APT Jeju 2026 Day 6: Main Event Hits 1,375 Entries as Ma Kaihong Leads 198 Into Day 3

Day 6 of APT Jeju 2026 saw registration close in the festival’s flagship Main Event at LES A Casino , with the field swelling to 1,375 entries and generating a prize pool of more than KRW 3.2 billion.

The KRW 2.7 million APT Main Event is now down to 198 players following a dramatic double bubble, with China’s Ma Kaihong leading the field into Day 3 on 1,135,000. A massive KRW 556,340,000 (~USD 415,180) awaits the eventual champion.

Elsewhere, Joseph Cheong leads 43 survivors into the final day of the High Roller, while Tran Hanh moved within one victory of double-digit Asian Poker Tour titles after collecting the ninth trophy of his career.

Ma Kaihong Leads 198 Into APT Jeju Main Event Day 3

Registration officially closed with 1,375 entries from 696 unique players representing 36 nations, comfortably eclipsing the Main Event’s original KRW 2.2 billion guarantee.

The field generated a final KRW 3,207,600,000 (~USD 2,393,730) prize pool, making it the third-richest APT Main Event staged in South Korea and the sixth-richest non-Championship Main Event in tour history.

The eventual champion will take home the Gold Lion trophy and KRW 556,340,000 (~USD 415,180), the second-largest APT Main Event top prize awarded in South Korea.

Five USD 10,000 seats to November’s APT Championship Main Event are also up for grabs. The top three finishers will each secure a seat, with another two awarded through lucky draws on Days 3 and 4.

Double Bubble Brings Day 2 to a Close

Day 2 began with 368 returning players joined by another 203 late entrants and continued for almost eight 60-minute levels before play went hand-for-hand with 201 remaining.

China’s Lei Yang was eliminated in 201st place after his pocket nines ran into the pocket tens of Xue Ying Zhao, leaving the field one elimination away from the scheduled 199 paid positions.

The bubble then stretched for around 30 minutes before two players were eliminated simultaneously at separate tables. Francis Anderson of the United States and China’s Shurong Huang therefore split the 199th-place payout, each collecting KRW 2,090,000 (~USD 1,560).

That left 198 players advancing to Day 3, with the standard min-cash set at KRW 4,180,000 (~USD 3,120).

Ma Kaihong Sets the Pace

Ma Kaihong finished Day 2 as the only player above the one-million mark, bagging 1,135,000 to take the overall chip lead.

Compatriot Jiawei Wan sits second with 986,000, while Kim Wah Chiu of Singapore completes the top three with 981,000.

Toby Joyce narrowly missed the top ten after bagging 646,000.

Former APT Main Event champions Daisuke Ogita (536,000), Rene von Reden (160,000) and Abhinav Iyer (80,000) also made it through.

Reigning APT Incheon Main Event champion Stephen Pang will join them on Day 3 after qualifying OnLive through Natural8 with 232,000.

Other APT Big Three champions advancing included Trung Quan Nguyen (343,000), Daniel Neilson (202,000) and Stanley Weng (116,000).

Day 3 begins at 11:15 a.m. KST on Thursday, October 1. Play is scheduled for a maximum of ten 60-minute levels, but will conclude early if the field reaches the final 48 players.

Joseph Cheong Leads APT Jeju High Roller Final Day

Joseph Cheong leads the remaining 43 players into the final day of Event #54: High Roller after finishing Day 1 with 1,311,000.

Only 27 players will reach the money, with a min-cash of KRW 8,120,000 (~USD 5,993). The eventual champion will collect KRW 179,790,000 (~USD 132,686) and a seat to the APT Championship Main Event.

Cheong is hunting the sixth APT title of his career and his first of the 2026 season.

Kunal Patni sits second with 1,157,000 as he chases a seventh APT title, while Ka Chun Tsui rounds out the top three on 1,120,000.

Fresh from winning the Superstar Challenge for his tenth APT title, Nevan Chang is also still in the hunt. Chang has considerably more work to do after bagging 119,000, the second-shortest stack among the remaining players.

Tran Hanh Claims Ninth APT Title

Tran Hanh moved to within one victory of double-digit APT titles after overcoming the 28-entry Masters Fixed Limit Draw Poker.

The Austrian mixed-game specialist earned KRW 13,428,000 (~USD 9,910) for his ninth career APT title.

Sorawit Suriyakarn finished runner-up for KRW 9,250,000 (~USD 6,827), while Renji Mao completed the podium for KRW 5,900,000 (~USD 4,354).

More APT Jeju Day 6 Winners

China’s Su Yang secured the biggest score of his career after winning Event #56: NL Hold’em for KRW 26,547,765 (~USD 19,592) and his maiden APT title.

Yang reached heads-up play against Chen Yu before the two agreed to an ICM deal. Yang held the chip lead and was awarded the title and trophy, while Yu received KRW 24,219,000 (~USD 17,874).

Geka Aoi also turned a milestone cash into a title. The Japanese player topped the 17-entry Women’s Event for KRW 4,045,244 (~USD 2,985), converting her first recorded live tournament cash into her maiden APT victory.

Suiyuan Chen continued his impressive festival by winning the 55-entry Turbo – NL Omaha Ultimate Hi-Lo – Cry Me A River for KRW 6,770,880 (~USD 4,997). Chen had already won the Sunday Super Stack earlier in the series, giving him two titles at APT Jeju 2026 and three APT trophies overall. Australia’s Jarryd Godena finished runner-up for KRW 4,890,000 (~USD 3,609).

Pavel Platonov finally converted one of several deep runs at the festival into his maiden APT title, winning the Hyper Turbo – NL Dealer’s Choice Stud Mix for KRW 2,834,230 (~USD 2,091). Platonov had already finished second in Event #2 and third in Event #42 earlier in the series.

Yixiang Zhu also joined the list of first-time APT champions after overcoming the 82-entry Tick Tock BOOM! for KRW 5,411,574 (~USD 3,994).

Qinxue Jiang rounded out the day’s winners by topping the 46-entry Hyper Turbo – High Roller for a career-best KRW 21,175,600 (~USD 15,628) and his maiden APT title. Sugai Yusuke finished runner-up for KRW 14,630,000 (~USD 10,797), while Elmer Kalaquian took third for KRW 9,340,000 (~USD 6,893).

APT Jeju Day 7 Schedule

Thursday, October 1 brings another packed day at APT Jeju 2026 , with both the Main Event and High Roller returning at 11:15 a.m. KST.

The KRW 15 million Single Day Super High Roller begins at noon, followed by the KRW 3.7 million Zodiac Classic at 12:30 p.m. The Zodiac carries a KRW 500 million guarantee and is sponsored by Natural8.

The KRW 1.5 million Women’s High Roller follows at 2 p.m., while the APT Players Party gets underway at 10 p.m.

Players can find the complete tournament lineup on the APT Jeju 2026 schedule .

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for more news, results and highlights as the Main Event field continues its push toward the final stages.

All images courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.

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