Busy Weeks Ahead for Asian Poker Tour With Announcement of APT Phu Quoc Series in November 2024
APT Phu Quoc 2024
It has been a very busy year for the Asian Poker Tour, which continues to gain momentum and all kinds of records under the new ownership. On September 29, the brand confirmed the upcoming APT Phu Quoc 2024 festival from November 8 to 17, 2024. Host venue will be the luxurious Corona Resort & Casino and the festival runs for ten days with more than VND 44 billion (~USD 1.7 million) in prize pool guarantees!
The announcement comes only nine days after the thriving live poker series released the full schedule for the upcoming APT Manila 2024 stop, which runs from October 28 until November 7 and features 109 tournaments with more than PHP 170 Million (~USD 3 Million) in guaranteed prize pools.
In 2022 and 2023 respectively, the APT already visited the picturesque island off the coast from Vietnam two times but this will be the first stop on Phu Quoc under the new era of the brand. All eyes will be set on the marquee Main Event from November 11 to 16, which comes with a VND 25 billion (~USD 1 million) guarantee. That’s nearly two times the amount of the overall prize pool from the previous stop locked up, which attracted a field of 507 entries and was topped by the UK’s Jacque Ramsden.
The festival kicks off with the Vietnam National Cup, a bargain VND 9 Million (~ USD 360) buy-in and VND 5 Billion guarantee from November 8 to 10. Once a champion is crowned, the Sunday Super Stack is already underway with a VND 12 Million (~ USD 480) buy-in and VND 1.5 Billion guarantee.
During the Main Event, more affordable key events include the Double Stack whereas the Mini Main Event concludes the festival on the final two days with the same VND 12 Million (~ USD 480) buy-in.
Vietnam National Cup
- Date: Nov 8-10, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 9 Million (~USD 360)
- Guarantee: VND 5 Billion (~USD 200,000)
Six Starting Days Available
Sunday Super Stack
- Date: Nov 10, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 12 Million (~USD 480)
- Guarantee: VND 1.5 Billion (~USD 60,000)
APT Main Event
- Date: Nov 11-16, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 36 Million (~USD 1,450)
- Guarantee: VND 25 Billion (~USD 1,000,000)
Four starting days available, registration open until start of Day 2
Double Stack
- Date: Nov 15-16, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 11 Million (~USD 440)
- Guarantee: VND 2.5 Billion (~USD 100,000)
Mini Main Event
- Date: Nov 16-17, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 12 Million (~USD 480)
- Guarantee: VND 1.5 Billion (~USD 60,000)
The entire festival features a total of 82 trophy events with various Omaha variants and Short Deck available, as well as different level durations for Hold’em tournaments. High-stakes players can showcase their talents in more elevated buy-ins, be it Single-Day High Roller Events or multi-day contests
Both the APT Super High Roller on November 9 and the Baby Superstar feature a buy-in of VND 120 Million (~USD 4,800) whereas the Zodiac Classic and festival ending APT High Roller tournaments are more affordable.
APT Super High Roller
- Date: Nov 9, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 120 Million (~USD 4,800)
- Guarantee: VND 3 Billion (~USD 120,000)
Baby Superstar
- Date: Nov 15, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 120 Million (~USD 4,800)
Zodiac Classic
- Date: Nov 14-15, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 50 Million (~USD 2,000)
- Guarantee: VND 2.5Billion (~USD 100,000)
APT High Roller
- Date: Nov 16-17, 2024
- Buy-In: VND 80 Million (~USD 3,200)
- Guarantee: VND 2.5 Billion (~USD 100,000)
With back-to-back festivals in the Philippines and Vietnam, the Asian Poker Tour continues a very distinct path under its new leadership. In 2023, a total of seven stops took place whereas previous years featured up to 12 annual stops. The current year has seen that figure reduced to five so far, but the magnitude of each festival has reached a new level with significantly bigger schedules and larger guarantees across the board.
The prize pools keep reaching new heights and four players have earned seven figures in the APT so far. During the ongoing APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 in Taiwan, the marquee APT Main Event set a new country record for the fourth APT festival in a row thanks to a staggering TWD 86,011,200 (~USD 2.7M) prize pool thanks to 1,991 entries. The winner of the tournament is set to take home a top prize of TWD 14,413,200 (~USD 452,000).
It comes as no surprise that Japan and China are the two most successful nations in terms of prize money won with the former approaching $16.5 million and the latter trailing at nearly $14.3 million. Vietnam, host nation of the stop in Phu Quoc, is in third place with more than $13.6 million while Taiwan and the Philippines are neck-on-neck.