How a Holiday Side-Event Turned Into a Six-Title Streak

When Sun Yue arrived at APT Incheon 2025, becoming the most successful Women’s Event player in the New Era of the Asian Poker Tour was hardly part of the plan.

In fact, playing a Women’s Event was not really part of the plan at all.

“My first APT was Incheon last year. I went there on holiday then found tournaments to play, so I entered,” recalled Sun.

“At first, I didn't want to play Women’s Events. I preferred big multi-day tournaments. But after busting out, I joined the Women’s Event instead.”

What followed was an extraordinary introduction to the APT.

Sun captured three Women’s Event titles during her debut festival, becoming the first and, so far, only woman to win three women’s event titles at a single APT festival. Barely a year later, that spur-of-the-moment decision has turned into one of the most remarkable records in the history of women’s poker on the Tour.

As of today, across just three APT festivals, Sun has amassed six Women’s Event titles and 19 APT cashes, establishing herself as the Tour’s most successful Women’s Event player in terms of titles and cashes in the New Era.

These days, unlike during that first trip to Incheon, she is actively seeking the events out.

“This year, I have a personal goal: play Women’s Events whenever I can, just to see if I can break my own record.”

Sun Yue’s first title on the Asian Poker Tour, the start of a blistering hot run at APT Incheon 2025

From IT to the Poker Tables

For someone who has made collecting APT trophies look almost routine, poker was never supposed to become such an important part of Sun’s life.

Away from the tables, she works in IT, and despite her rapidly growing poker résumé, she has no immediate plans to leave her career behind and become a full-time professional.

“You might not believe it, but I work in IT,” said Sun.

Her introduction to the game was every bit as accidental as her first APT appearance. With few other hobbies occupying her time, Sun began playing poker recreationally with friends simply because they were bored. Some early success soon changed her relationship with the game.

“Honestly, I have very few hobbies. I found poker by complete accident. My friends were bored, so we started playing just for fun.”

After picking up a few small titles, she began studying poker more seriously. The deeper she delved into its strategy, the more fascinated she became.

“I started studying, and the more I learned, the more I loved it. Even so, I don't plan to make it my 100% full-time focus yet.”

That approach has nevertheless produced an impressive live tournament record. Sun's career earnings have climbed to USD 160,786, with a best live cash of USD 25,457.

Yet, for all the prize money she has accumulated, it is the trophies that seem to matter most.

After her second title, Sun recalled a player approaching her boyfriend and asking whether she might sell one of her trophies.

“After my second title, a man approached my boyfriend and said, ‘Your girlfriend has so many trophies, can she sell me one?’”

Sun's response was emphatic.

“Trophies mean much more than the money. He knew I wouldn't sell.”

Asked whether there was any price that might tempt her, Sun mused: “Maybe two Zodiac Classic buy-ins.”

Sun recounting her first APT experience in Incheon last year

The Trophy Still Missing

There is, however, one piece of APT silverware Sun particularly wants to add to her collection.

For all her dominance in Women’s Events, the Pewter Lion Silhouette Trophy awarded to the Women’s Main Event champion has twice remained agonisingly beyond her reach.

“Actually, my biggest regrets! The two Women’s Main Events.”

The first opportunity came at Jeju. The previous year at Incheon there had been no Pewter Lion Silhouette Trophy on offer, so when the opportunity finally presented itself, Sun was determined to claim one.

“I really wanted that Pewter Lion Trophy. I played super focused, fired just one bullet, and at the Final Table, I held a third of all chips in play!”

Then the tournament unravelled.

“Then everything went wrong. I busted in 6th or 7th place, so missing out on that Pewter Lion Trophy hurt.”

Another opportunity eventually arrived, and once again Sun put herself in prime position. She reached heads-up as the chip leader and initially held a two-to-one advantage over her final opponent.

“This time I thought, ‘I have to get it!’ And again, I made the final table as chip leader.”

Her advantage grew further, leaving Sun tantalisingly close to finally getting her hands on the trophy she wanted so badly.

“I kept telling myself to stay composed. Because I was one step away from the trophy.”

Then came two lost flips.

For a player with six APT Women’s Event titles already sitting on her résumé, those defeats might appear little more than footnotes. For Sun, they are anything but.

Sun’s consistency at every Tour stop she has been one to watch

Poker Partners

Sun rarely makes that chase alone.

Her partner, Wang Zhiyi, also known as Jimmy, is also a poker player, and fittingly, the pair first met through the game.

“We actually met through poker.”

Their shared interest means poker frequently follows them away from the tournament floor, particularly when the discussion turns towards how a hand should have been played.

Asked which of them is the better player, Sun's response was immediate.

“I think I am!”

The disagreements that follow their hand-history discussions can occasionally become spirited. Sun estimates that about half of them end in an argument, at which point there is one obvious way to settle matters.

“Usually, we rarely fight but when discussing hand histories, 50% of the time it ends in an argument.”

“When that happens, I say, ‘Ok, stop! Let's run a simulation on GTO.’”

Rather than becoming a source of genuine friction, those debates have become another avenue through which the pair improve their games.

“We sometimes argue over poker but it helps us grow.”

That shared desire to improve also shapes how they travel the circuit.

Despite Sun's remarkable success in Women’s Events, neither she nor Jimmy sees those victories as the ultimate destination. Their attention remains firmly fixed on the larger multi-day tournaments, particularly the Main Event.

“We are both somewhat obsessed with the Main Event and multi-day events.”

Before arriving at a festival, the pair map out their schedule around events such as the Mystery Bounty Hunter and Main Event. Their priority is to progress through Day 1 and give themselves the opportunity for a deep multi-day run. Only after elimination do they turn their attention towards the available single-day events.

“Given any chance, we play hard on Day 1 to make Day 2 and keep battling. If we bust out, we look for good single-day events and play those instead.”

What they are searching for is the major breakthrough they believe could take their poker careers to another level.

“Neither of us has a major score yet and we really need one to boost our confidence, or to give us a reason to keep pushing forward.”

Sun is quick to point out that the pair are not losing money overall, but the significance of achieving something bigger goes beyond the bottom line.

“Even though we aren't losing money overall, big achievements still matter a lot.”

Sun’s partner in crime, Wang Zhiyi (Jimmy), winner of the APT National Cup at APT Jeju 2025

Twenty Years of APT, and Just the Beginning for Sun

That pursuit has also helped forge Sun's connection with the Asian Poker Tour.

Jimmy's own enthusiasm for APT began after playing at Phu Quoc. Following frustrating experiences at other tournaments, he came away particularly impressed by the structure of the APT Main Event and the amount of room it gave players to test their skill.

“He said APT Main Event structure is the healthiest he's ever played. It isn't purely about luck. You have room to test your skill.”

That experience was enough to turn APT into a regular fixture on their poker calendar.

“Ever since Phu Quoc, he's been hooked on APT. He says he'll play any APT stop he can get to.”

For Sun, the relationship with the Tour has developed even more rapidly.

She arrived at her first APT festival as a holidaymaker who happened to find a poker tournament. She entered a Women’s Event only because her original tournament had ended.

She left Incheon with three titles.

Now, just over a year into her APT journey, six Women’s Event titles and 19 cashes have made Sun the benchmark against which future Women’s Event success on the Tour will be measured.

Still, she does not consider the story complete.

There is a Pewter Lion Silhouette Trophy she has yet to capture. There is the major multi-day result she and Jimmy continue to pursue. And there is her own record, which she has now made a personal challenge to surpass.

As APT celebrates its 20-year anniversary, Sun remains grateful for what has already been a remarkably productive relationship with the Tour.

“First, huge thanks. Even though in terms of money and massive titles, I haven't shone brightly yet, thank you APT for giving me so many great experiences.”

But for Sun, APT has provided something beyond titles, trophies and prize money.

“APT also allowed me to meet many new friends.”

Twenty years into the APT's story, Sun's own chapter has only just begun. And if her first year on the Tour is any indication, Sun is yet to rise fully on the APT.

As the Asian Poker Tour celebrates its milestone 20-year anniversary, it's time to take a look back at the stories that have shaped those two decades. From the people that have helped to shape the APT experience, to the players on the felt that have defined the very competition the tour stands for.

Throughout the year, the APT will unveil a series of iconic stories offering personal perspectives of how the tour has impacted lives, careers, and journeys.