APT JEJU 2024 SCHEDULE | OFFICIAL RESULTS | IMAGES | WINNERS | PLAYER LISTS
JEJU, SOUTH KOREA, May 4, 2024 – The largest international poker tournament ever to play out in Korea has crowned a champion, with China's Xixiang Luo defeating a record field of 1,089 entries (583 unique) to claim the lion's share of the KRW 2,376,742,500 (~USD 1,726,125) prize pool – the richest the Asian Poker Tour has ever generated in the country.
Playing out at the tournament tables of the world-class Landing Hotel & Casino, located in the luxurious Jeju Shinhwa Resort, the Final Day of the APT Jeju 2024 KRW 2.5M Main Event saw 15 players return to action, all looking to tame the award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event trophy.
All returning players were guaranteed a minimum payout of KRW 21,410,000 (~USD 15,550), but it was the tour's largest-ever South Korean top prize of KRW 429,292,500 (~USD 311,735) all were focused on claiming.
It was Sergei Kim who returned in pole position with 73 big blinds, with the Russian maintaining his chip lead well into the final table. Luo returned second in the counts with a stack of 55 big blinds.
The Chinese player took some early hits to drop down to seventh in the counts at the commencement of the final table, but got busy building in the opening engagements, before claiming first blood and sending compatriot Erdun Xu to the rail in ninth.
Kim's stack dwindled as the blinds climbed and it proved to be Luo who had a date with Destiny, sending the Russian to the rail in fifth place to take command of the final table.
Luo eliminated five of the nine finalists on his road to the title, with the crucial pot that saw him lay one hand on the trophy following shortly afterward; the Chinese player spiking a set of tens on the river to score a huge double elimination, sending Jian Han and Jason Wong to the rail and seizing close to 80 percent of the chips in play.
Heads-up against fellow countryman Jianfeng Sun lasted 15 hands, with Luo whittling his opponent down further before the duo got all the chips in pre-flop. While Sun's A♥ 9♦ was leading Luo's A♦ 5♥, a five on the flop sealed the deal, granting Luo his third APT title – his second of the series.
Luo's victory earned him a career-best score, moving him into the #10 spot on the China All-Time Money List and bringing his lifetime live winnings up to over USD 3 million.
"Do I really have so many second places?" joked Luo in his post-match interview in Mandarin*.
"Actually, I've been running bad for the past two months, but this APT series has been quite successful,"he confided.
"It's been a long time since I've been this serious." Luo told APT hostess Hsiao-Chin "Elfin" Lin.
"But ten years ago, I said I would win a main event championship within 40 years. Ten years have passed, and I've completed the task 30 years ahead of schedule. Yes!" Luo stated before heading off to celebrate wildly with his watching rail.
MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Xixiang Luo | China | KRW 429,292,500 |
| 2 | Jianfeng Sun | China | KRW 257,880,000 |
| 3 | Jason Wong | United Kingdom | KRW 181,580,000 |
| 4 | Jian Han | China | KRW 136,430,000 |
| 5 | Sergei Kim | Russia | KRW 104,340,000 |
| 6 | Mingchen Zhang | China | KRW 76,290,000 |
| 7 | Feng Chen | China | KRW 57,280,000 |
| 8 | Shih-Kai Lo | Taiwan | KRW 41,000,000 |
| 9 | Erdun Xu | China | KRW 31,970,000 |
*Interview transcribed via the aid of a translator.
Back row (l-r): Jianfeng Sun, Jian Han, Jason Wong, Erdun Xu. Front row (l-r): hih-Kai Lo, Mingchen Zhang, Sergei Kim, Xixiang Luo, Feng Chen
While 15 players returned to action for the Final Day, six of them would depart before the final table with the USA's Kyung Min Lee (10th), Taiwan's Kai Cheng Hsu (11th), China's Chang Liu (12th), Hong Kong's King Lai (13th), Thailand's Phanlert Sukonthachartnant (14th), and China's Chuanshu Chen all coming up short of a place in the final nine.
For Main Event Results please CLICK HERE
You can read all about Luo's journey to the APT Main Event title via the APT Blog.
You can also follow all the action as it played out via the Main Event Final Day live stream:
All tournament information can be found on the APT Main Event Final Day tournament page.
China's Wei Hang Chen Wins Korea's Largest APT Double Stack
Wei Hang Chen claims maiden APT title in largest & richest Double Stack the tour has run in Korea
APT Jeju continues to break records, with the KRW 1M Event #63: Double Stack - KRW 300,000,000 GTD drawing the tours' largest-ever Korean field of 444 entries (279 unique).
Of course a record field means record prize money, with the KRW 387,612,000 (~USD 285,900) prize pool the richest the event has generated in the country.
Just 63 players survived the two opening flights and returned for the Final Day, all guaranteed a payday of at least KRW 1,670,000 (~USD 1,230).
However, it was the KRW 74,922,000 (~USD 55,150) top prize – the largest the event has awarded in Korea – that all were aiming for.
It was China's Wei Hang Chen claiming his place in the APT record books, defeating Canada's Jacob Johnston heads-up to earn a career-best score and more than double his live tournament winnings.
Johnston also earned a career-best KRW 47,290,000 (~USD 34,700) cash for his runner-up finish, with Taiwan's Chi Jen Chen rounding out the podium and banking KRW 33,920,000 (~USD 24,830) for third-place – the second-largest cash of his playing career.
DOUBLE STACK FINAL TABLE RESULTS
| Place | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wei Hang Chen | China | KRW 74,922,000 |
| 2 | Jacob Johnston | Canada | KRW 47,290,000 |
| 3 | Chi Jen Chen | Taiwan | KRW 33,920,000 |
| 4 | Nobuhiro Fujii | Japan | KRW 26,940,000 |
| 5 | Yan Zhang | China | KRW 21,120,000 |
| 6 | Yang Feng | China | KRW 16,550,000 |
| 7 | Lei Li | China | KRW 12,440,000 |
| 8 | Nan Chen | United States | KRW 8,840,000 |
| 9 | Naruyasu Ota | Japan | KRW 7,050,000 |
China's Xianling Chen came up just short of the final table, earning KRW 5,850,000 for tenth.
Other notables to cash included triple bracelet winner Yan Shing "Anson" Tsang (12th for KRW 5,850,000), Japan's Kenju Wata (25th for KRW 2,830,000), Taiwan's Chien-Chih "Maggie" Weng (32nd for KRW 2,050,000), Natural8 Ambassador Phachara Wongwichit (46th for KRW 1,780,000), and former Main Event champion Feng Zhao (61st for KRW 1,670,000).
For Double Stack Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE
For Double Stack Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Double Stack Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE
For Double Stack Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Double Stack Results please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Event #63: Double Stack - KRW 300,000,000 GTD Final Day tournament page.
China's Jie Xu Leads Tours' Richest South Korean APT High Roller
China's Jie Xu is hunting his second APT title after topping the counts of the APT High Roller
With the last of the festival's marquee titles and the coveted Bronze Lion APT High Roller trophy up for grabs, the KRW 7M Event #76: APT High Roller - KRW 650,000,000 GTD was one of the biggest draws of the day, both for the watching rail and the 191 entries (122 unique).
The field and the KRW 1,204,255,000 (~USD 886,500) prize pool generated both represent a new tour country record for South Korea.
The eventual winner will walk away with a KRW 266,735,000 (~USD 196,255) top prize – the largest first-place prize the tournament has ever awarded in the country.
For APT High Roller Prize Pool & Payouts please CLICK HERE.
It is China's Jie Xu who will be returning in the tournament top spot, bagging a chunky 2,101,000 in chips at the close of the sixteen 40-mintute levels played – valued at 131 big blinds.
Xu was the only player to surpass the 2-million chip threshold, with compatriot Jingjun Xia (1,309,000), and former Main Event champion Dicky Tsang (1,010,000) the only two other players to bag seven-figure stacks.
Hong Kong's Hon Cheong "Ivan" Lee (813,000) also bagged a top ten stack, with 35 players remaining in contention for the trophy and title.
However, only 27 of them will be making the money, with the top ten stacks as follows:
APT HIGH ROLLER TOP TEN STACKS
| Place | Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jie Xu | China | 2,101,000 |
| 2 | Jingjun Xia | China | 1,309,000 |
| 3 | Dicky Tsang | Hong Kong | 1,010,000 |
| 4 | Kai Yu | China | 874,000 |
| 5 | Hon Cheong Lee | Hong Kong | 813,000 |
| 6 | Yong Zhao | China | 773,000 |
| 7 | Xiaohu Liu | China | 759,000 |
| 8 | Yisha Chen | China | 743,000 |
| 9 | Tsolmon Ochir | Mongolia | 717,000 |
| 10 | Leo Pang | Hong Kong | 674,000 |
Other notables still in the running include Taiwan's Chi Jen Chu (594,000), Natural8 Ambassadors Eric Ting Yi "Six Poker" Tsai (519,000), Phachara Wongwichit (343,000), and Yu Chung "Nevan" Chang (199,000), and Jeju APT Super High Roller champion Zhendong Li (151,000), with the latter bringing in the short stack.
For APT High Roller Player List please CLICK HERE
For APT High Roller Player List Day 2 Draw please CLICK HERE
You can read about all the APT High Roller Day 1 action as it happened via the APT Blog.
The Final Day will get underway at 11:15am local time on Sunday May 5, with the final table live-streamed via the following APT social media channels:
All tournament information can be found on the APT High Roller Day 1 tournament page.
Thailand's Kittipong Charoenvijitchai Bags Chip Lead in Event #74: Mini Main Event - KRW 250,000,000 GTD
Thailand's Kittipong Charoenvijitchai holds the overall chip lead in the Mini Main Event
Boasting almost the exact same structure of the Main Event only at a fraction of the cost, the KRW 800,000 Event #74: Mini Main Event - KRW 250,000,000 GTD drew a combined field of 327 entries (201 unique) over the two starting flights.
The prize pool stands at KRW 250,000,000 (~USD 184,340), with a total of 46 players fighting their way through to the Final Day – 22 from Flight A and a further 24 from Flight B.
These survivors are guaranteed a payday of at least KRW 1,433,000 (~USD 1,060) when the tournament resumes, with the eventual winner walking away with a KRW 49,008,000 (~USD 36,150) top prize.
It is Thailand's Kittipong Charoenvijitchai who will be returning in the box seat after topping the 160-strong Flight A, bagging up a stack of 723,000.
Singapore's Vincent Wong sits second in the overall pecking order, finishing Flight A with the second-largest stack of 674,000.
Taiwan's Pete Chen topped the Mini Main Event Flight B chip counts
Taiwan's Pete Chen rounds out the top three returning stacks after summiting the leaderboard of Flight B, which attracted a further 167 entries.
China's Haoyu Wang concluded Flight B with a stack of 585,000, which puts him fourth in the overall pecking order.
China's Zhiru Wang (Flight A), and Kun Wang (Flight B) were the only other players to finish on stacks of over half a million, with the top ten as follows:
MINI MAIN EVENT TOP TEN STACKS
| Place | Name | Country | Chips |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kittipong Charoenvijitchai | Thailand | 723,000 |
| 2 | Vincent Wong | Singapore | 674,000 |
| 3 | Yen-Han Chen | Taiwan | 642,000 |
| 4 | Haoyu Wang | China | 585,000 |
| 5 | Zhiru Wang | China | 585,000 |
| 6 | Kun Wang | China | 523,000 |
| 7 | Togtokhbayar Shinekhuu | Mongolia | 486,000 |
| 8 | Myagmarjav Zandannorov | Mongolia | 442,000 |
| 9 | Zeyu Sun | China | 437,000 |
| 10 | Jiazhong Yu | China | 429,000 |
Other notables in contention include the Netherland's Joris Michl (349,000), Singapore's Feng Zhao (251,000), the UK's Jun Li (248,000), Taiwan's Chien-Chih "Maggie" Weng (222,000), (and Hong Kong's Sparrow Cheung (66,000), although the latter will be returning as one of the shorter stacks.
The Final Day gets underway at 11:15am local time on Sunday, May 5 with the tournament playing down to a champion.
For Mini Main Event Flight A Player List please CLICK HERE
For Mini Main Event Flight A Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Mini Main Event Flight B Player List please CLICK HERE
For Mini Main Event Flight B Survivors please CLICK HERE
For Mini Main Event Day 2 Draw please CLICK HERE
All tournament information can be found on the Mini Main Event Flight A and Mini Main Event Flight B tournament pages.
SIDE EVENT ACTION
All side event action from Day 9 of the festival will be posted to the APT Jeju 2024 News Section on Saturday, May 4, although all results are available by clicking on the respective tournament in the APT Jeju 2024 Schedule.
You can catch up on the Side Event Action from Day 8 of the Series (Friday, May 3) HERE
For further information, please contact Press@APT.Poker or visit www.APT.Poker.