Tomoya Tsubouchi Wins Record Korea National Cup at APT Incheon
The 709-entry field from 28 nations produced KRW 409.5 million and more than doubled the guarantee.
APT Incheon 2026 opened with the Korea National Cup, which drew a record 709 entries from 28 nations and generated KRW 409,459,411. Tomoya Tsubouchi won the title over the record-breaking field at Paradise City Casino Resort in Incheon, more than doubling the KRW 200,000,000 guarantee and surpassing the event’s 2025 edition in both entries and prize pool.
The field included 451 unique players, and 101 returned for Final Day after the three opening flights. The Korea National Cup carried a KRW 700,000 buy-in and paid the top 14 percent of each flight through to Final Day and paying positions.
The broader festival is part of the Asian Poker Tour’s 20-Year Anniversary season and is the tour’s third series of the year. APT Incheon 2026 is the tour’s 18th visit to South Korea, its 7th stop in Incheon, and the 127th festival in APT history. The schedule includes 106 tournaments with buy-ins from KRW 200,000 to KRW 35 million and more than KRW 4 billion in total guarantees.
Flight A drew 236 entries and sent 34 players through, with Jeerasak Khumchanthuek bagging 626,000 chips, Mongolia’s Tuguldur Gantumur taking 552,000, and Haruna Matsumoto finishing with 438,000, which left her as the top-ranked woman and 8th overall heading into Final Day.
Flight B was the largest starting flight at 307 entries and produced 43 survivors. Ivan Govorov finished with 827,000 to take the overall chip lead, while Frank Zhang’s 600,000 put him fourth in the final-day counts. Flight C added 166 entries and 24 more survivors, with Yutao Zheng’s 610,000 good for third overall.
Tsubouchi came into the final table with a stack more than three times bigger than anyone else’s and never gave up the lead. He eliminated four of his eight final-table opponents, then closed the tournament in a three-way all-in that left Phuong Ngoc Nguyen second for KRW 47,710,000 and Ian Rudolph third for KRW 34,090,000.
The last hand saw Nguyen open from the button, Tsubouchi shove from the small blind, and Rudolph call from the big blind before Nguyen came along. Nguyen’s pocket sixes were ahead on the flop, but the turn and river gave Tsubouchi a runner-runner straight, ending the event without a single heads-up hand.
In APT’s live reports, Tsubouchi said the trophy mattered most to him. Poker.org also quoted him saying he had come for something closer to a Korean vacation with poker, and that the win left him wanting to travel overseas specifically to keep playing and improving. He said the final hand brought relief rather than excitement, and that finishing without having to play heads-up was just as he had hoped. The APT Main Event begins on Sunday, Aug. 9, with a KRW 1.5 billion guarantee.
