The APT Championship Is Redefining What’s Possible in Asian Poker

While most of the poker world had their eyes elsewhere, something very different was building in Taipei, playing out inside the cavernous Red Space 多元商務空間 and run in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) , the APT Championship Main Event got into the swing of things in fitting fashion. The stage felt big from the moment the cards hit the felt two days ago, with a deep field settling in for what would quickly become one of the most significant tournaments the region has ever seen.

For months there were whispers about the Asian Poker Tour Championship (APTC). Some thought the guarantee was too aggressive. Some thought a $10K freezeout in Asia simply wasn’t realistic. And others figured the tour was swinging bigger than it needed to.

But on the day it mattered, the APTC delivered something the region had genuinely never seen before.

A Freezeout That Rewrote the Record Books

The TWD 311,000 (~USD 10K) APTC Main Event closed with 671 entries, creating a staggering TWD 194,080,973 (~USD 6.2M) prize pool — the largest tournament in APT history and the biggest $10K freezeout outside Las Vegas in the last decade.

The champion will earn TWD 37,030,773 (~USD 1.2M), and 95 players will walk away with a piece of a prize pool that outgrew almost every entire APT festival from just a few years ago.

In 2022, the average APT festival awarded around USD 1.24M. This single tournament paid out five times that.

It also officially surpassed:
• every APT Main Event ever held
• every 2022 festival prize pool
• most 2023 stops including Hanoi, Da Nang, Phu Quoc
• and it even nipped at the heels of APT Incheon 2023 (USD 6.51M) — one of APT’s biggest stops

The numbers don’t just show growth; they show a leap. APT didn’t just take a step forward in Taipei — it cleared the next landing.

“The Asian Main Event” — Seidel’s Words, Not Ours

(Quotes credited to Kai Cocklin (APT))

When Erik Seidel spoke earlier in the festival, it hadn’t yet sunk in what the event was about to become. But his comments aged well.

“I mean, I like the idea of a freezeout. I’m happy with both. It’s kind of nice to have tournaments that you can rebuy into, but I also think there’s room for freezeouts as well,” Seidel said as the day wound down. “The Main Event is a freezeout, and I think that kind of establishes this as… you know… kind of the Asian Main Event. And you know, it’s kinda cool what they’re doing. There are plenty of other events where you can rebuy, so having a freezeout—it’s risky for the APT to do it because the guarantee is so high, but that’s pretty cool.”

Seidel said, noting how bold the guarantee was and how rare it is for a tour to take that kind of risk. Coming from a ten-time bracelet winner, the statement carried weight that lingered long after he bagged up for the night.

A Festival Turning Point — Proven by the Satellite Alone

The momentum wasn’t limited to the Main Event. The day before, Red Space hosted the largest satellite ever held in Asia — the APT Step 2 Mega Satellite.

• 399 entries
• TWD 18,271,008 (~USD 585,610) prize pool
• 58 Main Event seats awarded

A satellite producing a prize pool bigger than entire Main Events from previous seasons says enough on its own.

Inside the Decision — Leadership Reacts

“This Is What APT Has Been Building Toward”

Kevin “Kevmath” Mathers was one of the first to call out what the tour achieved.

“They stuck their necks out with a $10K freezeout and a five-million guarantee. Beating it by over a million is incredible.”

He added that the APT is now offering a range of events — from USD 50,000 to USD 100 buy-ins — that few global tours manage to balance as well.

Henry Kilbane echoed the sentiment, calling the field size

“a domino-effect moment for Asian poker.”

These aren’t throwaway compliments. They’re from people who’ve seen every major stage in the game.

APT VP of Marketing Gerard Noel described the support as “overwhelming,” emphasising that the real goal wasn’t to break records but to create an experience players would remember long after they left Taipei.

APT President Neil Johnson admitted the numbers were surreal even for him. Quietly running the maths for months, he had prepared for every possible outcome.

“Seeing it climb past 540 toward 600 was incredibly surreal, I can’t imagine a more bold move in my time here.”

Hearing Seidel call it “the Asian Main Event” genuinely caught him off guard.

Main Event Day 2 Highlights

A record-breaking 671 entries pushed the APTC Taipei Main Event to a massive TWD 194,080,973 (~USD 6.2m) prize pool – the largest in APT history and the biggest USD 10k freezeout outside Las Vegas in the last decade.

Day 2 trimmed the field from 343 starters down to 133 players. South Korea’s Dohang Na  ended the night on top with 924,500 after cracking Yuanxi Chen ’s kings in one of the final hands. Na built steadily throughout the afternoon, recalling another key pot where he cracked aces to keep his stack moving in the right direction.

Aditya Agarwal closed just behind with 766,000 after a late surge that included making a full house with pocket eights to eliminate Andrei Spataru . Malaysia’s Ben Loo also stayed near the top, finishing third in chips with 738,500.

Roman Hrabec put together another strong showing, knocking out Michael Wang early and navigating a tough table to reach Day 3 with 302,500. Former champions Edmond Chim (210,000) and Akira Takasugi (137,000) both advanced, along with ten-time WSOP bracelet winner Erik Seidel (204,000) and Steve O’Dwyer (127,000). Natural8 satellite qualifiers Mingchang Hsiao (216,000), Frankie Cucchiara (71,500), and Alexandru Papazian (712,000) will also return.

Several notable players saw their runs end, including Abraham Ceesvin, Ruiko Mamiya, Seigo Miyazaki, Czardy Rivera, and Spataru.

Day 2 Top Ten Counts

Full Survivors List: click here

A Line in the Sand for Asian Poker

The freezeout format, the turnout, and the atmosphere all pointed to the same conclusion:
This wasn’t just another big festival.
This was a moment where the centre of gravity shifted.

For the first time, Asia didn’t need to look westward for validation, the poker world was looking east.

And in Taipei, they found their answer.