HomeIori Yogo, the most decorated player at the Main Event final table, demonstrated today why he is one of the highest ranking poker players from Japan. He entered the Final 8 running second-in-chips then proceeded to rail half the field to capture the victory and the ₩40,463,000 (~US$35,875) first prize. Yogo joins an exclusive group of players with two APT championship titles. He won his first one at the APT Championships Event four months ago in the Philippines.
Iori Yogo – MAIN EVENT champion
Congratulations to Iori Yogo!!
You can read up on the Final 8 action in the Live Updates. We also have a recap for you below.
The APT Korea Incheon Championships – Main Event – drew in a total of 192 entries to Paradise City, and with each entry at ₩1,100,000, the prize pool amounted to ₩186,240,000. Out of that pot, 32 places were paid. Impressively, the Japanese came in full force, largely dominating the field. Today’s Final 8 had 7 of them in the lineup. All but Yogo was gunning for his first title.
MAIN EVENT – Final 8
The first to fall was the festival’s NLH Single Day event winner, Toshimasa Sakato in 8th place. He came in with the shortest stack and couldn’t drive it any higher. His 6♥ 6♠ fell to Tomoharu Furuya’s A♠ 9♦ with the board running 8♠ 10♣ 10♦ 9♥ J♠. He earned ₩5,395,000.
Toshimasa Sakato – 8th place
Not long after, Iori Yogo claimed his first of four heads, railing Shiga Mitsuhiro in 7th place. Mitsuhiro was a brave one, moving all in numerous times with his short stack. When he was finally called, it spelled the end with Yogo’s A♥ K♦ spiking a four-outer on the turn to overtake Mitsuhiro’s 6♦ 6♠. The board ran 3♠ 9♠ 7♠ K♥ 7♥. Mitsuhiro earned ₩6,522,000.
Shiga Mitsuhiro – 7th place
Another short stack followed to the rail. USA’s Stu Terakawa was all in with J♣ J♠ but Daiki Horikawa’s 10♣ 10♥ landed a lucky set on the river with the board running 6♥ 7♥ 2♦ 4♠ 10♦. He earned ₩8,098,000 for 6th place.
Stu Terakawa – 6th place
The five-handed round saw the chip lead move around the table from Yogo to Horikawa then to Furuya. Furuya lost the lead, doubling up two short stacks nearly back-to-back, Tsubasa Kamei and Yosuke Murata. As Furuya dropped, Yogo shipped in a double up through Kamei to retake the high chair.
Tsubasa Kamei – 5th place
The round finally ended with Kamei falling in 5th place with A♥ Q♦ unable to improve against Yogo’s 5♣ 5♥. He earned ₩10,361,000.
Yosuke Murata – 4th place
With nearly double the average stack at four-handed, Yogo shipped in more with a full house that Furuya paid to see. Furuya then faced off with short stacked Murata with A♥ A♦ holding strong against K♣ 10♣. Murata took 4th place and pocketed ₩13,709,000. Murata also won the CoinPoker “Last Man Standing” promo that earned him a free Main Event seat to APT Philippines Championships 2018 in September.
Tomoharu Furuya – 3rd place
Still below average, Furuya was all in with Q♦ Q♠ only to fall to Yogo’s A♠ J♠ that improved to a straight on a board of 9♦ 4♦ 10♥ 8♣ 7♥. He earned ₩18,833,000 for 3rd place.
Daiki Horikawa – 2nd place
This led to the heads up round with Yogo up nearly 6:1. Two hands later it was all over. Horikawa shoved with K♠ 7♦ and Yogo called with A♦ 6♦. The final board fell 4♦ J♣ Q♦ Q♠ 4♣. Horikawa earned ₩26,975,000 for his runner-up finish.
You can read up on the Main Event action in our Live Updates page.