Asian Poker Tour (APT)

Last Updated on October 12, 2026 by Bala Kumar

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is the leading international poker tour in Asia, and 2026 is a landmark year: the tour celebrates its 20th anniversary. What began with Antanas “Tony G” Guoga winning the very first APT Main Event in Singapore has grown into a tour that regularly draws fields of 1,000 to 2,000+ players.

In 2026 alone, APT events in South Korea and Taiwan have broken attendance records again and again. The season ends with the APT Championship in Taipei (November 13–29), featuring a USD 10,000 Main Event with a USD 5,000,000 guarantee.

This guide covers everything: the full APT 2026 schedule, the latest results and winners, major events, buy-ins, how to enter and qualify, and how the APT compares with the WSOP and WPT. We update it after every festival.

Asian Poker Tour 2026 Schedule

The 2026 season has five festivals across three destinations: Jeju and Incheon in South Korea, and Taipei in Taiwan.

*The original announcement listed Sep 25 – Oct 4. The festival later ran as a 13-day schedule.

Dates and venues from the official Asian Poker Tour schedule. Check the official APT website for the latest details before you book your trip.

APT Championship 2026: Headline Events

The season finale runs for 17 days in Taipei and marks the tour’s official 20th birthday.

USD amounts are estimates and can shift as exchange rates change.

Latest APT Results and Winners (2026)

The 2026 season has been one of the biggest in APT history. Here’s how every Main Event has played out this season:

Highlights of the 2026 season

• Jeju Classic (February): William Li’s Main Event drew 1,718 entries, the largest live poker tournament ever held in South Korea, beating the previous record of 1,693 set at APT Jeju in October 2025. Runner-up Shintaro Sato took about USD 220,272.
• Taipei (April–May): The biggest Main Event of the season so far. 2,354 entries built a prize pool of about USD 3.59 million. Walter Lau beat Australia’s Joshua McCully heads-up.
• Incheon (August): Stephen Pang won a record-setting Main Event, the largest ever on mainland Korea. Shoumin Zhang of China finished runner-up. The series paid out KRW 15.97 billion (~USD 11.4M), a record for an APT Incheon stop, and the Mini Main Event set an APT country record with 1,427 entries.
• Jeju (September–October): Jianfeng Sun won the Main Event on October 3. In a twist, he went one better than his runner-up finish in 2024. Singapore’s Steve Ng finished second but earned more (KRW 449,115,000) thanks to a heads-up deal. Britain’s Scott Margereson won the High Roller.

Last Season’s Champion: An Indian Winner

The APT Championship 2025 Main Event was won by Indian pro Nishant Kishanlal Sharma, who took home TWD 37,030,773 (~USD 1.19 million) from the USD 10,000 buy-in event. It was one of the biggest wins by an Indian player in international poker, and a reminder of how global the APT has become.

We’ll update this section with the APT Championship 2026 results as soon as they’re official.

What Is the Asian Poker Tour?

The Asian Poker Tour is a live tournament circuit that runs festivals across Asia. Each festival is a multi-day series with dozens of events, from affordable “National Cup” tournaments to USD 50,000 super high rollers, built around a flagship Main Event.

Why the APT matters:

• Asia’s poker boom: Asia has become one of the fastest-growing regions for live poker, and the APT sits at the centre of it.
• Accessible buy-ins: Regular Main Events cost around USD 1,600–1,700, far less than a WSOP or WPT main event, yet still offer six-figure first prizes.
• International fields: Players travel from China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, India, Australia, Europe and North America.
• Twenty years of history: From Tony G’s first win in Singapore to record-breaking fields in 2026, the tour has two decades of heritage.

APT Tournament Locations

The 2026 season focused on two countries:

South Korea

• Jeju Island: Jeju Shinhwa World and its LES A Casino host two festivals a year, the Jeju Classic and APT Jeju. It’s a resort destination popular with international visitors.
• Incheon: Paradise City, a large integrated resort close to Incheon International Airport, which makes it easy to reach.

Taiwan

• Taipei: Red Space at Red Point Center, run with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP). Taipei has become the APT’s most successful stop and hosts both a spring festival and the season-ending Championship.

Travel tip: In South Korea, casino access rules for local citizens differ from those for foreign visitors. Eligibility can vary by country and venue, so check the official APT rules for your nationality before booking.

Major Tournaments at the APT

APT Main Event

The flagship tournament of every festival. Regular stops use buy-ins of around KRW 2.3–2.5 million (~USD 1,600–1,700) with multi-million-dollar prize pools, usually played over multiple starting flights.

APT Championship Main Event

The season’s biggest prize. In 2026 it’s a USD 10,000 freezeout with a USD 5,000,000 guarantee, comparable in buy-in to the WSOP Main Event.

National Cup

Lower-cost tournaments (around USD 500 at the Championship) aimed at local and recreational players. National Cup events usually draw large fields, which makes them a perfect starting point for newcomers.

Mini Main Event

A smaller-buy-in version of the Main Event. At Incheon 2026 it drew a record 1,427 entries and a prize pool of over KRW 1 billion (~USD 770,000).

Mystery Bounty

Every elimination earns a mystery prize envelope, which can contain a big surprise. These events are hugely popular with recreational players.

High Roller, Super High Roller & Superstar

For experienced players with bigger bankrolls: USD 15,000, USD 25,000 and USD 50,000 buy-ins at the 2026 Championship.

APT Buy-ins and Prize Pools

Note: Prize pools in Korea are paid in KRW, and in Taiwan in TWD. USD figures are estimates and change with exchange rates. Buy-ins, guarantees and payouts vary from festival to festival, so check the official schedule for each event.

APT Champions and Records

Recent APT Jeju Main Event champions:

• 2026: Jianfeng Sun (China), 1,375 entries
• 2025: Abraham Ceesvin, KRW 649,835,200, 1,693 entries
• 2024: Xixiang Luo (China), 1,089 entries

APT Tournament Formats

• Freezeout: one entry only. The 2026 Championship Main Event uses this format.
• Re-entry / multi-flight: most regular Main Events run several starting flights, and players may re-enter in later flights if they bust.
• Mystery Bounty: knockout prizes in sealed envelopes, plus a regular prize pool.
• Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO): most festivals mix in Omaha tournaments for players who want a break from Hold’em.
• High Roller formats: smaller, tougher fields with large buy-ins.

How to Enter an APT Tournament

1. Check the official schedule on the Asian Poker Tour website for event dates, buy-ins and registration times.
2. Confirm your eligibility. Age and entry rules depend on the host country and venue. Bring a valid passport.
3. Register at the venue’s tournament desk, or through any official pre-registration the APT offers for that festival.
4. Plan your flight day. Multi-flight events let you choose your starting day, so pick one that fits your travel.
5. Bring your bankroll in the right currency. Korean stops use KRW and Taiwan uses TWD.

How to Qualify for APT Events

• Satellites: smaller tournaments at the festival award seats into bigger events.
• Seats from earlier stops: APT festivals have offered APT Championship Main Event seats as prizes. In 2026, seats were up for grabs at APT Taipei, and in 2025, seven seats were awarded at APT Incheon.
• Partner qualifiers: the tour works with sponsors and partners (Natural8 sponsored the 2026 season opener). Check official APT channels for confirmed qualifier routes. Only use legitimate, licensed platforms available in your country.

APT vs WSOP vs WPT

Learn more about the other tours:

• World Series of Poker (WSOP)
• WSOP Main Event 2026
• World Poker Tour (WPT)
• Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT). Note: the APPT and the APT are different tours.

Tips for Playing APT Tournaments

• Expect big fields. With 1,300–2,300+ entries, survival matters early. Avoid risky flips in the first levels.
• Understand ICM near the bubble. Big fields mean long bubbles and big pay jumps. Read our ICM guide.
• Exploit recreational players. Large festivals attract many casual players. See our guide to recognizing weak poker players.
• Manage your bankroll. Include travel, hotel and currency costs, not just the buy-in.
• Play side events. National Cups and Mini Main Events offer good value with smaller buy-ins.
• Rest between flights. Festivals are long, and fatigue causes costly mistakes.

FAQs