Historic Turnout Pushes APT Taipei Main Event To NT$ 121M (~US$ 3.77M)

The Asian Poker Tour has outdone itself once again! Starting off with an ambitious NT$ 70 Million guarantee, that figure was completely pulverized even before the final two flights had begun. With players flooding the tables at APT Taipei 2025, the prize pool surged to record heights, becoming the richest APT Main Event in the tour's history. Let's dive into the numbers.

APT Taipei 2025 Main Event – Numbers

The APT Taipei 2025 Main Event ran four flights from April 27-29 at the brand new Red Space venue, and much like the festival’s record-breaking opener, it drew massive crowds with a constant stream of players pouring in. This generated 1,878 entries plus 529 more from the Natural8 OnLive for a total of 2,407 entries. While that is a record in itself, registration was still open before the start of Day 2 where another 140 players jumped in finalizing the tally to a smashing 2,547 entries.

When translated into dollar signs, it was nothing short of a head-turner, amassing a historic NT$ 121,033,440 (~US$ 3,777,500), the largest Main Event prize pool ever produced by the APT. While it is still a long way to the money, with the top 375 places seeing a minimum return of NT$ 85,000 (~US$ 2,650), for the eventual champion, a jaw-dropping NT$ 19,009,440 (~US$ 593,300) awaits. That's over half a million USD!

Buy-in: NT$ 55,000 (~US$ 1,700)
Guarantee: NT$ 70,000,000 (~US$ 2.1 Million)
Entries: 2,547
Prize pool: NT$ 121,033,440 (~US$ 3,777,500)
ITM: 375 places

Day 1A: 542 entries / 203 advanced
Day 1B: 506 entries / 222 advanced
Day 1C: 486 entries / 240 advanced
Day 1D: 344 entries / 176 advanced
Day 2: 140 entries
Natural8: 529 entries

Day 2 Chip Counts

Day 2 Underway

Cards are now flying at Day 2 with Day 1A leader Wu Chun Yu able to hold on to his lead to bring in the largest stack. He is seated at Table 20, sharing the felt with Thai pro Pakinai Lisawad. While Yu sits behind a towering stack worth 293 big blinds, Lisawad faces an uphill battle with just 22 big blinds in his arsenal.

Another exciting table to watch is #33 with power players Tae Hoon Han, Tamon Nakamura, and past APT Main Event champion Zhan Xi Guo all with hefty stacks.

At Table 26 there are two highly aggressive players, Singapore's Jacky Wang and Vietnam's Dao Minh Phu, that a clash is highly possible. Table 37 is also another star studded felt: Joseph Cheong, Simon Lim, Po Hsun Liao, Quang Minh Nguyen, and Andres Vasquez. 

While at Table 42, past APT Main Event champion Rene Von Reden has a commanding advantage over every player at the round which includes Hong Kong's two-time WSOP bracelet winner Wing Po Liu who enters with just 15 bb.

For the table and seat draw, scroll to the bottom of the Live Updates.

Notables Into Day 2 From The Last Two Flights

Other players making the cut during the final two flights were past APT Main Event champions Thi Hue Dang, Farhad Aghayev, John Tech, Zong Chi He, Dicky Tsang, and Mikiya Kudo.

The list of notables also included Australian aces Daniel Neilson and Alexander Lynskey, WPT Taiwan champion Seonguk Huh, recent Korea Poker Cup crusher Christian Harder, Taiwan notables Justin Chu, Chia Yun Wu, Peng Sen Wu, WSOP bracelet winners Carlos Chang, Pete Chen, Lok Ming Chan, Vietnamese heavy-hitters Cao Ngoc Anh, Quang Minh Nguyen - who won the APT Super High Roller -, Joseph Cheong, and Dominik Nitsche. 

With Day 2 set to end when the bubble bursts, action will be fierce throughout. Players and spectators can track the action via the Day 2 Live Updates.

Day 5 Winners

The APT Taipei 2025 festival kicked off on April 25 and will run through May 4 at Red Space. On Day 5, the festival crowned another batch of winners that included Biao Ding at the Superstar Challenge - the most expensive event on the menu.

Also big paydays for victors Chang Hwan Lee, Chun Yu Ma, and Yi Ping Feng. The day also witnessed Shun Ping Wang bink his second win along with his largest career takedown and Malaysia's Liew Kai Sheng top the largest side event field.