APT Taipei 2026 is underway, with the opening day bringing action across the National Cup and the first high roller of the series.

Back in Taipei for its 13th visit, the Asian Poker Tour has once again taken over Red Space and Asia Poker Arena , with a packed schedule now in motion and the TWD 70 million (~USD 2.2m) guaranteed Main Event still to come.

National Cup Gets the Festival Rolling

The APT National Cup was the first key event out of the gate, with Flights A and B combining for 545 entries on opening day.

Flight A pulled in 367 entries and played through 23 levels before South Korea’s Hun Tae Choi finished on top with 1,275,000. Daeyoung Park bagged 1,205,000, while Japan’s Shunsuke Kosera ended with 1,170,000 as 19 players booked their seats into the Final Day as the field played down to the final 5 percent.

Hun Tae Choi APT Taipei 2026 — Hun Tae Choi: Photo Credit – Asian Poker Tour

Flight B followed later in the day with 178 entries in the turbo format. Thailand’s Ngamsiri Asiralertsiri bagged the biggest stack of the two opening flights with 1,460,000. Grant Wang finished second in chips with 970,000, while Chia Lin Huang rounded out the top three with 765,000. Nine players advanced from the evening flight.

With four more starting flights still to come, the National Cup is off to a strong start as players chase one of the first major titles of the series.

Familiar Faces Waste no Time

There were plenty of recognizable names in the field from the start of the festival.

Nishant Sharma , who won the APT Championship Main Event last year , was among those jumping straight into the action and fired multiple bullets across the opening flights. APT Taipei 2025 Main Event champion Akira Takasugi was also spotted early, along with Hao Shan Huang .

Nishant Sharma APT Taipei 2026 — Nishant Sharma: Photo Credit – Asian Poker Tour

Over in the high roller field, Abraham Ceesvin and Joseph Cheong were both in the mix, while Natural8 ambassadors Nevan Chang and Charlie Chiu were also seen taking their seats.

Ko Leads First High Roller of the Series

Event #4: High Roller – Ultra Stack also got underway on Day 1 and played down to its final day after drawing 97 entries, creating a prize pool of TWD 5,447,520.

Taiwan’s Chia Hsiang Ko ended the day with the chip lead after bagging 1,845,000. Japan’s Kento Nasu sits second with 1,674,000, while Thailand’s Shotiwan Wattanalarp returns third in chips with 1,382,000.

Australia’s John Perry also found a bag and remains well in the hunt inside the top ten as the event plays down to a winner.

High Roller – Ultra Stack Top Ten Chip Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Chia Hsiang Ko	Taiwan	1,845,000
2	Kento Nasu	Japan	1,674,000
3	Shotiwan Wattanalarp	Thailand	1,382,000
4	Kannapong Thanarattrakul	Thailand	1,119,000
5	Aung Myo	Myanmar	1,093,000
6	Sho Homma	Japan	1,008,000
7	John Perry	Australia	992,000
8	I Chun “Charlie” Chiu	Taiwan	831,000
9	Hugues Girard	France	656,000
10	Rintaro Kagawa	Japan	654,000

More to Come in Taipei

More National Cup flights are set to play out over the next two days before the Final Day on April 25, while the High Roller – Ultra Stack will award the first high-stakes trophy of the series.

APT Taipei 2026 – Schedule Thursday 23 April

It is still only the first day, but the turnout and early energy already suggest another busy stop for the tour in Taipei. No surprises there. APT festivals keep pushing the numbers higher, and Taipei has become one of the tour’s go-to stops for it.

Be sure to check back to Somuchpoker regularly for the latest updates from the floor at Red Space and Asia Poker Arena.

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