The largest field in the Asian Poker Tour’s 19-year history showed up to Taiwan for the Main Event in Taipei, and it was a player from Japan who took home the lion’s share of the record-setting TWD 121,033,440 (~$3.7 million) prize pool.
Akira Takasugi is the man who stood on top of a field of 2,547 entries. His largest cash before this came for finishing 20th in this same event in 2023 for $13,000. He had about $29,000 in cashes before popping this big balloon. He also wins an APTC Main Event Seat worth TWD 350,000.
All the players who made the final table hailed from Asia, and each were guaranteed at least $46,300 for getting there. They all won their lifetime best in this tournament, which took place at Red Space in Taipei City.
Takasugi, a 28-year-old accounts manager, eliminated three of the nine finalists on his way to his victory. Once heads-up with Iat Man Leong of Macau, play lasted 24 hands.
“Honestly, I’m still trying to figure out what to do about the taxes!” Takasugi jokes to SPT reporters immediately after his victory. He then talked about barely getting out of Day 2 of the four-day event alive.
“At one point on Day 2, I dropped down to just 4,400 chips. But I managed to come back from there. On Day 3, during the first couple of levels, I was playing with just 40% of the average stack. It was really tough being that short stacked. I just prayed to God.”
| Pos | Name | Country/Region | Prize (TWD) | Prize (~USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Akira Takasugi | Japan | 19,009,440* | 586,710 |
| 2 | Iat Man Leong | Macau | 10,133,000* | 312,750 |
| 3 | Wayne Lam | Hong Kong | 6,867,000* | 211,950 |
| 4 | Kano Shinichiro | Japan | 5,292,500 | 163,350 |
| 5 | Nishant Kumar | India | 4,419,500 | 136,400 |
| 6 | Kiwanont Sukhum | Thailand | 3,564,000 | 110,000 |
| 7 | Rintaro Kagawa | Japan | 2,721,500 | 84,000 |
| 8 | Owen Chong | Malaysia | 1,969,000 | 60,770 |
| 9 | Dang Thi Hue | Vietnam | 1,500,000 | 46,300 |
John Juanda
Longtime poker pro John Juanda was the winner of the series’ one-day High Roller event. He won TWD 3,571,700 (~$110,401) for taking the other 229 entries’ chips in the TWD 85,000 (~USD$2,800) buy-in event. It was the largest top prize for a single day event in APT history, according to the tour. It’s Juanda’s second victory of 2025, and brings his lifetime winnings up over the $26 million mark.
Runner-up Myunghwan Han won his lifetime best, and Ming Hong Teoh won his fourth-best for finishing third.
The series ran 126 events from April 25 to May 4. The next APT series in Incheon, South Korea, Aug. 1-10.
| Rank | Name | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | John Juanda | United States | TWD 3,571,700 (~USD 110,401) |
| 2nd | Myunghwan Han | South Korea | TWD 2,405,500 (~USD 74,259) |
| 3rd | Ming Hong Teoh | Malaysia | TWD 1,696,000 (~USD 52,345) |
| 4th | Kyosuke Nagami | Japan | TWD 1,375,000 (~USD 42,438) |
| 5th | Dong Jae Lee | South Korea | TWD 1,088,000 (~USD 33,580) |
| 6th | Gaku Fujita | Japan | TWD 826,000 (~USD 25,493) |
| 7th | Punnat Punsri | Thailand | TWD 603,000 (~USD 18,611) |
| 8th | Vu Do Tien | Vietnam | TWD 441,000 (~USD 13,611) |
| 9th | Leo Pang | Hong Kong | TWD 365,000 (~USD 11,265) |
