High stakes action took center stage on Friday at TLPT Jeju 2026 , with the USD 15,000 TLPT High Roller Main Event kicking off inside LES A Casino in Jeju Shinhwa World.

The opening day attracted several familiar high roller names from around the region and beyond, with late registration remaining open until the start of Day 2 as players continue chasing one of the biggest titles on the schedule.

Daniel Cates Leads TLPT Jeju High Roller Main Event

American poker star Daniel “Jungleman” Cates finished Day 1 on top of the counts after bagging 895,000 chips, narrowly ahead of Australia’s Joshua Gebissa , who closed with 870,000.

China’s Quan Zhou rounds out the top three with 805,000, while Vietnam’s Quang Minh Nguyen , China’s Zhang Yue, and reigning High Roller Bounty winner David Peters also advanced to Day 2.

Among the other notable names to take their shot during Day 1 were Ranno Sootla , Martin Sedlak , Jiahao Wang, Yoko Sasaki, and Le Nguyen Khoi Nguyen , with several players expected to re-enter before registration officially closes at the start of Day 2.

One of the notable names to take a seat in the TLPT High Roller Main Event was Canadian poker star Xuan Liu , one of the most recognizable female players in the game and a long-time presence on the international high-stakes circuit.

Liu, who has recorded major results across both live and televised poker over the past decade, added even more international firepower to an already stacked Day 1 field in Jeju. She was also the first-ever woman to win a Triton Poker event .

TLPT Jeju High Roller Main Event Day 1 Chip Counts

Place	Player	Country	Chip Count
1	Daniel Cates	United States	895,000
2	Joshua Gebissa	Australia	870,000
3	Quan Zhou	China	805,000
4	Quang Minh Nguyen	Vietnam	604,000
5	Zhang Yue	China	507,000
6	Nguyen Le	Vietnam	359,000
7	Yoko Sasaki	Japan	340,000
8	David Peters	United States	339,000
9	Dong Chen	China	232,000
10	Shinohara Haruhiko	Japan	175,000
11	Xuan Liu	China	110,000

Myagmardorj Batsukh Wins PLO Turbo

TLPT Jeju Myagmardorj Batsukh

The TLPT PLO Turbo also played out on Friday, drawing a small but competitive nine-entry field and generating a KRW 9,004,500 prize pool.

Mongolia’s Myagmardorj Batsukh captured the title and KRW 5,410,000 top prize after defeating Taiwan’s Chao Ting Cheng heads-up.

#21 PLO Turbo (1,150,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$6,120

Total Prize

₩9,010,000

Entries

ITM

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩5,410,000 $3,675	MB Myagmardorj Batsukh Mongolia	263.81
2	₩3,600,000 $2,445	CT Chao Ting Cheng Taiwan	186.54

TLPT Circuit Closure Down to Final Seven

The TLPT Circuit Closure also moved closer to crowning a winner after two opening flights combined into Day 2 action on Friday.

A total of 35 entries were recorded in the event, creating a KRW 28,927,500 prize pool, with seven players advancing to the final day.

China’s Fu Honggang leads the remaining field with 303,500 chips, ahead of Yu Jingyang and Yao Yao. Estonia’s Kert Hallik and Mongolia’s Enkhbold Khangai also remain in contention heading into the finale.

What’s Coming Up on Saturday, May 23

Attention now turns back to the USD 15,000 TLPT High Roller Main Event, where Day 2 gets underway on Saturday with late registration officially closing at the start of play.

Fans can also follow the action from the TLPT High Roller Main Event on the official TLPT YouTube channel, where streamed feature table coverage from Jeju continues throughout the festival.

The TLPT Circuit Closure will also play down to a winner, while the USD 10,000 Superstar Challenge kicks off at 4 p.m. local time as another marquee high stakes event joins the schedule inside LES A Casino.