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

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.

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).

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).

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).

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).

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.

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).

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.

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).

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.

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.

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