After four exhilarating days of tournament poker the 2,457-strong APT Taipei 2025 Main Event—the tour's largest-ever—has been whittled down to the final nine players.

These lucky few are duking it out for a share of a record TWD 121,033,440 (~USD 3,735,600) prize pool that includes four seats to the TWD 350,000 (~USD 10,700) APT Championship (APTC) Main Event.

With China's Chung Ching Cheung claiming the first of these seats via a lucky draw, the other three seats will be awarded to the top three finishers.

In addition to poker's hottest ticket, the eventual champion will walk away with the largest first place prize ever awarded in a Taiwanese poker tournament—a massive TWD 19,009,440 (~USD 586,710)—as well as the award-winning 24K gold lion APT Main Event trophy and all the accolades that come with it.

The battle for the title promises to be epic. To see how we got to this point, you can check out the coverage on the APT Blog.

You can also view all the action as it played out via the live stream on the official APT YouTube channel.

The stage is set, the curtains are raised, all that remains is to introduce the players, so let us take a look at the lucky few and examine the poker credentials of our potential future champions-in-waiting:

Seat 1: Thi Dang Hue, Vietnam

Thi Dang Hue is the sole former APT Main Event champion remaining and is looking to repeat chance.

Hue has over USD 132,000 in live tournament winnings and took down the APT Phu Quoc 2022 Main Event for a career best cash of over $53,000.

An 8th place finish will see Hue make a new career high score, but of course, becoming a two-time Main Event champion will set her status as legendary.

This will be her 5th APT final table appearance. Hue is coming in as the short-stack with 4,700,000 – valued at 16 big blinds.

Seat 2: Wayne Lam, Hong Kong

A recreational player who won his way through as an OnLive Natural8 qualifier, Hong Kong's Wayne Lam has over USD 37,000 in live recorded cashes.

Lam has two final table appearances on his poker resume, with his best finish good for USD 18,770, so the Hong Kong native is already guaranteed a career best score.

Lam is coming back in the tournament top spot with a stack of 17,925,000 – valued at 60 big blinds – and this could be his time to shine.

Seat 3: Shinichiro Kano, Japan

The second of three Japanese finalists, Shinichiro Kano has four prior recorded live cashes on his poker CV for USD 9,600 in winnings.

Kano's best APT result before this deep Main Event run was a 33rd place finish in this festival's Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8.

Kano's best result so far from a monetary perspective was a cash in a World Series side event back in 2011 for USD 5,680 so the Japanese player is already guaranteed a career-best result.

This is Kano's first APT final table appearance and he is returning seventh in the chip counts with a stack of 8,450,000 – valued at 28 big blinds.

Seat 4: Iat Man Leong, Macau

Iat Man Leong sits at #34 on the Macau All-Time Money List with USD 33,000 in live tournament winnings so is already guaranteed a career-best score.

Leong will climb to at least the #17 spot with a ninth place finish, and has already cashed twice this festival, including a runner-up finish in Event #11 Super Hyper Turbo for TWD 73,000 (~USD 2,250).

Leong is returning sixth in the chip counts with a stack of 10,075,000 – valued at 34 big blinds.

Seat 5: Nishant Kumar, India

Nishant Kumar has five recorded live cashes on his poker resume, including two side event final table appearances for total live winnings of USD 11,420.

The sole Indian representative is making his maiden APT cash one to remember and is already guaranteed a career high score.

Kumar is returning fifth in the counts with a stack of 10,525,000 - valued at 35 big blinds.

Seat 6: Owen Chong, Malaysia

The sole Malaysian player at the final table, Owen Chong has three recorded live cashes on his poker CV, all of which have come in APT events, and all of which have been third place finishes, two of which have come this series.

Chong's best result from a monetary perspective came in the Event #25 Omaha Masters this festival, which was good for TWD 293,000 (~USD 9,000) so he is already playing for the biggest payout of his poker career.

Chong also finished in third place in Event #13 Pot Limit Omaha High Roller, which was good for TWD 263,000 (~USD 8,087).

The Malaysian player will be hoping the third time is the charm and is returning third in the overall counts with a stack of 15,375,000 - valued at 51 big blinds.

Seat 7: Akira Takasugi, Japan

Another player to have cashed already this series, Japan's Akira Takasugi made the money in the Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural 8, and then followed this up with a final table showing in Event #19: Hyper Turbo Home Games - Atomic Pineapple where he finished third for TWD 39,500 (~USD 1,214).

Takasugi has over USD 31,000 in live career cashes on his poker CV and his best cash from a monetary perspective is a 20th place finish in the APT Taipei 2023 Main Event, which was good for TWD 423,600 (~USD 13,766).

Takasugi is returning fourth in the pecking order with a stack of 10,775,000 - valued at 36 big blinds.

Seat 8: Rintaro Kagawa, Japan

With recorded live tournament winnings of over USD 95,000, Rintaro Kagawa is one of three Japanese finalists.

With TWD 1.5 million (USD 46,300) on offer for ninth place, Kagawa is already guaranteed a career-best score and his appearance at this final table will boost his career live winnings to over $140,000.

Kagawa has 2 APT cashes both resulting in final table appearances; his previous best finish a runner-up in a Turbo High Rollers event in the 2022 APT Incheon series.

The Japanese player is hunting his maiden live tournament title and with Kagawa returning second in chips with 17,825,000 (59 big blinds) this could be his moment.

Seat 9: Kiwanont Sukhum, Thailand

The most decorated player at the final table in terms of live tournament titles and career winnings, Thailand's Kiwanont Sukhum is no stranger to success on the APT circuit with three of his four live titles coming at APT events.

Sukham's best APT result was a Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 victory back at APT Taipei 2023, which was good for TWD 1,173,100 (~USD 38,173).

Sukham is coming in with form having claimed his first major tournament title last month, which saw him earn a a career-best score of USD 59,650.

The Thai player is returning with the second shortest stack of 6,050,000 (20 big blinds) but is definitely one to watch. An eighth place finish or higher will see him make a career-best score.