APT Jeju High Roller Sets Record with 295 Entries and $958,000
The richest edition of the Asian Poker Tour High Roller concluded over the weekend in Jeju.
Key Takeaways
- The APT Jeju High Roller featured 295 entries and an approximate prize pool of $958,000 during the weekend of October 3–4, 2026.
- The announced first prize was $190,000; this figure falls behind the $196,000 won by Eric Tsai in Jeju 2024.
- The Superstar Challenge generated around $1.25 million with 51 entries; the $2.2K 9-Game High Roller set national records with 119 entries and approximately $595,000.
- The APT Championship Series will take place in Taipei from November 13 to 29, 2026, with a $10,000 freezeout Main Event and $5,000,000 guaranteed.
The APT Jeju High Roller recorded 295 entries and generated a prize pool of approximately $958,000 during the weekend of October 3-4, 2026, becoming the richest edition of this tournament in the history of the Asian Poker Tour. The announced first prize for the final table was $190,000, the highest figure for the event outside of the Jeju 2024 edition, when Eric Tsai won $196,000 at the same venue of LES A Casino.
Records and Context of the APT Jeju High Roller
The Asian Poker Tour, in its twentieth year and under the so-called 'New Era' that began in 2023 following a change of ownership, has been expanding its calendar and prize structures. The Jeju High Roller broke the record for the largest prize pool for this version of the tournament in the history of the APT circuit, with 295 entries elevating the pot to nearly $958,000 (approximately converted from the Korean won at the time of writing).
The prize of $190,000 for the eventual winner ranks behind only the outcome of 2024 in the same location, when Eric Tsai took home $196,000 at LES A Casino. The venue and city again present elevated figures for the APT.
Other Records Broken in Jeju During the Series
Jeju did not produce only this record. The series accumulated multiple new high marks during the stop:
The Superstar Challenge achieved 51 entries and an approximate prize pool of $1.25 million, setting the record for the event in both revenue and field size for the APT.
The $2.2K 9-Game High Roller set new national records: 119 entries, 84 unique players, and an approximate prize pool of $595,000.
Nevan Chang was the winner of the most lucrative Superstar Challenge to date and received the distinctive black 'stealth lion' trophy for that victory.
What Lies Ahead in the Schedule
There are still more than two dozen tournaments left before the conclusion of the series in Jeju. The immediate schedule included key events for the start of the week:
Monday, October 5: three starting flights of the $550 Micro Main Event, concluding on Tuesday.
Monday, October 5: start of the $3,000 High Roller Ultra Stack, closing the next day.
The series is scheduled to wrap up on Wednesday night, with a series of turbo events to close the festival and maximize action at the end of the schedule.
Trophies and Distinctions at the APT Jeju
The APT maintains a set of themed trophies handed out at its major tournaments. For this series in Jeju, the trophies awarded were:
Super High Roller: pewter lion.
Main Event: gold lion.
High Roller: rose gold lion.
The High Roller with 295 entries was contested by the last survivors, all competing for the rose gold trophy and the top prize of $190,000.
What’s Next for the APT Post-Jeju
Following the conclusion in Jeju, the Asian Poker Tour shifts its focus to Taipei, where the season will conclude with the Championship Series scheduled between November 13 and 29, 2026. The Main Event of that festival will be a $10,000 freezeout with a guarantee of $5,000,000. In addition to the Main Event, the Taipei schedule will include more than 200 additional tournaments, providing several opportunities for new records in entries, prizes, and formats to be set.
The sustained growth of the circuit since the restructuring in 2023 has fueled an expansion of events, fields, and prize structures; Jeju is the latest stop where these changes translate into record figures.
Operational Notes and Currency Conversion
The dollar amounts cited in this text are approximate conversions from the South Korean won and were accurate at the time of writing. The official figures in local currency and any subsequent variations depend on exchange rates and the final accounting from the organizer.
Related Reading
The Jeju festival included various formats and structures that attract both big-tournament players and fans of mixed formats and mid-buy-ins. Operators and suppliers following the APT will observe the impact of these fields on the demand for tournament logistics services, registration management, and in-room payout processing. For a schedule of upcoming events, consult the series' events page.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many entries did the APT Jeju High Roller have and what was the prize pool?
The APT Jeju High Roller had 295 entries and generated an approximate prize pool of $958,000, according to current conversions from Korean won at the time of publication.
What was the main prize in the Jeju High Roller 2026?
The announced main prize for the winner was $190,000; this is the highest figure for this version of the High Roller in the APT, except for the Jeju 2024 edition where Eric Tsai won $196,000.
What other series events set records in Jeju?
The Superstar Challenge achieved 51 entries with an approximate prize pool of $1.25 million, and the $2.2K 9-Game High Roller reached 119 entries, 84 unique players, and a pool of around $595,000.
What’s next for the Asian Poker Tour after Jeju?
The APT will hold its Championship Series in Taipei from November 13 to 29, 2026, featuring a $10,000 freezeout Main Event with a $5,000,000 guarantee, along with over 200 additional tournaments.
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About the author
Sofía Carrasco
Poker Correspondent
Sofía Carrasco covers live and online poker — tournament series from the WSOP and EPT to the daily room grind, promotions, and the industry moves behind them. The reports keep every score, pot, and player name exactly as the record shows, and follow the story past the final hand: who qualified, what the structure rewarded, and how the field is shifting. For player moves, software, and regulation across the poker economy, Sofía Carrasco is the first read.
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