APT Jeju 2026 Day 5: Nevan Chang Wins Superstar Challenge as Main Event Surpasses 1,100 Entries

Day 5 of APT Jeju 2026 delivered another landmark day at LES A Casino, with the Main Event surging past its guarantee and two of the festival's biggest high-stakes events crowning champions.

The APT Main Event has now reached 1,172 entries, with 368 players advancing to Day 2 and late registration still available on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Nevan Chang captured the record-breaking Superstar Challenge for KRW 451,777,500 (~USD 337,150) and the tenth APT title of his career.

China's Xiang Chen also enjoyed a career-best day after winning the High Roller - Ultra Stack for KRW 217,934,000 (~USD 162,640), while Kenji Arai headlined another busy group of side-event champions.

APT Jeju Main Event Surpasses 1,100 Entries

The final two starting flights of the KRW 2.7 million Main Event added another 413 entries on Tuesday, with 256 joining Flight C and 157 taking part in Flight D.

That lifted the field to 1,172 entries and pushed the prize pool to KRW 2,734,041,600 (~USD 2.04 million), comfortably surpassing the KRW 2.2 billion guarantee.

A total of 368 players have advanced to Day 2, although those numbers are not yet final. Late registration remains open until the start of Level 12 at 12:15 p.m. KST on Wednesday, September 30.

Chang Li Tops Main Event Flight C

Flight C attracted 256 entries, including 209 unique players, with 116 surviving the ten levels.

China's Chang Li finished at the top of the counts with 239,000 and was the only player in the flight to break the 200,000 mark. Vietnam's Anh Tuan Trinh bagged 189,500, while Jie Yuan finished third with 181,800.

Several former major Asian Poker Tour champions also progressed from Flight C. Two-time Main Event champion Lester Edoc bagged 128,000, while Daisuke Ogita finished with 106,800 and William Li advanced with 56,700.

Daniel Neilson also progressed with 80,800, while Khoa Anh Ngo finished on 65,300. James Mendoza bagged 96,900, and David "Spade" Erquiaga survived with 22,900.

Fuyu Yang Leads Main Event Flight D

The final starting flight drew 157 entries, including 117 unique players, and sent another 58 players through to Day 2.

Fuyu Yang topped the flight with 329,900, making the Canadian the only Flight D player to finish above 300,000 and placing him second in the overall Day 2 counts.

Dajie Zhuo finished second in the flight with 256,000, while Yifan Zhang completed the top three on 243,100.

Former Main Event champions Walter Lau (139,900) and Rene von Reden (72,700) also advanced.

Fresh from his runner-up finish in the Superstar Challenge, Rudy Edenata finished on 97,800. Ryuta Nakai also made Day 2 with 87,200, while Pete Chen bagged 82,100 and Maxim Lykov advanced with 29,900.

The Main Event livestream begins alongside Day 2 at 11 a.m. KST on Wednesday.

Nevan Chang Wins Record-Breaking Superstar Challenge

Chang secured one of the biggest wins of his career after defeating a 51-entry Superstar Challenge field, the largest since the buy-in increased to USD 25,000 in 2024, for KRW 451,777,500 (~USD 337,150).

The victory gave the Taiwanese professional his 10th career APT title and the Black Stealth Lion trophy, while also earning him a USD 10,000 seat to the APT Championship Main Event in November.

The 51 entries generated a record KRW 1,785,127,500 (~USD 1.33 million) prize pool, with 11 players reaching the money.

Chang entered the nine-handed final table fifth in chips but went on to eliminate five of his eight opponents, including start-of-day chip leader Rob Hollink in fourth place.

He carried close to a 2:1 chip lead into heads-up play against Rudy Edenata and needed just three hands to close out the title.

Xiang Chen Claims Maiden APT Title in High Roller - Ultra Stack

Xiang Chen joined the list of major Day 5 winners after coming through a 283-entry field in the two-day KRW 4.5 million High Roller - Ultra Stack.

The tournament generated a KRW 1,100,304,000 (~USD 821,120) prize pool, with 39 players making the money.

Chen defeated Haruhiko Shinohara heads-up to secure his maiden APT title and career-best KRW 217,934,000 (~USD 162,640) payday. Chen also earned a USD 10,000 seat to the APT Championship Main Event.

Shinohara received KRW 144,880,000 (~USD 108,120) for second place, while the United Kingdom's Sam Ameen finished third for KRW 105,970,000 (~USD 79,080).

Punnat Punsri narrowly missed the final table in 11th place, while Tom Verbruggen finished 12th. Trung Quan Nguyen placed 16th and Abhinav Iyer finished 17th.

Kenji Arai Headlines APT Jeju Day 5 Side Event Winners

Kenji Arai headlined the day's additional side-event winners after topping a 105-entry Single Day High Roller. The Japanese player collected a career-best KRW 99,666,000 (~USD 73,554) and his maiden APT title.

Xiao Zhang finished runner-up for KRW 68,660,000 (~USD 50,672), while Scott Margereson took third for KRW 45,060,000 (~USD 33,255).

Kevin Choi added another trophy to his collection in the Masters Mix Game - 9-Game. The Hong Kong mixed-game specialist topped a 34-entry field for KRW 16,294,000 (~USD 12,025), earning the sixth APT title of his career.

Zeng Weiyong secured his maiden APT title after winning the 188-entry NL Hold'em Bounty for KRW 30,095,200 (~USD 22,211), while Wang Zhujun won the Women's Main Event for KRW 10,384,588 (~USD 7,664) and her second career APT trophy.

Joris Michl moved to four career APT titles after winning the PL Omaha High for KRW 12,158,304 (~USD 8,973).

Yi Wang continued his strong festival by winning Event #49: NL Hold'em - 1 Re-Entry for KRW 33,800,000 (~USD 24,945). The victory was his second of APT Jeju 2026 and took his career total to three APT titles.

The remaining Day 5 winners included Renjun Yang, who claimed his second APT title in the Turbo - NL Single Draw Mix; Yan Zhang, who secured his second trophy in the Turbo - High Roller - Win the Button; and Jialiang Sun, who turned his first recorded live cash into victory in the Hyper Turbo - NLH.

Minghong Zhao also turned his first recorded live tournament cash into a maiden APT victory in the Super Hyper Turbo - Double Board Bomb Pot, denying Chang a second trophy of the day after the Superstar Challenge champion finished runner-up.

APT Jeju Day 6 Schedule

Wednesday, September 30 will see the Main Event take center stage as APT Jeju 2026 moves into Day 6.

Main Event Day 2 begins at 11 a.m. KST, with registration remaining open for one level before closing at 12:15 p.m.

The KRW 5 million High Roller also gets underway at 1 p.m., with registration open until 10:20 p.m. A KRW 600,000 Satellite to Zodiac begins at 7:30 p.m. with five seats guaranteed, before the KRW 1.5 million Hyper Turbo - High Roller rounds out the day's key events at 10:15 p.m.

Players can view the complete day's action on the APT Jeju 2026 schedule, while further festival information, results and live updates are available on the Somuchpoker APT Jeju 2026 festival page.

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for more news, results and highlights from Jeju as the Main Event moves into Day 2 and the festival's next major High Roller gets underway.

All images courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.