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Ren Lin won the series' Player of the Year award at the King Poker Cup Jeju Station with a record seven winnings, Ye Wang won the $15,000 Main Event, and Yang Zhang defended his King's Debut title.
Ren Lin won the series' Player of the Year award at the King Poker Cup Jeju Station with a record seven winnings, Ye Wang won the $15,000 Main Event, and Yang Zhang defended his King's Debut title.
The King Poker Cup has once again completed its Jeju, South Korea leg, with the music festival co-hosting the event at the Les A Casino in Jeju.
There were many highlights to look back on after the final hand. Yang Zhang successfully defended his King's Debut title, high-stakes regular Ye Wang won the $15,000 King's Main Event, and Ren Lin won the Series Player of the Series with a record seven winning hands, while also winning his second consecutive NLH/PLO Mixed Event.
The festival also attracted many familiar faces from the high-profile tour, with Bryn Kenney, Jesse Lonis, Punnat Punsri, and Ryan Plant among the other champions.
Zhang defends his King's Debut title.
Yang Zhang has clearly mastered the King's Debut. The WSOP bracelet winner returned as the defending champion after winning the $330,500 event in January and immediately went on to win again, taking the $238,700 out of a field of 282 players.
This is the third-highest prize money of his career, continuing his most successful year so far. His tournament winnings in 2026 have reached $898,099.
Zhang's victory came from one of the festival's biggest events, the $5,000 buy-in tournament, which created a total prize pool of $1,292,300.
| Ranking | player | country | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yang Zhang | China | $238,700 |
| 2 | unknown | unknown | $235,000 |
| 3 | Lei Yu | China | $123,500 |
| 4 | Dylan Foster | Australia | $78,500 |
| 5 | Michael Zhang | United Kingdom | $58,500 |
| 6 | Shaoshuai Li | China | $43,500 |
| 7 | Seunghyun Michael Nam | United States | $33,500 |
| 8 | Tung Wong | Hongkong | $27,500 |
This victory adds another chapter to his already impressive resume. He is a former K Poker Cup Main Event champion and recently won the King Poker Cup K4: KING'S TORSE (2-7 Three Draws, Omaha High-Lo, Razz, Stud, Stud High-Lo). Zhang continued his outstanding performance in the series with another victory.
Wang wins King's Main Event title
The core event, the $15,000 King's Main Event, attracted 180 entries, creating a total prize pool of $2,527,200. Ye Wang ultimately emerged victorious, winning the $587,200 champion's prize.
Wang defeated poker video blogger Eric Tsai in heads-up play, with Tsai finishing as runner-up and winning $360,000.
According to The Hendon Mob, this victory also moves Wang further up the list of lifetime earnings in China. This high-stakes tournament regular currently has approximately $13.6 million in live tournament winnings, ranking fifth among Chinese players.
| Ranking | player | country | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ye Wang | China | $587,200 |
| 2 | Eric Tsai | Taiwan | $360,000 |
| 3 | Ryuta Nakai | Japan | $242,000 |
| 4 | Rodrigo Selouan | Brazil | $182,000 |
| 5 | Defeng Chen | China | $142,000 |
| 6 | Unknown contestant | Lithuania | $113,000 |
| 7 | Renji Mao | China | $91,000 |
| 8 | Haohui Ma | China | $74,000 |
Ren Lin wins the series' best player award with seven prize records.
Although Wang won the main event, few players enjoyed the festival as much as Ren Lin did.
Lin cashed in seven times at the King of Poker Cup, a run that brought his live tournament winnings to over $20 million, ultimately earning him the title of Player of the Series. In addition to this honor, Lin also received an exclusive gold ring and a $10,000 wallet deposit.
His series began with an 11th place finish ($100,000) in the King's Charity Super High Roller event. Bryn Kenney won the event, a victory that brought the poker lifetime money leader's career tournament winnings to over $90 million.
Lin then won three more prizes in the first week of August. He finished 33rd in King's Debut, 10th in $8,000 Royal Ascent, and won a bronze medal in $5,000 Throne Clash, earning $26,100.
Then, in another deep run in the main event, Lin finished 14th out of 180 entries, winning $44,000.
But what truly propelled him to the title of Player of the Series was his performance in the final stages. Lin then defeated a field of 44 players in the $10,000 NLH/PLO mixed event, and beat David Coleman in heads-up play to win $134,540.
The final table also featured some familiar faces. Toby Joyce finished fifth, Danny Tang seventh, and Tom Dwan eighth with $15,000.
| Ranking | player | country | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ren Lin | China | $134,540 |
| 2 | David Coleman | United States | $89,800 |
| 3 | Hy | China | $59,900 |
| 4 | Lun Loon | Malaysia | $41,600 |
| 5 | Toby Joyce | Ireland | $30,100 |
| 6 | Bin Duan | China | $22,800 |
| 7 | Daniel Tang | Hongkong | $18,100 |
| 8 | Tom Dwan | United States | $15,000 |
For Dwan, this result marks his first recorded tournament winnings since 2024, following his sixth-place finish in the Charity Super High Roller.
Lin nearly added another title to his tally. He reached heads-up in the $30,000 Final Coronation but finished as runner-up, earning $394,500. Bao Qiang Ho won the 75-player event, taking home $608,600.
This continues Lin's strong relationship with the King's Poker Cup. He won the King's Main Event at the music festival in January, earning $600,700, and returned to Jeju seven months later, leaving as the series' best player.
Ren Lin's Poker Cup Prize Money Record
| date | Tournament | Ranking | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/7/28 | $100,000 NLH – King's Charity Super High Roller | 11 | $200,000 |
| 2026/8/1 | $5,000 NLH – King’s Debut | 33 | $10,000 |
| 2026/8/3 | $8,000 NLH – Royal Ascent | 10 | $20,400 |
| 2026/8/4 | $5,000 NLH – Throne Clash | 3 | $26,100 |
| 2026/8/6 | $15,000 NLH – The King's Main Event | 14 | $44,000 |
| 2026/8/8 | $10,000 NLH / PLO Mixed Race | 1 | $134,540 |
| 2026/8/9 | $30,000 NLH – Final Coronation | 2 | $394,500 |
Lonis and Punsri are among the other champions from Jeju Island.
Many other well-known players have also entered the championship circle.
Jesse Lonis won the $5,000 Throne Clash, beating a field of 38 players to win the $46,200, while Ryan Plant won the $10,000 Crown Hunt and received the $160,000 and $80,000 prizes respectively.
Punnat Punsri concluded his festival run with a victory in the $30,000 single-day high roller event. The Thai high-stakes regular emerged victorious from a field of 23 players, winning $262,640.
Lun Loon earned one of the biggest prizes outside of the Main Event and Final Coronation, winning the $8,000 Royal Ascent and taking home $273,380.
Results of the King Poker Cup Jeju Station Tournament
| Tournament | Number of participants | Prize pool | champion | bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000 King's Debut | 282 | $1,292,300 | Yang Zhang | $238,700 |
| $8,000 Royal Ascent | 146 | $1,088,980 | Lun Loon | $273,380 |
| $3,000 King's TORSE Mixed Race | 21 | $57,330 | Zhang Lante | $20,000 |
| $2,000 King's Big O | 26 | $46,900 | Zongjin Sui | $8,700 |
| $3,000 King's PLO | 16 | $43,680 | Zhi Zhang | $18,210 |
| $5,000 Throne Clash | 38 | $174,135 | Jesse Lonis | $46,200 |
| $10,000 Crown Hunt | 95 | $604,200 | Ryan Plant | $160,000 |
| $15,000 The King's Main Event | 180 | $2,527,200 | Ye Wang | $587,200 |
| $10,000 Big Bounty | 22 | $95,920 | Lei Yu | $39,020 |
| $10,000 NLH / PLO Mixed Race | 44 | $411,840 | Ren Lin | $134,540 |
| $30,000 Final Coronation | 75 | $2,106,000 | Bao Qiang Ho | $608,600 |
| $30,000 Single-Day High Roller Tournament | 23 | $645,840 | Punnat Punsri | $262,640 |
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