Korea National Cup Champion: Malaysia's Lee Wee Liew

Malaysia’s Lee Wee Liew has done it. A regular on the Asian Poker Tour, Liew has made numerous deep runs and final-table appearances on the circuit, and previously claimed an APT title at APT Manila in the ₱50,000 Short Deck - Triple Chance 6 Max, earning a Baby Lion Trophy.

Now, after battling through a total field of 474 entries (262 unique) in the Korea National Cup, with KRW 358,344,000 (~USD 264,460) up for grabs, Liew has claimed his second APT title and a Silver Lion Silhouette Trophy at A Les Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World, taking home KRW 70,334,000 (~USD 51,900), the second-largest score of his career.

Zhiyi Wang of China made a strong effort to chip away at Liew’s colossal stack in hopes of winning the Korea National Cup at the same venue for a second time. However, with Liew holding an almost 4:1 chip lead, the deficit proved difficult to overcome.

Wang ultimately settled for runner-up honors and KRW 44,250,000 (~USD 32,655), while his compatriot Furui Wang secured third place and KRW 31,690,000 (~USD 23,390).

Final Table Results

A Breakthrough Worth the Weight

For Lee Wee Liew, the Korea National Cup victory was more than just another tournament win. Still visibly elated after lifting the trophy, the Malaysian described the result as a breakthrough moment in his APT journey.

“I won a small trophy back when I played in a smaller tournament, but this one feels like my true breakthrough.” Liew said. “This is my first trophy from a mid-sized event. Everything I won before was from smaller side events. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time, even more than the previous one. It feels super cool, though it’s surprisingly heavy!”

Liew entered the final table as the chip leader, but he admitted he didn’t feel his advantage was as commanding as it may have appeared. As the final table unfolded, however, his momentum continued to build.

Liew Enjoying the Moment

One hand in particular stood out to him: eliminating two player with quads. “It felt amazing!” he recalled. That wasn’t the only memorable moment of the tournament. On Day 1, Liew had also hit a royal flush, giving him the feeling that everything was finally coming together.

Waiting for him heads-up was Zhiyi Wang, who was chasing a second consecutive Korea National Cup title. Liew, however, was unaware of Wang’s previous victory when they entered the final duel. “I actually didn’t know that, but I’m glad I stopped him from getting his second consecutive title!” he said. “He played very solidly and didn’t make many mistakes.”

With the biggest title of his APT career secured, Liew was quick to look beyond the trophy and credit the people who helped him get there. He saved his final words for his friends and coaches who guided his development, taught him how to play, and continued to encourage him as they watched his progress.

Liew with Friends

“I’d like to express my gratitude. I want to thank my friends and my coach who guided me, taught me how to play, and kept inspiring me as they saw my progress. They motivated me to work even harder and keep learning. Thank you so much to all my friends and coaches! Thank you, everyone!”

Reaching the Final Table

Out of the total field of 474 entries (262 unique), 67 players returned to the felt today, all guaranteed a minimum cash prize of KRW 1,380,000 (USD 1,020). It only took four hours before the field was whittled down to just 16 players. Liew was already near the top of the chip counts and continued to strengthen his position, bulldozing his way through the field.

Kevin Moon

With quite a number of short stacks in the field, it only took an hour for the bubble to burst with American Kevin Moon being the unfortunate player to fall short of the final nine. His pocket eights were cracked by Furui Wang's ace-king, sending Wang into the final table with the third-largest stack.

The Road to the Lion

Once the final table was reached, it took just an hour for the tournament to reach its conclusion.

Coming into the final table as one of the shorter stacks, China’s Huang Hongbiao was the first to hit the rail. His pocket sevens were cracked by fellow Chinese player Furui Wang, who paired his ace-eight offsuit on the river. Hongbiao collected KRW 6,370,000 (~USD 4,700) for his ninth-place finish.

He was soon followed by China’s Hongkun Wang, who attempted to steal the blinds from the button with ten-seven offsuit. Liew called from the small blind, holding ace-ten and dominated Wang. Hongkun Wang was outkicked and took home KRW 8,040,000 (~USD 5,935) for eighth place.

Gary Moon

The double elimination of American Gary Moon and Bo Edengren further propelled Liew into the lead. Liew’s pocket nines caught quads on the flop giving neither Edengren nor Moon a chance. This hand cemented Liew's commanding chip lead making it a milestone to his victory. Edengren and Moon collected KRW 15,320,000 (~USD 11,300) and KRW 11,530,000 (~USD 8,510), finishing in seventh and six place, respectively.

Waking up with pocket fives, the Malaysian champion three-bet China’s Zu You Wang’s raise, forcing the Chinese player to shove with ace-ten offsuit. Unable to connect with the board, Zu You Wang was eliminated in fifth place, taking home KRW 19,610,000 (~USD 14,470).

Zu You Wang in Fifth Place

China’s Bei Shi, short-stacked and holding seven-four offsuit, was forced to make a move. Liew’s ace-high was enough to send Shi to the rail in fourth place for KRW 24,960,000 (~USD 18,420).

With 61% of the chips in play, there was little left for Lee Wee Liew to do. Liew announced all-in with nine-six suited. Holding ace-four suited, Furui Wang made the call for his tournament life.

Liew caught a pair on the flop and held from there, sending Furui Wang to the rail in third place. It was still the second-largest cash of Furui Wang’s career, earning him KRW 31,690,000 (~USD 23,390).

Third Place Furui Wang

And just like that only two players were left.

After several limped pots and chips changing hands, Zhiyi Wang finally chose his spot. Holding king-six, he moved all-in, and Liew called with pocket threes. None of Wang’s overcards arrived and Liew’s pocket pair held to secure the title. Wang took home KRW 44,250,000 (~USD 32,655) for runner-up, his second-largest career cash.

Breakthrough Win for Liew

With that, the Korea National Cup found a new champion in Lee Wee Liew, adding another chapter to his APT record and a new name to the event’s list of champions.

Congratulations to all the players.

Stay tuned for more live updates as APT Jeju 2026 continues with more thrilling poker events.

After just under 11 hours of play, Malaysia's Lee Wee Liew has topped a 474-entry field in the Korea National Cup, defeating China's Zhiyi Wang heads-up to take down the KRW 70,334,000 (~USD 51,900) top prize, the Pewter Lion Silhouette Trophy and an APT Online Main Event seat worth USD 800.

Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action.

Zhiyi Wang

On the button, Zhiyi Wang shoved all-in for 3,200,000 and Lee Liew called for the championship.

Zhiyi Wang: K 6

Lee Liew: 3 3

Liew was ahead and just needed to fade all three streets to finally take the event down. Both players got on their feet as the dealer flopped J A 5 . So far so good for Liew. Wang's rail started calling for a king but the turn fell J .

The dealer turned over a Q on the river, ending Wang's hope of winning the same event, which he had won last year.

Lee Liew

Zhiyi Wang limped and Lee Liew checked his option to see a 8 T J flop.

Liew check-raised Wangs bet of 250,000 and made it 700,000. After a few seconds of thought, Wang called leading them to the turn.

The turn produced 9 which both players checked.

Liew led out with 500,000 on the river 8 , sending Wang to the tank. After burning a time card, Wang called.

Liew showed 9 7 for a straight, making Wang throw his hand into the muck.

With the action now heads-up, Zhiyi Wang is slowly clawing chips back against Lee Wee Liew, who started the battle with an approximate 3:1 chip advantage.

The first significant hand of heads-up play saw button Wang raise to 500,000 and Liew call.

Liew check-raised Wang's 250,000 bet up to 600,000 following the Q Q 5 flop, and Wang stuck around.

Liew led for 550,000 on the J turn and Wang didn't take too long before putting in the call.

Both checked the 3 river, with Liew turning over 5 2 for a flopped pair of fives, but it was Wang who was ahead the whole way, tabling 9 9 for pocket nines.

From a field of 474 entries, the Korea National Cup is now heads-up, with China's Zhiyi Wang and Malaysia's Lee Wee Liew battling it out for the KRW 70,334,000 (~USD 51,900) top prize, the Pewter Lion Silhouette Trophy and an APT Online Main Event seat worth USD 800.

Furui Wang

Lee Liew shoved all-in from the small blind prompting Furui Wang to look down at his cards. After a few seconds of staring at his hole cards, Wang looked up and announced a call, putting his tournament life on the line.

Furui Wang: A 4

Lee Liew: 9 6

Wang looked quite pleased with what he saw, knowing he was ahead with ace-high. Everything changed, however, when the dealer fanned out T 7 6 which pushed Liew in the lead with a pair.

The turn 4 also gave Wang a pair but not enough to beat Liew.

All his hopes were dashed when the board completed with a 7 ending his Korean National Cup journey in third place.

Zhiyi Wang

The action was joined with a completed board reading 7 6 6 Q 8 , with around 1,400,000 in the middle.

Big blind Zhiyi Wang had checked on the river, and Lee Wee Liew fired 950,000 from the button, continuing to use his covering stack to apply pressure.

Wang thought on it for a moment before check-shoving, moving all of his 2,200,000 chips into the middle and sending Liew into the tank.

After agonising over the decision, Liew opted to surrender the pot, losing a hefty chunk of his chips in the process.

Furui Wang

In the small blind Lee Liew shoved all-in with his humongous stack to steal the blinds but Furui Wang pushed back with a call, putting his tournament run at risk.

Furui Wang: K 7

Lee Liew: K 2

Wang caught a flush on the J 8 3 flop. The turn peeled 8 and the inconsequential J river completed the board. Wang was visibly happy as he scooped the pot while Liew, still in the chip lead, waited for the next hand.