Over ten action-packed days at Paradise City Casino, 12,077 entries were logged across 87 trophy events, creating a massive KRW 15.13 billion ($10.86M) in prize money. Champions walked away with KRW 3.35 billion ($2.4M) in first-place prizes alone, with the fields packed with elite crushers, up and comers, and those taking part at the tables for the first time.
Highlights came thick and fast at the festival, including the largest-ever Korean-based Main Event, a storybook win for an amateur, and one woman player making APT history.
Junjie He Wins APT Incheon Main Event
Junjie He
Junjie He captured the biggest Korean-based Main Event in APT history. The ₩2,500,000 APT Main Event – ₩1.5 Billion GTD ran from August 3–9, 2025, attracting 1,281 entries, from 754 unique players.
He came to the nine-handed final table as the clear chip leader and never let go of the top spot, knocking out two players on his way to the title.
After a three-way ICM deal with Kouki Okumiya and Kuroda Kiyoto, He closed it out against Okumiya to secure the 24K Gold Lion trophy, ₩380,520,000 ($275,140), and a ₩13,930,000 ($10,000) seat to the upcoming APT Championship Main Event.
The field generated a ₩2,725,170,000 ($1,970,477) cash prize pool, plus ₩41,490,000 ($30,000) in APT Championship Main Event seats for the top three finishers, bringing the total prize pool to ₩2,766,660,000 (~$1,986,332).
According to the APT, Japan topped the entry list with 484 players (37.8% of the field), followed by China’s 299 (23.3%). Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan completed the top five, with players from 27 countries taking part.
APT Incheon Final Table Results
Place
Player
Prize (KRW)
Prize (~USD)
1
Junjie He*
361,960,000**
$259,842
2
Kouki Okumiya*
329,340,000**
$236,425
3
Kuroda Kiyoto*
279,840,000**
$200,890
4
Thanisorn Saelor
146,890,000
$105,449
5
Anusorn Asiralertsiri
114,180,000
$81,967
6
Naoki Ota
85,380,000
$61,292
7
Mingyang Na
65,210,000
$46,813
8
Bin Li
46,330,000
$33,259
9
Daniel Lee
35,750,000
$25,664
*Indicates three-way deal
**includes ticket to APT Championship Main Event worth KRW 13,930,000 (USD 10,000)
Conversion: KRW 1,393 = ~$1
Lee & Foo Reel in $200K+ Scores
Calvin Lee
Two of the biggest single payouts of the festival came from the high roller scene.
In the ₩35,000,000 Superstar Challenge, US pro Calvin Lee emerged on top of a 24-entry field to take home ₩328,300,000 (~$235,678). Lee defeated Jun Obara heads-up, with Sweden’s Mikael Andersson rounding out the podium.
₩35,000,000 Superstar Challenge Payouts
Place
Player
Prize
Prize (~USD)
1
Calvin Lee
328,300,000
$235,678
2
Jun Obara
218,870,000
$157,121
3
Mikael Andersson
140,700,000
$101,005
4
Thanisorn Saelor
93,800,000
$67,337
Michael Foo
The ₩15,000,000 APT Super High Roller – ₩500,000,000 GTD also produced a headline-making result, as Michael Foo outlasted 89 entries to claim ₩319,292,500 ($229,212) along with a ₩13,930,000 ($10,000) seat to the upcoming APT Championship Main Event.
Chan Je Min Jeremy finished runner-up for ₩223,790,000 ($160,653), while Eng Soon Ewe collected ₩147,780,000 ($106,088) in third.
₩15,000,000 APT Super High Roller Payouts
Place
Player
Prize
Prize (~USD)
1
Michael Foo
319,292,500*
$229,212
2
Chan Je Min Jeremy
223,790,000
$160,653
3
Eng Soon Ewe
147,780,000
$106,088
4
Hirokazu Kobayashi
116,150,000
$83,381
5
Takashi Kawauchi
93,650,000
$67,229
6
Ryuta Nakai
72,980,000
$52,391
7
Nang Quang Nguyen
57,770,000
$41,472
8
Jieming Xu
45,000,000
$32,304
*includes APTC Main Event seat
Amateur's First Cash is For $92.5K
Yuji Moriya
The ₩10,000,000 Baby Superstar Challenge delivered one of the feel-good stories of the series as Yuji Moriya claimed his first APT title in what was also his first-ever recorded live tournament cash. Moriya opened his live poker résumé by outlasting a 39-entry field of high rollers to pocket ₩128,832,000 (~$93,167).
Thanawat Nand pushed him all the way in a hard-fought heads-up match before settling for the runner-up prize of ₩88,790,000 ($64,194). Poseidon Ho, with more than $1.5 million in live earnings, took third for ₩56,580,000 ($40,934) and remains on the hunt for his first recorded live title.
Place
Player
Prize
Prize (USD)
1
Yuji Moriya
128,832,000
$92,485
2
Thanawat Nand
88,790,000
$63,740
3
Poseidon Ho
56,580,000
$40,617
4
Kannapong Thanarattrakul
40,910,000
$29,368
5
Bayar Saran
33,080,000
$23,747
Oike Takes Down Women's Main Event; Three Titles for Sun
Emi Oike
APT Incheon 2025’s women’s schedule featured eight tournaments that drew a combined 447 entries and generated ₩190,814,701 (around $137,053 USD) in prize money.
The ₩700,000 Women’s Main Event was the most attended, attracting 76 players for a ₩43,891,277 ($31,508) prize pool. Emi Oike came out on top, banking ₩12,061,277 ($8,658).
The biggest single payout of the women’s series went to Yue Sun, who earned ₩17,266,000 ($12,395) by winning the ₩1,500,000 NLHE Women’s Event. Sun dominated the schedule with three titles, also winning the ₩600,000 NLHE Women’s Event for ₩5,691,562 ($4,086) and the ₩300,000 Women’s Hyper Turbo for ₩3,860,979 ($2,772). Across her victories, Sun collected ₩26,818,541 (around $19,253 USD).
Other women’s champions included Mizuki Akiyama, Hayashi Saki, Yujie Xie, and Hazuki Takenaka.
Beyond the dedicated women’s schedule, four more female players triumphed in open events. Nohad Teliani won the ₩3,000,000 PLO High Roller after a heads-up deal with two-time series champion Renji Mao, earning ₩20,000,000 ($14,358).
Sin Yee Tsang took down the ₩1,500,000 Open Face Chinese Heads-Up for ₩13,478,400 ($9,676), while Rio Takada captured the ₩1,000,000 NLHE Bounty title, defeating a 200-entry field for ₩26,000,000 ($18,665).
Kana Morita reigned supreme in the penultimate event of series, claiming the trophy in ₩400,000 Double Stack - Turbo for ₩12,514,300 ($8,984).
Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game.
Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).
