Scott Margereson won the APT Jeju 2026 High Roller, collecting KRW 252,850,000 (approximately USD 190,110) and the Rose Gold Lion after topping a 295-entry field in Jeju, South Korea.
The KRW 5 million buy-in tournament generated a KRW 1,274,400,000 prize pool, the largest for an APT High Roller held in Korea and the third-largest APT High Roller prize pool overall. Margereson also secured a USD 10,000 seat to the APT Championship Main Event in November.
Margereson Takes the Lead Into the Final Table
Sixty-five players returned for the final day, with 39 places paid and a minimum cash of KRW 8,700,000.
Margereson entered the nine-handed final table as chip leader and never gave up the lead. He eliminated seven of the other eight finalists on his way to a heads-up match against Japan’s Yoshifumi Takahashi.
Margereson started heads-up with roughly a 5-to-1 chip advantage. The match lasted just one hand.
Takahashi moved all-in from the button with ace-nine suited, and Margereson called with king-eight. Margereson flopped top pair to finish the tournament and claim his second career APT title.
“I had nine big blinds at one point on Day 1, so to come back and win it feels incredible. You just have to stay focused and take it one hand at a time,” Margereson said after his victory.
Jeju Win Becomes Margereson’s 12th Six-Figure Cash
The result was Margereson’s best on the APT to date and the 12th six-figure cash of his live tournament career. It ranks as his seventh-largest live result.
His tournament record dates back to 2012 and includes more than USD 5.2 million in live cashes. At APT Jeju 2026, he had already cashed the Main Event and Zodiac Classic and finished third in Event #46 High Roller – Single Day.
His results in Jeju brought his festival earnings to close to USD 235,000, while the High Roller victory moved him into the top 20 of the England All-Time Money List.
The win also booked Margereson a USD 10,000 seat in the upcoming APT Championship Main Event in Taipei.
“I'm really excited for Taipei. The APT events have been fantastic, and locking in the Main Event seat early gives me even more reason to look forward to November,” he said.
Takahashi Finishes Runner-Up, Zhang Takes Third
Takahashi earned USD 126,390 for second place, the largest live score of his career.
Hongsheng Zhang finished third for KRW 122,960,000 (approximately USD 92,450), also setting a career best. Kunal Patni took fourth for KRW 99,250,000 (approximately USD 74,625), his largest APT cash to date, while fifth-place finisher Jiaxian Pan also recorded a career-best result.
Former APT High Roller champion Martin Sedlak collected KRW 58,890,000 (approximately USD 44,280) for sixth place. Wouter Beltz finished seventh with his best APT score, and Yaoyu He took eighth in his sixth APT final-table appearance.
Natural8 Ambassador Chih Wei Fan finished ninth for KRW 26,360,000 (approximately USD 19,820). It was his first APT High Roller final table and his 17th APT final-table appearance overall.
Leonard Ng Leads Baby Zodiac Classic After Day 1
The inaugural Baby Zodiac Classic – Sponsored by Natural8 also completed Day 1 at APT Jeju 2026, with Malaysia’s Leonard Ng finishing as chip leader.
The two-day KRW 1.5 million buy-in event drew 223 entries from 152 unique players and built a KRW 289,008,000 prize pool, surpassing its KRW 125 million guarantee. It was the tenth-largest prize pool of the festival.
Sixty-nine players advanced from Day 1. Ng leads with 369,500 chips, equivalent to 123 big blinds when play resumes.
Singapore’s Abraham Ceesvin follows with 357,000, while Japan’s Kyosuke Nagami sits third with 353,000. Joseph Cheong also finished Day 1 inside the top ten with 209,000.
The top 31 players will finish in the money, starting at KRW 2,540,000. The eventual champion will receive KRW 61,158,000 (approximately USD 45,980).
