The Asian Poker Tour's visit to Korea is over. As the dust settles, we can look back on an extraordinary few weeks of poker in which a total of around ₩8,567,468,300 ($6,418,108) in prizes found its way into the pockets of players.
Hosted by the Paradise City Casino, the APT Incheon festival saw 1,127 unique players enter 67 trophy events. The player pool came to Korea from 40 different nations and, in total, paid for 6,967 tournament entries.
All these players contributed to this year's APT Incheon being the biggest Korean event in the APT's fifteen years. What's more, the festival set records for the biggest Korean field size and prize pool ever—both records set by the APT Incheon Main Event. The festival's Superstar Challenge playout was also the biggest version of that event in APT history.
Shoichiro Tamaki Takes Down APT Incheon Main Event
The record-breaking APT Incheon ₩2,300,000 Main Even attracted 930 entries, who created a ₩1,867,347,000 ($1,411,975) prize pool.
By the time the final table had been determined, the eventual champion Shoichiro Tamaki was already in the chip lead and eying up money and the golden lion trophy for first place.
To get there, Tamaki still had to beat a field of players every bit as hungry as he was.
However, by the time the Uzbek player Veleriy Pak busted in fourth for ₩110,900,000 ($83,078), the remaining three players were ready to cut an ICM deal. The players left ₩26,347,000 ($20,000) and the title to play for, meaning that when Tamaki won, he took home a check for ₩271,447,000 ($203,347).
Shoichiro Tamaki ponders his move at the final table.
"I hoped, I hoped, but I didn't expect," Tamaki said during his winner's interview. "This is so big in my life."
This is the biggest win in the Japanese player's poker career, but his address to the camera was entirely focused on thanking his friends and family for their support.
"Thanks to everyone," he said in Japanese. "I was able to win the championship! Thank you for your support. I was happy with your messages. It was really encouraging. Thank you!"
APT Incheon Main Event Final Table Results
Rank
Player
Country
Prize
Prize(USD)
1st
Shoichiro Tamaki
Japan
₩271,447,000
$203,347
2nd
Tsz To Wan
China
₩211,200,000
$158,215
3rd
Napat Chokejindachai
Thailand
₩222,200,000
$166,455
4th
Veleriy Pak
Uzbekistan
₩110,900,000
$83,078
5th
Abraham Ceesvin
Singapore
₩86,300,000
$64,649
6th
King Wai Cheung
Hong Kong
₩63,900,000
$47,869
7th
Jason Lau
Malaysia
₩45,700,000
$34,235
8th
Masahiro Adachi
Japan
₩32,600,000
$24,421
9th
Raul Martinez Gallego
Spain
₩25,700,000
$19,252
Next Stop, Hanoi!
The Asian Poker Tour, sponsored by Natural8, moves on to Vietnam in December for the APT Hanoi Billions 2023.
The APT Hanoi Billions will close out the 2023 Asian Poker Tour with ten days of poker.
The schedule includes ten high-roller events and aims to be another record-setting series, with VSOP CEO Terry Nguyen saying that the "APT Hanoi Billions is going to be the biggest poker event that Vietnam has ever seen."
The APT Hanoi Billions 2023 begins on December 1st, runs until December 10th, and will be hosted at Hanoi's National Convention Center.
APT Incheon Complete Tournament Results
Event
Player
Country
Prize
Prize (USD)
Event 1: APT Kickoff - KRW 175,000,000 GTD - Final Day
Hong Ru Zhang
China
₩29,360,019
$22,289
Event 2: Single Day High Roller - Freezeout - 8 Max
Abraham Abdulla Ceesvin
Singapore
₩37,398,000
$28,391
Event 3: PL Omaha 5 Card - Hi-Lo (Big O)
Fumihiro Yasoshima
Japan
₩2,713,200
$2,060
Event 4: NL 2-7 - Single Draw - Turbo
Craig Anthony Cooper
United Kingdom
₩1,634,700
$1,241
Event 5: Turbo
Cheuk Him Tsang
Hong Kong
₩5,940,000
$4,509
Event 6: Midnight Tick Tock (Levels decrease every hour 20/15/10/5)
