APT Championship Spotlight Shines on Women with Standout Wins Across the Opening Events

About a third of the way through the APT Championship (APTC), sponsored by Natural8 and running in partnership with the Chinese Texas Hold’em Poker Club (CTP) at Red Space in Taipei, the festival is well underway. Players are fully in the swing of things, with several events already breaking records for entries and women making their mark with standout performances. The series is building momentum quickly, delivering big fields, memorable hands, and plenty of action across both Championship and side events.

Sweden’s Sofia Lovgren delivered one of the standout performances of the festival, taking down the TWD 35,000 (~USD 1,155) Mystery Bounty Championship after topping a field of 667 entries. The event awarded a TWD 12,166,300 (~USD 401,530) prize pool plus TWD 8,004,000 (~USD 264,160) in bounties, with all 94 returning Day 2 players already guaranteed a min-cash and the winner earning a TWD 311,000 (USD 10,000) APTC Main Event seat. Lovgren started the final day in 60th place but quickly surged, eliminating 11 opponents, close to 12 percent of the remaining field, to position herself for a deep run.

The final table began eight-handed after a double knockout on the bubble, with Lovgren entering as the lone female finalist and holding a chip lead she never surrendered. She knocked out five of the last seven players on her path to victory, finishing the job in a two-hand heads-up match against Hao Che Cheng. Lovgren earned TWD 2,268,600 (~USD 74,870) plus the Main Event seat, and pulled 12 bounties, including the tournament’s two largest worth TWD 1.5 million and TWD 1 million, for an additional TWD 2,733,000 (~USD 90,200). Cheng and Man Wai Lui completed the podium with strong finishes and healthy bounty hauls of their own.

Champion’s Reflection

Lovgren was thrilled with how her first mystery bounty experience unfolded.

“You know, this is the first time I’m pulling envelopes in a mystery bounty tournament, and to get the biggest ones, yeah [it’s] amazing.”

She reflected on the result with a smile.

“I feel great. I won the two biggest bounties in the tournament and a lot of smaller ones, and the trophy and the APTC Main Event seat. So I am very happy. It is a very cool trophy, but it looks very heavy, so I need to figure out how to bring it home. I need a new suitcase.”

Japan’s Hikaru Hishinuma added another highlight to the growing list of female successes this series, claiming her first career title in Event #46: Single Day High Roller – Mystery Bounty. She topped a field of 129 entries to collect TWD 1,907,580 (USD 61,723) and continued the strong momentum shown by the women throughout the festival.

Hajime Watanabe pushed hard for what would have been his second APT title but finished in second place for TWD 1,788,300 (USD 57,880). The podium remained an all-Japanese affair as Jun Obara took third for TWD 806,400 (USD 26,095), giving up his chase for a fourth APT trophy. Shiina Okamoto also made a deep run and was in the mix for a final table appearance, ultimately bowing out in tenth. Malaysian pro Wai Kiat Lee reached yet another APTC final table and ended his run in seventh.

In the side events, the Omaha Masters drew huge interest and set a new APT benchmark with 119 entries, the first time the event has ever crossed into triple digits. The players clearly love their Omaha. Taiwan’s Tsui Han Hsiao emerged as the latest woman to shine this series, securing the title and TWD 775,980 (USD 25,104). With over USD 235,000 in live earnings, this marks her first victory since her win in the No Limit Hold’em Single Day High Roller Mystery Bounty at APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024.

#36 Omaha Masters - PL Omaha High (30,000 TWD)

Total Prize USD

$100,145

Total Prize

NT$3,084,480

Entries

119

ITM

17

#	Payout	Player
1	NT$775,980 $25,115	TH Tsui Han Hsiao Taiwan
2	NT$524,500 $16,975	VC Vincent Chun Kit Wong Canada
3	NT$341,000 $11,035	RT Ryosuke Tomuro Japan
4	NT$282,000 $9,125	LJ Liam Jehu Australia
5	NT$227,500 $7,360	DC Dhanesh Chainani Singapore
6	NT$179,500 $5,810	DA Daniel Adam Haywood New Zealand
7	NT$137,500 $4,450	EH Ee How Ong Malaysia
8	NT$103,500 $3,350	VM Vamerdino Magsakay Philippines
9	NT$77,000 $2,490	YC Yi Ching Jeng Taiwan

Check the 17 Payouts & Results ...