Troy McLean Leads Record 2,459-Entry National Cup Championship at APT Championship 2026
The APT Championship 2026 continued at Red Space in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday, November 14, with the National Cup Championship setting a new attendance record after completing its five starting flights.
The TWD 16,000 buy-in tournament attracted 2,459 entries, generating a TWD 32,657,094 (~$1 million) prize pool and surpassing its 2025 record by 2.5%.
Australia's Troy McLean will lead 345 survivors into Sunday's final day, where the champion will collect TWD 5,240,594 (~$160,755) and a TWD 330,000 APT Championship Main Event seat.
Saturday also saw Portugal's Diogo Coelho claim the festival's first High Roller title, winning High Roller - The Opener for TWD 1,555,940. Taiwan's Kunsen Liao added another major victory in the Single Day High Roller.
National Cup Championship Breaks Entry Record
The National Cup Championship became the second-largest non-Main Event and third-largest tournament overall in APT history after attracting 2,459 entries across five starting flights.
The final field included 1,148 unique players and produced a prize pool more than 63% above its TWD 20 million guarantee. The prize money also represents a 9.4% increase over the 2025 edition.
Saturday's Flight C was the largest of the tournament, adding 740 entries and sending 104 players through to Sunday's final.
Canada's Mehmet Siginc led the flight with 1,100,000 chips, followed by Hong Kong's Hung Wai Sze on 983,000 and South Korea's Sung Sik Eum with 955,000.
The flight also saw the return of Takahiko Kondo, who had been eliminated on Flight A's money bubble. Kondo advanced from Flight C with 511,000 chips.
Flight D brought another 609 entries, with 85 players advancing. Taiwan's Chien Chih "Maggie" Weng finished as the flight leader on 1,052,000, ahead of Poland's Dawid Smolka and Australia's Graham Cowan.
The final Turbo Flight E added 290 entries, producing 41 survivors, with India's Kunal Patni leading on 1,080,000.
Patni finished ahead of Japan's Yoshihito Sugimoto on 759,000 and Taiwan's Cheng Pin Hsu on 636,000.
Troy McLean Retains Overall Chip Lead
Despite the three additional starting flights, Friday's Flight B leader Troy McLean retained the overall chip lead with 1,261,000.
Japan's Konosuke Nakajima remained second on 1,234,000, followed by Taiwan's Jun Wei Yan on 1,126,000.
The remaining 345 players are all guaranteed at least TWD 23,700 (~$725), with the champion also receiving an APT Championship Lion Trophy.
National Cup Championship Final Day Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1,261,000 | ||
2 | 1,234,000 | ||
3 | 1,126,000 | ||
4 | Canada | 1,100,000 | |
5 | 1,080,000 | ||
6 | 1,052,000 | ||
7 | 983,000 | ||
8 | Pei Chih Shih | 956,000 | |
9 | 955,000 | ||
10 | 940,000 |
Diogo Coelho Claims First APT Title in High Roller - The Opener
Portugal's Diogo Coelho secured his first Asian Poker Tour title on Saturday, winning Event #3, the TWD 70,000 High Roller - The Opener.
The tournament attracted 98 entries and generated a prize pool of approximately TWD 5.9 million, with Coelho earning the TWD 1,555,940 (~$47,728) first-place prize.
Making his APT debut, Coelho overcame a final table featuring several established players from the Asian circuit.
Japan's Kotaro Kurotaki finished runner-up for TWD 1,090,600 (~$33,454), while Australia's Daniel Neilson completed the top three for TWD 720,100 (~$22,089).
Malaysia's Isaac Chern Chze Phua placed fourth, followed by Friday's chip leader Gilsoo Kim in fifth.
High Roller - The Opener Final Table Results
Place | Player | Country | Prize (TWD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1,555,940 | $47,728 | ||
2 | 1,090,600 | $33,454 | ||
3 | 720,100 | $22,089 | ||
4 | 566,000 | $17,362 | ||
5 | 456,400 | $14,000 | ||
6 | 355,600 | $10,908 | ||
7 | 281,500 | $8,635 | ||
8 | 219,300 | $6,727 | ||
9 | 166,000 | $5,092 |
Kunsen Liao Wins Single Day High Roller
Taiwan's Kunsen Liao added another home victory to the festival results, winning Event #15, the TWD 65,000 High Roller - Single Day.
The tournament attracted 79 entries, creating a prize pool of TWD 4.4 million. Liao secured the TWD 1,220,040 (~$37,425) first-place prize after defeating Malaysia's Leonard Ng heads-up.
Ng collected TWD 867,400 (~$26,607) for second place, while Romania's George Tomescu finished third for TWD 567,900 (~$17,420).
Chien Yu Lin Claims Third APT Women's Title
Taiwan's Chien Yu Lin claimed another Women's Event title in Event #16, continuing her success in APT tournaments.
The TWD 3,500 tournament attracted 102 entries, producing a prize pool of approximately TWD 285,000.
Lin earned the TWD 72,932 (~$2,237) first-place prize after defeating Japan's Maho Serada heads-up. Serada received TWD 50,300 (~$1,543), while South Korea's Yun Jihee finished third for TWD 33,000 (~$1,012).
It was Lin's third APT Women's Event title, adding to her previous successes on the tour.
Additional November 14 Side Event Winners
Saturday's schedule also featured fixed-limit games, Omaha variations and late-night turbo tournaments. The following winners were confirmed in the event results.
Event | Winner | Country | Entries | Prize Pool (TWD) | Prize (TWD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
#14 Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 5-Card | 36 | 478,100
| 176,903 | ||
#17 Fixed Limit Super Stud Mix | 32 | 424,000 | 157,180 | ||
#18 Hyper Turbo Red River Hold'em | 90 | 252,000
| 66,028 | ||
#19 Hyper Turbo Omaha Stairway to Seven | 65 | 312,000 | 90,900 | ||
#20 Hyper Turbo High Roller | 23 | 622,000
| 261,556 | ||
#21 Super Hyper Turbo NLH | 55 | 352,000 | 105,517 |
Sunday, November 15 Schedule
The National Cup Championship final day headlines Sunday's action, while the TWD 35,000 Mystery Bounty Championship, sponsored by Natural8, begins with a TWD 15 million (~$460,000) guarantee.
Time (Local) | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|
11:00 AM | Mystery Bounty Championship Satellite | TWD 6,300 |
11:15 AM | National Cup Championship Final Day | TWD 16,000 |
11:15 AM | Mystery Bounty Championship Flight A | TWD 35,000 |
11:30 AM | Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 5-Card | TWD 16,000 |
11:45 AM | High Roller - Single Day | TWD 165,000 |
1:00 PM | Sunday Super Stack | TWD 10,000 |
4:00 PM | Women's Event | TWD 6,000 |
4:15 PM | Fixed Limit Seven Card Stud Mix | TWD 16,000 |
5:00 PM | Mystery Bounty Championship Flight B | TWD 35,000 |
8:00 PM | 7-Max Championship Satellite | TWD 14,800 |
9:00 PM | Hyper Turbo Super Hold'em | TWD 3,500 |
10:15 PM | Hyper Turbo Omaha Hi-Lo Stairway to Seven | TWD 6,000 |
11:00 PM | Super Hyper Turbo NLH | TWD 8,000 |
The National Cup concludes on Sunday, when its first-place winner will receive the TWD 5,240,594 prize and a TWD 330,000 Main Event seat.
The Mystery Bounty Championship will continue on Monday, November 16, alongside the opening flights of the Ultra Stack Championship.
The APT Championship 2026 runs through November 29, with more than TWD 256 million (~$8.1 million) in guarantees across its Championship Events.
For ongoing coverage and the full tournament program, visit the APT Championship 2026 festival page and schedule.
All images courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.
About the Editor
Tim Baker is a UK-born Live Poker Reporter based in Indonesia, covering major poker tournaments across Asia and around the world since 2023. With nearly two decades of experience around live and online poker, he brings deep knowledge of the game and the international poker scene to his tournament coverage.
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