Make no mistake; the women’s game is growing in Asia. As the biggest poker tour in Asia, the APT is seeing more and more women taking to the felt at every tour stop. In 2024, a total of 560 of APT’s tournament players were female, representing 8.6% of the tour’s players in 2024 – double the industry average of around 4%.

Feedback on the tour’s Women’s Event has been extremely positive, with participants praising the friendly environment and fun atmosphere as reasons for participating.

Interest in poker among women is at an all-time high in Asia

To that end, Women’s Events are incredibly important in fostering the growth of women in poker. These events serve two purposes; to provide a comfortable environment in which to play and experience poker, and to encourage women to take part in other scheduled events.

Two of the APT’s female contingent at the APT Jeju 2024 Women’s Event

You will see below that these events have served their purpose, with multiple women emerging triumphant in events outside of the women’s events. Read on to find out more about the history of the Women’s Event at APT and how they have grown the women’s game in Asia.

The Natural8 Challenge the Queens event at APT Manila 2024

History of the APT Women’s Event

Since the start of the APT New Era, which launched back during APT Taipei 2023, the tour has held events specifically for women, but the APT has been running them even before that, dating back to APT Manila 2011.

Since then, the APT has run a minimum of one women’s event at every tour stop, some with up to three events like the Taipei Poker Classic 2024. This saw Taiwan’s Hsu Fei Hsuan win the richest women’s event in APT history, taking home a USD 8,960 top prize from a USD 35,725 prize pool after besting 132 other entrants.

However, the largest APT Women’s Event to have ever run was at APT Taipei 2023, with 143 entrants taking part.

Taiwan’s Hsu Fei Hsuan won the largest first place awarded at an APT Women’s Event

History was also made at APT Manila 2024 when Ma Arlene Rivera won her first Women’s Event. Her name may sound familiar to a lot of poker fans, as the partner of four-time APT title winner and number one on the Philippines’ all-time money list Marc Rivera.

Poker skills run in the Rivera family

Speaking of serial winners, the APT Women’s all-time money list tells an interesting story. While list-topper Yi Sha Chen from China has yet to add an APT trophy to her cabinet, she tops the list having come in second in the APT High Roller event at APT Jeju 2024, proving she could battle with the best. Chen has gone on to bigger things now with USD 856,525 in career winnings so far, so expect her to make a bigger splash at APT events in 2025.

While the Philippine’s Ferlyn Cabaling occupies the #31 spot on this list, she also boasts the most APT Women’s Events victories, having won an impressive eight titles, her last win coming in the APT Phu Quoc 2023 Women’s Event.

Second in the list, Natalia Rozova from Russia also had an amazing 2024. At APT Phu Quoc 2024, she laid claim to the Zodiac Classic event, her second largest score of her career at USD 61,212.

Rozova can also boast victory in the tour’s largest-ever Single Day High Roller Mystery Bounty event back during the APT Hanoi Billions in December 2023, claiming a VND 1.45 billion (USD 59,600) top prize. In addition to topping the record-breaking field, what made Rozova's win even more incredible is the fact she pulled the three biggest bounties on offer – worth VND 1BN (~$41,060), 500M (~$20,530), and 300M (~$12,320) – on her way to victory.

To give you an idea of just how incredible that is, the likelihood of that happening is 0.0002% or a 1:999,999 chance, quite literally a one-in-a-million shot – you are 32 times more likely to get struck by lightning than you are to pull the top three bounties in the same tournament.

Russia’s Natalia Rozova took down the Zodiac Classic at APT Phu Quoc 2024

However, none has had a better year than Australia’s Jennifer Cassell. With an astounding USD 248,522 in live cashes to her name in 2024 alone, Cassell is also the only woman to have won two APT Women’s Event in a single calendar year in the APT New Era, taking down the event in Taipei 2024 and Phu Quoc 2024. She also made the final table of the APT High Roller in Phu Quoc 2024, finishing seventh in that event.

Aussie Jennifer Cassell had a year to remember in 2024

Continuing to Support the Women’s Game

After a record breaking 2024, the tour is not stopping there. In the upcoming APT Manila Classic 2025, there is a Women’s Event running every single day of the festival, headlined by the brand new APT Women’s Championship on 12 February 2025. This is THE Women’s Event to win as the best of the best of the APT’s ladies will be there.

The Thailand contingent showing their support for champion Sananthachat Thanapatpisal during the APT Jeju 2024 Women’s Event

The tour is looking forward to see what women in poker can achieve in 2025, including seeing them taking part in the APT Championship in November. See you all there, but for now, the next stop, Manila!