Asia Pacific Poker Tour

Last Updated on October 8, 2026 by Bala Kumar

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour just had the biggest Main Event in its 19-year history. In August 2026, Filipino amateur Mike Takayama beat 1,413 entries at Okada Manila for PHP 15.53 million. The first APPT event, in Manila in 2007, drew 255 players.

The APPT is PokerStars’ live poker tour for Asia and Oceania. It brings players from Manila, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo and Shanghai to the same tables. This guide covers the APPT schedule for 2026, the latest APPT results, the complete APPT winners list for the modern era, tour records, buy-ins, and how to qualify for an APPT Main Event without paying the full price.

What Is the Asia Pacific Poker Tour?

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour is a series of live poker festivals run by PokerStars across the Asia-Pacific region. It is a circuit, not a single tournament. Each stop is a festival of one to two weeks with dozens of side events, several high rollers, and one headline Main Event that awards the APPT Shard Trophy.

The APPT launched in 2007 as PokerStars’ first branded international tour. American Brett Parise won the first event, at the Hyatt Manila in August 2007, for $179,775.

Its history falls into three chapters:

• 2007–2016, the expansion years: stops in Manila, Seoul, Macau, Sydney, Auckland, Cebu, Melbourne and Queenstown. The 2007 Macau stop was the first poker tournament ever held in Macau.
• 2017, the break: PokerStars’ then-owner, The Stars Group, dropped the APPT, the EPT and the LAPT. Players pushed back strongly, and all three tours returned in 2018.
• 2018–today, the modern APPT: after the COVID gap, the tour rebuilt itself around the Philippines, with Cambodia, Taiwan and now Korea added around it.

PokerStars is now part of Flutter Entertainment. The APPT’s main partner venue is Okada Manila, which hosts two APPT stops each year.

APPT at a Glance

Asia Pacific Poker Tour Schedule 2026

PokerStars confirmed three APPT festivals for 2026. Cambodia hosted an APPT every year from 2022 to 2025, but it is not on the 2026 schedule.

USD figures are approximate, using the exchange rates in each festival’s own payout reports.

Upcoming APPT Events

The APPT Championship starts today, October 8, at Okada Manila. The festival carries more than PHP 132 million in guarantees. Its Main Event has the tour’s highest Main Event buy-in of the year.

Completed APPT Events

APPT Manila and APPT Korea are finished. Their full results are below. PokerStars has not announced 2027 APPT dates yet.

APPT Results 2026: Main Event Results

APPT Manila 2026 Results

APPT Manila 2026 broke every record the stop had. The Main Event drew 1,413 entries over four starting flights, up from 1,246 in 2025. Its PHP 97.7 million prize pool beat the PHP 60 million guarantee by more than PHP 37 million, and 207 places were paid.

Takayama took the chip lead with five players left after surviving a river gutshot against Yang Yung Mao. He then beat fellow Filipino Florencio Campomanes heads-up. Campomanes, the 2019 APPT Manila champion, had come back from just 0.15 big blinds to get there. Takayama won PHP 15.53 million, the Shard Trophy and an APPT Championship package.

Other APPT Manila 2026 winners:

APPT Korea 2026 Results

APPT Korea 2026 was the tour’s first visit to South Korea since 2019, and it drew well. Across 92 events, the festival had 4,355 entries from 29 countries and about $3.07 million in prize money.

The Main Event drew 782 entries, the most of any APPT Korea Main Event. Its KRW 1.2 billion prize pool beat the KRW 1 billion guarantee. Japanese players took six of the nine final-table seats, and Hirotaka Fukatsu won KRW 218.17 million.

The Japanese presence has a simple explanation. Cash prizes for poker are still not legal in Japan, so Japan’s strongest players travel to Manila, Seoul and Taipei to play for real money. That has made them one of the most successful groups on the modern APPT.

APPT Main Event: Format, Buy-in & Prize Pool

The APPT Main Event decides each stop’s champion and awards the Shard Trophy. Formats vary between festivals, but a modern APPT Main Event typically has:

• Buy-in: about 1,300–2,700. APPT Manila and APPT Korea sit at the lower end, the APPT Championship at the top.
• Starting flights: several Day 1 flights, so players can pick a day. Manila 2026 had four.
• Re-entry: usually allowed within limits that change by festival.
• Paid places: roughly 13–15% of the field. Manila 2026 paid 207 of 1,413, and Korea paid 111 of 782.
• Prize pool: almost always above the guarantee in the modern era. Manila 2026 beat its guarantee by about 63%.
• Length: usually four to five days from the first flight to the winner.

Starting stacks, level lengths and late-registration cut-offs are in each festival’s structure sheet on PokerStars Live. These change between stops, so check the current sheet before you plan.

APPT Winners List: Main Event Champions (2018–2026)

The APPT has run more than 70 Main Events since 2007. The 2007–2016 champions can go on a separate “APPT Winners List 2007–2016” page linked from here.

APPT Records & Statistics

These are the numbers that show how the Asia Pacific Poker Tour has grown.

*The Aussie Millions Main Event ran as an APPT-affiliated event from 2014 to 2016.
**Our count from the published list of Main Event winners. Australia’s titles came mostly from 2007–2016, when Sydney and Melbourne were on the tour. China is second with about a dozen.

What the numbers tell you: the APPT’s money has moved from Australia to the Philippines. Sydney paid A$1 million first prizes in 2007–2008 from fields of about 500. Today Manila draws nearly three times as many players at a much lower buy-in. The modern APPT has bigger fields and smaller individual payouts than in its Sydney days.

Asia Pacific Poker Tour History

The Early Years (2007–2010)

Season one moved quickly: Manila in August 2007, then Seoul, Macau and Sydney within six months. Sydney was the headline stop. Its A6,000MainEventdrew561entriesin2007andpaidGrantLevyA1 million. Macau grew quickly too, from 352 entries in 2007 to 538 in 2008, then the largest tournament ever held in Asia.

Growth Across Asia-Pacific (2011–2016)

Melbourne and Queenstown were added. The APPT also ran Main Events inside bigger brands such as the Aussie Millions, the Macau Poker Cup and the Beijing Millions. The APPT ran the first government-sanctioned real-money hold’em tournaments in South Korea and mainland China.

The Break and Return (2017–2020)

The Stars Group stopped the APPT for 2017 and folded it into the PokerStars Championship brand. The change lasted only a year. The APPT came back in March 2018 at City of Dreams, Macau. Korea and Jeju joined in 2018–2019, and APPT Manila 2018 set an attendance record that stood until 2026.

The Modern APPT (2022–Today)

COVID cancelled most of 2020 and all of 2021. The tour returned in 2022 focused on fewer stops. Manila became its base, with a second Manila stop, the APPT Championship, added from 2024. Cambodia filled the spring slot for four years, until Korea returned in 2026.

APPT Tournament Locations

APPT Philippines (Manila & Cebu)

The Philippines is the APPT’s home. APPT Manila has run since 2007, and Cebu hosted from 2009 to 2013. Both 2026 Philippine stops are at Okada Manila: APPT Manila at Cove Manila in summer, and the APPT Championship at the Coral Lounge in autumn. Philippine Main Events regularly draw the tour’s biggest fields, usually more than 1,200 entries.

APPT Korea (Seoul, Incheon & Jeju)

APPT Seoul ran regularly from 2007 to 2016, and Incheon and Jeju hosted in 2018–2019. The tour came back in 2026 at Paradise City, Incheon, near Incheon Airport. Most Korean casinos admit only foreign passport holders, so Korean nationals should check eligibility before entering.

APPT Macau

Macau was a core stop from 2007 to 2018, including PokerStars LIVE at City of Dreams. There has been no APPT Macau since 2018, and none is announced.

APPT Cambodia

NagaWorld in Phnom Penh hosted an APPT every year from 2022 to 2025. The 2025 Main Event had a $1 million guarantee. Cambodia is not on the 2026 schedule.

Other Asia-Pacific Stops

Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Auckland and Queenstown in New Zealand, and Taipei in Taiwan (2020) have all hosted APPT Main Events. None is on the current schedule.

How to Qualify for APPT (Entry & Satellites)

Direct entry

1. Buy in directly: register at the festival cage or through PokerStars Live pre-registration.
2. Bring your passport: casinos in the region require it to register.
3. Check the age limit: it is 21 in the Philippines. Treat 21 as the safe minimum at other stops.
4. Note late registration: it usually closes on the last Day 1 or at the start of Day 2.

APPT satellites & online qualifiers

Most players who travel to an APPT event don’t pay the full buy-in. The main routes are:

• Power Path: PokerStars’ tiered online satellite system. It starts with very cheap qualifiers and leads to Main Event packages.
• Silver Passes: $2,500 in tournament credit, usable for APPT Main Events and other eligible PokerStars Live events.
• Live satellites: run at the venue before the Main Event. APPT Manila 2026 had a full qualifier week, July 20–27.
• Winner’s packages: the APPT Manila 2026 champion also got an APPT Championship package.

PokerStars isn’t licensed in every Asian country, so online qualifiers may not be available where you live. Live satellites at the venue are the backup option.

APPT Tournament Buy-ins & Prize Pools (2026)

Practical tip: if the Main Event is above your bankroll, the APPT National and Red Dragon draw nearly 600 players at a fraction of the buy-in. Their first prizes in 2026 were PHP 2.5–4.5 million.

APPT vs Other Asia-Pacific Poker Tournaments

The APPT and the APT both ran events at Paradise City in 2026: the APT in August and the APPT in September. The choice between them mostly comes down to where you play online. PokerStars players qualify for the APPT; GGPoker and Natural8 players qualify for the APT.

APPT and PokerStars

Is the APPT owned by PokerStars? Yes. The APPT is a PokerStars-branded tour, and PokerStars is part of Flutter Entertainment. Venues such as Okada Manila are host partners.

Can PokerStars players qualify online? Yes, through Power Path satellites and Silver Passes where PokerStars is licensed.

Is the APPT the same as the EPT? No. The EPT is PokerStars’ European tour, the NAPT covers North America, and the APPT covers Asia-Pacific. All three award the same Shard Trophy design.

Biggest APPT Moments

• 2007, Macau: the first poker tournament ever held in Macau, which went on to become a regional poker hub.
• 2017: PokerStars shuts the tour down, then reverses the decision within a year after players push back.
• 2019 and 2026: Florencio Campomanes wins APPT Manila, then returns seven years later and finishes runner-up after coming back from 0.15 big blinds.
• 2026, Manila: local player Mike Takayama wins the largest regular APPT Main Event ever.
• 2026, Korea: Japanese players fill six of nine final-table seats on the tour’s return to Korea.

Why the Asia Pacific Poker Tour Matters

Live poker in Asia grows unevenly. Whether it exists in a country depends on whether casinos are allowed, who may enter them, and whether cash prizes are legal. The APPT has worked within those limits for nearly two decades. It has given players from markets without a real-money poker scene, such as Japan and mainland China, a regular place to compete.

The APPT also connects online and live play. A PokerStars player can qualify for a few dollars and end up at a final table with players from five countries. That route keeps APPT fields large and international. Together with the APT, JOPT and WPT’s Asian stops, it is one of the main ways Asian players build a live tournament record.

Upcoming APPT Events

FAQs