan began to close the gap to Michael Foo with a little over 6,500,000 chips, while Hirokazu Kobayashi finished in 4th Place for KRW 116,150,000 (~$83,380)

Hand No. 106: Ewe Eng Soon raised to 500,000 from under the gun and got it through.

Hand No. 107: Hirokazu Kobayashi shoved for 2,200,000 from the button and got it through.

Hand No. 108: Jeremy Chan got a walk.