Upcoming Jeju Poker Festival in November With More Than KRW 4 Billion in Main Event Guarantees

Since 2013, Jeju Island has been home to international poker tournaments in South Korea and several brands headed there to set attendance records for the country throughout the years. In November 2024, three brands will team up for the Jeju Poker Festival 2024 and return to Landing Casino which is located inside of Jeju Shinhwa World, the South Korea’s largest integrated resort.

Jeju Poker Festival 2024

From November 15 until December 1, 2024, the non-stop action will feature stops of the World Poker Tour Korea, Korea Poker Cup, and the Red Dragon Poker Tour (RDPT) Jeju. All three brands have already visited the island this year and have drawn plenty of attention. Together, the three Main Events combine for more than four Billion Korean Won  (~USD 3 Billion) in guaranteed prize pools and nearly 70  tournaments await for poker enthusiasts from near and far.

WPT Korea Championship

Paving the way at the start is the tenth edition of WPT Korea since 2013 and second installment of the current year. The full schedule has not been released yet by the World PokerTour but the dates and key details of the WPT Korea Championship are already known. With a buy-in of KRW 2.5 Million (~USD 1,880), the flagship tournament features a guarantee of KRW 1.68 Billion (~USD 1.26 Million) and comes with three starting days from November 16 to 18.

At the end of March 2024, the previous edition drew a field of 587 entries and 478 re-entries to generate a prize pool of KRW 2,598,136,000 (~USD 1,926,886). While most of the players in the money hailed from China, several international contenders were there as well. Notable finalists included Valeriy Fokin, Farhad Aghayev, Po Wen Fang. Hungarian player Mate Hanusi defeated Li Ma in heads-up to claim the top prize of KRW434,936,000 (~USD 322,567).

The entire series in spring featured 22 numbered events with a mix of mid-stakes and high-stakes competitions, the very same of which can likely be expected from the upcoming edition as well. Notable Side event winners were Quan Zhou, Maxwell Curtis, Jin Boxin, Lirui Zhang, and Thomas Boivin, the latter of which took down the KRW 20 Million WPT High Roller for a top prize of KRW218,520,000 (~USD 161,838).

WPT Korea Main Event

• Date: Nov 16 – 22, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 2.5 Million (~USD 1,880)
• Guarantee: KRW 1.68 Billion (~USD 1.26 Million)

WPT High Roller

• Date: Nov 16 – 17, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 8 Million (~USD 6,000)

WPT Mystery Bounty

• Date: Nov 19 – 20, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 2 Million (~USD 1,500)

WPT Super High Roller

• Date: Nov 20 – 21, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 16 Million (~USD 12,000)

Korea Poker Cup

The recently launched Korea Poker Cup (KPC) is a newly established poker brand in South Korea, which strives to promote Jeju Island as one of the new hotbeds for live poker tournaments in the country and South East Asia. They previously cooperated with the Red Dragon Poker Tour in late July and early August 2024 where they became sponsor of one event and offered exclusive promotions on top for all participants.

That happened to be the opening KPC Baby Dragon, which cost KRW 1.5 Million to enter. The tournament attracted a field of 512 entries and 109 re-entries to result in a prize pool of KRW670,464,000 (~USD 484,975). Former PokerStars ambassador Celina Lin returned to the live poker arena and narrowly missed the final table, while Tae Hoon Han was among the notables to go even further. The winner of the tournament was China’s Shengyong Wang, who claimed a top prize of KRW132,654,000 (~USD 95,954).

The KPC has also partnered up with the recently concluded Poker Dream 12th edition. As part of Poker Dream 12 Jeju, the KPC sponsored the Mystery Big Bounty Event with a guarantee of KRW 200 million). With 642 entries, it more than exceeded the guarantee for a prize pool of over KRW 430,000,000 (~USD 328,000).

The first-ever standalone KPC Main Event during the series comes with a buy-in of KRW 1.6 Million (~USD 1,200) and features three starting days on November 22 and 23 including two regular flights and a turbo heat. A champion will be crowned on November 26, which is also the final day for the KPC Super High Roller Short Deck. The most expensive tournament of the entire festival costs KRW 66.8 Million to enter!

Korea Poker Cup Main Event

• Date: Nov 22 – 26, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 1.6 Million (~USD 1,200)

Jeju Cup

• Date: Nov 24 – 26, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 1.2 Million (~USD 900)

Super High Roller Short Deck

• Date: Nov 25 – 26, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 66.8 Million (~USD 50,131)

Red Dragon Poker Tour Jeju

The previous stop of the Red Dragon Poker Tour (RDPT) Jeju in late August was most certainly a success. The flagship Championship Event came with a buy-in of KRW 2.2 Million and a KRW 1.68 Billion guarantee, which may sound very familiar if you scroll up to the start of this article. Thanks to 1,337 unique entries and another 637 re-entries, the prize pool reached a staggering KRW 2,567,843,000 (~USD 1,858,614).

Two female contenders made deep runs in this large field and reached the final two tables. Taiwan’s Hua-Wei Lin bowed out in 14th place for KRW16,180,000 while GGPoker ambassador Nana Nakamura (former Sanechicka) made it all the way to heads-up play. Nakamura eventually had to settle for second place (KRW263,200,000 / ~USD $190,505) ahead of fellow Japanese players Go Saito and Kozo Yamada. However, the trophy and largest payday of KRW 392,403,000 (~USD 284,022) went to Mai Zhang from China.

There were a total of 36 trophy events back then but the schedule is now more condensed with 25 tournaments listed from November 26 until December 1. Crown jewel is once more the Red Dragon Championship as of November 27 with four starting flights across two days, featuring 30 and 40-minute levels. The tournament comes with a buy-in of KRW 2 Million and a KRW 1.38 Billion guarantee. Further notable events include the Baby Dragon, Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty Event and the Red Dragon High Roller.

Red Dragon Championship

• Date: Nov 27 – Dec 1, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 2 Million (~USD 1,500)
• Guarantee: KRW 1.38 Billion (~USD $1.35 Million)

Baby Dragon

• Date: Nov 26 – 27, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 1.5 Million (~USD 1,125)

Red Dragon Super High Roller

• Date: Nov 26 – 27, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 12 Million (~USD 9,000)

Dragon Egg Mystery Bounty

• Date: Nov 29 – 30, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 4 Million (~USD 3,000)

Red Dragon High Roller

• Date: Nov 30 – Dec 1, 2024
• Buy-In: KRW 6 Million (~USD 4,500)

Stay tuned for more details and promotions in our next post as one of the most exciting live poker events of the year in South Korea is set to unfold from November 15 until December 1, 2024!

Jeju Poker Festival 2024 Schedule