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One year ago, the mid-stakes operator RunGood Poker Series made a huge expansion step and teamed up with the Japan Open Poker Tour (JOPT) to host their first-ever live event outside of the United States. The partnership was very successful as the 2025 RGPS Mission RunGood Japan attracted a huge field of 1,585 entries for a buy-in of ¥25,000 (~$175) and it comes as no surprise that both will repeat the endeavour in the heart of Japan's capital.
On April 24, 2026, the JOPT Grand Final kicked off at Belle Salle Takadanobaba near the bustling Shinjuku and it set to become the largest festival with dozens of tournaments geared towards recreational poker enthusiasts. Also part of the schedule is NLH Colossus Sponsored by RunGood Passport, the official event name of the 2026 RGPS Mission RunGood Japan and the first of six starting flights is scheduled to commence at 3 p.m. local time today.
For the second edition in as many years, the buy-in has been lowered to ¥15,000 (~$95) while the 30-minute level structure with a starting stack of 30,000 chips has been maintained. There are six different flights available spread across four days of which five feature the regular level structure.
Each Day 1 heat is slated to finish upon completion of level 13. The final turbo heat starts with level four and concludes only a few minutes prior to the final day, which is slated to play down all the way to a winner.
According to the current Japanese regulations for live poker, the prize pool and payout information has to be submitted for approval prior to the start of the event already and it equals $89,159.06 with the top 199 spots paid.
In the inaugural tournament one year ago, none other than Jun "Misawa" Obara was the one to claim the trophy and the seasoned local poker pro has since found tremendous success at the 2025 World Series of Poker and the Triton Super High Roller Series, boosting his recorded live poker cashes according to The Hendon Mob to nearly $8.3 million.
2025 RGPS Mission RunGood Japan Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jun Obara | Japan | $26,053 |
| 2 | mashipi | Japan | $16,283 |
| 3 | Jiro3 | Japan | $11,387 |
| 4 | Takeshi | Japan | $8,498 |
| 5 | Ryuseiii | Japan | $6,537 |
| 6 | PINZMAN | Japan | $5,107 |
| 7 | Nakaten | Japan | $4,053 |
| 8 | SU__ | Japan | $3,268 |
| 9 | Kanasuke | Japan | $2,679 |
Obara will definitely be attending the 2026 JOPT Grand Final as he has already been confirmed for a celebrity competition alongside RunGood founder Tana Karn. Whether or not he will also jump into the 2026 RGPS Mission RunGood Japan to potentially defend his title remains to be seen. Also present at the festival will be the JOPT ambassadors Shiina Okamoto and Nana Nakamura, among others.
The winner of the tournament will receive a special custom RunGood Passport Champion Ring, while all Day 1 participants receive a collaboration wristband up to the first 2,000 registrants. All Day 2 qualifiers up to the first 250 also receive a cap and t-shirt as well.
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on the floor to provide all of the action from the early flights and the conclusion of the final day until a winner has been crowned.