Since its inception in 2008, the premium live tournament brand Asian Poker Tour has built a loyal following across Asia and has successfully become a regional powerhouse in bringing great value games. Its trusted reputation along with its competent tournament structures attract notable entry fields throughout its varying tour stops year by year. This year for one, records an astounding growth in numbers as a direct result of the brand’s change of ownership last 2022.
Shortly after the organization’s undertaking of new management under APT Events Private Limited, new goals were set in place with the focus being “regional and international expansion”. As early as January this year, APT already bookmarked what to expect from the brand moving forward. Starting with a partnership with Asia’s largest online poker room, Natural8, the deal was struck with the leading network serving to be its Title Sponsor under a five-year agreement.
“2023 is going to be a transformative year for the Asian Poker Tour and inking this deal with Natural8 is a massive step towards reaching our new era initiatives.” said APT CEO Fred Leung. “This collaboration with N8 will greatly improve our live event offerings and provide opportunities for players that didn’t previously exist.“
The major duo celebrated its newfound partnership with the brand’s debut on the online platform, bringing $10,000,000 in guaranteed prizes for its Asian Poker Tour Online (APTO) series. Aside from the sponsorship deal, a number of changes to its upcoming tours were adapted including the introduction of fresh new games, varying tournament structures, and increased buy-ins. The focus to build larger prize pools proved the change successful despite the bump in entry fees. Best evidence there is looks to be the recently concluded APT series in Taipei last May, which shattered the brand’s $1.5 million prize pool record from its 2008 APT Macau festivities.
The 2023 APT Taipei Main Event drew in a massive 1,434-entry field exceedingly enough to soar past through the initial NT$ 30,000,000 (~US$ 977,500) guarantee. With the buy-in raised to NT$ 50,000 (~US$ 1,650), the generated prize pool swelled to NT$ 62,594,100 (~US$ 2,034,185), making it the richest pot in APT history. In addition to this, the series also booked its largest APT High Roller tournament with a total of 302 entries competing for the NT$ 26,364,600 (~USD $860,930) prize pool. By the end of the 10-day festival, Thailand’s Punnat Punsri walked away with the wealthiest score of the season – NT$ 11,210,400 (~US$ 364,300) for taking down the Main Event. APT High Roller winner Phachara Wongwichit followed behind, pocketing NT$ 4,800,900 (~US$ 153,310) in winnings.
To date, APT is on its fifth live poker festival for the year, playing through its Da Nang, Vietnam leg through the 30th. The ongoing series showcases a busy lineup of 57 trophy events with a combined prize pool guarantee of VND 26 billion (~US$ 1.1 million). Unlike any other, this series sheds some light on a wide variety of games, potentially hinting on which direction the brand is heading toward.
APT Summer Series Da Nang Upcoming Key Events
APT Main Event
Buy-in: VND 35,000,000 (~US$ 1,505)
Guarantee: VND 12,000,000,000 (~US$ 500,000)
Dates: July 24-29, 2023
Flight C & D (30 minute blinds) – July 26, Wednesday
Day 2 (Reg open until start) – July 27, Thursday
Day 3 – July 28, Friday
Final Day – July 29, Saturday
Zodiac Classic Sponsored by Natural8
Date: July 27-28, 2023
Buy-in: VND 20,000,000 (~US$ 860)
Guarantee: VND 1,500,000,000 (~US$ 63,000)
Double Stack
Date: July 28-29, 2023
Buy-in: VND 14,000,000 (~US$ 600)
Guarantee: VND 2,000,000,000 (~US$ 84,000)
Mini Main Event
Date: July 29-30, 2023
Buy-in: VND 11,000,000 (~US$ 470)
Guarantee: VND 1,500,000,000 (~US$ 63,000)
APT High Roller
Date: July 29-30, 2023
Buy-in: VND 80,000,000 (~US$ 3,440)
Guarantee: VND 5,000,000,000 (~US$ 210,000)
Similarly, its following tour stop on schedule, APT Incheon, South Korea also boasts a 57-trophy event lineup comprising at least nine different poker variants and nine variations of No Limit Hold’em. Running from August 25 to September 3 at the luxurious Paradise Hotel & Casino Resort, expectations remain high with the series expected to be close to three times the size of its previous edition. A more generous KRW 3 billion (~US$ 2.3 million) in prize pool guarantees headline the festival, with the KRW 2.3 million (~US$ 1,700) buy-in Main Event and its KRW 1.3 billion (~US$ 1 million) guarantee being the biggest highlight on schedule.
https://twitter.com/AsianPokerTour/status/1680857822735790080?s=20
Visit the Asian Poker Tour website for more information.
