Ace Poker League concludes massive City Series-Seoul event; pays out over $1.1M; Park Kangkeun banks Main Event; festival highlights inside

While nearly every land-based poker outfit was grounded during the pandemic, Ace Poker League, formerly known as Asia Poker League, was busy turning up the heat in Korea. With live games allowed to run, albeit on and off, the brand delivered numerous lucrative events featuring prize pools irresistible to the gathering masses. A few days ago, another high octane festival wrapped up with the APL 2022 City Series – Seoul packing The K-Hotel from October 7 to 11. In the aftermath, it awarded ten champions and paid out well over a million US dollars. Here are the highlights.

Festival review

Festival prize pool: KR₩ 1,636,000,000 (~US$ 1,141,260)
Events: 10
Main Event entries: 1,250
Main Event prize pool: KR₩ 1,000,000,000 (~US$ 697,590)
Multiple final tables: Hwang Jaeyeol (2) and Han Sangjin (2)

PARK KANGKEUN wins the Main Event for KR₩ 200,000,000 (~US$ 139,515)

On the last weekend of August, the APL 2022 City Series kicked off its six weekend tour to give players a chance to qualify into Day 2 of the Main Event. On October 7, the games officially opened at The K-Hotel with two Day 1 starters scheduled. A mix of locals and international players lined up for a seat but with the 1,250 entry cap quickly reached, this left many disappointed and missing out on the hefty KR₩ 1,000,000,000 (~US$ 697,590) prize pool.

After two days of eliminations, local player Park Kangkeun emerged victorious for his first known live career poker takedown. Park overcame seasoned pro Tae Hoon Han to capture the trophy and the KR₩ 200,000,000 (~US$ 139,515) first prize. He also earned the title of biggest earner. This was Park’s second ever tracked cash having first ran deep in late-July at the WFP Main Event in Korea, finishing 4th for KR₩ 55,000,000. As for runner up Han, he still walked away with a decent purse of KR₩ 130,000,000 (~US$ 90,690).

Top ten payouts

Super High Roller: JIMMY CHA – KR₩ 42,000,000 (~US$ 29,300)

Since March, Korean-American Jimmy Cha has been picking up numerous cashes on the live Korean felt and over the weekend, he was awarded the Super High Roller win after a heads up deal with Jung Yoonsu. Out of the KR₩ 170,000,000 guaranteed prize pool, Cha pocketed the larger KR₩ 42,000,000 (~US$ 29,300) and 2nd placer Yoonsu collected a slightly less KR₩ 40,000,000 (~US$ 27,900).

*Heads up deal

Queens Event fills up all 75 seats with no re-entries; KIM JUYEON wins

Ladies events are always a challenge for organizers as they tend to see light turnouts however not the case at the APL 2022 City Series – Seoul. At the Queens Event, the ambitious 75 max entry was quickly claimed without needing any re-entries. Player Kim Juyeon won the lion’s share of KR₩ 18,000,000, walking way with a cool KR₩ 5,300,000 (~US$ 3,700).

Super Stack: CHI JEN CHEN – KR₩ 17,050,000 (~US$ 11,890)

Taiwanese player Chi Jen Chen is not just winning titles on home soil, he also landed one at the Super Stack event in Seoul after a three way deal. The event generated one of the largest crowds of the series with 30 players earning a piece of the KR₩ 120,000,000 (~US$ 83,710) prize pool. The largest chunk went to Sumin Jang (KR₩ 21,300,000) followed by Yang Jiho (KR₩ 18,100,000) and champion Chen who took home KR₩ 17,050,000 and the trophy.

Other Events:

• Mystery Bounty – KR₩ 54,000,000 gtd – KIM WOOJIN – KR₩ 8,630,000 (~US$ 6,020)
  
• Pot Limit Omaha – KR₩ 20,000,000 gtd – RON TSE – KR₩ 6,600,000 (~US$ 4,600)
• Teams Event – KR₩ 44,000,000 gtd – APL DEALER TEAM – KR₩ 8,000,000 (~US$ 5,580)
• NLH Turbo – KR₩ 25,000,000 gtd – KWAK JUN HO – KR₩ 6,300,000 (~US$ 4,395)
• The End Game – KR₩ 45,000,000 gtd – DUYEON JEONG – KR₩ 8,000,000 (~US$ 5,580)
• Charity Event – KR₩ 44,000,000 gtd – WONGOOK CHOI – KR₩ 12,000,000 (~US$ 8,370)

*KR₩ 5,000,000 donated to charity

*All images courtesy of APL