Guanglai Jin in Pole Position as 45 Return for WPT Seoul Championship Warm Up Final Day
The WPT Seoul 2026 continued on Saturday, October 31, at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in South Korea, with Guanglai Jin of China leading the way in the Championship Warm Up after three starting flights attracted a combined 353 entries.
Jin bagged 862,000 chips to finish ahead of Shao Kai Lin of Taiwan, who accumulated 663,000, while Canada's Hyungki Kim rounded out the top three with 611,000.
A total of 45 players advanced to Sunday's final day, while four more trophies were awarded across Big O, the Mini High Roller Warm Up, Mega Stack Turbo and Evening Hyper Turbo events.
Guanglai Jin Tops Championship Warm Up After 353 Entries
The KRW 700,000 Championship Warm Up attracted a big turnout across Saturday's three starting flights, comfortably surpassing its KRW 100 million guarantee.
Day 1A recorded 150 entries, with 19 players advancing, while Day 1B added another 165 entries and 21 survivors. The evening Day 1C flight drew 38 entries, with five players progressing.
China's Guanglai Jin finished at the top of the chip counts with 862,000, giving him a healthy lead over the remaining field heading into Day 2.
Behind Lin and Kim, Japan's Shunsuke Wakayama comes back in fourth with 569,000, narrowly ahead of Van Tuan Pham of Vietnam, who bagged 568,000.
Singapore's Benjamin Lim also secured a top-ten stack with 522,000, followed by Ethiopia's Berhanu Abay Kassa with 514,000.
The remaining 45 players return on Sunday, November 1, at 11:30 AM KST to play down to a champion.
Championship Warm Up Top Ten Chip Counts
Rank | Player | Country | Chip Count |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | Guanglai Jin | 862,000 | |
2 | 663,000 | ||
3 | Hyungki Kim | 611,000 | |
4 | 569,000 | ||
5 | 568,000 | ||
6 | Benjamin Lim | 522,000 | |
7 | Ethiopia | 514,000 | |
8 | 449,000 | ||
9 | 439,000 | ||
10 | Toshimi Ogawa | 437,000 |
Fumito Murayama Wins Mini High Roller Warm Up
Japan's Fumito Murayama collected one of the largest prizes awarded so far at WPT Seoul 2026 after taking down the KRW 2,200,000 Mini High Roller Warm Up.
The tournament attracted 22 entries and generated a KRW 42,240,000 prize pool, with Murayama securing KRW 18,170,000 for first place.
Fellow Japanese player Takahiro Nakayama finished runner-up for KRW 11,400,000, while Bo Dou, who had finished eighth in Friday's Inspire Superstack, collected KRW 7,180,000 for third place.
Yoshitaka Yagi completed the four payouts, taking home KRW 5,490,000.
Kyohei Tobita Claims Mega Stack Turbo Title
The KRW 500,000 Mega Stack Turbo attracted 53 entries, generating KRW 22,896,000 in prize money.
Japan's Kyohei Tobita secured the title and KRW 6,856,000, with Ingmar Langer finishing runner-up for KRW 4,350,000.
Kohei Shimizu took third place for KRW 2,860,000, while Takeshi Kishi and Ganbaatar Aldarjav completed the top five.
Takumi Nakayama Wins Big O
The KRW 500,000 Big O tournament also concluded on Saturday, with Japan's Takumi Nakayama collecting KRW 3,346,000 after topping an 18-entry field.
The event generated a KRW 7,776,000 prize pool, with four players receiving payouts.
Bobby James finished runner-up for KRW 2,100,000, followed by Yih Ming Hsu in third for KRW 1,320,000. Michael Wookju Chung rounded out the paid positions with KRW 1,010,000.
Kazuki Shinogi Tops Evening Hyper Turbo Standings
The final event of Saturday's schedule, the KRW 1,000,000 Evening Hyper Turbo 20 Sec, attracted 24 entries and generated a KRW 20,736,000 prize pool.
Japan's Kazuki Shinogi finished in first place, receiving KRW 6,633,000, following a heads-up deal with Yuda Zhou, who collected the same amount as runner-up.
Saturday Side Event Winners
Event | Entries | Winner | Winner's Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
Big O | 18 | KRW 3,346,000 | |
Mini HR Warm Up | 22 | KRW 18,170,000 | |
Mega Stack Turbo | 53 | KRW 6,856,000 | |
Evening Hyper Turbo | 24 | Kazuki Shinogi | KRW 6,633,000 |
Championship Warm Up Final Day and Mystery Bounty Begin Sunday
The 45 remaining Championship Warm Up players return on Sunday, November 1, at 11:30 AM to play down to a winner, with Somuchpoker on the tournament floor providing live updates throughout the day.
Another major event will be the KRW 1,000,000 Mystery Bounty, which begins with two starting flights at 11:30 AM and 5:00 PM.
Sunday's schedule also includes Freezeout, PLO and Hyper Turbo tournaments, along with a KRW 2,500,000 High Roller Hyper Turbo.
Sunday, November 1 Schedule
Time (KST) | Event | Buy-in |
|---|---|---|
11:30 AM | Championship Warm Up Day 2 | KRW 700,000 |
11:30 AM | Mystery Bounty Day 1A | KRW 1,000,000 |
11:30 AM | Freezeout | KRW 500,000 |
1:00 PM | PLO | KRW 600,000 |
5:00 PM | Mystery Bounty Day 1B | KRW 1,000,000 |
8:00 PM | Hyper Turbo 15 Sec | KRW 300,000 |
8:30 PM | HR Hyper 20 Sec | KRW 2,500,000 |
8:30 PM | WYS Milestone Satellite | KRW 400,000 |
WPT Seoul 2026 continues through November 9, with the KRW 1 billion guaranteed INSPIRE Championship scheduled to begin on November 5.
For more on the festival, read our WPT Seoul 2026 preview and inside look at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort.
About the Editor
Tim Baker is a UK-born Live Poker Reporter based in Indonesia, covering major poker tournaments across Asia and around the world since 2023. With nearly two decades of experience around live and online poker, he brings deep knowledge of the game and the international poker scene to his tournament coverage.
