Ren Lin

Sometimes momentum is real, and sometimes it’s just noise. Over the past few days in Jeju, Ren Lin has made it impossible to tell the difference.

Fresh off his APT Super High Roller victory, Lin returned to LES A Casino and closed out the KRW 35,000,000 Superstar Challenge to complete a rare back-to-back run at the APT Jeju Classic 2026. The win earned him KRW 465,270,000 (~USD 323,100), the Black Stealth Lion, and further cemented one of the strongest starts to a season seen on the Asian Poker Tour.

The tournament drew 49 entries (39 unique) and generated a KRW 1,609,950,000 (~USD 1,118,020) prize pool, with nine spots paid and a final table packed with proven APT winners and high-stakes regulars. Lin entered the final day among the leaders and never lost control once the pressure peaked.

When the final chips were counted, Lin stood alone at the top after defeating Quang Minh Nguyen heads up, adding another major title to a run that has already defined the early part of the 2026 season.

Superstar Challenge Final Table Results

Lin’s Reaction to the Second Title

(Quotes translated from Mandarin.)

A few minutes after securing his second trophy in Jeju, Lin reflected on the mindset that has carried him through a remarkable start to the year.

“Honestly, it’s hard to explain. This year feels kind of magical to me.

“Maybe it’s because a lot of bad things happened last year. But I’m the kind of person who gets stronger the more setbacks I face. So this year, I really wanted to prove to myself that I can play very well. When the pressure gets higher, I actually perform better and make bigger comebacks.

“So I’m grateful for everything that’s happened, and I believe I’ll keep getting better and better. Because opportunities like this are rare. Maybe they only come a few times in a lifetime. So I really hope I can make it happen."

“When I came here, I even told them confidently that I was going to win two titles in Jeju this time. And now I’ve already won two.”

Ren Lin

Winning on the APT stage still holds special meaning.

“APT is the biggest tournament series in Asia, so being able to win two of the biggest events here in Asia makes me extremely happy and excited.

“I think the Golden Lion trophy is definitely the best in the world. Compared to that, this trophy might be a few levels lower. But after winning, honestly, whatever I hold in my hands feels like a diamond.”

Looking back on the final table, Lin pointed to one turning point that changed everything.

“Overall, today I think I played pretty steadily and solidly. The players at the table were tough to deal with too — all top Asian pros. It really felt like a back-and-forth battle.

“But later on, my luck got better. There was one key hand — my pocket Queens. I doubled up with QQ. After winning that pot, I felt like the tournament was basically mine.

“QQ has been incredibly lucky for me. I’m a huge Lady Gaga fan, so whenever I get QQ, it feels like I always win big pots.”

Ren Lin & Quang Minh Nguyen

Lin closed by thanking those around him and hinting that this run may not be over yet.

“I want to thank all my friends, my family, and all my fans. They’ve always supported me no matter what I went through. I want to repay them by achieving the best results and playing my best poker.

“Today, looking back, this year has started in a really magical way — four championships in four weeks.

“As for the Main Event, even though I really want to win that Golden Lion, maybe that’s a bit too greedy. So I’ll leave that lion for next year. Getting second place for Main Event is fine for now.

“I want to thank everyone who has supported me along the way — my friends and fans. Thank you for helping me become more disciplined and a better person.

“Especially my fans — recently I’ve had a lot of championship highlights and content. I believe you support me not just as an idol, but for who I am. And I promise to share all of my poker knowledge with you, 100% and unconditionally. I hope one day you’ll become even better players than me."

“I truly believe many people will surpass me in the future. Right now, I’m just very lucky. And if I have the time, I’ll try my best to attend every single APT stop.”

Final Day Action

Only sixteen players returned for the Final Day inside LES A Casino, and it didn't take long to lose a player as Chen Xiang Miao ran his ace-deuce into Eric Tsai's pocket jacks.

Artem Vezhenkov, John Juanda, and Tsai all hit the rail soon after, with the latter running his pocket tens into against pocket queens and coming off worst in a rollercoaster runout.

Natural8 Ambassador Eric Tsai

Guoliang Wei and Weiran Pu also fell short of the money before Haruhiko Shinohara became the bubble boy. Shinohara was all-in for his short stack of less than three big blinds and in a three-way pot, his ace-five came out worst as Joseph Cheong rivered two pair to scoop the pot with king-ten.

Cheong was the first player to be at risk once the money bubble burst and the final table was in motion, but his ace-king held firm against the ace-queen of Lester Edoc. Nonetheless, it was Edoc that delivered the first knockout of the final table as his ace-jack proved to be too strong against the ace-four suited of Ryuta Nakai. A great run for the Japanese player, who cashed for KRW 51,520,000 (~$35,780), which he can add to his tally from finishing as the runner-up in the APT Super High Roller.

Ryuta Nakai

Huu Dung Nguyen quickly followed to the rail as he clashed with his countryman and runner-up Quang Minh Nguyen. Huu Dung had gotten his chips in good with a flush draw and queen-high on the flop, and even turned a queen to leave his Quang Minh with just three outs. However, the three-outer slammed down on the river, ending Huu Dung's run in eighth for KRW 59,570,000 (~$41,370)

Cheong was next to fall as his time as the short stack eventually ended. In a hand with Nguyen, Cheong three-bet shoved king-ten and was looked up by ace-jack. The board ran clean, and Cheong was out in seventh for a payday of KRW 73,250,000 (~$50,870).

Joseph Cheong

Fendy Kosasih then picked up aces and got the chips in preflop against Khoa Anh Ngo's ace-queen. Right after that, Ngo was involved again, but this time he had the better hand after the cards were turned on their backs. Paulius Plausinaitis shoved ace-queen from the small blind and was quickly looked up by Ngo's ace-king. No help arrived, leaving Plausinaitis out in sixth for KRW 91,770,000 (~$63,730).

Just after the break, Lin was sitting second in chips with Ngo at the top of the counts, but that quickly changed after a hand involving Nguyen and Edoc. Nguyen called a three-bet with pocket sixes and spiked a set on the flop against Edoc's pocket kings. The chips piled in on the turn, and Nguyen's set held and earned him the chip lead.

Shortly after, the pair faced off again, but this time proved to be the end for Edoc. Despite getting it good with ace-queen, Nguyen flopped a jack holding ace-jack to land the knockout blow to Edoc, leaving the Filipino pro out in fifth with an extra KRW 123,160,000 (~$85,530) in his back pocket.

Lester Edoc

It was then Lin's turn to take up the throne as he called a four-bet shove with pocket queens, and was up against the king-jack of Nguyen. A clean runout later, and Lin was in the driving seat with four players remaining.

More chips came Lin's way as he picked up ace-king and got the chips in preflop against Ngo's king-queen. Nothing changed on the runout, and Ngo had to settle for fourth and the KRW 173,070,000 (~$120,190) prize money.

Khoa Anh Ngo

Almost immediately after, Lin found ace-king against and was dominating the king-seven of short-stacked Kosasih. No seven appeared on the runout, leaving Kosasih out in third for a career-best score of KRW 229,420,000 (~$159,320).

Fendy Kosasih

When heads-up play began, Lin held almost a two-to-one chip lead over Nguyen, but that didn't last long. In the third hand of heads-up, Nguyen rivered a pair with queen-four and got a value bet paid off, giving him the chip lead.

Though, that didn't deter Lin as he battled back to regain the lead before a huge hand played out. Lin had rivered a straight holding queen-jack and raised the river bet of Nguyen. After some deliberation, Nguyen called and quickly mucked when he saw that he was behind, which left him with around ten big blinds.

Quang Minh Nguyen

In the final hand of the night, Lin shoved ten-five and Nguyen called holding king-three. Lin flopped a five and rivered two pair, sending Nguyen out in second for a payday of KRW 342,920,000 (~$238,140).

Another spectacular performance from Lin, who landed the top prize of KRW 465,270,000 (~$323,100) along with the elusive Black Stealth Lion. Not only that, a seat to the APT Championship was awarded, but because Lin already has one, he will get tournament credits of equivalent value to spend at the APT Championship in November.

Ren Lin

Ren Lin is a superstar!

After winning the APT Super High Roller just a few days ago, he has now taken down the Superstar Challenge for KRW 465,270,000 (~$323,100)!

Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action to see just how he did it.

Quang Ming Nguyen

Ren Lin shoved the button and Quang Minh Nguyen called for his stack of around 700,000.

Quang Minh Nguyen: K 3

Ren Lin: T 5

There was a lot of noise for Lin as a huge rail had formed to watch the runout. Cries of "Ten" and "Five" were everywhere, and that changed to a lot of "Holds" as the 5 6 4 flop gave Lin middle pair.

Nguyen did have a lot of outs with his overcard and straight draw, and more arrived as the 8 turn added a flush draw.

Nevertheless, it was a case of 'too many outs' for Nguyen as the T river left him out in second.

Quang Minh Nguyen limped the button and Ren Lin checked his option.

It was checked to the river on the 7 J 2 5 T board, where Lin bet 275,000. Nguyen then raised to 600,000, and Lin called.

Nguyen then rechecked his cards and sent them into the muck, allowing Lin to take the pot without revealing his cards.

Ren Lin is on the brink!

On a board of J K T 4 , there was a big bet on the turn from Quang Minh Nguyen, which Lin called.

An A hit the river and Nguyen bet again, this time for 850,000. Lin then raised to 2,500,000, and after burning through a few time banks, Nguyen called.

Lin fist-bumped before he even revealed his Q J for a straight, which meant Nguyen was left with around 1,200,000 after he mucked.

Ren Lin

Quang Minh Nguyen limped in from the button and Ren Lin checked his option.

The flop came 3 2 K and Lin check-called a bet of 150,000 from Nguyen to the 6 turn. Lin again went into check-call mode when Nguyen bet 250,000.

An A on the river saw both players check, and Lin's K 4 for a pair of kings was best.

Quang Minh Nguyen

Quang Minh Nguyen has taken the chip lead.

Nguyen limped in from the button and then called a raise from Ren Lin, who made it 350,000.

On the T 2 3 flop, Lin continued for 200,000 and Nguyen bumped it up to 550,000. Lin called.

The 3 turn checked through to the Q river, where Lin checked. Nguyen then fired out 1,050,000, and after some thinking, Lin called.

Nguyen then tabled a rivered pair of queens with Q 4 , and Lin mucked.

Play resumed and Ren Lin opened the button to 250,000. Quang Minh Nguyen called.

On the 6 5 9 flop, both checked to the 6 turn, where Nguyen bet 300,000. Lin called and both checked the 5 river, where Lin's ace-high was good with A K .

In the next hand, Nguyen limped the button and Lin checked his option.

Lin check-called all three streets on the T 5 4 T 9 board for 150,000, 250,000, and 450,000, respectively.

Nguyen then revealed A 5 for a pair of fives, and Lin mucked.

There will be a short break while the two finalists prepare for heads-up play.

Fendy Kosasih

Fendy Kosasih shoved the button for around 800,000 and Ren Lin quickly called from the big blind.

Fendy Kosasih: K 7

Ren Lin: A K

Lin had Big Slick once again, and took full advantage of it as the 3 8 J T 4 runout meant Kosasih was out in third for a healthy KRW 229,420,000 (~$159,320).