2025 APT Jeju Smashes Records In Korea With ₩3.76 Billion Main Event Prize Pool

Another festival, another record breaker. That has become the theme for powerhouse brand Asian Poker Tour since the dawn of its new era. Less than two months after setting a new Korea benchmark of 1,281 entries in Incheon, that figure is already yesterday’s news. The ongoing 2025 APT Jeju has completely blown it out of the water, drawing a thunderous 1,693 entries (905 unique) for its Main Event.

New Korea Record Set At 2025 APT Jeju 

Ongoing at LES A Casino in Jeju Shinhwa World Resort, the 2025 APT Jeju kicked off on September 26 and runs until October 5. The KR₩ 2.6 Million buy-in Main Event opened on September 28 with four entry flights leading up to Day 2 where a final level of late registration allowed one last chance to join. The total field also included qualifiers from Natural8 OnLive, further fueling the record-breaking turnout. 

Main Event – Turnout Breakdown

With the Day 1 structure concluding at Level 10, a total of 516 players advanced from the live flights. By the time the bubble burst in Day 2, 247 players were guaranteed a share of the KR₩ 3,761,155,200 prize pool, equivalent to over US$ 2.66 Milllion. This is officially the fourth largest APT prize pool ever amassed, just behind 2025 APT Taipei (~US$ 3.7M), APT Hanoi Billions (~US$ 3M), and 2024 APT Taipei Classic (~US$ 2.72M). 

The rise of these numbers in Jeju can be attributed to several factors that include: 

• APT’s growing reputation as the top brand in the region
• The deep Main Event structure is revered as one of the best in the world
• Jeju as the preferred hub for Chinese poker players looking to compete internationally 
• Massive first prize payouts
• High quality livestream and commentary

Adding to its accomplishments, the APT Main Event now has a firm foothold in Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam, setting attendance and prize pool benchmarks for other brands to chase. 

Top Prize Continues To Rise

Of course, record fields also mean record payouts. For the ongoing 2025 APT Jeju Main Event, the eventual champion is guaranteed to collect a jaw-dropping payout of KR₩ 649,835,200 (~US$ 460.8K), that’s 250 times the buy-in of KR₩ 2.6 Million! This is the second largest first prize payout in APT history and it shall be claimed in just a few days. 

2025 APT Jeju – Prize pool and Payouts

Top 3 APT Main Event First Prize Payouts

The event is currently at the Day 4 stage where Chinese players dominate in numbers with 23 nationals out of the 48 remaining players, led by Peng Zhou who carries in the largest stack overall. The Taiwanese are much fewer in numbers however they have several big names in the lineup: Poseidon Ho, Yu Hsiang Huang, and Chao Ting Cheng. Also in the mix from other parts of the globe are highly accomplished players: Thanisorn Saelor, Yita Choong, Joshua McCully, Hao Lin, Erik Rozhynskyi, Ceesvin Abraham, and WSOP bracelet holders Roman Hrabec and Georgios Skarparis. 

Be sure to follow the action via the APT Live Reports.