APT Incheon Main Event | Stephen Pang defeats 1,393 players to win the title; Hong Kong player takes home the Gold Lion.

In August 2026, the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Incheon event officially concluded, with Hong Kong's San Hon "Stephen" Pang emerging as one of the biggest winners of the series. The final table chip leader ultimately defeated China's Shoumin Zhang to claim the 2026 APT Incheon Main Event title and the Gold Lion Trophy.

The 2,500,000 KRW buy-in Main Event attracted 1,393 entries, an increase of nearly 91 TP3T compared to last year, creating a total prize pool of 3,008,880,000 KRW. PokerNews points out that this scale of participation sets a new record for major poker tournaments in South Korea; the entire APT Incheon Series distributed a total of 15,966,848,834 KRW in prize money, also setting a new record for the APT Incheon event.

Stephen Pang leads the nine-man FT team with 85 blind men.

After the nine-player final table was formed, Stephen Pang led the field with 13,550,000 chips, equivalent to 85 big blinds.

Chinese player Shoumin Zhang ranked second with 10,585,000, while Japanese player Tempei Kotani came in third with 6,935,000. Ryo Fujita had the shortest stack at the final table with 2,130,000.

APT Incheon Main Event Final Table Results

The prize money for the top three finishers reflects the prize-sharing agreement reached during the three-person stage, with each of the three players receiving a $10,000 APT Championship Main Event entry.

Ryo Fujita Pocket 9 was the first to be eliminated.

Ryo Fujita, participating in the APT Main Event for the first time, became the first eliminated player in the FT.

After Tempei Kotani raised, Fujita 3-bet with pocket nines. The original raiser folded, and Kotani called. The flop came J-3-K, and Fujita poured in his last 100,000 chips, less than a big blind, which Kotani called with AJ.

Neither the turn nor the river card helped Fujita complete the comeback, and he finished in ninth place with 38,580,000 won.

Shoumin Zhang Pocket J Elimination Endo

After 26 hands, Takeru Endo, in late position with pocket 10s, went all-in for about 15 big blinds.

Shoumin Zhang, in the small blind, received pocket jacks and called. The board ran out to a queen, and the pocket jacks maintained their lead. Endo ultimately finished in eighth place, earning 50,130,000 won.

AQ suppresses A-10, Zhang then sends Wongwichit away.

In the seven-player phase, Yifu He minimum-raised from the BTN position, while Phachara Wongwichit, holding A-10 in the small blind, 3-bet all-in with 16 big blinds.

Zhang, holding AQ in the big blind, went all-in again; He quit the game.

The eight-high community cards did not help Wongwichit improve his hand, and the Thai star, who was making his 33rd APT final table appearance, finished in seventh place, earning 70,740,000 won.

Koyama's Pocket Aces eliminated Day 3's chip leader, Kano.

Shinichiro Kano's Main Event journey came to an end on the 58th move of the final table.

Kazuki Koyama, holding pocket aces in the UTG position, min-raised, while Kano, in the CO position, held K♦Q♦ and shoved in his remaining seven big blinds. Koyama immediately called.

The flop brought two diamonds, giving Kano a flush draw; however, the turn didn't complete the flush, and although the river gave him a pair of kings, it wasn't enough to beat pocket aces. Kano ultimately finished in sixth place with 92,440,000 won.

With a career prize pool of only $750 before each tournament, Koyama earned $87,000 in one fight.

After eliminating Kano, Kazuki Koyama quickly became the next to be eliminated.

With only about 10 big blinds remaining, Koyama went all-in with pocket 10s from the button, only to be met by Yifu He's pocket queens from the big blind. He immediately called, and the pocket queens ultimately held onto the advantage.

PokerNews points out that Koyama's prize money for the live tournaments before this match was only about $750. This fifth-place finish earned him 121,860,000 Korean won, or about $87,040, marking his best performance in his career.

Pang PocketQ defeated AK and eliminated Kotani to advance to the final three.

The crucial clash in the four-person stage was between Stephen Pang and Tempei Kotani.

Pang, in the UTG position, min-raised with pocket queens. Kotani, on the BTN, received A♠K♠ and 3-bet to 1,500,000. Pang immediately went all-in, and Kotani called with his remaining approximately 10,000,000 chips, creating a classic pre-flop contest with pocket pairs of AK.

Kotani got a flush draw on the turn, but failed to make any comeback on the river. Pang held on with his pocket queens, and Kotani finished in fourth place with 155,650,000 won.

The three reached an agreement to keep Gold Lions in contention for the championship.

The prize distribution had actually been discussed during the four-person phase, but no consensus was reached at the time.

After Kotani's elimination, Pang, Shoumin Zhang, and Yifu He negotiated again and this time reached an agreement. The tournament then continued, with the APT Gold Lion Trophy, the remaining prize money of approximately $29,060, and the $10,000 APT Championship slot still to be decided through hands.

According to the final prize distribution results, Pang received 411,180,000 won, Zhang received 366,500,000 won, and He received 257,000,000 won.

Zhang eliminates Yifu He from the Pocket Eight flop of a Set.

When entering the three-person table, Yifu He has the shortest code among the three.

Zhang received a pocket eight minimum raise, while He went all-in with A♦2♦ and approximately 12 big blinds. Zhang called.

The flop immediately brought up an 8, giving Zhang a set of three 8s, leaving He with only a very slim chance of a comeback; after the turn brought up another 8, Zhang immediately completed a set of four, and He could not catch up before the river was dealt.

Yifu He ultimately finished third, while the champion's one-on-one match was between Stephen Pang and Shoumin Zhang.

The game went into Heads-Up after 85 moves, and the champion was decided after another 64 moves.

It took 85 hands from the start of the nine-player final table to the formation of heads-up, but the actual heads-up match lasted an additional 64 hands.

The game did not end quickly. By move 119, everyone even thought the match was officially over.

The cards that came up at that time were:

6-3-2-3

There are also two plum blossoms.

Zhang held pocket 4s, while Pang had K♣J♣. After all the chips were put into the pot, the river card Q♣ landed, giving Pang a flush and a huge pot.

Pang thought he had won the championship and immediately ran to his family and friends to celebrate.

But the dealer and tournament director immediately called him back to the table—Zhang actually had 750,000 chips left, which was less than 1.5 times 600,000 big blinds at the time.

With only 750,000 remaining, Zhang doubled his money four times in a row.

The championship battle took its most dramatic turn at this moment.

With only 750,000 remaining, less than 1.5 big blinds, Zhang was not immediately eliminated; instead, he completed several consecutive rounds.Doubling four timesThis has reignited the suspense in the championship match.

Pang, who had gone off to celebrate, returned to the poker table, while Zhang revived the tournament, which had almost disappeared.

However, this amazing short-code comeback ultimately failed to complete the final reversal.

K-10 to pocket 9, Pang locks in Gold Lion as his last move.

Ultimately, Zhang's scoreboard dropped to less than 10 big blinds again.

He went all in with K-10, while Pang, holding pocket 9s, called.

The community cards ended up being Jack-high, with no Kings or 10s appearing, and no other hand types that could change the outcome of the game.

Pang successfully defended his pocket nines, and this time the Dealer didn't need to call him back to the table.

San Hon “Stephen” Pang officially became the 2026 APT Incheon Main Event champion, lifting the Gold Lion Trophy; while Shoumin Zhang finished as runner-up, ending a spectacular comeback from less than 1.5 big blinds with four consecutive doublings.

The APT Incheon Series distributed nearly 16 billion won, breaking all previous records.

Stephen Pang's Main Event victory was the highlight of the entire APT Incheon 2026 Record Breaking Series.

According to PokerNews statistics, the entire APT Incheon series this year distributed a total of [amount missing].15,966,848,834 Korean WonThis is approximately US$11,404,892, the highest payout in APT Incheon history for a series.

The main event itself attracted 1,393 entries, an increase of nearly 9% from the previous year, breaking the guaranteed prize pool and setting a new record for the number of participants in a major poker tournament in South Korea.

From leading the final table with 85 big blinds, to eliminating Kotani with pocket Qs and splitting the prize among three, to Heads-Up mistakenly thinking it was over but ultimately securing the final elimination with pocket 9s, Stephen Pang finally turned his chip lead into a championship.

For Hong Kong poker, this APT Gold Lion title also represents another significant championship achievement in the 2026 Asian live tournament season.

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