Yukinori Kojima Triumphs in Marathon Heads-Up to Claim Super High Roller Title at APPT Korea

Japan ‘s Yukinori Kojima has won the APPT Super High Roller at APPT Korea 2026 , mounting a remarkable comeback from a short stack to defeat Kotaro Kurotaki in a two-and-a-half-hour heads-up battle and claim KRW 95,534,000 (~USD 70,782) and his first major poker title.

Kojima outlasted a 27-entry field, overcoming near-elimination early in the final day to take the title at Paradise City Incheon .

Kojima Claims the Title

Kojima entered the final day as one of the shorter stacks with under 20 big blinds, while Kurotaki came in sitting second in chips with over 50 big blinds. What followed was a final day that belonged almost entirely to Kurotaki, until Kojima found a way to stop him.

Speaking through a translator after his victory, Kojima said the length and intensity of the heads-up battle made the win all the more meaningful.

“The heads-up play went on for a very long time, and my opponent was truly strong, so I’m honestly very happy,” he said. “It took me a year to win this title. I’m filled with really happy feelings.”

He attributed his success at the table to a deliberate effort to remain unreadable. “I tried to keep my mind blank while still thinking. I focused on playing in a way that made it impossible for my opponent to read what I was thinking. So I think there were some pretty tricky plays.”

When asked about the key turning point, Kojima pointed to one specific hand early in the day. “The biggest one before getting to this point was winning against ace-queen with ace-jack and hitting a jack.”

As for what comes next: “There isn’t anything in particular; I just want to keep challenging myself in big tournaments going forward.”

Super High Roller Payouts

#43 APPT Super High Roller (10,000,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$186,283

Total Prize

251.4M KRW

Entries

27

ITM

5

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩95,534,000 $70,782	YK Yukinori Kojima Japan	989.20
2	₩61,600,000 $45,640	KK Kotaro Kurotaki Japan	699.47
3	₩40,860,000 $30,274	TU Takanari Uchida Japan	571.12
4	₩29,540,000 $21,887	XZ Xiaosheng Zheng China	494.60
5	₩23,890,000 $17,700	HC Hon Cheong Lee Hong Kong	442.38

Final Day Action

Kojima’s day began with an immediate test of nerve. Start-of-day chip leader Hang Xu shoved from the small blind with ace-queen and Kojima called from the big blind holding the dominated ace-jack.

A jack on the runout gave Kojima the double-up he needed, and it proved to be the turning point he would later identify as the most pivotal moment of the tournament.

While Kojima back on steadier ground, Kurotaki went to work on the rest of the field. He eliminated Kenji Arai with pocket kings against ace-ten, sent Reoma Ogawa to the rail with pocket aces against king-eight, and dispatched Chun Yu Ma in brutal fashion when both players got in holding ace-nine, only for Kurotaki to make an unlikely flush.

He then won a race to eliminate Seunghyun Nam before waking up with pocket queens against Xu’s pocket tens to send the start-of-day chip leader to the rail on the soft bubble.

Kurotaki then burst the money bubble himself, flopping a set against Jinlong Hu‘s middle pair to bring the field down to five.

The Final Five

Despite Kurotaki’s dominance, both Hon Cheong Lee and Xiaosheng Zheng managed to double through him to put a temporary halt to his momentum. Lee then ran into Kojima, who made a full house with ace-queen to send Lee out in fifth.

From there, Kojima took control of a pivotal pot against Zheng. Zheng three-bet preflop and fired three streets with pocket kings, but Kojima had flopped a set of jacks and waited until the river to move all in. Zheng called and was sent to the rail in fourth, with Kojima vaulting into the chip lead in one hand.

Takanari Uchida exited in third shortly after, committing his stack preflop with pocket nines into Kurotaki’s ace-queen. The flop came safe but a queen on the turn ended Uchida’s run and set up the heads-up duel.

Heads-Up

Kurotaki began heads-up holding a slight advantage, and initially extended it significantly, at one point stretching his lead to nearly three million in chips. Kojima responded by making two pair in a large pot and then forcing a tough fold from Kurotaki to claw his way back.

Just as Kurotaki looked to be on the ropes, he made a great call with a pair of sevens to pick off a bluff and get back in contention. Kurotaki then doubled through when his queen-jack suited caught a jack against Kojima’s ace, and he regained the lead after making a flush.

Kojima answered immediately, check-raising the river with two pair and getting paid off to retake the lead. With escalating blinds reducing the effective stacks, the decisive hand arrived when Kurotaki raised with pocket eights and called Kojima’s three-bet holding pocket queens.

Kojima continued on a low flop, Kurotaki moved all in, and Kojima called. The turn and river bricked, ending the lengthy battle and sending the title to Kojima.

Side Event Winners

Across the past few days, a string of further titles have been awarded at Paradise City Incheon. Finland’s Linda Lahdenpaa claimed the High Roller Turbo for KRW 22,100,000 from a 23-entry field.

#38 High Roller Turbo (2,500,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$37,770

Total Prize

51.3M KRW

Entries

23

ITM

4

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩22,063,000 $16,240	LL Linda Lahdenpaa Finland	565.81
2	₩13,850,000 $10,195	KK Kotaro Kurotaki Japan	400.09
3	₩9,240,000 $6,800	YH Yoichi Hayashi Japan	326.67
4	₩6,160,000 $4,535	ST Satoshi Tateuchi Japan	282.90

Dong Yan, runner-up in the Paradise City Kickoff, returned to the winners’ circle by taking down the SuperStack for KRW 7,600,000 from a 78-entry field.

#21 SuperStack (450,000 KRW)

Total Prize USD

$21,825

Total Prize

29.7M KRW

Entries

78

ITM

11

#	Payout	Player	SPI
1	₩7,582,000 $5,580	DY Dong Yan Canada	577.65
2	₩5,000,000 $3,680	DB Darisuren Buyanzolboo Mongolia	408.46
3	₩5,000,000 $3,680	MT Momona Tsujinaka Japan	333.51
4	₩2,960,000 $2,180	KK Kento Kinoshita Japan	288.83
5	₩2,280,000 $1,680	SM Shikatsu Masaki Japan	258.33
6	₩1,810,000 $1,330	AA Amir Abbas Australia	235.83
7	₩1,450,000 $1,065	YM Yasutaka Mochimaru Japan	218.33
8	₩1,160,000 $855	JI Jun Ishibashi Japan	204.23
9	₩930,000 $685	DW Daisuke Watanabe Japan	192.55

Check the 11 Payouts & Results ...

Kenji Arai won the Mystery Bounty High Roller for KRW 18,300,000 from a 20-entry field, while Yoichi Hayashi took down the 6-Handed for KRW 9,300,000 from an 87-entry field, and Junichi Onimaru won the SuperStack Turbo for KRW 6,900,000 from a 143-entry field. Takahiro Nagano also picked up a title, winning the Shot Clock NLH for KRW 9,200,000 from a 45-entry field.

APPT Korea Main Event Underway

With the Super High Roller now complete, attention turns to the APPT Korea Main Event , which is now well underway with multiple starting flights complete. Somuchpoker is on the floor through to the end, covering chip counts, eliminations, and all the action until a champion is crowned.

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