Aleksandr Goloborodko Leads 28 Survivors as WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship Event Draws 221 Entries in Opening Flight

Day 7 of WPT Seoul 2026 at INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in South Korea saw the KRW 1 billion guaranteed WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship Event get underway on Thursday, November 5.

The opening flight attracted 221 entries, with 28 players advancing to Day 2. Russia's Aleksandr Goloborodko finished as the chip leader with 1,018,000, followed by Mongolia's Temuulen Adiya and Vietnam's Chinh Khoi Dinh.

Meanwhile, the KRW 8 million Super High Roller reached its final nine players, while Nino Pansier, Ryusei Fujimoto and Nobuaki Narita secured three more titles across Thursday's side events.

Aleksandr Goloborodko Leads Championship Day 1A

The KRW 1,750,000 WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship opened with a field of 221 entries, marking the first of four starting flights before Day 2 on Sunday, November 8.

After a lengthy opening day, only 28 players remained, with Goloborodko leading the field on 1,018,000 chips, more than 25 times the starting stack of 40,000.

The Russian player finished comfortably ahead of Temuulen Adiya, who bagged 742,000, while Dinh rounded out the top three with 603,000.

Indonesia's William Tjokroprawiro also enjoyed a productive opening flight, finishing fourth with 574,000, just ahead of China's Zhijie Ma on 568,000.

Among the familiar names advancing was Taiwan's Pete Chen, a WPT Main Tour champion and WPT Global ambassador, who secured eighth place in the overnight counts with 381,000.

The closing stages also saw Singapore's Kengsoon Tan fall on the Day 1A bubble after losing a race with ace-jack against the pocket tens of Australia's Nelson Dong. Although Tan missed the money, he received an entry to the 2027 WPT Taiwan Championship Event courtesy of WPT Global.

Several other notable players, including Vincent Chauve, Michael Lech, Reiji Kono and Romulo Dorea, were eliminated during the opening flight but have further opportunities to enter the Championship.

WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship Day 1A Top 10 Chip Counts

The Championship continues with Day 1B on Friday, November 6, followed by Day 1C and Day 1D on Saturday. The surviving players will return for Day 2 on Sunday before the champion is crowned on Monday, November 9.

Chang Hwan Lee Leads Super High Roller Final Nine

The KRW 8,000,000 Super High Roller attracted 40 entries, generating a KRW 291,000,000 (~USD 216,725) prize pool.

Nine players advanced to Friday's final day, with seven places paid and KRW 96,030,000 (~USD 71,500) awaiting the champion.

Chang Hwan Lee finished the opening day as chip leader with 2,280,000, narrowly ahead of Bayar Saran, who bagged 2,135,000.

Japan's Tomohiro Kamikawa sits third on 1,565,000, followed closely by Germany's Kilian Loeffler with 1,540,000.

Also among the finalists are Kyosuke Nagami and Takumi Eguchi, while Hiroyuki Noda enters the final day with the shortest stack of 365,000.

Super High Roller Final Day Chip Counts

The nine finalists return at 11:30 AM KST on Friday, with the first two eliminations falling short of the money.

Nino Pansier Wins PLO Event

PLO wizard Nino Pansier claimed the KRW 1,000,000 PLO title, adding KRW 12,060,000 (~USD 9,045) to his tournament winnings.

The event attracted 45 entries and generated a KRW 38,880,000 (~USD 29,160) prize pool, with eight players finishing in the money.

Pansier, an experienced PLO tournament player, defeated Russia's Anton Lysenko heads-up, with Lysenko collecting KRW 7,780,000 (~USD 5,835) for second.

Japan's Keita Kitamura finished third for KRW 5,050,000 (~USD 3,790), followed by Khunshagai Altankhuyag and Yi Ching Jeng.

PLO Final Table Results

Ryusei Fujimoto Wins Superstack Turbo Bounty

Japan's Ryusei Fujimoto topped the 99-entry KRW 650,000 Superstack Turbo Bounty 20 Sec, collecting KRW 8,558,400 (~USD 6,420) in regular prize money.

The tournament created a prize pool of KRW 55,598,400 (~USD 41,700) in combined prize money and bounties, including KRW 31,098,400 (~USD 23,325) in regular payouts. A total of 13 players finished in the money.

Fujimoto defeated Taiwan's Yu Hsiang Su heads-up, with Su collecting KRW 5,320,000 (~USD 3,990) for second place.

Japan's Wataru Hattori took third for KRW 3,470,000 (~USD 2,600), followed by Russia's Aleksei Zhukov, who received KRW 2,750,000 (~USD 2,060). France's Vincent Chauve completed the top five with KRW 2,140,000 (~USD 1,605).

Nobuaki Narita Claims Evening Hyper Turbo

Japan's Nobuaki Narita won the KRW 1,000,000 Evening Hyper Turbo 20 Sec, earning KRW 8,984,000 (~USD 6,740) after topping a field of 26 entries.

The event generated a KRW 22,464,000 (~USD 16,845) prize pool, with five players collecting payouts.

Narita defeated Mongolia's Aldarjav Ganbaatar heads-up, with Ganbaatar taking KRW 5,390,000 (~USD 4,040). Japan's Sojiro Hamaguchi finished third for KRW 3,370,000 (~USD 2,530).

Taku Furuse finished fourth for KRW 2,700,000 (~USD 2,025), while Junko Hirai rounded out the paid places.

Thursday's Side Event Winners

Championship Day 1B and Super High Roller Final on Friday

The WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship continues on Friday, November 6, with Day 1B beginning at 11:30 AM KST. Another field of players will look to join the 28 survivors from Thursday's opening flight.

The Super High Roller also concludes on Friday, with nine players returning to compete for the KRW 96,030,000 (~USD 71,500) first-place prize.

The schedule additionally features the KRW 3,300,000 Mystery Bounty High Roller, 5 Card PLO, Megastack Freezeout Turbo and another Evening Hyper Turbo.

Friday, November 6 Schedule

The Championship continues with two further starting flights on Saturday, November 7, before Day 2 on Sunday and the final day on Monday, November 9.

Catch up on Wednesday's WPT Seoul Day 6 recap and follow the WPT Seoul live updates for more action from INSPIRE Entertainment Resort.