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The PokerStars Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Korea series, running from Sept. 3 through Sept. 14 at the Paradise Hotel & Resort Incheon, has seen Japanese players take an early stranglehold on the leaderboard. Of the 29 events completed so far, 16 have gone to Japanese champions, with China producing four winners of its own.
The series kicked off with the KRW 600,000 NLH Paradise City Kickoff, drawing 171 entries. Tomohiro Kawada of Japan won the event, defeating Canada’s Dong Yan in heads-up play to earn $11,051, marking just his second career live cash.
American players have also found success in Incheon. Kaiwen Wei, who boasts over $840,000 in career live earnings, captured the KRW 1,800,000 Mini High Roller for $13,410 after outlasting a 30-entry field.
Seunghyun Michael Nam became the second U.S. winner of the series, taking down the KRW 3,500,000 Knockout High Roller for $11,927. Nam has surpassed $1.3 million in lifetime tournament cashes and has already recorded three cashes during this series.
Despite these international results, Japanese players continue to headline the event tally. Takahiro Ichikawa notably claimed his first-ever tournament title in the KRW 450,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event, earning $2,069 in what marked a milestone achievement in his poker career.
With several larger buy-in events still to be completed, the full picture of APPT Korea’s results will become clearer once the series wraps up on Monday.
