New chapter for Asian Poker Tour: APT Hanoi 2023 revamped schedule and five-year sponsorship deal with Natural8

Asia-Pacific
Live Poker
01/20/2023

2023 marks a new chapter for the Asian Poker Tour with new owners, APT Events Private Limited, aiming to take the brand to greater heights. This past week revealed some of those changes starting with a revamped APT Hanoi 2023 schedule. Following the release, the APT also announced an agreement with Natural8 that will see the online brand as title sponsor for five years. The tie-up begins with an APT Online series featuring $10,000,000 in guarantees.

APT Hanoi 2023

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APT, the longest running land based poker organizer in Asia, opens its 2023 season at the Vietnam Series of Poker (VSOP) in Hanoi, Vietnam. Viewed as the coolest looking poker room in the capital, the festival runs from February 3 to 12. It features 41 events and VN₫ 20 Billion (~$852,900) in guaranteed prize pools. Amateurs and pros are in for a thrill with a variety of games priced from VN₫ 4,400,000 (~$185) to VN₫ 107,000,000 (~$4,560). Here are the highlights.

Guaranteed Events

EventGuaranteeDatesBuy in
AP MAIN EVENTVN₫ 10,000,000,000February 6-11VN₫ 27,500,000
Super Star InvitationalVN₫ 1,500,000,000February 4-5VN₫ 107,000,000
APT Kick OffVN₫ 1,500,000,000February 3-4VN₫ 8,800,000
Mystery Bounty HunterVN₫ 1,500,000,000February 4-5VN₫ 9,900,000
Sunday SpecialVN₫ 500,000,000February 5VN₫ 6,600,000
Monster StackVN₫ 1,000,000,000February 10-11VN₫ 11,000,000
APT High Roller 8-MaxVN₫ 3,000,000,000February 10-12VN₫ 55,000,000
APT Mini Main EventVN₫ 1,000,000,000February 11-12VN₫ 8,800,000

The star of the festival is the APT MAIN EVENT which weighs in at an ambitious VN₫ 10 Billion (~$426,400) guarantee. This is double the amount of its first visit. Significant changes have also been made to the starting day formats.

  • Day 1A retains its 60 minutes per level
  • Day 1B will see blinds increase every 45 minutes
  • Day 1C and Day 1D will see blinds increase every 30 minutes
  • Day 2, Day 3, and Final Table retain its 60 minutes per level
  • Day 1 flights play ten levels

High Roller Events

The Vietnam high roller scene is vibrant and players worldwide have taken notice. At each festival, demand increases, therefore for the series, nine are scheduled with the Super Star Invitational (Open Event) peaking at VN₫ 107M buy in.

EventGuaranteeDatesBuy in
Super Star InvitationalVN₫ 1,500,000,000February 4-5VN₫ 107,000,000
APT High Roller 8-MaxVN₫ 3,000,000,000February 10-12VN₫ 55,000,000
Single Day HR 8-MaxFebruary 2,5,7,8VN₫ 44,000,000
NLH/PLO Single Day HR 8-MaxFebruary 6VN₫ 55,000,000
Single Day HR 8-MaxFebruary 9VN₫ 66,000,000
High Speed High RollerFebruary 12VN₫ 44,000,000

Unique Events

Aside from staple tournaments, the APT introduces new events and gives space to past favorites such as the Women’s Event and Crazy Pineapple.

EventDatesBuy in
Event 3: Holdem – Hyper TurboFebruary 3VN₫ 16,500,000
Event 4: Omaholic (PL Pre/NL Omaha High – Hyper TurboFebruary 3VN₫ 4,400,000
Event 22: NLH – Super Holdem (3 holecards) – Hyper TurboFebruary 7VN₫ 4,400,000
Event 24: Women’s EventFebruary 8VN₫ 4,400,000
Event 26: Tick Tock (levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5)February 8VN₫ 4,400,000
Event 30: NLH – Crazy Pineapple – Hyper TurboFebruary 9VN₫ 4,400,000

For more information, head to the APT Hanoi 2023 schedule. Along with this release, the APT also included the full schedule for APT Phu Quoc 2023. The event takes place from March 24 to April 2 at the Corona Resort & Casino Phu Quoc. Details can be found here.

APT signs Natural8 as title sponsor for five years

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In line with its season of progression, the APT has also announced a five-year agreement with online platform Natural8. In the official announcement, APT Chief Executive Officer, Fred Leung said,

“2023 is going to be a transformative year for the Asian Poker Tour and inking this deal with Natural8 is a massive step towards reaching our new era initiatives. This collaboration with N8 will greatly improve our live event offerings and provide opportunities for players that didn’t previously exist.”

Linking up with N8 will no doubt cast a larger net. To kick off the deal, N8 is sponsor for several events in the released live schedules and plans to host a massive Asian Poker Tour Online (APTO) $10,000,000 guaranteed festival some time in February. Details have yet to be announced.

Author:triccia