Fresh off the back of the largest and richest poker series ever to play out in Taiwan, the Asian Poker Tour sponsored by Natural8 is headed to Jeju for the upcoming APT Jeju, South Korea 2024.
Run in partnership with Landing Entertainment Korea (LEK) the 10-day festival, running Friday, 26 April to Sunday, 5 May, will take place at the world-class Landing Hotel & Casino located in the luxurious Jeju Shinhwa Resort on the picturesque South Korean Island of Jeju.
The APT’s first visit of the new era following a seven-year hiatus should be momentous, with the Main Event boasting a massive KRW 2 billion (~USD 1.5 million) prize pool guarantee — over 20 times larger than the last APT Main Event offering here back in March 2017 which saw Japan’s Katsuhiro Muto claim the accolades.
The festival is offering more than KRW 5 billion (~USD 3.76 million) in guaranteed prize money, with the series comprising a substantial 85 trophy events; Outside of the KRW 2.5M APT Main Event, the tour’s other two signature Lion Trophy events — the KRW 13.5M APT Super High Roller, and the KRW 7M APT High Roller — both come with nine-figure (six in USD) prize pool guarantees, with the latter offering players a shot to win a seat via a KRW 1.1M (~USD 825) satellite.
The seven other key series events all come with sizable guarantees and cater to players of all bankroll levels, from the KRW 400,000 (~USD 300) Micro Main Event and its KRW 50 million (~USD 37,500) guarantee, all the way up to the KRW 3M (~USD 2,250) Zodiac Classic and its KRW 500 million (~USD 375,000) guarantee.
Read on as we cover the festival’s 10 key events in more detail, looking at the buy-in, structure, guarantee, and potential field size estimates based on the tour’s previous offerings.
Festival highlights APT Main Event
Of course, the standout attraction will be the APT Main Event which boasts the tour’s second-largest prize pool guarantee of KRW 2 billion (~USD 1.5 million). Japan’s Katsuhiro Muto was the last APT Jeju Main Event champion crowned back in March 2017. It was Japan taking the glory on the APT’s most recent foray to South Korea back during August’s APT Incheon 2023, with Shoichiro Tamaki overcoming a record 930-strong field to claim the award-winning 24K Gold Lion APT Main Event Trophy and the lion’s share of the tour’s largest-ever South Korean Main Event prize pool.
A four-figure field is a distinct possibility, with the multi-day tournament arriving on Monday, 29 April.
Players have four starting flights to choose from running April 29 to Wednesday, May 1. Flight A is the only one of the four flights to start with 60-minute levels with players competing over 10 initial levels. Flight B offers 10 45-minute levels, and Flights C & D both offer 10 levels comprised of six 30-minute levels and four 40-minute levels each.
APT
