Big Side Event Winners At The Close Of Record-Breaking APT Taipei 2025 Series

Asia
Asia-Pacific
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Recap
05/06/2025
APT Taipei 2025 - Photo by APT
APT Taipei 2025 – Photo by APT

The Asian Poker Tour has made history in Taiwan with the just concluded APT Taipei 2025 stop at the brand new Red Space venue filled to the brim during an action-packed series bringing in 126 tournaments. In this article, we take a closer look at some notables among the champions in the second half of the festival.

APT Taipei 2025 – Second Half Side Winners

Perhaps one of the biggest names participating in the entire series was none other than Indonesia’s John Juanda, who has been a longterm contender on the international live poker circuit with more than $26 million in cashes. He added some more to the resume after taking down Event #69 Single-Day High Roller.

The NT$ 85,000 (US$ 2,800) buy-in attracted a field of 230 entries and the top 31 finishers earned a portion of the NT$ 16,891,200 (~US$ 566,497) prize pool. Juanda’s victory came with a payday of NT$ 3,571,500 (~US$ 119,781), which is certainly not too shabby for one day of work at the poker tables for the currently ranked 37th on the all-time money list.

#69 Single Day High Roller (85,000 TWD)
Single Day High Roller
Total Prize USD
$521,335
Total Prize
NT$16,891,200
Entries
230
ITM
31
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$3,571,700
$110,240
JJ
John Juanda
Indonesia [IDN]Indonesia
2NT$2,405,500
$74,245
MH
Myunghwan Han
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
3NT$1,696,000
$52,345
MH
4NT$1,375,000
$42,440
5NT$1,088,000
$33,580
DJ
Dong Jae Lee
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
6NT$826,000
$25,495
7NT$603,000
$18,610
PP
8NT$441,000
$13,610
VD
Vu Do Tien
Viet Nam [VNM]Viet Nam
9NT$365,000
$11,265
LP
Leo Pang
Hong Kong [HKG]Hong Kong
Check the 31 Payouts & Results ...

Likewise on April 30, 2025, Taiwan’s Chen Yi Hung prevailed in a NT$ 20,000 (~ US$ 670) NLHE Event with a staggering field size of 428 entries to claim the top prize of NT$ 1,267,400 (~US$ 42,506). The day concluded with a victory of Park Yu “Sparrow” Cheung in a Hyper Turbo High Roller Win the Button, as he added to his trophy cabinet with a first-place worth NT$ 425,620 (~US$ 14,274).

#76 Hyper Turbo - High Roller - Win the Button (35,000 TWD)
Hyper Turbo - High Roller - Win the Button
Total Prize USD
$35,465
Total Prize
NT$1,149,120
Entries
38
ITM
5
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$425,620
$13,135
SC
2NT$293,000
$9,045
SJ
Sung Jin Yun
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
3NT$186,500
$5,755
GT
Guy Taylor
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [GBR]United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
4NT$135,000
$4,165
DJ
Daniel Junemo Lee
United States of America [USA]United States of America
5NT$109,000
$3,365
TS
Toh Shun Gui
Singapore [SGP]Singapore

Chung Lam Allan Kong came out on top of an even larger field of 501 entries in a NT$ 15,000 NLHE Freezeout for a handsome top prize of NT$ 1,199,055 (~US$ 40,214).

#85 NL Hold'em - Freezeout (15,000 TWD)
NL Hold'em - Freezeout
Total Prize USD
$191,360
Total Prize
NT$6,200,055
Entries
501
ITM
71
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$1,199,055
$37,010
2NT$754,000
$23,270
YH
3NT$540,000
$16,665
4NT$425,500
$13,135
JP
Jiang Pu
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland [GBR]United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
5NT$334,000
$10,310
ES
Eunjung Sim
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
6NT$261,000
$8,055
JL
Jung Lee
United States of America [USA]United States of America
7NT$196,500
$6,065
8NT$137,000
$4,230
9NT$108,500
$3,350
HZ
Check the 71 Payouts & Results ...

Also hailing from Hong Kong is Kwan Chun Kit and they lifted the trophy in the largest ever Zodiac Classic Sponsored by Natural8. The initial guarantee was smashed and more than doubled thanks to a gargantuan 626-entry strong field, which paid out NT$ 43,269,120 in prize money – which equals approximately US$ 1.45 million! Kwan’s top prize of NT$ 8,572,620 (~US$ 287,508) was sweetened by the additional APT Championship ticket for November.

In the prestigious Baby Superstar Challenge, the trophy remained on home soil as Chih Wei Fan defeated a field of 151 entries. Famously known for his APT Main Event run and memorable six-bet shove with ace-five into aces, Fan had the best of it this time and collected nearly a quarter of the NT$ 22,323,840 (~US$ 748,697) prize pool worth NT$ 5,358,340 (~US$ 179,708).

#96 Baby Superstar Challenge (165,000 TWD)
Baby Superstar Challenge
Total Prize USD
$689,005
Total Prize
NT$22,323,840
Entries
151
ITM
20
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$5,358,340
$165,380
CW
2NT$3,639,000
$112,315
SP
3NT$2,400,000
$74,075
AV
4NT$1,982,500
$61,190
5NT$1,591,500
$49,120
6NT$1,248,000
$38,520
IC
7NT$935,500
$28,875
CJ
8NT$692,000
$21,360
AP
Alfie Poetra
United States of America [USA]United States of America
9NT$536,000
$16,545
CW
Christian William Harder
United States of America [USA]United States of America
Check the 20 Payouts & Results ...

Two years ago, South Korea’s Seong Uk Huh won the WPT Prime Main Event at the Asia Poker Arena and he added another victory in Taiwan this time. Event #99 Turbo High Roller came with a price tag of NT$ 50,000 (~US$ 1,677) and attracted 52 entries. Huh was the last man standing for a top prize of NT$ 707,900 (~US$ 23,742).

#99 Turbo - High Roller (50,000 TWD)
Turbo - High Roller
Total Prize USD
$69,335
Total Prize
NT$2,246,400
Entries
52
ITM
7
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$707,900
$21,850
HS
Huh Seong Uk
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
2NT$511,000
$15,770
3NT$325,500
$10,045
4NT$247,000
$7,625
5NT$191,000
$5,895
6NT$146,000
$4,505
7NT$118,000
$3,640
LJ

On the final two days of the series, several of the multi-flight key events played down to a winner. Among them was the NT$ 25,000 (~US$ 838) Mini Main Event with a huge field size of 1,760 entries for a prize pool of NT$ 38,016,000 (~US$ 1,274,981). Hung Te Lee from Taiwan came out as the winner for NT$ 6,865,000 (~US$ 230,238) and the APT Championship entry ticket.

#92 Mini Main Event (25,000 TWD)
Mini Main Event
Total Prize USD
$1,173,335
Total Prize
NT$38,016,000
Guaranteed
NT$15,000,000
Entries
1,760
ITM
248
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$6,865,000
$211,885
HT
2NT$3,646,500
$112,545
3NT$2,550,000
$78,705
JS
Jaemoon Seok
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
4NT$1,848,000
$57,035
5NT$1,472,500
$45,450
HH
Ho Hoi Choy
Hong Kong [HKG]Hong Kong
6NT$1,171,500
$36,155
PC
7NT$895,000
$27,625
CH
Chak Hei Chan
Australia [AUS]Australia
8NT$632,000
$19,505
LC
9NT$483,000
$14,905
JS
Check the 248 Payouts & Results ...

The NT$ 11,000 (~US$ 369) Micro Main Event nearly tripled the guarantee thanks to 629 entries and there was a chop in heads-up between Kuan Chieh Wang from Taiwan and Gilbert Tin Fook of Mauritius. It was Wang who claimed the trophy and marginally higher payout of NT$ 881,600 (~US$ 29,567).

#117 Micro Main Event (11,000 TWD)
Micro Main Event
Total Prize USD
$175,115
Total Prize
NT$5,673,680
Guaranteed
NT$2,000,000
Entries
629
ITM
87
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$881,600
$27,210
2NT$881,580
$27,210
3NT$484,000
$14,940
SH
4NT$374,500
$11,560
5NT$295,000
$9,105
6NT$231,000
$7,130
7NT$171,000
$5,280
YK
Yichang Kim
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
8NT$117,500
$3,625
9NT$92,500
$2,855
PY
Pui Yu Ning
Hong Kong [HKG]Hong Kong
Check the 87 Payouts & Results ...

Another deal was made in Event #104 Double Stack and that comes as little surprise with two players from the Philippines ending up in the duel for the trophy. Jeorge Lagatuz defeated David Erquiaga and had the best of it with NT$ 2,639,000 (~USD 88,506) along with the APT Championship ticket.

#104 Double Stack (20,000 TWD)
Double Stack
Total Prize USD
$482,220
Total Prize
NT$15,624,000
Guaranteed
NT$10,000,000
Entries
930
ITM
131
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$2,639,000
$81,450
JL
Jeorge Lagatuz
Philippines [PHL]Philippines
2NT$2,289,000
$70,650
DE
David Erquiaga
Philippines [PHL]Philippines
3NT$1,218,000
$37,595
4NT$914,500
$28,225
5NT$711,500
$21,960
DC
6NT$526,500
$16,250
7NT$377,000
$11,635
8NT$268,500
$8,285
NC
Ngai Chung Ng
Hong Kong [HKG]Hong Kong
9NT$212,000
$6,545
SI
Check the 131 Payouts & Results ...

In the elusive APT High Roller, a total of 415 entries for the NT$ 110,000 (~US$ 3,689) buy-in more than  doubled the guaranteed prize pool. It ended with the victory for Vietnam’s Nguyen Trung Quan, who not only received the APT Championship ticket but also a handsome payout of NT$ 7,936,600 (~US$ 266,178).

#105 APT High Roller (110,000 TWD)
APT High Roller
Total Prize USD
$1,217,335
Total Prize
NT$39,441,600
Guaranteed
NT$15,000,000
Entries
415
ITM
55
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$7,936,600
$244,955
2NT$4,808,500
$148,410
3NT$3,475,000
$107,255
4NT$2,810,500
$86,745
5NT$2,224,500
$68,655
KW
Kaifan Wang
United States of America [USA]United States of America
6NT$1,712,000
$52,840
SJ
Sung Jin Yun
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
7NT$1,274,500
$39,335
KW
Kok Wei Teoh
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
8NT$922,500
$28,470
9NT$746,500
$23,040
Check the 55 Payouts & Results ...

Swiss poker pro Dinesh Alt claimed one of the APT trophies on the final day of the series in a very solid 200-entry strong field in Event #118 High Roller Last Chance. His NT$ 65,000 buy-in (~US$ 2,180) transpired into a top prize of NT$ 2,486,000 (~US$ 83,375) and that more than made up for his run-bad during the 2025 Irish Open in Dublin.

#118 High Roller - Last Chance (65,000 TWD)
High Roller - Last Chance
Total Prize USD
$346,665
Total Prize
NT$11,232,000
Entries
200
ITM
27
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$2,486,000
$76,730
DA
Dinesh Alt
Switzerland [CHE]Switzerland
2NT$1,679,000
$51,820
3NT$1,156,000
$35,680
4NT$942,500
$29,090
5NT$751,500
$23,195
JO
Junseok Oh
Korea (Republic of) [KOR]Korea (Republic of)
6NT$577,500
$17,825
ZX
7NT$420,000
$12,965
8NT$304,500
$9,400
9NT$251,500
$7,760
Check the 27 Payouts & Results ...

Another notable to end the series on a high-note was Indonesia’s Jhon Hendri, who lifted the trophy in one of the very last tournaments on the schedule. Event #122 Turbo High Roller produced a field of 114 entries and Hendri collected the top prize of NT$ 867,860 (~US$ 29,106) to make it half a dozen wins on the live poker circuit.

#122 Turbo - High Roller (35,000 TWD)
Turbo - High Roller
Total Prize USD
$106,400
Total Prize
NT$3,447,360
Entries
114
ITM
17
#PayoutPlayer
1NT$867,860
$26,785
JH
Jhon Hendri
Indonesia [IDN]Indonesia
2NT$586,000
$18,085
3NT$381,000
$11,760
JS
Jo Seng Mok
Malaysia [MYS]Malaysia
4NT$315,500
$9,740
5NT$254,500
$7,855
6NT$200,500
$6,190
7NT$153,500
$4,740
DK
8NT$115,500
$3,565
9NT$86,000
$2,655
Check the 17 Payouts & Results ...

Stay tuned for a separate festival recap with all key figures of what has been a live poker series for the ages in Taiwan.

Links:

APT Taipei 2025 – News
APT Taipei 2025 – Results
APT Taipei 2025 – Live Reports