Banker Stephen Pang earned a career-best score in the APT Incheon 2026 Main Event

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

• Thailand’s Punnat Punsri Tops USD 1.4M in New Era APT Earnings With Superstar Challenge Win

• Japan’s Chang Hwan Lee Tops APT High Roller Day 1 222-Entry Field Builds KRW 959M (~USD 685K) Prize Pool

INCHEON, SOUTH KOREA, August 15, 2026 – Following five days of intense action at the palatial Paradise City Casino Resort, the record-breaking 1,393-entry APT Incheon 2026 Main Event has crowned its champion.

Hong Kong banker San Hon "Stephen" Pang etched his name into tour history by capturing the award-winning 24K Gold Lion Trophy after a dramatic heads-up battle against China’s Shoumin Zhang that nearly saw the latter complete the king of comebacks.

However, Pang was able to steady the ship and sail safely to the promised land, tripling his lifetime live tournament winnings in the process.

Following a three-way ICM deal, Pang went on to secure the title and a career-best KRW 411,000,000 (~USD 293,000) top payout from the flagship tournament’s KRW 3,008,880,000 (~USD 2,149,200) prize pool—the richest ever generated in a Mainland Korean APT tournament—with the top three places all receiving a USD 10,000 (~KRW 14M) seat to November’s APT Championship Main Event.

The USA’s Yifu He, Hong Kong’s Stephen Pang, and China’s Shoumin Zhang are all coming to November’s APT Championship

Runner up Zhang was another finalist to claim a personal best, his KRW 366,500,000 (~USD 261,785) second-place prize quadrupling his live career tournament winnings.

While third-place finisher Yifu He did not make any milestones, the KRW 257,000,000 (~USD 183,570) he received for his podium placing represents the second-largest score of his lengthy poker career.

MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS

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For a deep dive into the composition of the record-breaking APT Incheon Main Event check out our Incheon Goes Bigger as 1,393 Chase the Gold Lion feature.

In addition to the nine figure KRW (six-figure USD) first prize, Pang—who won his way through to Day 3 of the Main Event OnLive via tour sponsor Natural8—will also receive an 8 percent payout bonus of roughly KRW 32,880,000 (~USD 23,440) from Natural8 credited to his online account, as well as a USD 800 ticket to 2026 Asian Poker Tour Online (APTO) Main Event playing out later this year.

Pang’s journey to the top was rooted in meticulous preparation long before stepping onto the casino floor.

"I’ve been preparing for this event for over a year, refining my strategies and fine-tuning my game by playing online poker against the best possible players," Pang revealed after his victory. "This gave me a lot of confidence to aim for the final table as my first milestone in a major live event. Once I got into the Main Event, I felt like I had a real chance to capture my beloved Lion Trophy."

Shoumin Zhang and Stephen Pang prepare to battle heads up for the coveted Gold Lion APT Main Event Trophy

Navigating the Final Table

The final table presented a formidable lineup, requiring Pang to stay disciplined and adapt quickly. Facing aggressive dynamics from five Japanese contenders on his left and Zhang on his right, Pang adopted a patient, calculated approach early on.

"A lot of chips were going back and forth, so I just played conservatively and let them battle each other and move up the pay jumps," Pang explained. "Once there were five players left, I felt it was time to attack my opponents, as there wasn't much stack depth left. So that was my strategy."

Key turning points defined his run to the trophy, including critical post-flop check-raises, well-timed bluffs, and a timely streak of pocket queens; after cracking pocket aces in a massive Day 4 pot against Japan's Nozomi Ota, his pocket queens held up once more against the ace-king of Tempei Kotani, sending the Japanese player out in fourth and shooting Pang back to the top of the chip counts.

Pang and Kotani clash in a tournament defining hand

"Pocket queens were my lucky hand all tournament... 'Lady Gaga' was always there for me!" Pang laughed. "Winning that hand against the Japanese player gave me the chip lead... my chip stack kept building until I had a 2-to-1 chip advantage, and at that moment, I felt ready."

From Sandwiches to Taipei: The Champion’s Next Chapter

Despite the high-stakes pressure and the eventual glory, Pang credits his success to keeping his ego in check and drawing strength from his support network both on-site and back home.

"People look at the glory of becoming a champion, but for me personally, I just try to be the best version of myself—playing the best strategies possible in every single hand and not letting ego get in the way. That’s a very important mentality to have."

"My friends who were there kept me supported. There was no dinner break in this tournament, so I was starving! My friends brought me sandwiches, which was the most direct form of support," Pang added, noting the non-stop stream of WhatsApp and WeChat encouragement from friends across Hong Kong and China.

With the APT Incheon Main Event title sealed, Pang plans to celebrate over authentic local Korean food with his wife, Elizabeth, before hosting karaoke and dinner gatherings back home in Hong Kong.

Beyond the cash prize and trophy, is also looking forward to Taipei’s APT Championship in November where he aims to capture an even larger Lion Trophy.

"Always aim higher, right? Bigger and bigger!" the newly crowned APT Main Event champion exalted before heading off to start his celebrations.

Stephen Pang celebrates his poker career’s defining moment with wife Elizabeth

Live Streaming & Blog Coverage

All tournament information can be found on the APT Main Event Final Day tournament page and you can follow along with all the action via the Main Event Final Day APT Blog. You can also watch the APT Main Event Final Day Live Stream, with the official APT YouTube channel covering all the tournament thrills and spills from Day 2 through to the Final Day.

Thailand’s Punnat Punsri Tops USD 1.4M in New Era APT Earnings With Superstar Challenge Win

Thailand’s #1 ranked tournament player Punnat Punsri has cemented his superstar status on the Asian Poker Tour by claiming his seventh career tour tournament title in the KRW 35 million (~USD 24,900) Superstar Challenge.

Boasting the biggest buy-in on the festival schedule, the elite high-stakes event drew an initial 29 entries (25 unique), 11 of whom returned for the final day to battle for a share of the KRW 961,350,000 (~USD 686,680) prize pool.

The 2025 Global Poker Index (GPI) Player of the Year put on a dominating final day performance to earn his maiden Superstar Challenge title, defeating Vietnam’s Khoa Anh Ngo heads-up to take the KRW 360,000,000 (~USD 257,140) top prize, the Black Stealth Lion trophy, and a USD 10,000 (~KRW 14M) seat to November’s APT Championship Main Event.

Punnat Punsri and Khoa Anh Ngo prepare to play heads-up for the title

While short of his APT Taipei 2023 Main Event score, the victory secures Punsri his first Superstar Challenge title and elevates his APT New Era winnings past USD 1.4 million, boosting his career earnings to over USD 38.5 million.

“It feels fantastic!” said a jubilant Punsri immediately following his latest victory. “This one means a lot to me because it's the biggest buy-in of an APT series (~KRW 35 million Superstar Challenge), and I have a lot of sentiment for the APT brand itself. To win the highest buy-in event feels great, especially after so many of my friends have won it already—like Danny [Tang] and my fellow Thai player, Pachara [Wongwichit]. To join them is amazing!”

Back Row (L-R): Ryuta Nakai, Yang Siang Ang, Yuan Lei, Naoki Ota, Calvin Lee

Front Row (L-R): Punnat Punsri, Aleksei Istomin, Yoko Sasaki, Khoa Anh Ngo

SUPERSTAR CHALLENGE RESULTS

For Superstar Challenge Final Day Player List please CLICK HERE

For Superstar Challenge Results please CLICK HERE

It took Punsri close to six action-packed 40-minute levels to win the latest addition to his amply stocked trophy cabinet, overcoming a tough final table featuring start-of-day chip leader Ryuta Nakai, Malaysia’s Yang Siang Ang, and defending champion Calvin Lee.

While the former two departed before the paying positions, with Nakai exiting on the money bubble, it was a crucial bubble hand against Lee that defined Punsri's tournament path, when his pocket queens turned a set to beat Lee's flopped pair of Kings.

"The most important hand was my queens against Calvin's ace-king on the bubble," Punsri noted. "The hands play themselves, and whoever wins the flip likely wins the tournament. I ran really good when it mattered."

You can read all about the high stakes tournament action via the Superstar Challenge Final Day APT Blog.

All tournament information can be found on the Superstar Challenge Final Day tournament page.

Japan’s Chang Hwan Lee Tops APT High Roller Day 1 222-Entry Field Builds KRW 959M (~USD 685K) Prize Pool

Chang Hwan Lee is hunting the Rose Gold Lion in the APT High Roller

The last of the festival's signature tournaments saw 222 entries (154 unique) ante up the KRW 5 million (~USD 3,500) buy-in and begin their hunt for the Rose Gold Lion in the APT High Roller, building a KRW 959,040,000 (~USD 685,030) prize pool.

Following sixteen 40-minute levels it was bracelet winner Chang Hwan Lee who topped the Day 1 counts, bagging up 1,211,000 to lead the 51 survivors, closely followed by China’s Yuan Lei (1,183,000) and Superstar Challenge bubble boy Ryuta Nakai (1,173,000).

The top 31 players will min-cash for KRW 8,320,000 (~USD 5,940), with the champion taking home the signature lion trophy, and a KRW 199,870,000 (~USD 142,765) top prize, in addition to a USD 10,000 (~KRW 14M) seat to November’s APT Championship Main Event.

For APT High Roller Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE

Other notables to bag top ten stacks include former APT High Roller champion Martin Sedlak, bracelet winner Maxim Lykov, and the UK’s Jun Li.

APT HIGH ROLLER DAY 1 TOP TEN STACKS

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For APT High Roller Final Day Draw please CLICK HERE

Other notables and former champions to make the final day include Natural8 Ambassador Nevan Chang (615,000), Malaysia’s Jeremy Chan (608,000), Chinese poker super star Tony Ren Lin (574,000), Australia’s Joshua McCully (364,000), and Thailand’s Phanlert Sukonthachartnant (221,000).

Live Streaming & Blog Coverage

All tournament information can be found on the APT High Roller Day 1 tournament page, and you can read all about the high-stakes tournament action via the APT High Roller Day 1 Blog. All the APT High Roller Final Day action will be live streamed on a 30-minute delay from 11:15am (KST) on Sunday, August 16 via the official APT YouTube channel.