Indonesia’s Rudy Edenata delivered a breakout performance at the APT Jeju Classic 2026, outlasting a 259-entry field in the KRW5,000,000 APT High Roller to capture his first major tournament title. Edenata earned KRW233,530,000 (~USD159,400) for the victory, along with the Rose Gold Lion Trophy and a KRW14,400,000 seat to the APT Championship Main Event in Taipei.
Having played poker tournaments for just six months, Edenata’s rapid rise has been remarkable. He began his journey with casual Facebook games, quickly finding the thrill in bluffing and catching opponents bluffing. Entering the final day as the sixth-shortest stack, Edenata rallied with a series of timely double-ups. The win pushed him to just outside the top five on Indonesia’s all-time money list. Despite the breakthrough, Edenata remained modest, saying the result gave him confidence but also showed how much more he still has to learn.
The High Roller generated a prize pool of KRW1,118,880,000 (~USD763,740), making it the ninth-largest field of the festival.
Festival Smashes Multiple Records
Held over ten days at Jeju Shinhwa World’s LES A Casino in partnership with Landing Entertainment Korea, the APT Jeju Classic 2026 became the richest poker festival ever staged in South Korea. The series drew 1,292 unique players from 44 countries and regions, producing 12,031 total entries across 99 trophy events and three satellites. In total, players competed for nearly KRW19.6 billion (about USD13.36 million) in prize money.
Five tour records were broken during the festival, highlighted by the Main Event, which attracted 1,718 entries. With a KRW2,300,000 buy-in, the Main Event generated a KRW3.4 billion (~USD2.3 million) prize pool, setting an international record as the largest poker tournament ever held in Korea and ranking as the fifth-richest APT Main Event prize pool of all time.
Including the Main Event, the festival produced three seven-figure USD prize pools, with the other two coming in the APT Super High Roller and the Superstar Challenge.
China’s Tony Ren Lin was the standout performer of the series, claiming back-to-back titles in the Super High Roller and the Superstar Challenge and winning over KRW861.5M (~USD598K) across the two events.
Additional tour records were set in the KRW3,600,000 Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8, and the KRW4,500,000 High Roller – Ultra Stack. The Zodiac Classic became the richest edition of the tournament ever operated in Korea and the third largest in APT history, while the High Roller – Ultra Stack marked the richest edition the tour has ever operated and the largest ever run in Korea.
Outside of the Main Event, the festival’s largest fields came in the KRW1.1M Mystery Bounty Hunter – Sponsored by Natural8 (991 entries), the KRW1.2M Mini Main Event (812 entries), and the 850K APT National Cup (690 entries).
High Roller Final Day Highlights
Just 55 players returned for the final day, resuming play at Level17 with blinds of 6,000/12,000 and a 12,000 running ante. Only the top31 finishers were paid.
The money bubble burst early in Level22 when Hong Kong’s Ka Ho Ip was eliminated by China’s Rushen Chen, guaranteeing the remaining players a minimum payout of KRW9,720,000 (~USD6,635).
China’s Yunpeng Bai, who began the day as chip leader, exited in tenth place to set the final table. Weiran Pu entered the final nine with the chip lead, followed closely by Edenata and APT All-Time Money List #1 Joseph Cheong.
Vietnam’s Chi Dung Tran recorded the first final-table knockout by eliminating compatriot Toan Chan Truong in ninth. Pu then extended his lead by sending Cheong to the rail.
Edenata launched his comeback by eliminating Haohui Ma in seventh, but Pu responded by knocking out Jun Lin, Jun Chen, and Chi Dung Tran in succession. Momentum shifted again when Edenata eliminated Chang Hwan Lee in third place, taking a roughly 3-to-2 chip advantage into heads-up play.
The heads-up battle lasted just over 30 minutes across two levels and twelve hands. While Pu managed a double-up, the title was decided when he called all-in with pocket jacks and Edenata spiked an ace on the river to seal the victory.
Other players who cashed but fell short of the final table included Main Event finalist Mihai Tabac (13th), Robert Kiss (14th), APT Taipei Poker Classic 2024 Main Event champion Rene von Reden (21st), and Martin Sedlak (23rd).
Final Table Payouts
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (KRW) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rudy Edenata | Indonesia | 233,530,000 | 159,400 |
| 2 | Weiran Pu | China | 157,240,000 | 107,330 |
| 3 | Chang Hwan Lee | Japan | 110,860,000 | 75,670 |
| 4 | Chi Dung Tran | Vietnam | 89,880,000 | 61,352 |
| 5 | Jun Chen | China | 71,110,000 | 48,540 |
| 6 | Jun Lin | China | 54,000,000 | 36,860 |
| 7 | Haohui Ma | China | 39,420,000 | 26,910 |
| 8 | Joseph Cheong | United States | 28,820,000 | 19,670 |
| 9 | Toan Chan Truong | Vietnam | 23,850,000 | 16,280 |
