APPT Korea Returns After Seven Years as Shaoshuai Li Wins National Event

APPT Korea Returns to Incheon After Seven Years

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour has returned to South Korea after a seven-year hiatus, with APPT Korea 2026 running from September 3 to 14 at the Paradise City Incheon Resort. The last Korean leg of the series was held in 2019, making this a significant comeback for the APPT brand in the region.

The first half of the festival produced encouraging numbers, with several key events surpassing their advertised guarantees. The series is set to culminate with the Main Event in the coming days.

Kickoff and Mystery Bounty Set the Tone

The festival opened with the Paradise City Kickoff, a tournament carrying a 600,000 Korean won buy-in. It drew 171 entries and built a prize pool of 86,700,000 won, surpassing the original 75,000,000 won guarantee. Japan's Tomohiro Kawada took the top spot, earning 14,900,000 won.

The Mystery Bounty generated even stronger interest. With a 900,000 won buy-in, it registered 246 entries and distributed 191,300,000 won, exceeding the guaranteed 150,000,000 won. Shion Sakamoto claimed the first APPT series title of the festival along with the distinctive Spadie trophy, earning 28,900,000 won for first place plus additional rewards from bounty envelopes.

APPT National Draws 332 Entries

The APPT National served as the first real test of attendance, featuring a 1,200,000 won buy-in and a 250,000,000 won guarantee. After three opening flights, the total reached 332 entries, driving the prize pool to 344,200,000 won — nearly 38 percent above the original guarantee.

Forty-eight players finished in the money, with the final six representing China, Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Xueying Zhao entered the finale with the best starting position, just a day after securing second place in the NLH Shot Clock event, and quickly asserted herself by eliminating Chao Ting Cheng and then Ka Chun Yuan. With three players remaining, Zhao controlled roughly two-thirds of the chips in play.

Shaoshuai Li waited patiently for the right opportunity, and it arrived during three-handed play. Zhao opened from the button to 125,000, Li three-bet from the big blind to 350,000, and then instantly called when Zhao moved all-in. Li revealed pocket aces against Zhao's ace-eight. The board brought no surprises, and Li secured a massive double-up to 6,400,000, taking the chip lead for the first time. The dynamics of the finale were completely overturned in a single hand.

Zhao recovered and eliminated Kento Kinoshita in third place with a pair of deuces, as Kinoshita's ace-seven did not hold. Entering heads-up with a 1:2 chip disadvantage, Li gradually increased his lead. The final hand saw Zhao raise to 120,000 from the button and Li call. On a king-high flop with two diamonds, Li check-called a 175,000 bet, then did the same on the turn for 500,000. On the river, Li moved all-in. After deliberation, Zhao called with two pair, but it could not match Li's flush completed on the flop. Shaoshuai Li completed the comeback, defeating a 332-player field and earning 64,100,000 won. Xueying Zhao took second place for 41,500,000 won plus a 1,800,000 won entry to the newly launched APPT Korea Main Event.

APPT National Final Table Results

• 1. Shaoshuai Li, China — $47,242
• 2. Xueying Zhao, China — $30,586
• 3. Kento Kinoshita, Japan — $20,982
• 4. Ka Chun Yuan, Hong Kong — $16,354
• 5. Chun Yu Ma, Hong Kong — $12,905
• 6. Chao Ting Cheng, Taiwan — $9,927
• 7. Ryoya Enomoto, Japan — $7,952
• 8. Maxim Lykov, Russia — $6,633
• 9. Saki Hayashi, Japan — $5,525

All Eyes on the Main Event

With the APPT National concluded, attention shifts to the festival's headline tournament. The APPT Korea Main Event carries a 1,800,000 won buy-in and a 1,000,000,000 won guarantee, and it kicked off with Day 1A. Players start with 30,000 chips and play 40-minute levels. Late registration remains open until the start of the eleventh level, with up to 15 levels planned for the first day. Day 1A is the first of four starting flights, so a substantial influx of registrations is expected in the coming days.

For players and fans following the series, the structure of the Main Event — deep starting stacks, relatively slow blind levels, and multiple starting flights — is typical of major tour stops and allows for plenty of play before the money bubble approaches. The combination of a large guarantee and a proven venue suggests the event will be closely watched as the festival reaches its conclusion.