The record-breaking APT Incheon Main Event reached the money on Wednesday as a marathon bubble brought Day 6 at Paradise City Casino Resort to a close.

Registration ended with 1,393 entries from 807 unique players, creating a KRW 3,008,540,000 (~USD 2,148,960) prize pool and making the tournament the largest ever held on the South Korean mainland.

China’s Yuxuan Deng emerged as the overall chip leader after becoming the only player to finish Day 2 with more than one million chips. All 207 survivors are now guaranteed at least KRW 3,790,000, while the eventual champion will collect KRW 523,720,000 (~USD 374,085) and one of three APT Championship Main Event seats awarded at the final table.

Away from the Main Event, Tony Ren Lin took control of the High Roller, Li Ta Hsu collected his tenth APT title and Frank Zhang became the first player to win two trophies during the festival.

Deng Leads Final 207 After Lengthy Main Event Bubble

The 419 players who advanced from the four starting flights were joined by another 216 entries during the opening level of Day 2, pushing the final field from 1,177 to 1,393.

That turnout surpassed the previous APT Incheon Main Event record of 1,281 entries set last year and effectively doubled the KRW 1.5 billion guarantee.

The tournament is also the third-largest APT have ever held in South Korea , behind only the 1,693-entry APT Jeju 2025 Main Event and the 1,718-entry APT Jeju Classic 2026 Main Event .

With 207 places paid, the field spent approximately two and a half hours on the money bubble before China’s Lifu Huang became the final player eliminated without a cash.

Huang found some consolation immediately afterwards when he was selected in a lucky draw to receive a free APT Main Event entry.

By the time the bubble finally burst, Deng had built a stack of 1,052,000 to finish as the only player above the seven-figure mark.

Japan’s Tomoki Matsuda ended the night in second with 980,000, while compatriot Atsushi Miyakoshi bagged 959,000. Six Japanese players finished inside the top ten, with China providing the other three alongside American Seung Jae Park.

APT Incheon Main Event Day 2 Top Ten

APT Super High Roller third-place finisher Peng Chen remains well positioned for another major result after ending the day sixth with 852,000.

Australia’s John Perry also built one of the largest stacks outside the top ten, advancing with 648,000. Chin Wei “Webster” Lim finished with 512,000, while Day 1 chip leader Shawn Lee remained in contention with 428,000.

The departures of Junjie He , William Li and Ivan Govorov left Punnat Punsri as the only former APT Main Event champion in the field. The Thai professional advanced with 492,000 after qualifying for Day 3 OnLive through Natural8.

Toby Joyce also remains in contention with 433,000, while Jeremy Chan will continue his bid for a second major title of the festival with 219,000 after winning the APT Super High Roller earlier in the week.

The 207 remaining players return at 11:15am on Thursday, August 13. Day 3 is scheduled to play down to 48 players or complete ten 60-minute levels, whichever comes first.

The complete Main Event Day 3 seat draw, chip counts and live reporting are available on SoMuchPoker.

Tony Ren Lin Takes Charge of High Roller

While the Main Event reached the money, Lin moved into pole position for another APT title in the High Roller.

The Chinese professional leads 54 survivors from the 184-entry field after accumulating 986,000 chips on Day 1.

Lin won the APT Jeju Classic Super High Roller earlier this year and has another sizeable prize within reach in Incheon. The tournament generated a KRW 476 million prize pool, with KRW 105,648,000 (~USD 74,928) awaiting the champion.

Fellow Chinese player Xiang Zou is Lin’s nearest challenger with 896,000, while Japan’s Tomokatsu Kumano occupies third place with 753,000.

Calvin Sungwon Lee also remains in contention with 306,000. The American won the Superstar Challenge at APT Incheon 2025 before capturing the Superstar Championship at the inaugural APT Championship later that year.

APT High Roller Day 1 Top Ten

Hsu Reaches Ten APT Titles

Li Ta Hsu reached double figures on the APT after winning the Turbo NL Drawmaha Mix.

The Taiwanese mixed-game specialist agreed to an ICM deal with Finland’s Riku Matias Koivurinne and Malaysia’s Jin Ling Yong when three players remained before going on to claim the trophy.

Hsu earned KRW 5,211,485 (~USD 3,696) and became the latest player to reach ten career APT titles.

Koivurinne and Yong each received KRW 3,490,000, with Koivurinne recording his third final-table appearance of the festival.

Zhang Becomes Festival’s First Double Champion

Frank Zhang became the first player to win two titles at APT Incheon 2026 after topping the 120-entry Super Hyper Turbo NLH.

The American collected KRW 8,462,688 (~USD 6,002) after defeating Japan’s Takumi Odani heads-up.

Zhang had already secured his first APT title in the Masters Omaha event and came close to another in the Turbo Double Stack, where he finished runner-up. His latest victory moved him clear of the rest of the field with two trophies through the opening six days.

Honda Wins Largest Completed Side Event of Day 6

Keishiro Honda earned the biggest payday among Wednesday’s side-event champions after defeating 299 opponents in the NL Hold’em event.

The final five players agreed to an ICM deal before Honda went on to secure his maiden APT title and a career-best KRW 30,841,840 (~USD 21,873) score.

The deal meant the finishing order did not correspond directly with the payouts. Runner-up Liyang Ge received KRW 20,366,000, while third-place finisher Takashi Akita collected KRW 22,460,000.

Hamamoto Breaks Through in Masters Draw Poker

Kenji Hamamoto collected his first APT title and one of the largest side-event prizes of the day in the Masters Fixed Limit Draw Poker.

The Japanese professional earned KRW 22,944,000 (~USD 16,272) after leading a Japanese sweep of the first four positions.

Hirotaka Murakami placed second for KRW 16,590,000, while Kazuhiro Shirasawa finished third for KRW 10,700,000.

APT Incheon Day 6 Winners

*Kakigi also collected KRW 2,400,000 in bounties for a combined payout of KRW 5,860,880.

Other winners on Day 6 included Kenji Kurashina, who claimed his third APT title in the Fixed Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Big O event, and Yuka Kakigi, who won the Women’s Big Bounty for her maiden tour victory.

Hiroki Sakamoto also became a first-time APT champion in the Turbo PL Omaha High, while Jacob E Nepom broke through in Atomic Pineapple. Wei Sun completed the list of maiden winners by taking down the 72-entry Hyper Turbo High Roller for KRW 28,409,200.

Main Event, High Roller and Zodiac Classic Headline Day 7

The Main Event remains the centre of attention on Thursday, August 13, with all 207 returning players already guaranteed a payout. Day 3 begins at 11:15am and will continue until 48 players remain or ten 60-minute levels have been completed.

Lin leads the High Roller into its 11:15am Final Day, while the KRW 1.5 million Turbo High Roller opens the schedule at 11am.

The Zodiac Classic begins at 2pm with a KRW 3 million buy-in and KRW 500 million guarantee. The Women’s High Roller also starts at 2pm and carries a KRW 1.5 million buy-in.

Thursday concludes with the APT Players Party at Rubik inside Paradise City from 10pm.

Day 7 brings the next stage of the Main Event, the conclusion of the High Roller and the opening flight of the Zodiac Classic at Paradise City Casino Resort.

Information and images courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.