Jianfeng Sun

After five epic days of Main Event play here at LES A Casino, the grand venue for the APT Jeju 2026 series, China's Jianfeng Sun has been crowned the Main Event Champion.

With the day starting a player short after an epic double bust out involving Changliang Sun and Yi Heng Luo closed Day 4 action yesterday, it took just 90 hands of final day play to award this year's winner the Gold Mega Lion Trophy.

It came as little surprise to see Jianfeng Sun go the distance after starting the final day well ahead of the pack, even if he narrowly missed out on holding the chip lead throughout. After coming up just short at this same event during the 2024 Jeju Main Event, Sun secured a new career-best score of KRW 427,565,000 (~USD 319,080) alongside an APT Championship Main Event ticket.

Steve Ng

His heads-up opponent and runner-up, Steve Ng of Singapore, took home the lion's share of the KRW 3,207,600,000 (~USD 2,393,730) prize pool after the pair struck a heads-up deal, securing a payout of KRW 449,115,000 (~USD 335,160). Ng's fellow countryman Kwang Chung Tan rounded out the podium after being eliminated in third place, taking home KRW 225,180,000 (~USD 168,045).

Both runners-up also received seats to the APT Championship 2026 Main Event, worth an additional ~USD 10,000, giving them another opportunity to seek redemption in just over a month's time in Taipei.

APT Jeju 2026 Main Event Final Table Results

*Denotes heads-up deal

Jianfeng Sun, Final Hand

Jianfeng Sun: "Could today be my day?"

For Jianfeng Sun, this victory carried a different feeling to his runner-up finish in the same event two years ago. While there was an underlying expection from Day 4 onwards that he could go the distance, Sun revealed that the disappointment of 2024 wasn’t weighing to heavily on him going into the final day.

“Over the past two years, I’ve played in many tournaments, so that past loss didn't actually leave a deep impression on me. Back then, I entered heads-up with a very short stack—a 1-to-5 chip ratio—so I didn't feel it was much of a regret to lose. But this time, I really wanted to win, especially since I entered the Final Table as the chip leader. On the very first hand, when my AK eliminated KK, I felt like luck was on my side today, and I thought, "Could today be my day?" I had that feeling at the time. I feel I’ve made some progress over the past two years, especially in my mindset and my grasp of table dynamics compared to two years ago; I can feel the improvement myself.”

That confidence was put to the test when the tournament reached heads-up play. Despite surrendering the chip lead to Steve Ng during the middle of play and beginning the duel at a disadvantage, Sun never doubted his ability to come out on top.

“I’m very confident in my heads-up play because a few months ago, I was constantly playing heads-up matches against Xu Yang (Boss Xu). So I felt my heads-up skill level had improved a bit, and I was confident I could win against him. Throughout the process, I could also feel victory shifting in my direction.”

The victory itself was the culmination of years of work, but when the final hand was over and his ace-high held against Ng’s king-ten, Sun's thoughts immediately turned away from the poker table and towards home.

“It was definitely my wife. She was watching the live stream, so I wanted to grab my phone immediately to tell her that I had won, since the live stream has a delay.”

Sun also reflected on how much he has grown as a player over the past two years and considered what he would tell his younger self knowing where that journey has led him today.

“I wish I could go back to play that Jeju Final Day two years ago with my current skill level; maybe the result would have been a bit better….Yes. If I hadn't won today, it would mean there are still areas I need to improve, and maybe I'd have another chance in a couple of years.”

“It really boosts my self-confidence. Going forward, when playing this kind of Final Table, I'll definitely have more experience.”

Finally, Sun paid tribute to the supporters who packed the rail throughout the final table and especially during the heads-up battle against Ng.

“Thanks to their support, including their cheering during hands and everything, we definitely dominated the momentum over our opponent.”

“Thank you. Thank you.”

*Quotes Translated from Mandarin

While Sun ultimately lifted the Gold Mega Lion Trophy, his path to the title was far from straightforward, with plenty of twists and momentum swings unfolding throughout the final day.

Fierce Final Table Action

Back Row L-R: Kwang Chung Tan, Toby Joyce, Steve Ng, Jianfeng Sun. Front Row L-R: Erdun Xu, Shuang Qiu, Jiawei Wan, Weimin Chen

Sun had a steady start to the Main Event, bagging around average on both Day 2 and Day 3 before making his move to the top on Day 4. His rise to the chip lead wasn't entirely smooth sailing, as he was caught in sizeable pots, sending chips across the table, but he always managed to recover.

Jianfeng Sun

Riding his Day 4 momentum, Sun started the final day as chip leader and applied pressure from the offset, maintaining his lead through the first two levels of the day.

After just four hands, Sun kept running and cracked Shuang Qiu’s kings with his big slick after flopping trip aces, leaving no way for Qiu to survive. Qui and had previously placed third in the APTJeju Main Event 2025, but couldn't improve on that result here, collecting KRW 53,230,000 (~USD 39,725).

Erdun Xu

Sun was miles ahead of the pack, but that didn't stop players from trying to chip away at the leader.

Erdun Xu came into the day with the shortest stack at just 16 big blinds and patiently waited for his opportunity. The first hand he chose to play at the final table would also be his last, as he open-jammed with king-queen offsuit from under the gun and ran into Steve Ng's dominating ace-queen. Xu picked up a backdoor straight draw on the flop but bricked the runout and exited in seventh place.

Between eliminations, players remained conservative, with small pots being passed, mainly through walks and uncontested opens.

China’s Jiawei Wan, who had been patiently waiting for his shot, came into the final day with just USD 5,824 in live tournament earnings, making him the least experienced tournament player in the field. Wan put in an impressive Day 4 performance, but his run came to an end after blinding down to just over ten big blinds. He took his shot with ace-king but unfortunately ran into Weimin Chen's pocket jacks. Wan found no help from the board, and was sent home in sixth place, after around three hours of final table action.

There appeared to be no stopping Sun, who maintained his tournament top spot throughout the first four hours of play, putting his dominant stack to good use and pressuring all players at the table. With just five players remaining, he held almost double the stack of Steve Ng, his nearest challenger.

Toby Joyce

It was Ireland's Toby Joyce and China's Weimin Chen who sat at the bottom of the counts through the middle stages of the day, but it was Chen whose run came to an end in fifth place after he defended his big blind with nine-five suited and flopped trip nines. He was up against Ng who turned a flush; Chen missed his chance to improve to a full house on the river. The hand also proved pivotal for Ng, who seized the chip lead from Sun for the first time all day.

Ng didn’t stop there, and almost immediately took on Ireland’s Toby Joyce, who was left running on fumes. Joyce put his tournament life on the line with ace-jack offsuit, only to run into Ng’s pocket nines. Joyce didn’t find any help from the board and headed to the rail in fourth place, taking home KRW 166,770,000 (~USD 124,455), the first of the top four six-figure USD payouts.

It took only ten minutes for play to go from three-handed to heads-up, and it was Singapore’s Kwang Chung Tan who finished in the first of the tournament's podium places. Tan entered the final table with a middle-sized stack and made some headway before being swiftly knocked back down to the shortest stack after just three levels of play.

Kwang Chung Tan

Tan found some hope of a comeback after locking up a double with pocket fives after flopping a set, but his luck with pocket pairs quickly ran out. Shortly after, Tan woke up with pocket sixes, only for Ng to turn a pair of aces, sending Tan to the rail in third place.

Heads-Up Deal Confirmed

Jianfeng Sun(left) & Steve Ng(right)

After a short pause while the Sun and Ng discussed a deal, the tournament moved to 30-minute levels.

The duo flattened out the payouts, dueling heads-up for the Gold Mega Lion Trophy and a further KRW 23,600,000 (~USD 17,610) in cash.

The pair had been battling near the top of the counts from the outset. Although Ng started the day trailing Sun, it came as little surprise to see them reach heads-up play given they entered the day topping the counts and had some of the most final table experience.

For the first two hours of play, Ng gave Sun a genuine run for his money and wasn't afraid to put himself in difficult spots, accepting that you win some and you lose some.

Ng Gets a Head Start

Ng then went on a rampage, accounting for four of the six final-table eliminations on his way to heads-up play. It was Chen's elimination that first gave Ng the lead, and he managed to maintain it for the following hour of play. He rocketed his stack to 32,000,000 against Sun's 21,000,000 when heads-up action began, holding the 3:2 chip lead.

With the average stack still sitting at around 80 big blinds when heads-up play commenced, the battle started off steady. A series of small pots kept chip counts relatively flat, though Ng continued to hold a slight advantage.

Sun and Ng battle heads up in the APT Jeju 2026 Main Event

Sun Retakes the Spotlight

Momentum swung back in Sun's favour after a series of bigger pots allowed him to chip away at Ng's advantage. A key hand widened the gap even further after both players held queens and found themselves in a limp-check pot. Ng paired his queen, but Sun flopped top two pair and improved to a full house by the river. Ng could only get away on the river after Sun jammed, but the damage was done and Sun emerged holding a commanding 3:1 chip lead.

Sun then shifted through the gears and extended his lead to 5:1 after scooping a string of consecutive pots, successfully betting Ng off a couple of sizeable pots.

After just 90 hands of final table action, the final hand saw Ng raise with king-ten before Sun moved all-in with ace-four. Ng quickly made the call, and both players missed the flop, turn, and river, leaving Sun's ace-high good enough to secure the title​​.

Jianfeng Sun, APTC Ticket

All that remained was to hand Sun the Gold Mega Lion Trophy and his APT Championship Main Event ticket, bringing an end to a Main Event final day that goes into the books as the second-fastest of the APT's new era. Only the 2024 Taipei Main Event ended more quickly, concluding five hands earlier, though one level shorter than this year's championship.

The last of the festival's signature lion trophies—the Rose Gold Lion—is on the line in the APT High Roller, and you can follow all the high-stakes coverage over on the APT High Roller Day 1 tournament blog with the event concluding on Sunday, October 4.

Jianfeng Sun

Jianfeng Sun has done it!

After five long days of battling on the felt, China's Jianfeng Sun has bested a 1,375-entry field and defeated Steve Ng heads-up to win the 2026 APT Jeju Main Event for KRW 427,565,000 (~USD 319,080) after making a heads-up deal with Ng.

The victory comes as redemption for Sun, who came painstakingly close after getting runner-up in the 2024 Jeju Main Event.

In addition to the cash prize, Sun will take home the coveted Gold APT Mega Lion Trophy and a seat into the APT Championship Main Event in November.

APT Jeju Final Table Results

*Denotes heads-up deal

Stay tuned for a recap of the final day.

Steve Ng

Hand: 90 Steve Ng raised on the button to 1,500,000 and Jianfeng Sun made a quick jam for ~44,000,000 covering Ng's remaining 9,200,000 stack. Ng snap-called for his tournament life and the cards were flipped.

Steve Ng: K T

Jianfeng Sun: A 4

Ng needed to hit on the runout to see a full double-up, but the 6 Q 7 flop didn't give him much to work with.

Ng was hunting a king or a ten, but the low 3 turn gave him just one more shot at keeping his seat in the main event.

A 2 river saw to his elimination in second place in the 2026 Jeju Main Event, and he took home KRW 320,340,000 (~USD 239,060) and an APT Championship Main Event ticket.

Jianfeng Sun (left), Steve Ng (right)

Jianfeng Sun

Hand: 87 Jianfeng Sun limped on the button with 6 5 and Steven Ng checked his option with J 3 .

The dealer brought a flop of Q A 6 and Ng check-called a 500,000 bet from Sun.

Ng checked again on the 8 turn and then folded after Sun sized up for a bet of 1,200,000.

Hand: 88 Ng limped on the button with Q 9 and Sun checked his option holding A 5 .

Sun check-called a 500,000 bet from Ng on the 6 3 4 flop and then both players checked on the 4 turn.

The J completed the board and both players again checked – sending the pot Sun's way with his ace-high.

Hand: 89 Sun limped on the button holding Q 9 and called after Ng raised to 1,600,000 with K Q .

Sun called a 1,000,000 bet from Ng on the J 8 3 flop and then bet 2,500,000 after being checked to on the T turn. Ng called.

The 7 river kept Sun in the lead with a straight and Ng check-folded after Sun shoved, bringing Ng down to under 10 million in chips.

Steve Ng

Hand: 84 Steve Ng raised to 1,000,000 on the button with A 2 and Jianfeng Sun re-raised to 3,800,000 from the big blind having been dealt K 4 .

Ng looked at his cards and opted to lay them down, giving Sun the chips with the weaker hand.

Hand: 85 Sun limped 3 2 on the button and Ng checked with 8 6 .

Ng connected well with the 5 7 8 flop and check-raised to 1,700,000 after seeing Sun bet 500,000. Sun mucked his cards and Ng clawed some back.

Hand: 86 Ng raised to 1,000,000 with K 5 and Sun called with K 5 .

A K 9 A flop was checked by Sun and Ng bet out 500,000. Sun called and the 7 was turned.

Sun check-called another 1,000,000 bet by Ng and the Q completed the board.

No more bets were made on the river and the players chopped the pot.

Hand: 79 Jianfeng Sun limped on the button with T 8 and Steven Ng checked his option with 9 2 .

The flop came 3 J A and Ng check-folded facing a 400,000 bet from Sun.

Hand: 80 Ng gave Sun a walk after looking down at 4 2 .

Hand: 81 Sun picked up A Q and limped on the button. Ng checked his option with T 6 .

Ng then check-folded after Sun bet 500,000 on the J 8 A flop.

Hand: 82 Ng raised to 1,000,000 on the button and Sun defended his big blind.

The 5 8 8 flop gave Sun a flush draw and he check-called a 1,000,000 bet from Ng.

Both players checked on the 9 turn, and Sun checked a final time after bricking out on the A river. Ng overbet the pot for 7,000,000 and Sun tossed his cards into the muck.

Hand: 83 Sun limped on the button with J 7 and Ng checked his option holding T 6 .

Both player connected on the 6 7 T flop and Ng led out for 700,000 with his two pair. Sun called.

The 6 improved Ng to a full house and he checked. Sun bet 1,700,000 and Ng promptly announced a check-raise to 5,000,000. Sun let his hand go and Ng was sent the pot.

Jianfeng Sun

Hand: 78 Steve Ng limped with Q 3 and Jianfeng Sun checked his option holding Q 9 .

A 9 Q 7 flop saw Ng hit top pair, but Sun was ahead with top two. Sun checked and Ng bet out 500,000. Sun then raised to 1,700,000 and Ng topped up to call.

A 4 was turned and Sun bet out 4,000,000. Ng called and the 9 completed the board.

Sun improved to a boat, and took his time, pushing out a time bank card before making his action.

Ng faces a shove from Sun, and Ng picked up all his time bank cards and fanned them in front of him. The dealer was picking them up, one by one, as the clock counted down on Ng.

Steve Ng

Ng asked "How many more do I have?" referring to his time cards left on the table.

After around a two minute tank, Ng let go of his top pair, and kept his seat in the main event, but not unscathed.

Jianfeng Sun

Hand 74: Steve Ng limped on the button with 8 4 and Jianfeng Sun checked his option after peeking down at K 6

Sun check-called a 300,000 bet from Ng on the 9 6 T flop and a 800,000 bet from Ng on the Q turn.

Both players checked on the 3 river and Sun was sent the pot after revealing his hand for a pair of sixes.

Hand 75: Sun limped on the button and then called after Ng made it 900,000 to go from the big blind.

The flop came T J 9 and Ng check-folded after Sun bet 575,000.

Hand 76: Ng limped on the button with 6 4 and Sun checked his option holding K Q .

Sun check-callled a 400,000 bet from Ng on the 3 T 2 flop and then both players checked on the K turn.

Sun took over the initiative with a bet of 2,600,000 with his pair of kings and Ng called after a bit of thought, sending Sun a nice pot.

Hand 77: Sun limped with Q J and called after Ng raised to 1,400,000 holding 9 3 .

Ng continued for 1,200,000 after flopping a pair of threes on the 3 6 K flop and Sun called.

Both players checked on the J turn, but Sun fired a bet of 4,000,000 into the middle after making the nuts on the A river and Ng correctly laid his hand down.

Steve Ng

Hand: 70 Steve Ng was sitting with K 7 on the button and raised to 750,000. Jianfeng Sun mucked his 8 4 from the big blind.

Hand: 71 Sun limped with T 7 and Ng made it 950,000 with 8 6 . Sun called and the flop came Q 9 7 , giving Ng an open-ended straight draw and Sun bottom pair.

Ng bet 1,000,000 and Sun called. A J turn prompted Ng to bet 2,300,000 and Sun stuck around.

The K was placed on the river and Ng checked. Sun then bet 4,800,000 having rivered the king-high straight and Ng mucked his hand.

Hand: 72 Ng limped with J 6 and Sun checked his 8 2 . The K K A flop saw Sun check-raise to 850,000 after facing a 300,000 bet by Ng.

After a long pause, Ng three-bet to 2,800,000 and Sun backed down, passing back some chips to Ng.

Hand: 73 Sun limped with T 3 and Ng checked his 6 3 .

A 7 Q K flop saw Ng check and Sun bet 300,000 which was enough to get Ng to fold.

Jianfeng Sun

Hand: 65 Jianfeng Sun limped on the button with 3 2 and Steven Ng checked his option holding 8 4 .

The flop came K Q A and Ng check-folded facing a 300,000 bet from Sun.

Hand 66: Ng limped on the button with T 4 and Sun checked his option with 6 2 .

The flop came A 5 K and Sun check-folded facing a 300,000 bet from Ng.

Hand 67: Sun called with Q 7 and Ng made it 1,000,000 to go holding :9h 3 , which was enough to get Sun to fold.

Hand 68: Ng raised to 750,000 on the button with Q 2 and Sun folded 9 4 .

Hand 69: Sun limped after looking down at 3 2 and Ng checked his option with T 6 .

Ng check-called a 300,000 bet from Sun on the Q K Q flop and then both players checked on the Jh: turn.

The 7 filled out the board and Sun overbet the pot for 2,100,000. Ng let his hand go and Sun picked up the pot with the nut-low.