Kit Kwan Chun - APT Taipei 2025 Zodiac Classic Champion

Hong Kong’s Kit Kwan Chun has won the historic TWD 80,000 APT Taipei 2025 Zodiac Classic, besting a record-breaking field of 626 entries (457 unique). He stood last to claim the iconic APT Lion Trophy, the top prize of TWD 8,222,620 ($253,785), and an APTC Main Event Ticket worth TWD 350,000. With an 8:1 lead, he defeated two-time APT Main Event Champion Lester Edoc in a very quick heads-up match. Edoc banked TWD 5,116,000 ($157,900) for his runner-up finish.

This tournament, boasting a prize pool of TWD 43,770,000 (~USD 1.37 million), smashed the previous high of 386 entries set during APT Taipei 2023. The prize pool surged to an eye-popping TWD 43,770,000 (USD 1.37 million), more than doubling the previous benchmark of TWD 20,000,000 ($775,055).

Final Table Action

It was a sad day for Meng Ting Hsieh, who got eliminated just shy of the biggest Zodiac Classic prize pool when his pocket queens fell to Hsuan-Yu Lai’s kings. Lai flopped a pair that improved to a set on the river, making Hsieh the unfortunate money bubble.

Once the bubble burst, it took about seven hours to reach the final table. Ngoc Minh Le from Vietnam was eliminated one spot away from the final nine after jamming all-in with ace-seven offsuit. He was dominated by Edoc’s ace-jack suited. Edoc, ahead from the start, flopped a pair and improved to trips on the river, sealing Le’s fate.

The final table only took three hours to finish. The first casualty was Kuan Yu Lin from Taiwan, who called Chun’s all-in with ace-king suited, unaware that the champion was holding pocket aces. Chun’s aces held through the runout, ushering Lin out of the tournament with TWD 699,500 (~$21,590) for ninth place.

Jihwan Oh Eliminated in eighth place

Jihwan Oh from South Korea soon followed after finding himself in a three-way all-in with monster stacks belonging to Chun and Edoc. Squeezed between the two chip leaders, Oh went all-in with ace-queen and got called by Chun, holding ace-king offsuit, and Edoc with pocket jacks. Chun rivered a king to win the main pot, while Edoc scooped the side pot, sending Oh out in eighth place with TWD 888,500 (~$27,420).

Nattawat Soontanont of Thailand, who had been consistent throughout the day, was felted when he shoved all-in with ace-jack offsuit against Chun’s ace-queen. Chun flopped a pair to strengthen his lead, sending Soontanont to the payout counter to collect TWD 1,292,000 (~$39,880) for finishing in seventh place.

Chi Ho King Lai from Hong Kong had been navigating the final table well, carefully building his stack. However, his luck ran out when he pushed all-in with pocket nines and ran into Thailand's Tharit Nanthana’s pocket tens. With the better pair holding, Lai was eliminated in sixth place, earning TWD 1,747,000 (~$53,920).

Gab Kim in fifth place

South Korea’s Gab Kim, who entered the final day as chip leader, ended in fifth place when he went all-in on a paired board with ace-ten offsuit. Chun, holding ace-five, had flopped trips, leaving Kim drawing dead. He took home a respectable TWD 2,232,000 (~$68,890) for his finish.

The hand of the night came immediately after Kim’s elimination with a dramatic double knockout that propelled Chun even closer to the title. In the pivotal hand, Nanthana went all-in with ace-nine offsuit and was called by Grant Wang from the United States, who held pocket tens. Chun, also in the hand, raised all-in with pocket nines to put Wang at risk. Wang called, and the trio saw a flop where Chun hit a set of nines. That hand eliminated both Nanthana in fourth place and Wang in third, earning them TWD 2,832,500 ($87,420) and TWD 3,661,000 ($112,990), respectively.

Kit Kwan Chun and Lester Edoc in the Final Hand

And then there were two. The final hand took place just minutes later, with Edoc still riding the energy of the previous hand. After Chun raised, Edoc responded by jamming all-in with ace-queen suited. Chun quickly called with pocket fours. The board ran clean, and Chun’s pocket pair held, eliminating Edoc in second place for TWD 5,116,000 (~$157,900).

This left Kit Kwan Chun as the last man standing, taking home the top prize of TWD 8,222,620 (~$253,785)—the biggest cash of his poker career.

Congratulations to all!

After thirteen hours of intense poker action, Kit Kwan Chun Has Won the APT Zodiac Classic for TWD 8,222,620 (~$253,785).

A full recap of the day will follow shortly.

APT Taipei 2025 Zodiac Classic Runner Up Lester Edoc

With an 8:1 chip lead, Kit Kwan Chun wrapped up heads-up play in just three minutes.

It all began with Chun raising to 5,100,000 on the button, effectively putting Lester Edoc all-in if he chose to call. Edoc snap-called, putting himself at risk and giving Chun a shot at the championship.

Lester Edoc: A Q

Kit Kwan Chun: 4 4

Hoping to double up with his overcards, Edoc needed to connect with the board.

The flop fanned out 6 5 K , keeping Chun's pocket fours in the lead as his railbirds erupted in cheers.

The 8 on the turn changed nothing, inching Chun closer to the title.

Edoc's supporters began chanting for an ace, trying to summon the card he needed. Edoc himself rubbed his ace on the felt, hoping the poker gods would deliver.

The river brought the K , and the crowd went wild—Chun's pocket fours held up, sealing his victory as the new APT Zodiac Classic Champion.

Edoc graciously finished as runner-up for TWD 5,116,000 (~$157,900).

Grant Wang Eliminated in 3rd Place

Grant Wang raised to 400,000 from the button, leading to a call from Chun Kit Kwan in the small blind. Tharit Nanthana then three-bet shoved his remaining 2,800,000 chips into the middle, followed by a call from Wang. Kwan then raised the stakes by shoving his ~10,000,000 stack, covering Wang by a decent margin.

"I don't think I'm folding, but why didn't you three-bet?" Wang uttered to himself, as he was agonizing over the decision.

Eventually, Wang found the call and all three players showed their hands:

Tharit Nanthana: A 9

Grant Wang: T T

Chun Kit Kwan: 9 9

Wang looked to be ahead with around 50% equity, with the other 50% split between the other two hands. But as the dealer revealed the flop: 3 J 9 , Kwan soared ahead flopping the last nine in the deck for a set.

The following 5 turn and 4 river sent Wang and Nanthana home in third and fourth place and gave Kwan an 8-1 chip lead over his last remaining rival, Lester Edoc.

The players congratulated each other as Wang and Nanthana left the venue, each cashing out for significant chunks of cash and leaving Kwan and Edoc to battle it out for first place.

Tharit Nanthana Eliminated in 4th Place

Kit Kwan Chun

Lester Edoc opened to 320,000 and was called by small blind Kit Kwan Chun and big blind Tharit Nanthana. The trio saw a flop of 3 4 K .

Edoc continued for 350,000 but was met with a raise to 950,000 from chip leader Chun. After using a time card, Nanthana made the call, prompting Edoc to fold his hand.

On the turn 2 , Chun applied more pressure with a bet of 2,200,000. This time, Nanthana burned through two time cards before ultimately surrendering both his hand and the pot to Chun.

Gab Kim Leaving in 5th Place

Kit Kwan Chun opened with 320,000 and was called by Gab Kim in the big blind, bringing both players to the flop.

The flop came 5 9 5 . Chun continued for 160,000, but Kim wouldn’t have it and raised the stakes to 305,000. Chun didn’t take long before making the call.

On the turn 8 , Kim jammed all-in for his tournament life and received an instant call from Chun. Right after revealing his hand, Kim stood up and began packing his things.

Gab Kim: A T

Kit Kwan Chun: A 5

Kim had only ace-high, while Chun had flopped trips. The river brought the 8 , giving Chun a full house and eliminating Kim in 5th place with a nice goodie bag.

Chi Ho King Lai Eliminated in 6th Place

Nanthana Tharit raised to 1,200,000 which was called by Chi Ho King Lai, and the pair headed to the flop.

Lai then shoved on the J 8 7 flop, called by Tharit, and the players revealed their cards:

Chi Ho King Lai: 9 9

Nanthana Tharit: T T

Lai was looking trailing as the dealer revealed 3 8 , keeping Tharit's pocket tens afloat and sending Lai home in 6th place for TWD 1,747,000 (~$41,945)

Nattawat Soontanont Eliminated in 7th Place

Chun Kit Wan raised to 320,000 from under the gun, then called Nattawat Soontanont's three-bet shove to around 1,600,000 from the lojack, while Grant Wang got out of the way on the button.

The players turned over their cards and went heads-up:

Chun Kit Wan: A Q

Nattawat Soontanont: A J

The dealer laid out the 9 9 Q flop, Wan had strengthened his lead with top two pair.

The 2 turn and 3 river changed nothing for Soontanont as he got up from his seat and headed over to cash out. "I had pocked nines!!" Wang quipped at the end of the hand.

Jihwan Oh

Kit Kwan Chun, in middle position, opened to 800,000 and was surprised when Jihwan Oh moved all-in for 1,910,000. The action didn’t stop there—Lester Edoc, on the button, flat-called the shove. Covered by both opponents, Chun went into the tank before eventually making the call, putting his tournament life on the line.

Kit Kwan Chun: A K

Jihwan Oh: A Q

Lester Edoc: J J

Chun was relieved to have Oh dominated but was less thrilled to be up against Edoc’s pocket jacks. The flop came 6 8 8 , keeping Edoc in the lead. The 3 on the turn changed nothing, and tension built as the river card hit.

The dealer turned over the K , prompting Chun to celebrate as he spiked a king to win the main pot. Edoc let out a shout of frustration, while Oh was eliminated in 8th place. Chun scooped the main pot to stay alive, and Edoc collected the side pot.

Grant Wang

Lester Edoc, in the small blind, check-called a bet of 125,000 from Grant Wang on a flop of 8 K 4 with the pot sitting at 40,000.

Both players checked the J turn.

On the 6 river, Edoc took the lead with a bet of 350,000, only to be raised by Wang to 880,000. After taking his time to consider the situation, Edoc made the call.

He was visibly stunned when Wang tabled 7 5 for a rivered straight. Edoc mucked his hand, still processing the unexpected showdown.