A famous saying goes; records are meant to be broken. The same holds true for the Asian Poker Tour. The New Era of APT has gone from strength to strength in 2024. At every stop the tour has made in the past two years, APT has broken our own in-country records for the largest festival stops we have run in each location except for Phu Quoc 2024, making it nine out of ten festivals since the New Era began.

For Taiwan in particular, APT made Taiwanese poker history twice by holding the largest and richest poker series ever to run in the region.

Expect APT to make an even bigger splash next year in Taiwan

Of course, every stop made in 2024 saw immense prize pool growth. In 2024, APT accumulated USD 43,347,576 in prize pools - a 20.6% year-on-year growth compared to 2023 at USD 35,947,668. While there was a slight dip in unique player numbers coming to APT events (-2.6% year-on-year), 2024 saw only five festivals versus the seven festivals run in 2023, with total event entries for 2024 seeing stellar growth, coming in at 53,257 entries across 513 events, representing a 15.9% increase year-on-year.

APT 2023 vs APT 2024 Prize Pools & Unique Players/Entries

APT 2024 SEASON SUMMARY

Of the 513 APT tournaments run in 2024, the biggest prize pools mostly came in the Main Events, which made up four of the top five biggest APT prize pools in 2024. This is followed by the tours’ signature high roller events, with a special mention to the Zodiac Classic at the APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024, coming in tenth place.

Top Ten 2024 APT Events by Prize Pool

APT Online (APTO) 2024 – the Largest and Richest To-Date

The last APT Online event ran from November 10 to December 1 and surpassed all previous online-only events to become the largest and richest APT Online to-date. Organized in partnership with Natural8, 20 trophy events awarding real life bespoke APT trophies were up for grabs online. Including the side events, the series included 326 tournaments, drawing a total of 378,625 entries who competed for an astounding total of USD 28,191,720 in prize money, which represents over a 21 percent (21.9%) increase in entries from the last year’s APTO with over 19 percent (19.2%) more prize money awarded.

The most notable of these events was the record-breaking USD 3 million GTD Main Event, which drew 4,969 entries generating a humongous USD 3,776,440 prize pool. The top prize of USD 534,698.10—the largest-ever Main Event first-place prize awarded in APT’s 18-year history— was won by Austria’s “M Joelsson”.

Read on to find out more in-depth information about some of our record-breaking live events in 2024:

Main Event Rene von Reden won the biggest live payout for an APT New Era event at Taipei Poker Classic 2024

The APT Main Event remains the tours’ most-anticipated tournament at every stop. We cannot blame you guys, the 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy would look great in any trophy cabinet.

At every 2024 tour stop except APT Phu Quoc 2024, the Main Event broke in-country records for entries and prize pools and set a record for the largest and richest tournament and poker series. We even beat our own record in Taiwan twice in the same year! The Taipei Poker Classic 2024 saw the biggest prize for a first-place finish at an APT New Era live event yet, with Germany’s Rene von Reden laying claim to that title.

Super High Roller The USA’s Isaac Haxton won the biggest Super High Roller event ran so far taking down the APT Taipei 2024 SHR

The second of the tours’ signature events, the APT Super High Roller, awards winners with the coveted Pewter Lion trophy. The first of the year’s festivals in Taipei was where prize pool records were broken for this event; and have not been broken since. US pro Isaac Haxton holds the honor of winning the richest APT Super High Roller ever to run.

Interestingly enough, it is Malaysia that holds the record for most Super High Roller events won, with all other champions coming from different countries. Three Malaysians have tamed the Pewter Lion so far - Shung Er Sua, William Teoh, and Tan Win Meng all having one in their collections.

Superstar Challenge Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier brings proof that the Superstar Challenge is aptly named

At APT Taipei 2024, the Superstar Challenge event was the tours’ biggest one yet, with French poker legend Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier claiming the accolades. That tournament set a New Era record for largest first-place prize awarded, until Japan’s Daisuke Ogita won the festival’s Main Event. This record was surpassed for a second time in the TPC 2024 Main Event. However, the Superstar Challenge still holds the record for the biggest non-guaranteed event the tour has run so far in the New Era.

Fellow superstar Joseph Cheong from the USA, however, has the unique honor of winning the event not once, but twice in the same calendar year (2024) in Jeju, and Manila, the only person to do so in APT’s history. Cheong has shown dominating poker ability in every festival he has participated in so far, as well as occupying the #1 spot on the APT All Time Money List, and as a tour regular, we look forward to seeing what else he will bring to the tables in 2025.

National Cup / Series Openers Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Yuan won an equivalent of 227 times his initial buy-in for the APT National Cup at APT Taipei 2024

APT Taipei 2024 also set tour records for field size and prize pool for our opening event, the APT National Cup. This record still stands, with the tournament generating the tours’ richest opening event prize pool ever. Hong Kong’s Ka Chun Yuan claimed the accolades, winning a sizable TWD 2,263,500 (USD 71,700) after a 3-way deal. However, Taiwan’s Kaihung Hu holds the record for richest-ever opening event top prize, claiming gold and a "no-deal" TWD 2,519,920 first place prize to open APT Taipei Poker Classic. Jeju and Manila both set series opener country records for field size and prize pool with Phu Quoc coming in second place to Hanoi Billions.

Mystery Bounty Malaysia’s Isaac Phua won the largest Mystery Bounty event of the APT New Era

The Mystery Bounty event is always a highlight at every festival. The excitement of peeling a huge bounty score is electrifying for tour-goers; just ask Isaac Phua from Malaysia. Phua managed to emerge victorious in APT’s largest-ever Mystery Bounty event, overcoming 1,328 entries at the TPC 2024. Taiwan’s Teng-Kuei Hsu holds the record for winning the richest APT Mystery Bounty event, which played out at APT Taipei 2024 and set the tournaments’ tour record at TWD 18,385,380 (USD 582,160).

Zodiac Classic The USA’s Hye Keun Park holds the record for winning the richest Zodiac Classic ever

The Zodiac Classic has one of the highest guarantees at an APT festival outside of the Main Event and drew an average field size of just over 245 entries over the five tournaments played in 2024. The TPC set the biggest prize pool ever for a Zodiac Classic at USD 775,055, won by the USA’s Hye Keun Park. The Manila edition of this event broke the tour Philippines record. Winner of the Superstar Challenge at the same series, Joseph Cheong, also took home the trophy at this event.

Double Stack The Double Stack event is one of the fastest growing events on the APT circuit

On the APT circuit, the Double Stack tournament has seen tons of interest as the year progressed, with the event giving players double the stack size to start, allowing for different playstyles to shine in the tournament. While the Hanoi Billions Double Stack in 2023 still holds the record for field size, the event has set in-country records for all the tours’ 2024 festivals, with the TPC 2024 drawing the second largest Double Stack field in tour history, setting an all-time APT record for prize pool at USD 520,535. The winner of that event, South Korea’s Dongjae Kim, currently holds the record for the richest first-place prize this tournament has ever awarded – a sizable USD 70,615.

Mini Main Event The Netherlands’ Tom Verbruggen won the richest-ever Mini Main Event at APT TPC

The Mini Main Event sees players begin with the same starting stack as the Main Event, but at half the level length duration. Once again, the TPC 2024 set the all-time tour record for entries and prize pool for this event, at 741 entries and USD 441,950 respectively. The Netherland’s Tom Verbruggen earned the plaudits and took home the all-time richest first-place prize the Mini Main Event has ever awarded – a hefty USD 85,060.

An Amazing Year Ahead

Better buckle up poker fans because the Asian Poker Tour is pushing for greater heights. While 2024 was a record-breaking year for us, 2025 is set to be our biggest one yet. Check out our schedule for 2025 below:

If you think that’s all we have, there are several surprises in store for you. Make sure to watch this space for an announcement on New Year’s Day. See you next in Manila at the Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria for the APT Manila Classic, running from 7-16 February 2025 for our very first stop of the year!