Kunlei Xie Wins APT Incheon High Roller Ultra Stack as Main Event Tops 1K

Kunlei Xie claimed the biggest victory of his career on Day 5 of APT Incheon 2026 , winning the High Roller Ultra Stack for KRW 179,636,000 (~USD 128,955) and a seat in the APT Championship Main Event.

The Chinese player defeated Daniel Neilson heads-up to secure his maiden Asian Poker Tour title, while the festival’s Main Event moved beyond 1,000 entries with late registration still open.

The four live flights attracted 895 entries, which, combined with the 282 OnLive entries played on Natural8 , took the provisional field to 1,177 entries. The prize pool already stands at KRW 2,542,320,000 (~USD 1.82 million), comfortably clearing the KRW 1.5 billion guarantee.

It turns out four figures were only the beginning.

Xie More Than Triples Career Winnings

Xie entered the High Roller Ultra Stack with USD 47,307 in recorded live tournament earnings. Two days later, he had added almost USD 129,000 to that total and secured his first APT trophy.

The KRW 4,500,000 (~USD 3,200) High Roller Ultra Stack attracted 222 entries, including 159 unique players, to create a KRW 863,136,000 (~USD 619,625) prize pool.

A total of 94 players returned for the Final Day, with 31 reaching the money. Xie navigated a field packed with APT champions and high-stakes regulars before meeting Neilson heads-up.

The Australian was attempting to win his third APT title but had to settle for second place and KRW 120,930,000 (~USD 86,810).

Chaiwut Jungpongsakorn completed the podium, earning a career-best KRW 85,260,000 (~USD 61,205) for third.

Xie’s reward also included a USD 10,000 APT Championship Main Event seat for the APT Championship Taipei 2026 this November.

Not bad for a player whose entire recorded tournament career had previously produced less than half of Tuesday’s first prize.

#37 High Roller - Ultra Stack (4,500,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$619,625

Total Prize

863.1M KRW

Entries

222

ITM

31

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩179,636,000 $128,955	KX Kunlei Xie China	2,097.82
2	₩120,930,000 $86,810	DN Daniel Neilson Australia	1,483.38
3	₩85,260,000 $61,205	CJ Chaiwut Jungpongsakorn Thailand	1,211.18
4	₩69,130,000 $49,625	TN Tharit Nanthana Thailand	1,048.91
5	₩54,690,000 $39,260	YO Yuki Ozaki Japan	938.17
6	₩41,530,000 $29,815	RP Ryan Plant United Kingdom	856.43
7	₩30,320,000 $21,765	YS Yuzhi Shen China	792.90
8	₩22,160,000 $15,910	VT Van Tuan Pham Viet Nam	741.69
9	₩18,340,000 $13,165	JC Jianting Cai China	699.27

Check the 30 Payouts & Results ...

Tharit Nanthana finished fourth for KRW 69,130,000, while Yuki Ozaki collected KRW 54,690,000 in fifth.

Ryan Plant reached the final table and finished sixth for KRW 41,530,000. Yuzhi Shen, Van Tuan Pham and Jian Ting Cai completed the final nine.

Day 1 chip leader Daniel Smiljkovic was unable to carry his advantage to the final table, finishing 22nd.

Other recognizable names reaching the money included Phuong Ngoc Nguyen in 23rd, Yita Choong in 27th and Wing Po Liu in 30th.

APT Incheon Main Event Passes 1,000 Entries

While Xie was collecting the Gold Lion Silhouette trophy, the final two starting flights of the KRW 2,500,000 APT Main Event were filling the tables at Paradise City Incheon in South Korea .

Flight C attracted 303 entries, while another 205 entries joined the turbo Flight D later in the day. Those fields followed 165 entries in Flight A and 222 in Flight B.

Together with the 282 OnLive entries, the Main Event reached 1,177 entries before Day 2. Late registration remains available until 12:15pm on August 12, meaning the final field and prize pool will both increase.

The guarantee was surpassed during Flight C and has now been beaten by more than KRW 1 billion.

Records have become fairly regular at APT festivals, but building a prize pool worth approximately USD 1.82 million before registration closes still deserves a moment.

Higuchi Junichi Leads Flight C

Higuchi Junichi topped the 154 players advancing from Flight C after bagging 294,800.

That stack placed the Japanese player third overall behind Flight B leaders Shawn Cheng Hong Lee, who holds 329,000, and Ka Lok Lam with 304,900.

Takuya Miyaura finished second in the Flight C counts with 282,900, while Dajie Zhuo ended with 228,000.

Sanshiro Ito followed on 223,600, and Haohui Ma advanced with 215,600.

Several former APT champions also made it through the flight.

Tony Ren Lin , winner of the APT Jeju Classic 2026 Super High Roller, bagged 104,800. APT Taipei 2025 High Roller champion Trung Quan Nguyen finished with 88,500.

Super High Roller runner-up Michel Molenaar advanced with 122,500, while third-place finisher Peng Chen accumulated 139,400.

Sugai Tops the Final Starting Flight

Yusuke Sugai emerged as the Flight D chip leader after finishing the turbo flight with 219,800.

Sugai was the only player in the flight to cross 200,000 and will begin Day 2 sitting 12th in the overall counts.

Japanese players occupied six of the top seven positions from Flight D. Tomoya Kojima finished with 169,900, followed by Ryusuke Matsuo on 158,900 and Hiroyuki Hirano with 155,400.

APT All-Time Money List leader Joseph Cheong also enjoyed a productive evening, bagging 145,200 to finish eighth in the flight.

Former APT Championship High Roller winner Toby Joyce advanced with 60,400, while APT Manila Classic 2025 Main Event champion Ivan Govorov survived with 37,800.

Wai Kiat Lee Finally Claims an APT Trophy

The side-event schedule also produced a long-awaited breakthrough for Wai Kiat Lee .

The Malaysian high-stakes regular won the KRW 10,000,000 Baby Superstar Challenge, defeating a 33-entry field to collect KRW 109,004,000 (~USD 77,308) and his first APT title.

Lee had amassed more than USD 26 million in live tournament earnings without winning on the tour. That slightly unusual gap in his résumé is now closed.

Dmitrill Kravchenko finished second for KRW 75,130,000, while Bin Duan collected KRW 47,880,000 in third.

Natural8 ambassadors Nevan Chang and Chih Wei Fan completed the five paid positions.

Elsewhere, Siriwan Sukmekerd won the record-breaking Women’s Main Event for KRW 14,122,934.

Shinnosuke Takuma collected KRW 55,254,000 plus another KRW 28,000,000 in bounties after winning the Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty.

Main Event Field Comes Together

The 419 survivors from the four live starting flights will combine for Day 2 at 11am on Wednesday, August 12.

The OnLive qualifiers have already secured their places on Day 3 and in the paying positions, while the live field still has work to do before joining them.

Late registration remains open through the opening level of Day 2, leaving the final field and prize pool unresolved.

What is already certain is that APT Incheon has another four-figure Main Event on its hands and more than KRW 2.5 billion waiting to be divided.

What Is Coming on Day 6?

The Main Event takes centre stage on Wednesday, August 12, with Day 2 beginning at 11am and late registration remaining open until 12:15pm.

Players looking for more high-stakes action can enter the KRW 3,000,000 High Roller from 1:30pm.

A five-seat guaranteed satellite to the Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 begins at 7:30pm, with a KRW 530,000 buy-in.

The day concludes with the KRW 1,500,000 Hyper Turbo High Roller at 10:15pm, because apparently one high roller is not enough for a Wednesday.

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

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