Ren Lin

Sometimes, when players are down to just a few big blinds, they start planning the walk to the rail. Ren Lin didn’t.

On the final day of the APT Super High Roller at the APT Jeju Classic 2026, Lin was reduced to around two big blinds with three players remaining. He stayed patient, trusted his instincts, and waited for the right spot. An hour later, he had turned the tournament around and defeated Ryuta Nakai heads up to lift the Pewter Lion Trophy at Les A Casino, claiming the KRW 396,317,500 (~USD 275,220) top prize and a USD ~$10,000 APT Championship Main Event seat.

The win came in Korea’s richest-ever Super High Roller ever run by the Asian Poker Tour. The event drew 115 entries from 75 unique players, creating a prize pool of KRW 1,589,587,500 (~USD 1,103,880) – setting a new tour record at this level.

From the brink of elimination to the top of the podium, Lin’s final-day run was a reminder that belief can matter just as much as the cards when everything is on the line.

APT Super High Roller Final Table Results

Winner’s Reaction

A few minutes after his win, Lin, whose thoughts were translated from Mandarin, reflected on the belief that carried him through the toughest moments of the final day.

“Twelve hours ago, I used to joke that if you just have an average stack, that’s already enough to win the championship. So I kept holding on to that belief. I’m also extremely confident. I think confidence is very important. If you believe you can win, then in the end you will win. But if you don’t even believe in yourself, it’s really difficult.”

That confidence was tested when Lin was at his lowest point with three players remaining.

“When we were down to three players, I only had about two big blinds left — around one and a bit. Then someone shoved all-in on me. I had 7-2 suited. Mathematically, it was supposed to be a call — there’s basically no fold equity — but I thought about it for a long time. No matter what the pot odds were, I felt that calling with a hand that’s actually ahead of someone would be better. So I folded that hand. After that, it felt like the cards just kept coming to me. I ran really well, too. So today just feels amazing.”

For Lin, the victory also reflected a deeper sense of resilience built over years of highs and lows.

“Actually, my life has gone through so many ups and downs. I’ve experienced countless highs and lows, and I’ve often fallen all the way to rock bottom. But I think I have strong resilience — a tough life force. Every time I hit a low point, I bounce back very quickly. No matter how painful or difficult things are, I sleep on it and the next day I’ve basically forgotten about it."

“When I wake up the next day, I’m full of positive energy again.”

Ren Lin

The trophy itself carried special meaning, tied to unfinished business from earlier in his APT journey.

“This trophy means a lot to me. The first time I saw the APT trophy, I really loved it. I think the APT trophy is honestly the best-looking trophy in the world. I believe every poker player wants to win this lion trophy. In 2024, when I first went to Taipei to play APT, I wanted it so badly. Back then, I even talked about it with one of the top pros, Isaac Haxton."

“I ended up losing to him heads-up — I ran bad and finished second. I was really upset at the time. But today, when I played heads-up, I just felt like I was going to win. That’s why confidence is so important. Gold will always shine.”

Lin also pointed to his strong start to the year as a sign of what may still be to come.

“Honestly, even before this event, I was already winning this year. My first stop this year was KPC, and at this same table I even won a smaller title earlier. Then now I’ve won this one too. So for me, this is probably the best start I’ve ever had in all my years of playing poker."

Ren Lin receives the APT Championship Main Event seat

“I think this year I might achieve the highest earnings of my career and also get what I really want — Player of the Year. I’ll 100% be coming to APTC, and I believe I can win more titles too. Right now, I feel incredibly strong.”

Reflecting on the event as a whole, Lin had nothing but praise for the tour.

“As for the event experience, it’s been amazing. APT just keeps getting better every year. And honestly, this trophy is already perfect — it can’t get any better. Every stop keeps improving, but it’s already so good that it doesn’t need to be better.”

Final Day Action

With 23 players making their way back for Day 2 and only 17 spots being paid, the first objective was to make the money. Lin scored an early double-up when he turned the nuts with seven-six against Huu Dung Nguyen.

Quang Ming Nguyen, Daming Kang, and Teeraphat Rangkatekarn all fell short of a cash, and it was Dylan Foster who took the unwanted title of APT Super High Roller Bubble Boy.

Dylan Foster

Foster was short and got his stack in with pocket sixes against Nakai, who held pocket tens. The runout changed nothing, which left Foster out in eighteenth, and locked up a payout of at least KRW 24,730,000 (~$17,175) for the remaining seventeen players.

From then on, the eliminations came thick and fast. Leokoichiro Tamaru, Yu Zhang, and Natural8 Ambassador Sparrow Cheung all fell quickly, with the latter shoving his ace-four into Yosuke Miki's ace-jack.

John Juanda

Lin spiked a jack on the river with ace-jack to knock out Nirunrut Rachburom when she held ace-king, then Poker Hall of Famer John Juanda ran pocket queens into Quang Dinh Do's pocket kings. Xinjing Li, Yoko Sasaki, and Calvin Lee also fell on the way to the final table.

When the final table started, it was Do that held a big chip lead as he had more than double the stack of Khoa Anh Ngo in second. Lin entered right in the middle of the pack, and Nakai was near the bottom.

It took just eight hands for the first seat to become vacant, as Paulius Plausinaitis four-bet shoved king-queen suited into the Big Slick of Do. The board changed nothing, which meant Plausinaitis finished in ninth for a cash of KRW 39,380,000 (~$27,350).

Paulius Plausinaitis

Kento Nasu built up momentum on the outer table by scoring double-ups in back-to-back hands, but couldn't keep it going after three-bet shoving ace-eight into the ace-ten of Nakai. The board offered no help, leaving Nasu out in eighth for a score of KRW 52,770,000 (~$36,645).

Miki then came off worst in a three-way all-in with Ryan Plant and Do.

Plant moved his short stack all in with pocket sixes and Do three-bet with pocket eights to isolate. Miki was behind with ace-jack and called, leaving himself just a few chips. The rest went in on the flop with neither player connecting. Just as it seemed as if Do would score a double knockout, Plant drilled a six on the river to stay alive, which ended Miki's run in seventh for KRW 70,100,000 (~$48,680).

Yosuke Miki

Lin then pulled into second place by picking off a bluff against chip leader Do, and shortly after that Plant hit the rail. Ngo had shoved queen-four from the small blind and Plant quickly called holding queen-jack.

However, a four on the flop was enough to secure the pot for Ngo, leaving Plant on the sidelines with KRW 91,680,000 (~$63,670) in his pocket.

Guoliang Wei had been quietly going about his business, and even made a huge preflop fold on the final table with ace-king after Nakai three-bet shoved ace-queen. Maybe that decision will leave him wondering what could have been as. not long after, he called off a shove with pocket deuces and found himself up against the king-ten of Nakai. A king on the flop sealed it for Nakai, leaving Wei out in fifth for KRW 116,250,000 (~$80,730).

Guoliang Wei

With four players left, Do still held over double the stack of his closest rival, but in the space of a few hands, chaos ensued. Nakai raised with pocket aces and Do saw a flop with ace-ten. Do check-called two streets and then check-shoved the river with just ace-high, and eventually Nakai called to secure the double-up and the chip lead.

Just as Nakai was getting comfortable as the top stack, Lin swooped in. Lin raised pocket tens and Nakai shoved around 27 big blinds effective with ace-deuce, which Lin quickly called. Lin flopped a set, and just like that, he was the chip leader.

Khoa Anh Ngo

Ngo's stack was being blinded away and he eventually got it in with jack-ten against the ace-king of Nakai. An ace-high flop was enough to seal it, and Ngo left in fourth with a payday of KRW 144,130,000 (~$100,090).

Lin's commanding chip lead disappeared as Nakai played some aggressive poker and won five hands in a row to claim back the top spot. From having piles of chips in front of him, Lin then seemed destined to finish third as he had almost half of his five-big-blind stack in the middle after being dealt seven-deuce.

With just over two big blinds remaining, Lin went on the most insane heater. First doubling up with queen-jack against Do's five-three, and then getting a few shoves through to get back to around ten big blinds. Lin then doubled with king-queen against the eight-seven of Nakai after the chips went in preflop, before a tournament-defining hand played out.

Quang Dinh Do

Nakai raised with pocket kings and then snap-called the shove of Lin, who held pocket queens. Just as it seemed all was said and done, Lin flopped a set and turned quads to take the chip lead with three players remaining.

Things were going Lin's way, and another pivotal pot went his way just moments later.

Do raised with pocket fives and Lin defended seven-six to see a flop of nine-eight-five. As expected, the chips found their way into the pot, and Do was left stunned and was forced to settle for third after being in control of the tournament for so long. Though, it's not all bad news for Do as he landed his career-best cash by a mammoth margin with the KRW 174,060,000 (~$120,875) payout.

Ryuta Nakai

Lin took an almost two-to-one chip lead into heads-up play, and it was all over in just four hands.

Nakai raised the button with seven-five and Lin called holding king-eight. Lin flopped trips and check-raised the flop, bet the turn, and shoved the river. Nakai had a pair of fives and after tanking for a minute, he flicked in a chip and saw the bad news.

Nakai had to settle for the runner-up spot and the KRW 267,780,000 (~$185,960) payout that comes with it, which left Lin to bask in the glory of winning the APT Super High Roller and lifting the Pewter Lion Trophy. Not to mention the KRW 396,317,500 (~$275,220) prize plus an APTC Main Event seat, worth around $10,000.

That concludes the coverage of the APT Super High Roller, but be sure to keep checking back to the APT Blog for the latest updates from other events during the festival.