Tian Zhi Kong Wins Inaugural Gods Of Poker Main Event

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Updated: 2025.12.17

After ten days of action at LES A Casino in Jeju, South Korea, the inaugural Gods of Poker series came to a close with its final champions crowned. The last GOP Gauntlet hero and the Player of the Series honoree topped the highlights.

Running from December 5 to 14, 2025, the brand’s first step onto the Asian stage made an immediate statement, planting its flag through bold innovation and a fresh approach to tournament poker. Central to that debut was the unveiling of the Cronus Structure, a signature format of the brand, alongside the use of two dealers in both the High Roller events and the Main Event.

The Titan Assembly - Gods of Poker - 2026 Taipei — The Titan Assembly – Gods of Poker – 2026 Taipei

For those that couldn’t get enough, and for players that have yet to experience what Gods of Poker brings to the table, the next chapter is already on the horizon. GOP Taipei – The Titan Assembly opens the 2026 calendar, running from January 8 to 18, at the CTP Asia Poker Arena in Taipei City, Taiwan.

A new year. A new battlefield. A packed slate of 85 events awaits, headlined by NTD 42,000,000 (~USD 1.3 million) in guarantees and of course, the mighty GOP Gauntlets that have quickly become among the most coveted trophies in the Asian circuit.

Be sure to browse the full schedule for all of the details.

Tian Zhi Kong Clinches Inaugural GOP Main Event Title

The Gods Of Poker has crowned its first-ever Main Event champion, with China’s Tian Zhi Kong rising above the competition to hoist the magnificent Black-and-Gold Gauntlet and secure the top payout deal of KR₩ 187,290,000 (~USD 127,000).

Competing in his first-ever poker tournament outside of home turf, Kong shared with GOP host, Erica Tsang, his reasons for attending the event.

I saw this event and I found the structure very interesting. This is my first time competing abroad and there are many tournaments I haven’t participated in yet. I thought this one was very interesting so I decided to come.

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Event	Buy-In	Winner	Country	1st Prize	Entries
#25 GOP Main Event 2025.12.08 - 2025.12.13	2,000,000 KRW (1,728,000 + 272,000)	TZTian Zhi Kong T♦7♥	CHN	$138,575 203,830,000 KRW	481 ITM: 67	Finished

Taking place at LES A Casino in Jeju, South Korea, Kong’s GOP journey began at Flight A where he bagged a very healthy stack to take to Day 2. After all the flights completed, with 481 entries in total, 66 advanced each one locking up a piece of the KR₩ 1,000,000,000 prize pool.

Buy-in: KR₩ 2,000,000 (~USD 1,360)
Prize pool: KR₩ 1,000,000,000 (~USD 700,000)
Entries: 481
ITM: 67 players

Day 2 was challenging for Kong, barely gaining ground to drop to 7 big blinds. He received a boost when he three-bet pushed with Ace-rag and got lucky on caller Joshua Figuerres’ with an ace on the river to survive against pocket Jacks.

The day ended with 12 players remaining, Kong wedged in the middle of the pack with a decent 17 big blinds.

Final Day Action

Returning on the final day, Kong stayed under the radar as short stacks fired away. Tao Wei Chang was eliminated on a shocking runner-runner, going from 77 percent win-rate to crashing out in 12th place.

Unlike Joshua Figuerres who overcame two showdowns against Meng Ling Lin to avoid the rail, Dongying Lin couldn’t get out of the danger zone to fall to Li Yin in 11th place.
The final table was formed after Jiang Wang called to his doom with Lin’s kicker giving him the boot in 10th place.

Gods of Poker Main Event - Final Table — Gods of Poker Main Event – Final Table

Still under the radar with a mid-stack, Kong watched the aggressive action continue leading to the fall of Figuerres in 9th place on a brutal defeat. It was all-in on the turn, with Figuerres’ kicker ahead, the river paired Kazuki Okamoto’s lower kicker.

Short stacks Jia Xin Wang (8th) and Czardy Rivera (7th) were eliminated next, then Peng Deng fell to Lin after losing a chunk to Okamoto on a bluff.

The last Filipino hope, Elmer Kalaquian, fell in 5th place on a flip against Okamoto to bring the field to four players.

Kong Rises

Lin led with a towering stack while on the opposite end was Kong with just ten big blinds. It was at this stage that Kong made his ascent, winning two showdowns in dramatic fashion. In turn, this sent Okamoto crashing out on a stunning cooler against Yin.

At three-handed, Kong went pound for pound against Lin in multiple hands to claim two more double ups, the second one earning him the chip lead with a flush on the flop over top pair.

With Kong firmly ahead, an ICM deal was struck leaving aside a portion of the pot and the GOP Gauntlet for the champion.

When action resumed, Yin brought down Kong’s towers with pocket Aces earning him the maximum to catapult to the top. Yin ballooned further by knocking out Lin in 3rd place.

[On a side note, Lin jumped to the top of the Player of the Series leaderboard.]

Heads Up

Just three hands into heads-up play, Kong closed the gap when his Ace-Queen held against Yin’s Ace-Four for a full double up. Minutes later, he struck again.

Kong tank-called Yin’s semi-bluff to seize the chip lead. The hand left Yin with just three big blinds which Kong claimed on the very next hand to seal the coveted title.

For the live reports, click here.

Hirokazu Kobayashi Claims The Silver Gauntlet At GOP High Roller

Japan’s Hirokazu Kobayashi stole the spotlight after his commanding victory at the GOP High Roller. Kobayashi battled through a stacked 69-entry field to stake claim over the coveted GOP Silver Gauntlet and the KR₩ 100,558,000 (~USD 68,000) champion’s purse.

With a buy-in of KR₩ 5,500,000 (~USD 3,700), the two-day event drew in elite players with only 10 of them shaving a portion of the KR₩ 327,888,000 (∼USD 222,000) prize pool. Among the finalists was Japan’s Kazuki Okamoto who earned his third final table finish.

Strong performance as well by Indonesia’s Rudy Edenata for his fourth cash of the series. To close it out, Kobayashi denied Australia’s Emmanuel Derecho the title. This was the second time this series that Derecho settled for runner-up honors.

Meng Ling Lin Crowned GOP Player Of The Series

Meng Ling Lin crowned by GOP Founder Lloyd Fontillas

On the final stretch of the GOP Player of the Series race, Taiwan’s Meng Ling Lin seemed to be well off the pace. She was sitting on just over 15,000 points from three cashes while race leader from the Philippines’, Mike Takayama, had established himself at the top with more than 79,900 points. Takayama amassed this from an outstanding seven cashes, which included three victories.

What appeared to be a long shot quickly turned into a dramatic reversal when Lin finished in 3rd place at the Main Event to earn over 75,000 points, which launched her past Takayama and into the lead with 90,000 points.

In an effort to reclaim the top spot, Takayama made a final push on closing day but ultimately fell short, settling for second place and USD 1,000 in GOP Tournament Credits. China’s Jianfeng Sun completed the podium in third place, earning USD 500 in GOP Tournament Credits.

For Lin’s incredible achievement, she was awarded the GOP Crown Trophy along with USD 1,500 in GOP Tournament Credits.

Oleg Mordassov Lands A Spartan At The Mini Main

Swiss pro Oleg Mordassov entered the festival during the last half and while he fell short at the highlight event, he triumphed at Event #59: GOP Mini Main after securing a heads up deal with Japan’s Naohiro Matsuda.

The event was the largest turnout outside of the Main Event, drawing 251 runners at KR₩ 700,000 (∼USD 475) each, for a boosted prize pool of KR₩ 151,804,800 (∼USD 102,800). Mordassov pocketed the larger cut worth KR₩ 28,020,000 (~USD 19,000).

Guoliang Wei Wins Kraken Stack

Another featured event was the two-day Event #67: Kraken Stack which drew 124 runners across three flights. Chinese players dominated the action with five nationals reaching the final table. Among them was WSOP bracelet holder Guoliang Wei who sat on a monster pile at three-handed.
An ICM deal was cut and instead of playing it out, Wei was crowned champion. He pocketed a cool KR₩ 33,130,000 (~USD 22,000).