Tobias Schwecht

Germany’s Tobias Schwecht emerged victorious after an intense, rollercoaster-like final day in the APT Super High Roller and banked PHP 12,143,900 (~$208,658) for his win. He sealed the final heads-up duel in just five hands, sending Ricky Huang to the rail, who had to settle for the runner-up position.

It was a rollercoaster ride for Schwecht at the final table, as he battled through intense swings to emerge victorious. Reflecting on the win, Schwecht described it as a "really crazy final table, a real rollercoaster", and expressed his joy, saying, "I'm very happy."

Schwecht faced a series of tough spots throughout the final table, frequently having to raise and fold in tricky situations. Despite staying composed for most of the battle, a crucial lost pot with aces tested his mental resilience. "I felt pretty good most of the time, then I lost some big pots with aces and it got a little bit in my head," he admitted. However, the swings of tournament poker soon turned in his favor. "Luckily, I had some lucky hands in my direction so that I could recover," he added.

To cap off his victory, Schwecht was awarded an APT Championship Main Event Pass for APT Taipei at the end of the year, valued at TWD 350,000.

APT Super High Roller Final Table Results

*Includes a TWD 350,000 APT Championship Main Event ticket

Zhen Chen suffered the most unfortunate fate of the tournament, bubbling just shy of the money. His king-jack was outmatched by ace-eight on a clean board, forcing him to exit empty-handed as the bubble boy.

The final table began cautiously, with players feeling out the action. However, things quickly escalated after an hour of play, thanks to Charlie Chiu, who eliminated three players in just eight hands.

The first to hit the rail was Victor Dai, whose ace-five ran into Chiu’s pocket fives. Shortly after, Punnat Punsri followed in eighth place. Despite holding the lead with his king-jack against Chiu’s queen-four, the board paired Chiu’s queen, sending Punsri to the payout desk.

William Teoh

Defending champion William Teoh saw his title defense slip away after losing most of his stack to **Rokas Asipauskas**. Teoh’s pocket threes were cracked by Asipauskas’s queen-nine, which paired up on the flop. Left with a short stack, Teoh made his final move with suited jack-four, only to run into Chiu’s ace-five, which improved to two pair and sent the former champ out in seventh place.

Despite scoring a double-up through Teoh, Asipauskas couldn’t build momentum and soon fell in sixth. His pocket sevens faced off against Scott Margereson’s jack-ten, but the board came to Margereson's rescue, eliminating Asipauskas in a classic coin flip.

John Matsuda

John Matsuda, who once held the final table chip lead, saw his stack dwindle after losing a crucial pot to Chiu, whose full house crushed the Japanese player's flush. Desperate to recover, Matsuda battled against Schwecht, but his run came to a heartbreaking end when his his flopped pair of aces with ace-four ran into Schwecht’s set of kings. Just like that, Matsuda was out in fifth.

Four-handed play saw Margereson put his tournament life on the line in a massive pot against Schwecht. After taking it to the streets, Margereson’s rivered pair of jacks wasn’t enough to overcome Schwecht’s flopped pair of queens., ending his deep run in fourth place.

Charlie Chiu

Down to three, Chiu, who had dominated earlier, found himself on the receiving end of some bad luck. His pocket tens were overtaken by Schwecht’s king-nine, after the chips went in on a nine-high flop.

Three hands later, Chiu was once again dealt a brutal runout as his king-six turned two pair, only for Schwecht to have backdoored the nut straight holding eight-seven. Chiu’s once-dominant chip lead had vanished, and he exited in third place.

Ricky Huang

Heads-up play between Schwecht and Huang lasted just five hands. Huang made his final stand with seven-four suited when he picked up a flush draw on the turn, hoping for a miracle. However, Schwecht flopped trip nines and after the river bricked out, he sealed the victory. Huang’s valiant effort earned him second place, while Schwecht claimed the PHP 12,143,900 (~$208,658) top prize and his first APT Lion Trophy.

Congratulations to Tobias Schwecht, who captured his first-ever APT title!