RDPT Plus Jeju 2026 – Day 1 Recap: Nielsen Leads the High Roller, Yang Yang Tops the Dragon Awakening

RDPT Plus Jeju 2026 is officially underway at LES A Casino , and the opening day delivered a packed schedule of action across two marquee events. The Dragon Awakening Event kicked off its first flight, while the Dragon’s Gate High Roller wrapped up its opening day with a stacked survivor list. First blood in the side event department also went to three Chinese players, with titles decided in the Dragon’s Guard Bounty Hunt, 9 Game and 5 Card PLO High.

The Dragon Awakening – Day 1B

With Day 1A cancelled due to weather, Day 1B effectively served as the series opener for the Dragon Awakening Event , drawing 171 entries before late registration closed after around five hours of play. After ten gruelling levels, just 26 players survived to bag chips for Day 2.

China’s Yang Yang leads the field, having bagged a dominant 570,000. Close behind is compatriot Hongwei Yang with 525,000, while Japan’s Naohiro Matsuda rounds out the top three with 480,000.

Dragon Awakening – Day 1B Top 10 Chip Counts

The day had its share of drama. Ting Pong Cheung took an early hit when his ace-jack ran into ace-queen on a clean board, but the Hong Kong pro fought back and delivered a double knockout during Level 9, getting his ace to connect against both a flopped pair of kings and pocket tens in a three-way all-in to climb to fourth in chips.

The bubble proved particularly tense, lasting nearly two hours as the field hovered around 28 players. Quang Huy Nguyen was among those who caught a break, spiking two pair on the river to survive after running into pocket kings. Eventually it was China’s Erdun Xu who fell as Day 1B bubble boy, calling off his last chips with ace-king only to run into his opponent’s pocket fives on a board that offered no help.

Day 1C is scheduled to resume today, April 11, at 12:00 PM.

Dragon’s Gate High Roller – Day 1

From 72 total entries, just 36 players have bagged chips in the Dragon’s Gate High Roller , with a prize pool of KRW 314,280,000 currently up for grabs.

Denmark’s Martin Nielsen leads the way with 1,939,000. Nielsen claimed his first WSOP bracelet in the $10,000 Short Deck event in 2023, defeating a star-studded field that included five-time bracelet winner John Juanda , before banking a career-best $655,000 as runner-up at the Triton Super High Roller Series here in Jeju the following year. No stranger to this island or its high-roller fields, Nielsen looks every bit at home at the top of the counts.

China’s Zhuzhai Wang bags 1,170,000 in second, with compatriot Yin Zhang close behind on 1,042,000.

Dragon’s Gate High Roller – Day 1 Top 10 Chip Counts

Andrey Golikov was among the day’s big winners early on, flopping a full house with pocket deuces and denting Sean Ooi on the river to move north of 400,000. Ooi, who has close to $2 million in live earnings, absorbed the hit and steadied. Jianting Cai also made a big call, picking off a near all-in river bluff from Haohui Ma with pocket kings. Ma was eliminated shortly after.

The most dramatic moment of the day came at Nielsen’s expense, briefly. His ace-queen hit an ace on the flop to leave Zhili Zhang drawing to a single out with pocket queens — only for that exact card to spike on the river. Nielsen took it in stride, regrouped, and continued to accumulate to close the day as overall leader. Zhang was eliminated later in the session.

Among the other notable baggers, Germany’s Martin Sedlak sits fourth with 944,000, while American veteran Christian Harder — nearly $7 million in career earnings and once ranked the number one tournament player in the world — secured 738,000 just outside the top ten. Hungarian pro Patrik Demus , fresh off his EPT Paris PokerStars Open Main Event title for €551,090 just weeks ago, bagged 301,000.

Play resumes at Level 13 today at 13:00 local time, with late registration open until the end of Level 14.

Side Event Results

Event #1 – The Dragon’s Guard: Bounty Hunt (KRW 800,000)

China’s Hechen Sheng took down the The Dragon’s Guard: Bounty Hunt for KRW 8,192,000 (~$5,515), topping a 124-entry field to claim the first title of the series. It’s an encouraging start to RDPT Plus Jeju for the Chinese contingent, who dominated the payout table.

#1 THE DRAGON'S GUARD: BOUNTY HUNT （神龙卫队赏金赛） (800,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$55,140

Total Prize

₩81,900,000

Entries

124

ITM

19

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩8,192,000 $5,515	HS Hechen Sheng China	849.95
2	₩5,352,000 $3,605	BL Baicun Li China	601.00
3	₩3,624,000 $2,440	NH Ngoc Ha Nguyen Viet Nam	490.72
4	₩2,542,000 $1,710	DZ Dengshuai Zhu China	424.97
5	₩1,851,000 $1,245	TL Tangjunjie Lou China	380.11
6	₩1,402,000 $945	HY Han Yang China	346.99
7	₩1,105,000 $745	GW Guofeng Wang China	321.25
8	₩908,000 $610	XY Xiangyu Yu China	300.50
9	₩778,000 $525	MT Mami Taira Japan	283.32

Check the 19 Payouts & Results ...

Event #7 – 9 Game (KRW 1,000,000)

Beijing-based pro Xinze Li, who has over $350,000 in recorded live earnings, claimed the 9 Game title for KRW 7,572,000 (~$5,100) from a 19-entry field. Li has shown a strong aptitude across mixed game formats throughout his career, and this result adds another title to a growing résumé.

#7 9 GAME (1,000,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$10,805

Total Prize

₩16,052,000

Entries

19

ITM

3

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩7,572,000 $5,100	XL Xinze Li China	361.13
2	₩5,040,000 $3,395	DJ Daqiao Jiang China	255.36
3	₩3,440,000 $2,315	YS Yujie Sun China	208.50

Event #10 – 5 Card PLO High (KRW 500,000)

China’s Yujie Sun claimed the 5 Card PLO High title for KRW 4,798,000 (~$3,230), topping a 31-entry field to secure her place on the winner’s board at RDPT Plus Jeju 2026. Switzerland’s Martin Schamaun finished as runner-up for KRW 3,200,000 (~$2,155).

#10 5 CARD PLO HIGH (500,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$8,515

Total Prize

₩12,648,000

Entries

31

ITM

5

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩4,798,000 $3,230	YS Yujie Sun China	361.93
2	₩3,200,000 $2,155	MS Martin Schamaun Switzerland	255.92
3	₩2,010,000 $1,355	ZL Zehao Li China	208.96
4	₩1,440,000 $970	HC Hao Chen 1 China	180.96
5	₩1,200,000 $810	JC Jie Chen Australia	161.86

Stay tuned to Somuchpoker for continued coverage of RDPT Plus Jeju 2026.