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

The Asia-Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) has made its long-awaited return to South Korea after a seven-year hiatus, and the opening days of APPT Korea 2026 at Paradise City Incheon have produced its first champion.

Japan ‘s Tomohiro Kawada outlasted a 171-entry field to win the Paradise City Kickoff for KRW 14,996,000 (~USD 11,071) as part of a heads-up ICM deal, along with a seat into the APPT Korea Main Event valued at KRW 1,800,000 (~USD 1,329).

Kawada Claims the Title

Kawada came into the festival with just one previous recorded live cash to his name ($181 according to The Hendon Mob) and plays live poker only once or twice a month back home in Japan. He described the final table as a tough experience, finding himself up against players he felt were more experienced and aggressive. His solution was simple: wait for the big hands and let them come to him.

That approach paid off almost immediately when Alen Bakovic , riding high from a remarkable comeback from just four big blinds at the start of the day, four-bet shoved with ace-king and ran straight into Kawada’s pocket aces.

Bakovic exited in ninth place, and the pattern continued throughout the final table, with Kawada finding pocket rockets and cowboys at critical moments while his opponents ran into them.

Speaking after his victory, Kawada explained he had a particular reason for making the trip to Korea.

“Maybe I’m going to have baby soon,” he said. “So, if I have baby, it’s not easy to come to Korea to play poker, right? That’s why I came here with my crazy friends.”

He also credited Japanese poker YouTuber Masato Yokosawa , known online as Sekai no Yokosawa, with getting him into the game in the first place, having discovered poker through his channel around five years ago.

“I’m really honored that I won this tournament,” Kawada added. “I was really excited because this is the first time to win a bigger tournament in my life.”

#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 ...

How the Day Unfolded

Twenty-five players returned for the finale, all having locked up a min-cash of KRW 945,000. Amarsaikhan Chinzorig started as the clear chip leader but was unable to maintain his advantage at the final table, gradually bleeding chips before eventually shoving king-jack into James Kim‘s ace-ten and finding no help to bust in fifth.

Kim had been one of the standout performers of the day, eliminating several players including Kaiwen Wei , Maxim Lykov , and Zhentao Long , the last of whom fell on the final table bubble when Kim flopped two pair with king-nine against Long’s pocket eights.

Kim looked dangerous deep into the final table but ran into a series of coolers, including a big pot against Dong Yan and a final-hand confrontation with Kawada where his ace-four could not get past Kawada’s queen-five after a queen landed on the board, sending Kim out in fourth.

Bo Dou had a notable run of his own, flopping a set and turning quads to eliminate Sato Kodai in eighth, before falling in third when his queen-six could not hold against Yan’s jack-ten, which made a runner-runner straight.

One of the day’s more remarkable stories was Alen Bakovic , who began with just 48,000 chips (4BB) and doubled through multiple times to reach the final table, only to run aces into Kawada’s rockets to fall as the first final table elimination.

Heads-Up

Kawada began heads-up with a near 2:1 chip lead over Yan. The two traded the advantage several times, with Yan doubling through with pocket fives before Kawada fought back with king-jack against Yan’s ace-four. The pair agreed to an ICM deal guaranteeing each player KRW 14,000,000, leaving the trophy and an additional KRW 996,000 to play for.

The final hand came when Yan open-shoved with queen-ten and Kawada snap-called with pocket queens. The runout brought no miracle and Yan was forced to settle for the runner-up spot, with Kawada claiming the trophy in his first major live tournament win.

Side Events: Day 1 and Day 2 Winners

Elsewhere across the opening two days of the festival, a series of side event titles were awarded. Toshiro Kurihara won the Warm-up High Roller (KRW 1,500,000 buy-in) for KRW 6,600,000 from a 10-entry field.

#2 Warm-up High Roller (1,500,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$9,750

Total Prize

13.2M KRW

Entries

10

ITM

3

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩6,624,000 $4,875	TK Toshiro Kurihara Japan	313.57
2	₩3,974,000 $2,925	LT Leslie Tsui Hong Kong	221.73
3	₩2,650,000 $1,950	SN Seunghyun Nam United States of America	181.04

Hyung Soo Lim took down the Knockout [KRW 100K Bounty] Turbo (KRW 400,000 buy-in) for KRW 2,600,000 from a 36-entry field.

#3 Knockout [₩100K Bounty] - Turbo (400,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$8,955

Total Prize

12.2M KRW

Entries

36

ITM

6

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩2,620,000 $1,930	HS Hyung Soo Lim South Korea	377.35
2	₩2,262,000 $1,665	MK Minkoo Kim United States of America	266.82
3	₩1,328,000 $975	NM Noa Misaki Japan	217.86
4	₩985,000 $725	DP Denis Pak Uzbekistan	188.67
5	₩771,000 $565	KV Kim Vyacheslav Kazakhstan	168.75
6	₩600,000 $440	TA Taiki Antoku Japan	154.05

Action continues today with the Mystery Bounty event. Flight A wrapped up last night, producing 9 survivors from a 58-entry field, with Zicong Jiang leading the pack. Live coverage will be available from Flight B today .

View the complete APPT Korea 2026 schedule .

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