Teeraphat Rangkatekarn and Friends

The final day of the APT Jeju 2026 Super High Roller delivered another memorable chapter in the festival's history as Teeraphat Rangkatekarn emerged victorious to capture one of the tour's most prestigious titles. After navigating a star-studded field of 99 entries (67 unique players), Rangkatekarn secured the Super High Roller trophy, the lion's share of the prize pool, and an APT Championship Main Event ticket to return to the felt in November at APT Championship Taipei.

The event comfortably eclipsed its KRW 500 million guarantee, generating a prize pool of KRW 1,368,427,500 (~USD 1,021,215). By the close of registration, the tournament had become the second-largest APT Super High Roller ever held in Korea, surpassing the 97-entry field from the previous year and attracting many of poker's biggest names to Jeju Shinhwa World.

Across two days of intense action, the field was gradually reduced until Teeraphat Rangkatekarn stood alone, adding his name to the growing list of APT Super High Roller champions. For the victory, Rangkatekarn collected KRW 355,667,500 (~USD 265,425) along with the coveted trophy and APT Championship Main Event seat, capping off an impressive performance against one of the toughest fields assembled during the series.

APT Jeju 2026 Super High Roller Final Table Results

Winner's Thoughts on the Victory

Shortly after locking up the win, Rangkatekarn reflected on his victory and first expressed his appreciation to the Asia Poker tour by saying, “Firstly, thank you to all the staff and APT for making a good event.”

He then looked back on his achievements and what the win today meant to him. Rangkatekarn expressed in his own words that there wasn’t any doubt in himself that he could take down a prestigious event such as the APT Super High Roller and he said “For me, I think I feel like it’s been waiting for me for a long time”.

That confidence was evident throughout the tournament. While he entered the event among a stacked field of elite competitors, by the end of Day 1 he had established himself as the player to chase, carrying the chip lead into the final day. His determination and presence, both at and away from the table, were clear to see throughout the event.

Teeraphat Rangkatekarn Winners Interview

When discussing the significance of the victory, Teeraphat Rangkatekarn pointed to the sleeve of tattoos covering his arm and said, “Look at this,” before adding “I tatted it up”. He revealed the fanned cards across his arm, with the artwork serving as a reflection of the dedication he has committed to the game. The same dedication carried him throughout the tournament, as his aggressive style saw him hold the chip lead for much of the final day.

There was never any doubt in his mind that a High Roller title was within reach, confidently sharing that he had always believed that one day, “I will bring it home”. Following the victory, Rangkatekarn also spoke of his gratitude for the support from his rail and the Thai poker community.

As he was presented with not only the Pewter Mega Lion Trophy, but also the APT Championship Main Event ticket worth approximately USD 10,000, the emotion of the moment was clear to see as he lifted the trophy into the air in celebration.

This victory more than doubled Rangkatekarn's career live earnings (USD 544,000), propelling him 11 spots up Thailand's all-time money list from 22nd to 11th place.

Final Day Action

The celebrations may have belonged to Teeraphat Rangkatekarn, but there was still plenty of action before the trophy was awarded.

Returning as chip leader, Rangkatekarn began the final day with nearly double the stack of his nearest challenger, Calvin Lee. As fate would have it, the pair would eventually find themselves locked in a marathon heads-up battle for the title. Before that showdown could unfold, however, the remaining 26 players still had to navigate the money bubble and battle their way towards the final table.

Yuhan Liu

The first objective for all those returning was reaching the money places before attention shifted towards the final table. Early eliminations on Day 2 included Yuhan Liu, who was rivered by Yita Choong in one of the first hands of the day.

Yoko Sasaki then saw her Super High Roller run come to an end after jamming her Big Slick into Johan Pedersen's flopped top pair and failing to improve.

Yita Choong

In contrast, Yita Choong enjoyed a strong start to the day and was also responsible for the elimination of Wouter Beltz in the opening level, propelling himself up the chip counts early on.

Despite several players making moves, two contenders began separating themselves from the pack and remained firmly in contention as the field narrowed, Calvin Lee and Teeraphat Rangkatekarn.

Rangkatekarn Maintains Momentum

Teeraphat Rangkatekarn

Rangkatekarn continued to build momentum throughout the day, helping drive the pace of play as the field was reduced from 26 players to the final two tables in just two hours.

Rangkatekarn piled pressure on his opponents throughout the opening levels, making full use of his dominant stack. He kept up the aggression, applying constant pressure in pots while also finding several key calls. One memorable hand saw him make an outstanding hero call against Han Shao, who attempted to bluff him off the river. Instead, Rangkatekarn found a call with ace-high to add even more chips to his stack.

He was never afraid to put chips into the middle and, on more than one occasion, was rewarded after getting his money in behind. Just before the money bubble, he rivered a straight to eliminate Ngo Khoa Anh, while the next notable on his list was APT's all-time money leader, Joseph Cheong.

Calvin Lee

With 14 players remaining, hand-for-hand play began, and the money bubble stretched for almost an hour. Calvin Lee also made excellent use of his stack during this period, applying pressure to opponents around the table, particularly the shorter stacks.

One player who experienced the full rollercoaster was Fabian Gumz, who was cut down short before then turning things around by finding a crucial double.

Ultimately, the ride came to an end when Gumz got his chips in with ace-king against Lee's pocket tens. Lee flopped trips and there was no coming back for Gumz, making him the tournament bubble boy and denying him a minimum cash of KRW 27,780,000 (~USD 20,730). His exit guaranteed the remaining players a payday and set the stage for a dramatic race towards the championship.

Chaoui Mehdi

With the bubble burst, the action immediately picked up. Chaoui Mehdi ran into Abraham Ceesvin's pocket kings and was unable to improve, becoming the first player to collect a payout. Eliminations then came quickly as the final table approached, with Zhuoqun Zhang becoming the final casualty, officially setting the stage for the Super High Roller final table.

The Final Nine

When the field shortened to the final nine, Teeraphat Rangkatekarn had maintained a commanding advantage with the lion's share of the chips, though Calvin Lee and James Mendoza remained well within striking distance.

Yan Jingyao received an early reprieve after getting his last chips in behind with ace-ten offsuit against Rangkatekarn's ace-jack, only to spike a one-outer and earn a chop to stay alive.

Wen Yee Yan

Wen Yee Yan was the first player to fall after a rollercoaster start to the final table. He was reduced to just 60,000 chips after running pocket eights into pocket kings, before mounting a brief comeback after being essentially forced all in with pocket aces. His luck eventually ran out when he went up against Christian Harder who rivered a flush, sending Yan to the rail in ninth place.

He was shortly followed by Dillon Najor, who exited in eighth place after getting his chips in good with Big Slick, only to see Rangkatekarn improve on the river and add further chips to his growing stack.

Abraham Ceesvin

Abraham Ceesvin then eliminated Yita Choong in seventh place with ace-king against queen-nine suited. However, that momentum would prove short-lived as Ceesvin soon began surrendering chunks of his own stack.

It proved to be a day of painful rivers. Yan Jingyao was eliminated by a river card after getting his pocket nines in good against Calvin Lee's two overcards.

Shortly afterwards, APT Jeju 2025 Main Event champion Abraham Ceesvin suffered a similar fate, bowing out in fifth place for KRW 104,340,000 (~USD 77,865).

The final four players battled for more than an hour without an elimination, but eventually it was James Mendoza who saw his tournament come to an end when his ace-three was unable to overcome Calvin Lee's ace-king.

Just three hands later, Christian Harder saw his pocket aces cracked by Rangkatekarn, leaving just two players to battle for the title.

Marathon Heads-Up Battle

Teeraphat Rangkatekarn(left) and Calvin Lee(right)

There was an expectation that heads-up play between Teeraphat Rangkatekarn and Calvin Lee would be relatively short-lived given the overwhelming 5:1 chip advantage that Rangkatekarn held at the start of heads-up play. That expectation could not have been further from reality as momentum swung back and forth as the night drew on.

Despite entering heads-up play with a sizeable deficit, Lee put up a fair fight, drawing level on several occasions, before even taking the chip lead after rivering a diamond flush.

The lead change was only temporary, however. Rangkatekarn quickly regained, and a key pot brought the stacks back level and shifted the momentum firmly back in his favour.

From there, he gradually chipped away at Lee's stack before eventually putting his opponent to the ultimate test.

The final hand saw Lee call off his tournament life against Rangkatekarn holding ace-jack offsuit, only to discover he was up against pocket jacks.

Teeraphat Rangkatekarn

There was no coming back for Lee as this saw him lock up second place, leaving Rangkatekarn to secure the championship and bringing the curtain down on another memorable edition of the APT Jeju Super High Roller Event.