China Poker 2025 SPI Review: Top Ten Chinese Poker Players

The 2025 poker season has solidified China’s poker status as a dominant force in the global circuit, despite being under a strict legal firewall on the mainland. While the SPI (Somuchpoker Index) rankings emphasize volume and consistency across the Asia-Pacific region, the leaderboard reveals a fascinating divide between the “grinders” dominating the local tours and the “high rollers” making waves on the world stage.

2025 SPI Score: China Top Ten

Player Profiles

1. Tingjia Cao

Tingjia Cao finishes 2025 at the top of the top ten Chinese poker players, defined by a relentless schedule across the Asian circuit. Cao secured the top spot by attending 15 festivals and recording 45 cashes, accumulating a 2025 SPI Score of 21,524. With $428,414 in total SPI earnings, he secured his career-best cash of KRW 146,580,000 (~$107,620) after outlasting a 135-entry field in the Red Dragon Prestige High Roller at the RDPT Jeju II 2025 . His season was a masterclass in consistency, navigating through 55 separate events to maintain his lead over a highly competitive field.

2. Yankai Zhang

Following closely in the second spot with a 2025 SPI score of 20,503 among the top ten Chinese poker players is a highly respected Chinese professional poker player and a seasoned veteran of the Asian tournament circuit, Yankai Zhang . A true pillar of the community with nearly with nearly $800,000 in total live earnings, Zhang’s year was incredibly efficient, earning more than half of his total live earnings, $361,954, in 2025. Among the 40 cashes in 48 events, he marked his career-best cash of VND 3,720,375,000 (~$144,269) with his triumph in the Main Event of the VPT Championship 2025 .

3. Ledong Zhou

Ledong Zhou rounds out the top three among the top ten Chinese poker players with a 2025 SPI Score of 20,340. With $292,115 in SPI earnings, he has quickly established himself as a consistent force on the Asian poker circuit in a short time. Zhou was one of the most active Chinese poker players on the list in 2025, matching Cao with 15 festival appearances. He continues to chase a new career high, looking to surpass the benchmark he set in 2024 when he captured the USOP Grand Finale Main Event title in Hai Phong for VND 6,175,000,000 (~$243,105).

4. Haohui Ma

Haohui Ma secured the fourth rank in the top ten Chinese poker players with $477,955 in SPI earnings, supassing top three players. Despite attending fewer festivals (11) than the top three, Ma’s deep runs in higher-stakes events strengthened his 2025 SPI Score to 19,773. He recorded 33 cashes from 47 events played, underlining a strong return on investment throughout the year. The highlight came at Poker Dream Malaysia 15 , where he shattered his previous career-best score with a MYR 570,000 (~$126,585) payday in the Super High Roller. The result pushed his total live earnings to the brink of the $1 million mark.

5. Renji Mao

Renji Mao , a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, represents the “high impact” tier among the top ten Chinese poker players, finishing with a massive $1,323,254 in SPI earnings. While his 2025 SPI Score of 18,344 puts him at 5th in the yearly rank, his financial success was supported by major scores on the international stage, including a WSOP Europe Bracelet win. He accomplished this with 36 cashes across just nine festivals, highlighted by a runner-up finish in the NLH 8-Handed event at Triton Super High Roller Series Jeju II 2025 . The result earned him $882,328, marking the largest score of his career so far.

6. Biao Ding

Biao Ding was the biggest financial winner of the top ten Chinese poker players in 2025, amassing a staggering $2,166,670 in SPI earnings. Much like the high-roller specialists in other regions, Ding played a selective schedule of only 8 festivals and 26 events. His rank is driven by elite finishes in the Triton Poker Series and other high-stakes PLO events, resulting in a massive average payout per cash with a total of 17,331 in the 2025 SPI Score.

His biggest score of 2025 came from a runner-up finish in the Main Event at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Jeju 2025 , earning $1,610,000. While impressive, it still trails his career-best payday of $2,870,000, which he secured with a second-place finish in the NLH 8-Handed event at the same series in 2024.

7. Junjie He

Junjie He sits at 7th with a 2025 SPI Score of 14,508. He earned $553,830 during the season, primarily focusing on 8 major festivals. With 17 cashes in 24 events, his selectivity allowed him to maintain a high level of play in the most prestigious events on the calendar. He’s best-career payout stands at $274,092 after his tremendous victory in the APT Main Event at the APT Incheon 2025 . He outlasted a historic field of 1,281 entries, which shattered the tour’s previous attendance record in Korea set at APT Jeju 2024, and claimed the hard-fought lion trophy, making it a historic moment for the top ten Chinese poker players on the Korean circuit.

8. Dong Li

Dong Li is the statistical monster of the group, finishing 8th with a 2025 SPI Score of 14,214. While his total SPI earnings of $137,079 are the lowest in the top ten, his volume was immense. Li played 52 events and cashed in 43 of them, an incredible ITM rate that keeps him among the top ten Chinese poker players. Li’s top career score remains the $261,152 that he collected for winning the Main Event at Poker Dream Jeju 16 in 2025.

9. Xiaosheng Zheng

Xiaosheng Zheng takes the 9th spot with $245,415 in SPI earnings. Zheng navigated 11 festivals and 32 events to secure 27 cashes. His steady presence at regional Main Events across Asia provided the foundation for his 13,796 2025 in 2025 SPI Score. A veteran of the top ten Chinese poker players with over $2.2 million in total live earnings, Zheng recorded a career-best $244,500 payday after capturing the WPT Cambodia Championship title at WPT Cambodia 2026 . The victory comfortably surpassed his previous top score of $225,000, set in 2025.

10. Xiangyu Yu

Xiangyu Yu completes the top ten with a 2025 SPI Score of 13,529. Yu brought home nearly half a million dollars, $494,240, in 2025, proving to be a significant threat to reach the final table in any tournament he entered. He recorded 24 cashes out of 30 events, proving that when Yu enters a tournament, he is a significant threat to reach the final table. His career-best payday stands at $218,500, where he secured the 6th-place prize in the Triton One High Roller at the Triton One 2025 , securing the last spot for him on the top ten Chinese poker players.

Where to Play in China

While poker remains in a complex regulatory space within mainland China Poker players dominate regional hubs, including:

• The Legal Divide: Under Article 303 of the Criminal Law, traditional gambling is strictly prohibited. However, poker exists legally in “Sports Poker” clubs where no cash prizes are awarded. Instead, players compete for “tickets” to major domestic championships or points redeemable for travel and goods.
• The Poker Capital: Sanya, Hainan, remains the “Las Vegas of China” for tournament players. It is the permanent home of the China Poker Games (CPG) . In April 2026, Sanya is also scheduled to host the 6th Asian Beach Games, being the second city in China to host the Asian Beach Games and further cementing its status as a destination for international sports tourism.
• Digital Shift: Following the 2018 ban on poker apps, the scene has fragmented into invite-only private clubs and blockchain-powered platforms like CoinPoker , which have become resilient workarounds for mainland enthusiasts.
• The Beijing Poker Club (BPC) :  Established in 2012, is the longest-running and the only legal poker room in Mainland China.
• Atlantis Sanya : China’s first and only Atlantis-branded luxury resort, a massive sail-shaped landmark on Hainan Island’s Haitang Bay. There is no permanent poker room at Atlantis Sanya. Instead, action is dictated by the CPG (China Poker Games) calendar. These events are legally classified as “Mind Sports,” where players qualify through online platforms (like the CPG App) or smaller regional clubs. Prizes are typically non-monetary “points” or travel packages, though they represent significant value in the Chinese poker community.
• Chimelong Hengqin Bay Hotel : A massive, dolphin-themed integrated resort located in Zhuhai, China. As the flagship hotel of the Chimelong International Ocean Resort, it has become a vital hub for the China Poker Games (CPG) on the mainland.
• Howard Johnson Resort Sanya Bay : a massive 5-star beachfront landmark and the spiritual heart of the tournament scene on Hainan Island. For over 13 years, the resort has hosted the annual CPG Championship Finals, an event so massive it is often referred to as the “WSOP of China.”

China’s Poker Festivals

• CPG (China Poker Games): A massive domestic brand in Sanya that remains a cornerstone of the China Poker scene.

Advancing to 2026, the race is already heating up. China’s Tony Ren Lin has the early edge with a SPI score of 11,661, while his countryman Xiaosheng Zheng is chasing closely behind with a SPI score of 8,752. With a busy stretch of major festivals still to come in 2026, there’s plenty of time for the standings to shift. It’s far from clear who will be sitting on top of the Chinese SPI leaderboard by the end of 2026. Be sure to stay tuned to Somuchpoker for the latest updates as the Player of the Year race unfolds.