Joseph Cheong Shines with High Roller Win at 2025 Korea Poker Cup
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The Korea Poker Cup has wrapped up with twenty-six champions crowned at the Landing Casino on the stunning Jeju Island in South Korea. The ₩1.36 billion (approx. $1 million) guaranteed series ran from June 17–23 and once again delivered big, drawing thousands of players to South Korea for one of the fastest-growing events on the international poker calendar.
Among the standout moments, Taiwan’s Lin Chung-Tang captured his first Main Event title, beating a record-breaking field that smashed the guarantee. Korean-American WSOP bracelet winner and former Main Event finalist Joseph Cheong added another big score to his honor roll by taking down the Single Day High Roller.
Ouyang Jiali of China also confirmed her Super High Roller credentials with another dominant performance, while Wang Yanfeng secured the prestigious Jeju Cup Championship.
This year’s Korea Poker Cup also marked a major milestone with the debut of the KPC Venus Event, the series' first-ever ladies' event, which proved an instant success and provided a world-class stage for female players in East Asia.
Scroll down for highlights and the full list of 2025 KPC champions.
Taiwan's Lin Chung-Tang Wins Maiden Main Event Title
History was made at the Korea Poker Cup last week as Lin Chung-Tang outlasted a record-breaking field of 1,432 entries to win ₩183,990,000 (~$132,527) and the KPC Main Event following a post-ICM deal.
The victory marked the first KPC Main Event title for the Taiwanese standout, who triumphed over Huang Cheng in a grueling heads-up battle that stretched nearly eight hours.
The victory was one of the greatest of Chung-Tang's career, marking his first ever KPC title in what was the week's showpiece event.
Two of Asia’s strongest poker communities took center stage at the final table, with all nine seats filled exclusively by players from China and Taiwan. Check out the full final table results below:
Event #5: KPC Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (KRW) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lin Chung-Tang | Taiwan | ₩183,990,000 | $132,500 |
| 2 | Huang Cheng | China | ₩209,910,000 | $151,200 |
| 3 | Sung Chen-Yu | Taiwan | ₩116,000,000 | $83,500 |
| 4 | Zhang Zhiqiang | China | ₩81,000,000 | $58,300 |
| 5 | Ji Xiaqing | China | ₩60,000,000 | $43,200 |
| 6 | Hao Jiajin | China | ₩42,000,000 | $30,200 |
| 7 | Cao Yifan | China | ₩31,200,000 | $22,400 |
| 8 | Xie Shanghao | China | ₩23,000,000 | $16,500 |
| 9 | Kong Qingtao | China | ₩18,250,000 | $13,100 |
Joseph Cheong Shows Class With Single-Day High Roller Win
Poker royalty Joseph "subiime" Cheong showed his class once again, as the American player added to over $19m of career live earnings with victory in the Single Day High Roller after a three hour heads-up duel.
The 52-entry field would generate a prize pool of over ₩125m (~$90k), with the 2019 WSOP $1,000 Double Stack No-Limit Hold'em bracelet winner taking home the lion's share of the spoils, for a first prize of ₩37,240,000 (~$26,800).
Cheong, whose career highlight includes a third-place finish in the 2010 WSOP Main Event, secured his first tournament win in some time. The Phenom Poker ambassador took to X to describe the victory as a “good warm-up for Vegas” after the event.
The only American at the final table, the rest of the final nine were made up of crushers from China and Hong Kong. View the full results and payouts below:
Event #3: Single Day High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (KRW) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joseph Cheong | United States | ₩37,240,000 | $26,800 |
| 2 | William Li | China | ₩24,900,000 | $17,900 |
| 3 | Luo Jianming | China | ₩16,700,000 | $12,000 |
| 4 | Yu Hin Ng | Hong Kong | ₩12,000,000 | $8,600 |
| 5 | Lei Li | China | ₩9,200,000 | $6,600 |
| 6 | Mingzhi Zheng | China | ₩7,700,000 | $5,500 |
| 7 | Gao Luo | China | ₩6,700,000 | $4,800 |
| 8 | Po Lam Lun | Hong Kong | ₩6,000,000 | $4,300 |
| 9 | Yunchao Yu | China | ₩5,500,000 | $4,000 |
Ouyang Jiali is Super High Roller Queen
Elsewhere, Ouyang Jiali of China found yet more success in High Roller events, after she won the $10,000 Super High Roller to win a huge $106,100 first prize after defeating Hong Kong's Pang Chi Yan heads-up.
It was not the first Super High Roller victory on the shores of Jeju Island for the Chinese player, after previously capturing the WPT Korea Super High Roller crown in March 2024.
Jiali would outlast the field in the 26-runner event in the single-day event and claim one of four payouts, in one of the highest buy-in events of the Korea Poker Cup week.
Event #12: Single Day Super High Roller Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (KRW) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ouyang Jiali | China | ₩106,100,000 | $76,400 |
| 2 | Pang Chi Yan | Hong Kong | ₩58,900,000 | $42,400 |
| 3 | Zhu Haobao | China | ₩42,400,000 | $30,500 |
| 4 | Ryan Mingho Yum | United States | ₩28,300,000 | $20,400 |
| 5 | Gao Menghan | China | — | — |
| 6 | Wee Kiang Kenneth Kee | Singapore | — | — |
| 7 | Sun Yaqi | China | — | — |
| 8 | Lin Alp | Hong Kong | — | — |
| 9 | Tan Xuan | Vanuatu | — | — |
Prestigious Jeju Cup Claimed By Wang Yanfeng
Wang Yanfeng claimed the ₩1m buy-in Jeju Cup Championship, after the Chinese player defeated Malaysian contender Leong Jung heads-up to claim the top prize.
Yanfeng, a familiar face at international stops ranging from the WSOP to EPT Barcelona, claimed the trophy along with ₩78,150,000 (~$57,000).
Elsewhere at the final table was 2015 WSOP Main Event final tablist Federico Butteroni, who claimed 9th place at an international final table that also saw representatives from Taiwan, Vietnam, and Hong Kong alongside the Italian.
You can view the full final table results with payouts below:
Event #22: Jeju Cup Championship Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (KRW) | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wang Yanfeng | China | ₩78,150,000 | $57,600 |
| 2 | Leong Juns | Malaysia | ₩52,000,000 | $38,400 |
| 3 | Cheng Chao Ting | Taiwan | ₩36,000,000 | $26,500 |
| 4 | He Junjie | China | ₩26,000,000 | $19,200 |
| 5 | Nguyen Trung Quan | Vietnam | ₩20,000,000 | $14,700 |
| 6 | Kan Nok Yee | Hong Kong | ₩15,000,000 | $11,000 |
| 7 | Li Ping | China | ₩11,000,000 | $8,100 |
| 8 | Qiao Junsheng | China | ₩7,880,000 | $5,800 |
| 9 | Federico Butteroni | Italy | ₩5,350,000 | $3,950 |
Full Korea Poker Cup Series Results
You can find a full list of champions from June 2025's edition of the Korea Poker Cup below:
*Please note Event 24: Super High Roller Short Deck – Ante Only was cancelled.
