Tomoya Tsubouchi Wins KRW 78M as APT Incheon Records Keep Falling

APT Incheon 2026 moved into top gear on Day 2 as a poker holiday produced the festival’s first major champion, another huge field passed its guarantee and several familiar faces wasted no time collecting more trophies.

Japan’s Tomoya Tsubouchi turned only his second overseas poker trip into a KRW 78,109,411 (~USD 55,400) Korea National Cup victory. The tournament’s 709 entries and KRW 409,459,411 prize pool both set new APT Incheon records.

At this point, records at an Asian Poker Tour festival are beginning to feel less like a surprise and more like something that should be printed directly onto the daily schedule.

Day 2 also brought another nine side-event champions at Paradise City , including a second title of the festival for both Ziwen Liu and Daniil Shalaev .

Poker Holiday Ends With KRW 78M Victory

Tsubouchi arrived in South Korea for a holiday with five friends and some poker added to the itinerary. He will now be flying home with an APT Lion Trophy and a considerably larger travel budget.

The Japanese player defeated a record 709-entry field in the KRW 700,000 Korea National Cup , collecting the largest share of its KRW 409,459,411 (~USD 290,400) prize pool.

Both the 709 entries and the resulting prize pool set new APT Incheon records for the Korea National Cup, surpassing the tournament’s 2025 edition.

Tsubouchi entered the final table with more than three times the chips of his nearest opponent and never surrendered control. He eliminated four of his eight final-table opponents before ending the tournament without the inconvenience of playing heads-up.

Phuong Ngoc Nguyen and Ian Rudolph were both eliminated by Tsubouchi in a three-way all-in on the final hand. Nguyen collected KRW 47,710,000 (~USD 33,835) as runner-up, while Rudolph earned KRW 34,090,000 (~USD 24,180) for third.

Speaking through a translator after the victory, Tsubouchi explained what the trophy meant to him.

“More than the money, winning and taking home the trophy is what really means the most to me. Of course, having the prize money is great too! I came here with a group of six friends, and I’m really looking forward to celebrating with them tonight.”

The trip was only Tsubouchi’s second time playing a live tournament outside Japan. What began as a holiday with some poker has now encouraged him to travel specifically for the game.

“Winning has made me love poker even more, and now I want to travel overseas specifically to play, build on this experience, and continue improving.”

#1 Korea National Cup - Sponsored by DeepRun (700,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$290,400

Total Prize

409.5M KRW

Guaranteed

200M KRW

Entries

709

ITM

101

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩78,109,411 $55,420	TT Tomoya Tsubouchi Japan	1,977.45
2	₩47,710,000 $33,850	PN Phuong Ngoc Nguyen Viet Nam	1,398.27
3	₩34,090,000 $24,185	IR Ian Rudolph United States of America	1,141.68
4	₩25,810,000 $18,310	OR Ogura Ryushin Japan	988.73
5	₩20,540,000 $14,575	NY Naoki Yamashita Japan	884.34
6	₩15,770,000 $11,190	KK Koji Komatsu Japan	807.29
7	₩11,400,000 $8,090	JY Jin Yoojin South Korea	747.41
8	₩7,780,000 $5,520	RK Ryusuke Kosugi Japan	699.14
9	₩6,180,000 $4,385	CC Chaopeng Chen China	659.15

Check the 101 Payouts & Results ...

Alex Ip Leads Record Mystery Bounty Field

The records did not stop with the Korea National Cup.

The KRW 900,000 Mystery Bounty Hunter, sponsored by Natural8 , attracted 868 entries from 32 countries across its three starting flights.

That turnout generated KRW 395,808,000 (~USD 284,140) in regular prize money, with another KRW 260,400,000 (~USD 186,935) waiting inside the bounty envelopes.

The largest mystery bounty is worth KRW 30,900,000 (~USD 22,180), making one successful trip to the bounty chest worth more than most tournament victories. The eventual champion will also collect KRW 74,738,000 (~USD 53,650), the largest first-place prize the event has awarded at APT Incheon.

Hong Kong’s Alex Ip leads the 122 remaining players after topping Flight B with 923,000.

Japan’s Kazuki Miyamoto finished Flight A with 826,000 and enters the Final Day second overall, while Inui Kanta returns third with 648,000.

Germany’s Daniel Smiljkovic topped the turbo Flight C with 571,000, placing him fourth overall.

Mystery Bounty Hunter Top Ten Chip Counts

All 122 survivors have secured at least KRW 840,000 (~USD 600), although most will be returning with their attention firmly fixed on the bounty chest.

Khoa Anh Ngo Claims Second APT Title

Vietnam’s Khoa Anh Ngo secured the largest side-event prize of the day by winning Event #11: Single Day High Roller.

Ngo collected KRW 52,870,000 (~USD 37,496) and the second APT title of his career. The result continues an excellent run for the Vietnamese professional, who is approaching USD 3 million in recorded live tournament earnings.

Japan’s Tadahiro Nakashima finished runner-up for KRW 36,550,000 (~USD 25,922), recording the largest live score of his career. It was also his second cash in two days after placing third in the opening Turbo High Roller.

Sho Miura took third for KRW 23,330,000 (~USD 16,546), also setting a new personal best. Miura had already finished fifth in the opening Single Day High Roller, giving him two final tables from the first two days of the festival.

Liu and Shalaev Make It Two From Two

Some players need a few days to settle into a festival. Ziwen Liu and Daniil Shalaev have apparently decided that is unnecessary.

Liu won the Dealer’s Choice for KRW 8,255,763 (~USD 5,855), just one day after capturing the Turbo – NL Omaha High title. The two victories have taken his career APT tally from four to six in the space of around 24 hours.

Shalaev completed the same trick in the Turbo – NL Omaha Ultimate Hi-Lo – Cry Me A River. The Russian earned KRW 3,910,844 (~USD 2,774), adding the title to his opening-day victory in the Big O.

Shalaev now owns nine APT trophies, while British professional Qibang “James” Cheung is still searching for his ninth after finishing runner-up to him.

It was Cheung’s second second-place finish of the day. He also came close in the Masters Omaha – PL Omaha High, where Frank Zhang denied him the trophy to secure his maiden APT title and KRW 13,428,000 (~USD 9,523).

Yue Sun Continues Her Incheon Run

Few players appear to enjoy playing in Incheon quite as much as Yue Sun .

The Chinese player won the Women’s Event for KRW 4,171,113 (~USD 2,958), taking her career total to five APT titles. Every one of those victories has come in South Korea.

Sun won three Women’s Events during APT Incheon 2025 and has picked up exactly where she left off. At this rate, she may eventually need to ask Paradise City for permanent trophy storage.

Qinyuan Fang finished runner-up for KRW 3,020,000 (~USD 2,142), while Fumi Kihara earned KRW 1,950,000 (~USD 1,383) for third.

APT Main Event and Super High Roller Begin Today

The first weekend of APT Incheon 2026 now moves into its biggest day so far, with the Main Event and Super High Roller both beginning on Sunday, August 9.

Flight A of the KRW 2.5 million (~USD 1,700) APT Main Event starts at 11am. Players begin with 40,000 chips and will play 60-minute levels, with registration remaining open until 11pm.

The tournament carries a KRW 1.5 billion (~USD 1 million) guarantee and runs through August 15.

The APT Super High Roller gets underway at 11:15am. The KRW 15 million (~USD 10,600) tournament has a KRW 500 million (~USD 354,000) guarantee and will play down to its Final Day.

The Mystery Bounty Hunter resumes at 11:15am, when its 122 survivors begin opening envelopes and finding out whose Sunday is about to become considerably more profitable.

A KRW 3 million (~USD 2,100) PLO High Roller starts at 11:30am, with a ten-seat guaranteed Main Event satellite and the Turbo High Roller completing the evening schedule.

Day 2 brought a record-breaking champion, another huge field and two players winning their second trophies before most of the field had finished unpacking. With the Main Event now beginning, the numbers at Paradise City are only likely to get bigger.

Be sure to check back to Somuchpoker regularly for the latest news and updates from APT Incheon 2026.

All facts, figures and images courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.