The 2026 Asian Poker Tour Online (APTO) came to a close this weekend. To wrap up the series, winners were crowned in Events #17, #18, #19, and #20. In particular, Event #19, the APT Online Super High Roller, and Event #20, the APT Online Main Event, awarded substantial prizes to the two winners—over $200,000 and over $700,000, respectively. 
The fourth edition of the Asian Poker Tour Online set new records. The 20 Trophy Events recorded a total of 70,165 entries—a 14.4 percent increase compared to the APT Online 2025. A new record was also set for total prize money paid out: At $17,227,228, it was 8.2 percent higher than the previous year’s total. In total, 15 of the 20 Trophy Events set new APT Online records.
Event #17: $165 China Zodiac Classic
Event #17, the $165 China Zodiac Classic, attracted 1,851 entries. The prize pool totaled 1,873,212 CNY (approx. $281,210). This exceeded the guarantee by 24.8%. The top 270 players finished in the money and received at least 2,239.84 CNY (approx. $336). After just under nine and a half hours of play, the Austrian “Jacopo Olivieri” and the Canadian “kembo19” agreed to a heads-up deal. Olivieri thereby secured the official tournament victory as well as prize money of 212,471 CNY (approx. $31,897). The runner-up, “kembo19,” received 197,171.40 CNY (approx. $29,599) for his performance, while the Chinese player “Liam_LXY” took third place with 137,526.92 CNY (approx. $20,647).
Event #18: $125 Turbo – Bounty Closer
Event #18, the $125 Turbo – Bounty Closer, kicked off with a $300,000 guarantee. The tournament recorded a total of 3,399 entries. Compared to the previous year, this represented a 59.5% increase. The large turnout caused the prize pool to grow to $390,885, exceeding the guarantee by 30.3%. In addition, participants competed for progressive bounties that started at $30 per elimination. A total of 360 players reached the money and received at least $133.50.
After a little over six hours of play, Taiwan’s “KSmoke” and Belarus’s “Maksim Bukreev” agreed to a deal in heads-up play. “KSmoke” was declared the official winner and received $18,411.46 in prize money, as well as an additional $25,482.29 in bounties. His total payout thus amounted to more than $43,890. Bukreev collected $18,409.77 for second place and an additional $2,645.25 in bounties, for a total of $21,055. The French player “Danny McFanny” rounded out the podium. In addition to his prize money of $14,628.35, he received another $948.87 in bounties, bringing his total to $15,577.
Event #19: $3,000 APT Online Super High Roller
Event #19, the $3,000 APT Online Super High Roller with a $1 million guarantee, was held over two days. The SHR drew 448 entries. It fell just short of last year’s record of 482 entries. The total prize pool amounted to $1,276,800, exceeding the guarantee by 27.6%. The top 63 players received a share of the prize money, with the minimum payout set at $6,542.62. Among the well-known players who made it into the money were poker ambassador “Lex Veldhuis” (42nd place) and Austrian high roller “Leon Sturm” (55th place).
After a long poker marathon lasting 27 hours and 27 minutes, Brazilian Ciro Souza secured the coveted Pewter Lion APT Online Super High Roller Trophy. In the heads-up match, he prevailed over his compatriot Breno Bertalia and collected the winner’s prize of $203,046.34. This was the third-highest payout of the entire festival and also the seventh-highest first-place prize in the history of APT Online. Bertalia received $156,569 for second place, while Austrian Nerses Sargsian secured third place with $120,731.
Event #20: APT Online Main Event
And to wrap up the series, the highlight was the $800 APT Online Main Event, which offered players a $5 million guarantee. With 7,173 entries, the Main Event drew the largest field in the history of the format and, at $5,451,480, generated the largest prize pool ever achieved at an APT Online event. Entries were up 26.2%. The enormous number of participants caused the prize pool to grow to $5,451,480, exceeding the guarantee by 9.03%. A total of 713 players qualified for Day 2, securing at least $1,645.53 each.
Numerous well-known names also made it into the money. Among them were APT regular “Weiran Pu” (56th place for $7,734.93), Event #13 winner “Dawid Smolka” (58th place for $7,734.93), the Taiwanese player “Charlie Chiu” (74th place for $7,734.93), and Event #4 winner “Flyby” (119th place for $4,129.21). Also finishing in the money were Wai Kiat Lee (279th place for $3,026.61) and Chi Wei Fan (326th place for $2,226.78), as well as former APT host Greg “Goes All In” Liow (280th place for $3,026.61).
After more than 26 hours of play, the Austrian player “Elgringo123” ultimately prevailed and secured the coveted Black Lion Trophy. In addition to winning the title, he took home a prize of a whopping $729,241. This is the highest prize ever awarded in an APT Online event and represents a 21.2% increase over the previous year’s figure. “PeterNeverLu” from Laos took an outstanding second place and received $562,166. Third place went to “Y Simanchuk” from Belarus, who secured prize money of $433,512.
APT Online 2026
Dates: October 11 through November 2
20 Trophy Events
Buy-ins ranging from $56 to $5,000
More information can be found on the GGPoker website.
