The Asian Poker Tour (APT)

Your Ultimate Guide to the Biggest Poker Tournament in Asia

The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is a prestigious series where top players from around the world compete in various tournaments held in different countries throughout the Asia Pacific region.

APT offers large prize pools and attracts a diverse range of players - from seasoned professionals to up-and-coming amateurs. It provides a platform for Asian poker players to showcase their skills and has contributed to the rising popularity of poker in Asia.

APT has come many years since its conception in 2008, but continues to thrive as one of the premier poker tournament series in Asia - with a dedicated fan base and reputation for hosting high-quality live poker and online poker events.

Brief History of The Asian Poker Tour (APT)

This section will cover the founding of APT and its early years, as well as highlight APT’s role in promoting both live and online poker tournaments in Asia.

APT Player of the Series

The APT Player of the Series (APT POS) measures players’ performances throughout a full series, and awards prizes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd-place winners of each series.

Winners	Prizes
1st Place	Confirmed seat at the next APT Main Event Customised APT POS Ring APT Player of the Series Trophy
2nd Place	APT Player of the Series Trophy USD$100 in cash
3rd Place	APT Player of the Series Trophy USD$100 in cash

Notable APT Winners

While APT has attracted some of the biggest names in poker such as Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, and Sam Trickett over the years, none have any notable wins. Let’s take a closer look then, at some noteworthy APT winners.

Iori Yogo

This Japanese poker player has won multiple APT titles, including the APT Philippines Main Event in 2017 and the APT Korea Main Event in 2018.

Yogo once won two No Limit Hold’em events within a day of each other during APT Cebu 2014. In 2016, he also won the APT Player of the Year (POY) award, unseating Sam Razavi who held the title for four consecutive years.

Linh Tran

Since 2009, Vietnam’s Linh Tran has amassed more than $1.2 million playing poker all around the world. Tran is a highly respected cash game player in both Hold’em and PLO games, and has various successes in tournaments especially in APT events.

His first significant tournament victory was in the APT Manila Main Event 2011 where he finished in 3rd place for $29,000. He has also won APT High Roller titles a total of four times from 2012 to 2019 - for a total of $82,500 in prize money.

Pete Chen

This Taiwanese poker pro is a Natural8 ambassador and has also won multiple APT titles, including the APT Philippines Main Event in 2013, the APT Macau Main Event in 2016 and the APT Online Series 2020 Mini Main Event.

Chen was awarded the Asia Player of the Year title in 2014 and also won his first WSOP gold bracelet in 2021. He has over $3.5 million in lifetime earnings.

APT Fun Facts

Let’s round off our guide to the Asian Poker Tour with some fun facts that you probably weren’t aware of!

#1 - Longest Continuous Poker Tournament

The Guinness World Record for longest continuous poker tournament was set by APT and Resorts World Manila in 2013. The tournament lasted for a total of 48 hours, 55 minutes and 58.5 seconds, shattering the previous record of 36 hours, 34 minutes and 41 seconds set in Delaware, U.S.A. the year prior.

#2 - APT Quadruple Player of the Year

English poker pro Sam Razavi won the very first APT Player of the Year title in 2012, and continued winning the award in 2013, 2014 and 2015 - earning him the title of APT Quadruple Player of the Year. He was dethroned by Japan's Iori Yogo in 2016 after four years of APT Player of the Year reign.

#3 - The “Shot Clock”

In 2018, APT introduced a new tournament format called the "Shot Clock" tournament, which limits the amount of time players have to make their decisions.

#4 - Largest Prize Pool

The largest prize pool in APT history was at the APT Macau Main Event in 2012, which boasted a total prize pool of HKD 22,187,000 (approximately US$2,900,000). Ukraine’s Yevgeniy Timoshenko took first place and bagged $500,000 for his win.

#5 - APT Live Event Sponsorships for Natural8 Players

Natural8 players who win any of the APT Online Series events are offered sponsorships towards their next live APT event. These sponsorships typically cover the Main Event buy-in and “flexi credits” to cover expenses.