Jianfeng Sun’s Jeju Story Finally Has the Ending He Wanted

Two years after finishing runner-up in the same event, China’s Jianfeng Sun has finally gone one better in APT Jeju 2026 .

Sun defeated a record-breaking field to win the APT Jeju 2026 Main Event at LES A Casino , securing a career-best score of KRW 427,565,000 (~USD 319,080) along with a seat to the APT Championship 2026 Main Event in Taipei.

The Main Event drew a record 1,375 entries, generating a KRW 3,207,600,000 (~USD 2,393,730) prize pool and surpassing its initial KRW 2.2 billion (~USD 1.63 million) guarantee.

The victory comes two years after Sun came agonizingly close to the same title. He finished runner-up in the APT Jeju 2024 Main Event , which at the time produced his biggest career cash.

This time, there would be no second-place finish.

#19 APT Main Event (2,700,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$2,393,730

Total Prize

3.2B KRW

Guaranteed

2.2B KRW

Entries

1,375

ITM

200

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩427,565,000 $319,080	JS Jianfeng Sun China	4,460.76
2	₩449,115,000 $335,160	SN Steve Ng Singapore	3,154.23
3	₩225,180,000 $168,045	KC Kwang Chung Tan Singapore	2,575.42
4	₩166,770,000 $124,455	TJ Toby Joyce Ireland	2,230.38
5	₩130,330,000 $97,260	WC Weimin Chen China	1,994.91
6	₩98,140,000 $73,240	JW Jiawei Wan China	1,821.10
7	₩75,030,000 $55,990	EX Erdun Xu China	1,686.01
8	₩53,230,000 $39,725	SQ Shuang Qiu China	1,577.12
9	₩40,980,000 $30,580	CS Changliang Sun China	1,486.92

Check the 200 Payouts & Results ...

Sun Starts Final Day on Top

Sun entered the final day as the chip leader and needed just 90 hands to finish the job.

He wasted little time putting his big stack to work, maintaining the lead through the opening levels before finding an early boost when he cracked Shuang Qiu’s K♠ K♣ with A♠ K♥.

Qiu, who had finished third in the APT Jeju Main Event in 2025 , was eliminated in eighth place for KRW 53,230,000 (~USD 39,725).

Erdun Xu followed in seventh after entering the final table with just 16 big blinds. Xu moved all-in with K♥ Q♦ offsuit but ran into Steve Ng’s A♥ Q♥ and could not find enough help from the board.

China’s Jiawei Wan then bowed out in sixth after his A♠ K♣ ran into Weimin Chen’s pocket jacks.

By that point, Sun remained firmly in control and held almost twice as many chips as his nearest challenger with five players left.

Ng Takes Control

Sun’s lead eventually began to disappear.

Weimin Chen was eliminated in fifth after defending his big blind with 9♠ 5♠ suited and flopping trips. Ng turned a flush, leaving Chen unable to improve on the river.

The pot gave Ng the chip lead for the first time on the final table.

Ng continued his charge shortly afterward, eliminating Ireland’s Toby Joyce in fourth. Joyce moved in with A♣ J♦ offsuit but ran into Ng’s pocket nines and finished with KRW 166,770,000 (~USD 124,455).

Only ten minutes later, the field was down to three.

Kwang Chung Tan had managed to recover earlier in the day after doubling with pocket fives, but his comeback ended when he picked up pocket sixes and Ng turned a pair of aces.

Tan finished third for KRW 225,180,000 (~USD 168,045).

Heads-Up Deal Gives Ng the Bigger Payout

Sun and Ng paused after Tan’s elimination to discuss a heads-up deal.

The agreement flattened the payouts, with Ng locking up KRW 449,965,000 (~USD 335,795) and Sun securing KRW 403,965,000 (~USD 301,465).

The pair then continued playing for the Gold Mega Lion Trophy and an additional KRW 23,600,000 (~USD 17,610).

Ng started heads-up play with the advantage, holding 32,000,000 against Sun’s 21,000,000 chips.

The Singaporean maintained his lead during the early stages of the duel, but Sun gradually began to turn things around.

A key pot saw both players hold queens. Ng paired his queen, while Sun flopped top two pair and improved to a full house by the river. Ng managed to fold when Sun moved all-in, but the pot gave Sun a commanding 3:1 lead.

Sun then pushed his advantage even further, stretching his lead to 5:1 after winning several consecutive pots.

“Could Today Be My Day?”

For Sun, the victory carried extra meaning because of what happened at this same event two years earlier.

His 2024 runner-up finish was not something he had spent the past two years dwelling on, but reaching another Jeju final table gave him another chance to finish the story differently.

On the first hand of the final table, Sun’s ace-king cracked kings, immediately giving him confidence.

“On the very first hand, when my ace-king eliminated kings, I felt like luck was on my side today, and I thought, ‘Could today be my day?’”

Sun also felt his game had developed considerably since his previous Jeju final table.

“I feel I’ve made some progress over the past two years, especially in my mindset and my grasp of table dynamics compared to two years ago; I can feel the improvement myself.”

That growth became particularly important once he reached heads-up.

Despite losing the chip lead to Ng, Sun remained confident.

“I’m very confident in my heads-up play because a few months ago, I was constantly playing heads-up matches against Xu Yang (Boss Xu). So I felt my heads-up skill level had improved a bit, and I was confident I could win against him.”

Sun Finishes the Job

The final hand came after just 90 hands of final-table action.

Ng raised with K♦ T♥ before Sun moved all-in with A♦ 4♠ .

Ng called, and neither player improved through the flop, turn or river.

Sun’s ace-high held to secure the title and finally give him the Jeju Main Event trophy he had missed out on two years earlier.

The victory also pushed Sun’s career earnings higher, while giving him another major title to add to his resume.

But his first thought after winning was not about the trophy or the money.

It was about his wife.

“It was definitely my wife. She was watching the live stream, so I wanted to grab my phone immediately to tell her that I had won, since the live stream has a delay.”

Sun also reflected on what he would tell his younger self if he could return to the 2024 final day.

“I wish I could go back to play that Jeju Final Day two years ago with my current skill level; maybe the result would have been a bit better.”

This time, there was no need to wonder what might have been.

With the Main Event now complete, the final signature trophy of APT Jeju 2026 is still up for grabs, with the Rose Gold Lion on the line in the APT High Roller.

All images & quotes courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.

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