APPT Korea Marks a Successful Return After Seven Years Away

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) wrapped its APPT Korea 2026 festival at Paradise City Incheon in South Korea , marking the tour’s long-awaited return to the country after a seven-year absence.

Running from September 3 to 14, the festival crowned champions across 92 events, headlined by Japan’s Hirotaka Fukatsu winning the Main Event. Full breakdowns are available on Somuchpoker’s in-house statistics page .

Key Figures: APPT Korea 2026 by the Numbers

Total Prize Pool: $3,065,373 (GTD: 2B KRW)
Number of Events: 92 across 24 flights
Total Entries: 4,355 from 29 countries
Top Individual Payout: $160,788 to Japan’s Hirotaka Fukatsu , winner of the Main Event

Biggest Events by Prize Pool

Series Highlights

Hirotaka Fukatsu Wins the Main Event for Ten Times His Previous Best

Japan’s Hirotaka Fukatsu climbed from ninth of 14 players on the final day to win the Main Event for KRW 218,166,000 (~$160,788), a result more than ten times his previous best cash.

Xueying Zhao finished runner-up for KRW 136,460,000 (~$100,571), her second deep run of the series after also taking second in the APPT National.

 

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Recap

Hirotaka Fukatsu Wins APPT Korea Main Event for KRW 218 Million ($161,000) – More Than Ten Times His Previous Best

Hirotaka Fukatsu defeated Xueying Zhao to win the APPT Korea Main Event for KRW 218M (~USD 161k), ten times his previous best cash.

2026.09.14

#42 APPT Main Event (1,800,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$895,160

Total Prize

1.2B KRW

Guaranteed

1B KRW

Entries

782

ITM

111

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩218,166,000 $160,788	HF Hirotaka Fukatsu Japan	2,925.28
2	₩136,460,000 $100,571	XZ Xueying Zhao China	2,068.49
3	₩97,300,000 $71,710	TM Tong Mu United States of America	1,688.91
4	₩75,190,000 $55,415	TN Taisuke Niina Japan	1,462.64
5	₩57,840,000 $42,628	MS Maxim Sorokin Russia	1,308.23
6	₩44,500,000 $32,796	CT Chao Ting Cheng Taiwan	1,194.24
7	₩34,230,000 $25,228	DF Daijiro Fukuoka Japan	1,105.65
8	₩26,330,000 $19,405	SH Soichiro Hayashi Japan	1,034.24
9	₩20,250,000 $14,924	AT Andrew Tomoya Matahira Japan	975.09

Check the 111 Payouts & Results ...

Tomohiro Kawada Opens the Festival With the Paradise City Kickoff

APPT’s return to Korea produced its first champion in the Paradise City Kickoff, where Japan’s Tomohiro Kawada outlasted a 171-entry field to win the title for KRW 14,996,000 (~$11,071) via a heads-up ICM deal, plus a Main Event seat.

It was the biggest tournament win of Kawada’s life, achieved by a player who plays live poker only once or twice a month back home.

Live Poker

Recap

APPT Korea Returns After Seven Years as Tomohiro Kawada Claims Paradise City Kickoff

APPT Korea 2026 is underway at Paradise City Incheon. Tomohiro Kawada wins the Paradise City Kickoff for KRW 14,996,000.

2026.09.05

#1 Paradise City Kickoff (600,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$63,800

Total Prize

86.7M KRW

Guaranteed

75M KRW

Entries

171

ITM

25

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩14,900,000 $11,071	TK Tomohiro Kawada Japan	941.40
2	₩14,000,000 $10,335	DY Dong Yan Canada	665.67
3	₩8,490,000 $6,251	BD Bo Dou China	543.52
4	₩6,530,000 $4,808	JK James Kim United States of America	470.70
5	₩5,020,000 $3,696	AC Amarsaikhan Chinzorig Mongolia	421.01
6	₩3,865,000 $2,845	MK Minkoo Kim United States of America	384.32
7	₩3,140,000 $2,311	FW Furui Wang China	355.81
8	₩2,615,000 $1,925	SK Sato Kodai Japan	332.83
9	₩2,180,000 $1,605	AB Alen Bakovic Canada	313.80

Check the 25 Payouts & Results ...

Shion Sakamoto Claims His First Spadie in the Mystery Bounty

Japan’s Shion Sakamoto outlasted a 246-entry field to win the Mystery Bounty for KRW 28,890,000 (~$21,265) plus a further KRW 12,350,000 in bounties from 11 knockouts, taking his total haul beyond KRW 40 million and claiming his first Spadie trophy along the way.

 

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Recap

Shion Sakamoto Claims First Spadie and Over KRW 40 Million in APPT Korea Mystery Bounty

Shion Sakamoto wins the APPT Korea Mystery Bounty at Paradise City for a total haul exceeding KRW 40M.

2026.09.07

#5 Mystery Bounty (900,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$140,700

Total Prize

191.3M KRW

Guaranteed

150M KRW

Entries

246

ITM

37

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩28,890,000 $21,265	SS Shion Sakamoto Japan	1,301.93
2	₩18,400,000 $13,545	MU Masataka Ueda Japan	920.60
3	₩12,485,000 $9,190	KH Kyota Henzan Japan	751.67
4	₩9,600,000 $7,065	KS Kodai Sato Japan	650.96
5	₩7,385,000 $5,435	HU Hayate Utsumi Japan	582.24
6	₩5,680,000 $4,180	GN Genki Nagano Japan	531.51
7	₩4,690,000 $3,450	AC Andrew Choi United States of America	492.08
8	₩3,910,000 $2,880	HS Hyung Soo Lim New Zealand	460.30
9	₩3,249,600 $2,390	RH Ryu Hiroi Japan	433.98

Check the 37 Payouts & Results ...

Shaoshuai Li Stops the Steamroll in the APPT National

China’s Shaoshuai Li came from behind to win the APPT National for KRW 64,100,000 (~$47,242), halting the runaway momentum of compatriot Xueying Zhao.

The pivotal hand came three-handed, when Li woke up with pocket aces against Zhao’s four-bet jam to swing the chip lead his way for good. Zhao settled for runner-up and a Main Event seat, the first of two agonising near-misses for her at this festival.

Live Poker

Recap

Shaoshuai Li Stops the Steamroll to Claim APPT National Title for KRW 64 Million

Shaoshuai Li overcomes Xueying Zhao's chip lead to win the APPT National at APPT Korea 2026 for KRW 64,100,000.

2026.09.10

#22 APPT National (1,200,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$253,360

Total Prize

344.2M KRW

Guaranteed

250M KRW

Entries

332

ITM

48

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩64,100,000 $47,242	SL Shaoshuai Li China	1,665.08
2	₩41,500,000 $30,586	XZ Xueying Zhao China	1,177.39
3	₩28,470,000 $20,982	KK Kento Kinoshita Japan	961.34
4	₩22,190,000 $16,354	KC Ka Chun Yuan Hong Kong	832.54
5	₩17,510,000 $12,905	CY Chun Yu Ma Hong Kong	744.65
6	₩13,470,000 $9,927	CT Chao Ting Cheng Taiwan	679.77
7	₩10,790,000 $7,952	RE Ryoya Enomoto Japan	629.34
8	₩9,000,000 $6,633	ML Maxim Lykov Russia	588.70
9	₩7,497,000 $5,525	SH Saki Hayashi Japan	555.03

Check the 48 Payouts & Results ...

Yukinori Kojima Wins a Marathon Super High Roller

Japan’s Yukinori Kojima recovered from a short stack to win the Super High Roller from a 27-entry field, defeating Kotaro Kurotaki in a two-and-a-half-hour heads-up battle for KRW 95,534,000 (~$70,782) and his first major title.

Live Poker

Recap

Yukinori Kojima Triumphs in Marathon Heads-Up to Claim Super High Roller Title at APPT Korea

Yukinori Kojima wins the APPT Korea SHR at Paradise City Incheon, defeating Kotaro Kurotaki heads-up for KRW 95M after a 2.5-hour battle.

2026.09.12

#43 APPT Super High Roller (10,000,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$186,283

Total Prize

251.4M KRW

Entries

27

ITM

5

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩95,534,000 $70,782	YK Yukinori Kojima Japan	989.20
2	₩61,600,000 $45,640	KK Kotaro Kurotaki Japan	699.47
3	₩40,860,000 $30,274	TU Takanari Uchida Japan	571.12
4	₩29,540,000 $21,887	XZ Xiaosheng Zheng China	494.60
5	₩23,890,000 $17,700	HC Hon Cheong Lee Hong Kong	442.38

Country Breakdown

Japan dominated the money list, unsurprisingly given how many of the festival’s biggest titles went to Japanese players, with China taking second and the USA taking third.

Top 5 Countries by Total Prize

Japan’s dominance was overwhelming, with 322 ITMs producing $1,515,500, roughly three times the total of second-placed China and reflecting the huge Japanese turnout just across the water from home.

Game Types

Texas Hold’em accounted for the bulk of the schedule, generating $2,990,073 across 81 events and 4,131 entries. Omaha added $61,310 across nine events, with a further two Mixed events rounding out a small non-Hold’em presence.

Looking Ahead

APPT Korea 2026 marked a successful return for the tour after seven years away, closing out with Fukatsu’s Main Event victory.

The tour now heads to the APPT Manila Championship, held inside the Coral Lounge at Okada Manila from October 8-19, with Fukatsu among those booking their seat via this festival.

Complete results and coverage from APPT Korea are available through the landing page .

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