Scott Margereson Claims Richest-Ever Korean-Based APT High Roller Title in Jeju for KRW 252.85M (~USD 190K)

For UK’s Scott Margereson , his results in Asia have so far come exclusively on the Asian Poker Tour (APT) . He first made his mark at APT Manila 2025 , followed by the APT Championship Taipei 2025 , where he won his first APT trophy after taking down the Turbo Championship . It was also his first Mega Lion trophy.

Now, back in Asia for APT Jeju 2026 , Margereson has gone a step further, winning the record-breaking APT High Roller and taking home the Rose Gold Mega Lion trophy.

Scott Margereson Wins APT High Roller

The British pro topped an elite field of 295 entries to collect KRW 252,850,000 (~USD 190,110), the biggest piece of the massive prize pool.

The event generated KRW 1,274,400,000 (~USD 958,195) in prize money, comfortably surpassing its KRW 700,000,000 guarantee and making it the richest Korean-based APT High Roller in tour history and the third richest APT High Roller prize pool overall.

Along with the title and Rose Gold Mega Lion, Margereson also earned a USD 10,000 APT Championship Taipei 2026 seat for next month’s festival in Taipei .

#87 APT High Roller (5,000,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$958,195

Total Prize

1.3B KRW

Guaranteed

700M KRW

Entries

295

ITM

39

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩252,850,000 $190,110	SM Scott Margereson United Kingdom	2,543.64
2	₩168,100,000 $126,390	YT Yoshifumi Takahashi Japan	1,798.62
3	₩122,960,000 $92,450	HZ Hongsheng Zhang China	1,468.57
4	₩99,250,000 $74,625	KP Kunal Patni India	1,271.82
5	₩77,810,000 $58,500	JP Jiaxian Pan China	1,137.55
6	₩58,890,000 $44,280	MS Martin Sedlak Germany	1,038.44
7	₩43,260,000 $32,525	WB Wouter Beltz Netherlands	961.40
8	₩31,780,000 $23,900	YH Yaoyu He China	899.31
9	₩26,360,000 $19,820	CW Chih Wei Fan Taiwan	847.88

Check the 39 Payouts & Results ...

Another APT Chapter for Margereson

Margereson’s Asian poker journey has been closely linked to the APT from the beginning.

After cashing at APT Manila 2025, he headed to Taipei for the APT Championship later that year. There, he claimed his first APT trophy by winning the Turbo Championship and added his first Mega Lion to his collection.

Jeju has now given him another one, this time in Rose Gold.

But the path to the top was far from straightforward.

Margereson was among the 65 players returning for Day 2, holding 733,000 chips. Brazil’s Higor Seibel led the field into the day, while Margereson had plenty of ground to make up.

Seibel continued his strong start by flopping quads against Meng Dian Peng , but his early advantage did not last. Martin Sedlak later picked off a sizeable river bluff to take a big pot and chip away at the Brazilian’s stack.

Margereson’s tournament then reached a critical point.

The Turning Point

The British player was down to just nine big blinds when he found ace-king and moved all in. Quang Trinh Do called with pocket tens and Vinay B called with pocket queens, with Seibel’s three-bet already in the middle.

A king on the flop and another on the turn gave Margereson a huge boost, while Do was eliminated from the hand.

Looking back on the pivotal stretch, Margereson explained how quickly things changed.

“I had nine big blinds and essentially I quadrupled up in one hand with ace-king against queens and tens,” he said. “After that, I was in two big flips and won them both, which essentially put me in a situation just to play nearly every hand.”

The momentum continued.

Margereson flopped a set of tens to eliminate Vinay B and climb to around five million chips, drawing level with Kunal Patni .

He then sent Seibel, the start-of-day chip leader, to the rail in 11th place with ace-seven against jack-eight, moving Margereson to around 6.5 million.

“I tried not to get too ahead of myself because I knew it could change very quickly,” he said.

Into the Final Nine

The money bubble had already burst earlier in the day when Kaifan Wang’s queen-eight ran into Kei Okuda’s set. Okuda improved to a full house on the river, leaving 39 players guaranteed at least KRW 8,700,000 (~USD 6,540).

Patni was another player making a strong move.

The Indian pro eliminated compatriot Tarun Guwalani with king-nine suited against pocket jacks, then won another sizeable pot against Chih Wei Fan with ace-queen.

Fan had earlier won a flip against Yulin Li to move within touching distance of the final table, but his stack eventually fell away.

The final nine was set when Naohiro Matsuda missed his flush draw against Hongsheng Zhang and finished in tenth.

Margereson carried the chip lead into the final table with 7,280,000, narrowly ahead of Patni’s 7,030,000.

Margereson Takes Charge

It did not take long for the final table to lose its first player.

In the second hand, Fan open-jammed from the small blind with jack-nine and was called by Margereson’s queen-four. A queen on the flop put Margereson ahead, and Fan failed to complete his draw, ending his run in ninth.

Yaoyu He followed in eighth.

After being left short, He eventually got his remaining chips in with king-nine against Jiaxian Pan’s ace-ten. He flopped a pair of nines, but the turn paired Pan’s ten to send He to the rail.

Wouter Beltz briefly slowed Margereson’s progress when his queen-nine held against ace-ten for a crucial double-up.

The chip leader quickly recovered.

Margereson’s ace-jack made trips against Beltz’s pocket sixes, eliminating the Dutchman in seventh and restoring his position at the top.

Next came Martin Sedlak , who was looking to add another Mega Lion to the one he had previously won.

Sedlak’s pocket nines were ahead of Margereson’s ace-ten preflop, but a ten on the flop and another on the turn left the German drawing thin. The river gave Margereson a full house, ending Sedlak’s run in sixth.

Pan was next.

Pan called Margereson’s jam with ace-ten and flopped middle pair, but Margereson’s ace-jack improved to a straight on the turn. Pan was eliminated in fifth.

Patni’s Run Ends in Fourth

The final four featured Margereson, Yoshifumi Takahashi, Zhang and Patni, with the latter’s deep run ending in a three-way all-in.

Margereson open-jammed with ace-eight and found calls from Takahashi with ace-ten and Patni with pocket queens.

An ace on the flop put Takahashi ahead. The Japanese player ultimately secured the triple-up, while Margereson collected the side pot.

Patni was eliminated in fourth, earning KRW 99,250,000 (~USD 74,625).

Three-handed play then gave Zhang a chance to fight back.

The Chinese player doubled through Margereson twice in consecutive hands, first with king-queen against pocket eights and then with ace-eight against ace-four.

Takahashi also found a double, beating Zhang with jack-ten against queen-nine.

But Zhang’s run eventually came to an end.

He called off his final three million chips with queen-jack against Margereson’s ace-four. Ace-high held, sending Zhang to the rail in third for KRW 122,960,000 (~USD 92,450).

One Hand of Heads-Up

Margereson entered heads-up play with a commanding 5:1 chip lead over Takahashi.

There was barely time for the Japanese player to mount a comeback.

Takahashi moved all in with ace-nine suited, and Margereson called with king-eight offsuit.

A king on the flop immediately put Margereson ahead. Neither an ace nor a nine arrived on the turn or river.

That was all it took.

After a long final table, the APT Jeju High Roller was decided in one heads-up hand.

Takahashi collected KRW 168,100,000 (~USD 126,390) for second place, while Margereson secured the KRW 252,850,000 (~USD 190,110) top prize and the Rose Gold Mega Lion trophy.

APT Championship 2026 Taipei Awaits

Margereson’s victory also came with a seat to the APT Championship Taipei 2026 , meaning his APT journey in Asia will continue where his first Mega Lion was won.

Interestingly, the British pro had not originally planned to attend this year’s championship.

“I wasn’t actually planning on going this year, but I have to go now!” Margereson said. “It’s an amazing place, the tournaments are great, so I’m looking forward to it.”

From his first APT cash in Manila, to his first trophy and Mega Lion in Taipei, and now a Rose Gold Mega Lion in Jeju, Margereson’s APT story in Asia continues to grow.

This time, he did it by taking down the richest Korean-based APT High Roller in tour history.

All images & quotes courtesy of the Asian Poker Tour.

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