Final Wrap: Jeju Poker Festival 2024 Awards Over KRW 15 Billion (~USD 10.8M) in Prizes; Dong Li Bags Four Trophies

Seventeen days of action transformed Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, into a thrilling battleground, with the grand Jeju Poker Festival having stood front and center. Three major brands - WPT Korea, Korea Poker Cup, and Red Dragon Poker Tour, tied up in unison and brought a one-of-a-kind experience over the past two and a half weeks, ending the year with a bang.

A total of 65 trophy events took place, bringing in a combined KRW 15,106,174,000 (~USD 10,824,800) in prizes awarded, backed by a staggering 5,471-entry attendance. Three Main Events have come and gone, with Chenxiang Miao, Joris Michl, and Jianting Cai capturing the most coveted prizes of the season. China's Dong Li on the other hand, racked up the most wins over the series, having incredibly taken down four side events.  Scroll down below for all the highlights.

WPT Korea - Festival Results
Korea Poker Cup - Festival Results
Red Dragon Poker Tour - Festival Results

Festival Review

• Date/s: November 15 - December 1, 2024

• Venue: Landing Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World

• Trophy Events: 65

• Festival Prize Pool: KRW 15,106,174,000 (~USD 10,824,800)

• Total Entries: 5,471

• WPT Korea Main Event Winner: Chenxiang Miao - KRW 300,000,000 (~USD 215,400)

• KPC Main Event Winner: Joris Michl - KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410)

• Red Dragon Championship Winner: Jianting Cai - KRW 243,800,000 (~USD 174,200)

• Most Wins: Dong Li (4)

• Trophies by Flag: China (37), Hong Kong (5), Taiwan (5), Japan (4), Netherlands (3), USA (3), Australia (2), Hungary (1), Italy (1), Malaysia (1), Mongolia (1), Russia (1), Slovakia (1)

Dong Li Bags Four Trophy Wins

China’s Dong Li booked a smashing run over the Jeju Poker Festival games, having taken down four trophies out of the 65-event lineup. Li’s expertise was evident across the Pot Limit Omaha games, with three out of his four wins under the four card variant. Aside from Li’s crushing display over the side events, the Chinese runner also came close to clinching a major title, with a third place finish at the WPT Korea Main Event. The deep run earned Li an additional KRW 150,000,000 (~USD 107,485) score, ringing up his total winnings well above the KRW 200 million mark.

• WPT Korea Event #6: Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo 8 - KRW 4,544,000

• KPC Event #3: Pot Limit Omaha - KRW 8,730,000

• RDPT Event #18: Pot Limit Omaha - KRW 12,340,000

• RDPT Event #21: Win the Button Hyper Turbo - KRW 7,115,000

Chinese Runners Dominate Jeju Poker Festival

With the field heavily dominated by Chinese runners, it was of no doubt that the most trophies by flag would fall under the largest country in Asia. More than half of the lineup saw players hailing from China secure top prizes, with 37 out of the 65 events raising the red five starred flag. Chenxiang Miao walked away with the largest payday, with his victory at the WPT Korea Main Event landing him a jaw-dropping six figure score.

Breakdown by Tour

WPT Korea

• Date/s: November 15 to 22, 2024

• Trophy Events: 28

• Festival prize pool: KRW 4,032,869,000  (~USD 2,895,575)

• Entries: 2,107

• Most final table cashes: Dai Linghui (3)

• Multiple wins: Miao Chenxiang (2), Heung Tsz Kin (2), Xinhong Li (2)

WPT Korea Main Event Winner: Chenxiang Miao - KRW 300,000,000 (~USD 215,400)

China’s Chenxiang Miao emerged victorious over the WPT Korea Main Event 667-entry field, and banked the lion’s share of the KRW 1,680,000,000 (~USD 1,206,430) prize pool. Miao delivered a landslide victory across the Final Day festivities, earning him the WPT Trophy, and the highly coveted WPT Main Event Ring as well, for his dominating display. A defining moment in his poker career, Miao’s impressive feat secured him a record best KRW 300,000,000 (~USD 215,400) score to commemorate his third WPT win.

WPT Korea Main Event Final Table Results

Korea Poker Cup

• Date/s: November 22 to 26, 2024

• Trophy Events: 13

• Festival prize pool: KRW 7,405,623,000  (~USD 5,317,190)

• Entries: 1,488

• Most final table cashes: Chen Jie (3)

KPC Main Event Winner: Joris Michl - KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 136,410)

Netherlands’ Joris Michl clinched his first major live title at this season's 530-entry field Korea Poker Cup Main Event, and banked the lion's share of the KRW 1,000,000,000 (~USD 718,110) prize pool. Michl impressively defeated Taiwan's Wei Chen Lin for the title, and set a new best live record at a whopping KRW 190,000,000 (~USD 135,755). 

“It feels really good. I finally won a big one in live poker. It’s been a long grind to finally win a big one, so I’m very happy,” Michl explained when asked about his reaction after the win.

KPC Main Event Final Table Results

Red Dragon Poker Tour

• Date/s: November 26 - December 1, 2024

• Trophy Events: 24

• Festival prize pool: KRW 3,667,682,000 (~USD 2,628,190)

• Entries: 1,876

• Most final table cashes: Jiang Pu (2)

• Multiple wins: Dong Li (2), Haonan Tian (2)

Red Dragon Championship Winner: Jianting Cai - KRW 243,800,000 (~USD 174,200)

The Red Dragon Championship crowned its newest champion with China's Jianting Cai emerging triumphant over the 642-entry field. Cai entered the final rounds with the lead and closed out the victory in just under five hours of play. Cai cleared out half of the returning eight players across the final day games and stood to be a dominant force from start to finish. None of his opponents were able to get past the Chinese runner's aggression and good run, earning Cai a career best cash of KRW 243,800,000 (~USD 174,470) in mark of his maiden win.

Red Dragon Championship Final Table Chip Results