Jia Yue Quan Crowned Laos’ Inaugural AAPT Main Event Champion

“I feel truly happy with this win. Honestly, today’s final table went quite smoothly for me. This whole journey has truly been an amazing experience. While everyone wants to win this AAPT title, to make it this far was something I never expected. This title means a lot to me, especially since it’s abroad. This is a major turning point in my poker career”, commented Jia Yue Quan in his post-match interview.

“From the travel to the venue, it was an unforgettable experience. The tournament directors and dealers did an excellent job, and the support staff as well. I want to thank my friend, we came here together. He gave me so much encouragement. I’d also like to thank the organizers for creating such a great tournament.”

The inaugural Alluxi Athena Poker Tournament (AAPT), held at Alluxi Casino in Bokeo, Laos, has officially crowned its first-ever Main Event champion, with Hong Kong’s Jia Yue Quan clinching the coveted title. The international runner braved a field of over 400 entries on his way to victory, collecting an impressive USD 153,338 in winnings, marking both his largest career score and his first major title to boot.

Familiar faces filled the halls of Athena Club over the past few days, with Vietnamese players dominating the recent turnout. Well-known pros such as Julien Tran, Pham Bao, Nang Quang Nguyen, Thi Bao An Nguyen, and Le Manh Cuong were among those found in battle, alongside a number of Asian circuit regulars like Azerbaijan’s Khayal Abbasov, the Philippines’ Junnie Pamplona, and United Kingdom’s Craig Jones.

After several days of intense play, the final table was set with Vietnam’s Nguyen Hoang Nam leading the charge. Nguyen had been on fire all throughout, from topping the Day 1B flight to wrapping up Day 2 with the lead. Despite the good run, Nguyen’s momentum faltered early in the Final Day games, shipping second in chips Jia Yue Quan the advantage 8-handed. A massive clash between the top two contenders saw Jia secure a crucial full double-up with pocket kings against Nguyen’s ace-king. This pivotal hand shipped Jia a 60 big blind pot, allowing him to seize the lead from Nguyen for the first time in the entire tournament.

From that point on, Jia maintained his lead over the pack, successfully delivering a double elimination right after to hold over a third of the total chips in play once the field drew down to three. Thailand’s Wanchai Cow made a valiant effort to put up a fight, but succumbed to a third place finish after a straight-over-straight showdown against Jia cost him his chances at the title. With an undeniable chip advantage, Jia finished off his final opponent, Tan Xiao Hui’s last eight big blinds in a swift one deal heads up battle, emerging triumphant to become Laos’ first-ever Main Event champion.

AAPT Main Event Review

• Date/s: June 18-24, 2025
• Buy-in: USD 1,400
• Guarantee: USD 800,000
• Prize pool: USD 800,000
• ITM: 51 places

AAPT Main Event Final Table Results

AAPT Player Experiences

The inaugural AAPT, proudly backed by Alluxi Group, ran from June 16-25, successfully awarding over $1 million in prizes. For those who missed this groundbreaking debut, there’s no need to fret as another season is already in the works for later this year.

Over the course of the series, Somuchpoker was able to catch up with a few players – 7th place AAPT Main Event finisher Craig Jones and two-time series winner Georgii Klenin, to get a firsthand feel of their experience playing in this newfound location.

“Everyone’s scared to come here but it’s good. It’s safe… I’ve been out, I’ve played golf, I’ve gone out to the night market, everything is fine. I got a taxi from here, I went and played, they have a pool hall. I went there and played with three Chinese guys, sat down and had a cup of tea with them, they were really friendly.”, commented AAPT Hyper Turbo Relax winner Craig Jones.

“I really like it here, I like adventures, new places. Here it’s 100% safe, I walked around the casino even at night and there was no problem. Accommodation is amazing, service is quite good. For their first time, it was an amazing experience, really… I can compare because I’ve played poker in so many countries. I have visited a lot of places, and I can tell you that the organizers, they are very interested in making it good. As far as I know, they did a good job now and in the future, I guess it is going to be even better.”, said Russia’s Georgii Klenin.

Wrapping up with a joke, Klenin added, “I’ve lost so much money here so I need to come back. I will definitely come again!”

*All photos courtesy of LTK Poker Media