The Asia Pacific Poker Tour returned to South Korea after a six-year break, highlighted by a Main Event with a 1.8 million won buy-in. The one billion won guarantee was surpassed as 782 entries generated a prizepool of approximately 1.2 billion won. A total of 111 players reached the paid positions, and the final 14 contenders returned to Paradise City Incheon for the decisive day.
Fukatsu Started Far Behind the Leaders
American Tong Mu held the best starting position, followed by Yuma Tominaga and Xueying Zhao. Fukatsu had just 1,090,000 chips, placing him ninth among the remaining 14 players. However, the Japanese contender quickly became a prime candidate for the title. He first doubled up with queens against Yuma Tominaga's tens, and even before the official final table was set, a favorable coin flip significantly boosted his stack.
The pivotal moment in Fukatsu's run occurred against Soichiro Hayashi. Hayashi held A c A s, but Fukatsu with K h Q d hit a queen on the flop and completed two pairs with a king on the turn. Hayashi found no help on the river, finished eighth, and Fukatsu catapulted to the lead with 7,500,000 chips.
Cruel End for the Former Leader
Tong Mu entered the last day as the chipleader, but his title dream ended with one of the tournament's toughest coolers. After opening from the button, he faced Xueying Zhao's 3-bet and moved all-in with his pair of A h A s. Zhao instantly called with K c K s.
A king on the flop K h 7 d 9 d turned everything around. Zhao hit a set, and Mu couldn't find the necessary ace on the turn or river. He finished third, taking home 97.3 million won, while Zhao prepared for a heads-up battle with Fukatsu.
The Bluff That Decided the Heads-Up
Fukatsu entered the final duel with a lead of about 15 million chips against 8.4 million. Zhao managed to mount pressure, repeatedly forcing her opponent to fold, and at one point closed the gap to just a few million.
The decisive moment arrived on a board of K d 8 c 5 c A h 7 d. Fukatsu called all three bets from his opponent, including a 1.5 million on the river. Zhao revealed a complete bluff with T s 9 h, whereas Fukatsu held A s 4 s and secured a massive pot with a pair of aces. The Chinese player dropped to around eight big blinds.
Zhao doubled up twice more, but a full comeback remained elusive. In her final hand, she pushed nearly two million into the middle with Q s 6 c, and Fukatsu called with K h T h. The flop Q h 5 h T s put Zhao in the lead with a pair of queens, but also gave Fukatsu a pair of tens and a flush draw. A second ten on the turn T c gave him trips, and the irrelevant 8 d on the river sealed the deal.
Hirotaka Fukatsu claimed his first APPT Main Event title, an iconic Shard trophy, and a career-best prize of 218.166 million won. As part of his victory, he also received a package for the APPT Manila Championship valued at 5.7 million won. Xueying Zhao, after her second-place finish at the APPT National, added another silver to her tally during the same festival, this time earning 136.46 million won.
Final Table Results:
| # | Player | Country | Earnings | Approximately in USD |
| 1. | Hirotaka Fukatsu | Japan | 218.166 million won | 160,788$ |
| 2. | Xueying Zhao | China | 136.46 million won | 100,571$ |
| 3. | Tong Mu | United States | 97.3 million won | 71,710$ |
| 4. | Taisuke Niina | Japan | 75.19 million won | 55,415$ |
| 5. | Maxim Sorokin | Russia | 57.84 million won | 42,628$ |
| 6. | Chao Ting Cheng | Taiwan | 44.5 million won | 32,796$ |
| 7. | Daijiro Fukuoka | Japan | 34.23 million won | 25,228$ |
| 8. | Soichiro Hayashi | Japan | 26.33 million won | 19,405$ |
| 9. | Andrew Tomoya Matahira | Japan | 20.25 million won | 14,924$ |
