Shuanghong Zhu Wins the Red Dragon Plus Championship at the 2026 Jeju Poker Festival

China’s Shuanghong Zhu won the Red Dragon Plus Championship, the last major title of the 2026 Jeju Poker Festival. Zhu and runner-up Wenjie Sun made a heads-up deal to settle the KRW 4,000,000 ($3,000) event. Sun took the bigger share of the money, but Zhu won the title.

A big turnout that fell short of the guarantee

The Red Dragon Plus Championship drew 407 entries at Les A Casino in Jeju. That’s a strong field, but it wasn’t enough to cover the KRW 1,800,000,000 (about $1,339,017) guarantee. At KRW 4,000,000 a seat, 407 entries brought in about KRW 1.63 billion, so the organizers had to cover the gap. That was good news for the players, who split a bigger prize pool than the entries alone paid for.

Players from China dominated the final table, taking eight of the nine seats. Japan’s Takashi Yagura finished sixth. American pro Joseph Cheong was the only player from outside Asia to make the final table, and he went out in ninth place for KRW 24,100,000 ($17,928).

Heads-up deal decides the title

When play got down to two, Zhu and Sun agreed to split the remaining prize money. Sun took KRW 305,283,000 (227,099)andZhutookKRW283,017,000(210,536) plus the trophy. Junqing Ge finished third for KRW 158,950,000 ($118,243).

Red Dragon Plus Championship final table payouts

1st: Shuanghong Zhu (China), KRW 283,017,000 ($210,536)
2nd: Wenjie Sun (China), KRW 305,283,000 ($227,099)
3rd: Junqing Ge (China), KRW 158,950,000 ($118,243)
4th: Weiyang Zhou (China), KRW 109,600,000 ($81,531)
5th: Yichen Wu (China), KRW 77,400,000 ($57,578)
6th: Takashi Yagura (Japan), KRW 55,800,000 ($41,510)
7th: Xugang Zhang (China), KRW 41,200,000 ($30,649)
8th: Qian Liu (China), KRW 31,150,000 ($23,172)
9th: Joseph Cheong (USA), KRW 24,100,000 ($17,928)

Buy-in: KRW 4,000,000 ($3,000)
Entries: 407
Guarantee: KRW 1,800,000,000 ($1,339,017)

Florian Duta takes the $12,000 Super High Roller

The other title on the final day went to Florian Duta. He won the $12,000 Red Dragon Prestige Super High Roller, which drew 20 entries and paid three places from a $222,260 prize pool.

1st: Florian Duta, $104,760
2nd: Calvin Lee, $69,800
3rd: Ranno Sootla, $47,700

The 2026 Jeju Poker Festival at a glance

The festival was run by the Red Dragon Poker Tour (RDPT) and KPC Poker at Les A Casino in Jeju, South Korea, from October 28 to November 11, 2026. The schedule had 140 events, including satellites, so there was something for most bankrolls. Buy-ins started at KRW 300,000 (225),wentuptoKRW8,000,000(5,950), and topped out with $8,000 and $12,000 high rollers.

The Red Dragon Plus Championship drew 407 entries for its $3,000 buy-in, which shows how much demand there is for mid-stakes events in Asia. Jeju is now one of the region’s main stops for poker players, and the turnout puts it in a good position for next year’s festival.

Final word

Zhu leaves Jeju with the Red Dragon Plus trophy and more than $210,000, while Sun took home the biggest payout of the event. With 140 events, two high rollers, and a championship field of more than 400, the 2026 Jeju Poker Festival showed that the Asian poker circuit is still growing.

FAQs