Crunching the Numbers: Inside APPT Manila 2026’s Record Main Event and Biggest Winners

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) wrapped its APPT Manila 2026 festival, and the numbers point to another step forward for the tour stop. Running from July 28 to August 10, 2026, at Okada Manila in the Philippines , the festival posted its largest ever Main Event field, with growth across the wider schedule too compared to APPT Manila 2025 . Full breakdowns for both editions are available on Somuchpoker’s in-house statistics page .

Key Figures: APPT Manila 2026 by the Numbers

Total Prize Pool: $5,264,740 (GTD: 114.7M PHP) - up 4.35% from APPT Manila 2025
Number of Events: 138 across 28 flights - up 13.11%
Total Entries: 10,777 from 53 countries - up 5.99%
Top Individual Payout: $252,595 to the Philippines’ Mike Takayama , winner of the Main Event

Prize Pool and Entries: Steady Growth Across the Board

Unlike some of the more dramatic swings seen elsewhere on the Asian circuit this year, APPT Manila 2026 grew in a straightforward, across-the-board fashion. The total prize pool climbed from $5,045,059 to $5,264,740, entries rose from 10,168 to 10,777, and the number of events jumped from 122 to 138. None of those increases will grab headlines on their own, but taken together they point to a festival that isn’t chasing records so much as building on an already loyal base. A strong home Filipino contingent anchored the field throughout, and it was fitting that a local player, Mike Takayama, ended up lifting the biggest Main Event trophy in the tour stop’s history. Slow and steady growth of this kind, rather than a single standout number, may ultimately say more about the health of a festival than a single blowout edition would.

Festival Growth: APPT Manila 2025 vs APPT Manila 2026

Flagship Event Comparison: The Main Event

The APPT Manila Main Event was where the festival’s growth showed up most clearly. The PHP 80,000 buy-in drew 1,413 entries across four starting flights, comfortably a record for the tour stop, beating both the 1,246 entries recorded in 2025 and the 1,304 entries from 2024. The prize pool followed suit, rising from $1,495,750 to $1,608,000 and clearing the PHP 60 million guarantee by more than PHP 37 million.

Flagship Event Results by Edition

Biggest Events by Prize Pool, APPT Manila 2026

Festival Highlights

Renato Villanueva Jr. Opens the Festival With the Okada Kickoff

Renato Villanueva Jr. topped a 583-entry field to win the opening event of the festival, the Okada Kickoff , defeating Japan’s Kohei Takami heads-up for a $13,340 top prize. It marked the biggest outright tournament win of Villanueva’s career on the Manila circuit.

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Recap

Renato Villanueva Jr. Wins Okada Kickoff for PHP 820,184 at APPT Manila 2026

Renato Villanueva Jr. defeats Kohei Takami to win the Okada Kickoff for PHP 820,184, while Joris Michl claims his second APPT Manila 2026 title.

2026.07.30

#4 Okada Kickoff (10,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$80,110

Total Prize

4.9M PHP

Guaranteed

2M PHP

Entries

583

ITM

87

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱820,184 $13,340	RV Renato Villanueva Jr Philippines	1,245.97
2	₱530,000 $8,620	KT Kohei Takami Japan	881.03
3	₱385,000 $6,260	RL Rex Luriosa Philippines	719.36
4	₱295,000 $4,800	JE Joseph Erickson United States of America	622.98
5	₱230,000 $3,740	WB Wendell Barte Philippines	557.21
6	₱176,000 $2,865	JT Jansen Tiu Philippines	508.66
7	₱136,000 $2,210	FC Federick Cruz Philippines	470.93
8	₱108,000 $1,755	GY Gwanghui Ye South Korea	440.52
9	₱87,000 $1,415	MV Michael Villanueva Philippines	415.32

Check the 88 Payouts & Results ...

Rafael Medel Wins the APPT National for a Career-Best $41,270

Local player Rafael Medel outlasted a 599-entry field to win the APPT National , the series’ first Shard Trophy of the festival, following a heads-up deal with Isaac Hechanova . Medel entered the day with barely $6,000 in career earnings and left with $41,270, the biggest score of his career, after recovering from a five-to-one heads-up deficit.

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Recap

Rafael Medel Conquers APPT National for First Shard Trophy of APPT Manila 2026

Rafael Medel outlasted a 599-entry field at APPT Manila 2026 to win the APPT National title, the first APPT Shard Trophy, and PHP 2,525,000.

2026.08.01

#9 APPT National (30,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$252,530

Total Prize

15.5M PHP

Guaranteed

8M PHP

Entries

599

ITM

90

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱2,525,000 $41,270	RM Rafael Medel Philippines	1,835.17
2	₱2,025,000 $33,100	IH Isaac Hechanova Philippines	1,297.66
3	₱1,250,000 $20,330	JS Juhyung Son South Korea	1,059.53
4	₱970,000 $15,775	DW Donghyeon Won South Korea	917.58
5	₱740,000 $12,035	JC Jingliang Chen China	820.71
6	₱570,000 $9,270	EY Edison Yu Philippines	749.20
7	₱430,000 $6,995	JB James Bonanno United States of America	693.63
8	₱340,000 $5,530	KK Kaoru Kishimoto Japan	648.83
9	₱277,080 $4,505	LJ Lukasz Jankowski Poland	611.72

Check the 90 Payouts & Results ...

Kim Giboum Claims the PokerStars Red Dragon

South Korea’s Kim Giboum defeated the Philippines’ Czardy Rivera heads-up to win the PokerStars Red Dragon for $74,005, the largest live cash of his career. The 599-entry field nearly doubled the $245,000 guarantee, a big step up from the 433 entries the event drew in 2025. “It’s like flying in the sky,” Giboum said after the win.

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Recap

Kim Giboum Captures the PokerStars Red Dragon Trophy for a Career-Best $74,000 at APPT Manila 2026

Kim Giboum tops a wild final table to win the PokerStars Red Dragon for PHP 4,550,000 (~USD 74,005) at APPT Manila 2026.

2026.08.04

#21 PokerStars Red Dragon (50,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$408,000

Total Prize

25M PHP

Guaranteed

15M PHP

Entries

599

ITM

87

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱4,550,000 $74,005	KG Kim Giboum South Korea	2,153.40
2	₱2,830,000 $46,030	CR Czardy Rivera Philippines	1,522.68
3	₱2,040,000 $33,180	EG Edilberto Gopez Philippines	1,243.27
4	₱1,570,000 $25,535	NI Naoaki Ishihara Japan	1,076.70
5	₱1,205,000 $19,600	YW Yuanning Wu China	963.03
6	₱930,000 $15,125	EL Edwards Lawford Australia	879.12
7	₱715,000 $11,630	LK Lourd Keven Ejem Philippines	813.91
8	₱550,000 $8,945	MR Marc Rivera Philippines	761.34
9	₱437,800 $7,120	ED Emmanuel Derecho Australia	717.80

Check the 87 Payouts & Results ...

Asaki Tanaka’s Rise From Nine Big Blinds to Win the APPT Open

Japan’s Asaki Tanaka started Day 2 with just nine big blinds and finished it as champion, defeating South Korea’s Jaeil Lee in a single hand heads-up to win the APPT Open for $78,070, his first major title. “Make sure I’m 99% winning, then call. I win,” Tanaka explained of his famously cautious approach at the final table.

Live Poker

Recap

From Nine Big Blinds to Champion: Asaki Tanaka Captures First Major Title at APPT Manila 2026

Asaki Tanaka captured his first major title at APPT Manila 2026, winning the APPT Open, PHP 4.8M, and the trophy after a one-hand heads-up.

2026.08.06

#45 APPT Open (60,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$428,330

Total Prize

26.3M PHP

Entries

508

ITM

75

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱4,800,000 $78,070	AT Asaki Tanaka Japan	2,129.30
2	₱3,000,000 $48,795	JL Jaeil Lee South Korea	1,505.64
3	₱2,145,000 $34,890	VB Vinay Boob India	1,229.35
4	₱1,650,000 $26,835	EG Edilberto Gopez Philippines	1,064.65
5	₱1,270,000 $20,655	SJ Seungmook Jung South Korea	952.25
6	₱975,000 $15,860	DV David Van Noy United States of America	869.28
7	₱750,000 $12,200	IN Ishan Nadkarni India	804.80
8	₱575,000 $9,350	DB Dmitrii Belikov Russia	752.82
9	₱479,720 $7,805	SB Segundo Barte Philippines	709.77

Check the 75 Payouts & Results ...

Seunghyuk Jung Completes a Stunning Comeback in the Super High Roller

Seunghyuk Jung entered the final table as the exact bubble stack and left as champion, defeating Japan’s Yukishige Doi heads-up to win the APPT Super High Roller for $69,072 from a 47-entry, $208,955 field. “I feel so great, it feels like I’m about to fly into the sky,” Jung said afterward. The win came just one week before his deep run to third place in the Main Event.

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Recap

Seunghyuk Jung Completes Stunning Comeback to Capture APPT Super High Roller for PHP 4.2M

Seunghyuk Jung stages a huge comeback to defeat Yukishige Doi and capture the APPT Super High Roller for PHP 4.2M at APPT Manila 2026.

2026.08.08

#102 APPT High Roller (150,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$310,285

Total Prize

19.1M PHP

Guaranteed

5M PHP

Entries

144

ITM

20

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱4,630,000 $75,305	OL Oliver Lirio Philippines	1,549.94
2	₱2,890,000 $47,005	BV Bernard Vu France	1,095.97
3	₱2,070,000 $33,670	MR Marc Rivera Philippines	894.86
4	₱1,590,000 $25,860	SS Seiji Sasaki Japan	774.97
5	₱1,220,000 $19,845	RM Ryan Ming Hong Australia	693.15
6	₱940,000 $15,290	DM Daiki Miyamoto Japan	632.76
7	₱720,000 $11,710	SM Sandeep Mirchandani Hong Kong	585.82
8	₱600,000 $9,760	GT Gary Thompson Ireland	547.99
9	₱502,120 $8,165	SK Sung Kue Kim South Korea	516.65

Check the 20 Payouts & Results ...

Mike Takayama Wins the Biggest APPT Manila Main Event Ever

Mike Takayama capped the festival by defeating fellow Filipino Florencio Campomanes heads-up to win the largest Main Event in APPT Manila history , taking home $252,595, an APPT Championship package, and the APPT Shard Trophy. Takayama survived a river gutshot from Yang Yung Mao to reach the chip lead with five players left, then held on through a wild Campomanes comeback from 0.15 big blinds to seal the title in front of a packed home rail. “I was actually in shock,” Takayama said afterward.

Live Poker

Recap

Mike Takayama Wins Biggest APPT Manila Main Event Ever for PHP 15.5M

Mike Takayama defeated Florencio Campomanes to win the record 1,413-entry APPT Manila Main Event and PHP 15.53 million at Okada Manila.

2026.08.11

#70 APPT Main Event (80,000 PHP)

Total Prize USD

$1,608,000

Total Prize

97.7M PHP

Guaranteed

60M PHP

Entries

1,413

ITM

207

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₱15,530,000 $252,595	MT Mike Takayama Philippines	3,924.51
2	₱9,700,000 $157,770	FC Florencio Campomanes Philippines	2,775.05
3	₱6,955,000 $113,120	SJ Seunghyuk Jung South Korea	2,265.82
4	₱5,350,000 $87,015	FC Fernan Co Philippines	1,962.26
5	₱4,120,000 $67,010	YY Yang Yung Mao Taiwan	1,755.10
6	₱3,170,000 $51,560	HN Haresh Nathan Singapore	1,602.18
7	₱2,430,000 $39,525	SN Steve Ng Singapore	1,483.33
8	₱1,870,000 $30,415	JK Joungsun Kim South Korea	1,387.52
9	₱1,439,560 $23,415	JP Jaehyung Park South Korea	1,308.17

Check the 207 Payouts & Results ...

Country Breakdown

The Philippines and South Korea topped both festivals comfortably by prize money, with the home nation’s local talent, headlined by Takayama’s title, driving another dominant showing.

Top 5 Countries by Total Prize, APPT Manila 2026

Top 5 Countries by Total Prize, APPT Manila 2025

Game Types

Texas Hold’em remains the dominant format at both festivals, though the split game offerings shifted slightly between editions, with 2025 spreading Omaha Hi/Lo and Badugi events that didn’t return in 2026.

Looking Ahead

APPT Manila 2026 closed out 13 days of action at Okada Manila with growth across nearly every major metric, headlined by a record-breaking Main Event that delivered the biggest field and prize pool the tour stop has ever produced. The tour now turns its attention to APPT Korea 2026 , running September 3-14 at Paradise City Incheon.

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Teaser

APPT Korea 2026: Everything You Need to Know About the Return to Incheon

APPT Korea is making a stop from Sept 3-14 at Paradise City Incheon, headlined by a KRW 1 Billion guaranteed Main Event.

2026.08.16

Complete results and coverage from APPT Manila 2026 are available through the landing page .

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