HomeINCHEON CITY, Korea – From a field of 59 runners that began Day 3 of the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Korea Incheon 2022 Main Event, only eight remain to contest the title and the KRW198,228,000 (US$138,760) top prize even as the three Side Events held today ended with winners not representing Japan as action intensified at the Paradise City Hotel and Casino here.
The Final 8 will begin their battle for the title at 1:30PM (UCT+9).
Japan has four players in the finale, including overall chip-leader Yosuke Takagi who is already assured of his first live cash of the year and now has an opportunity to pick up his second APT trophy after winning one of the High-Rollers event in the 2017 APT Manila leg.
Main Event Final 8 chip-leader Yosuke Takagi (JPN) is looking for his second APT title and first cash in 2022
Takagi presently has 2,910,000 in holdings and is pursued by fellow Japanese (and Mystery Bounty champion) Kono Reiji with 2,390,000. Azerbaijan’s Farhad Aghayev is not that far behind with 2,145,000 and in third place.
At this point, the remaining combatants are already guaranteed KRW24,779,000 (US$17,145).
| RANK | Name | Chipcount | Country | Seat No. |
| 1 | YOSUKE TAKAGI | 2,910,000 | JPN | 6 |
| 2 | KONO REIJI | 2,390,000 | JPN | 5 |
| 3 | FARHAD AGHAYEV | 2,145,000 | AZE | 3 |
| 4 | YASHIRO NAOKI | 1,150,000 | JPN | 7 |
| 5 | CHAN YU HOI | 1,050,000 | HKG | 1 |
| 6 | SUA SHUNG ER | 875,000 | MAS | 8 |
| 7 | GARY MOON | 835,000 | KOR | 2 |
| 8 | TADAYASHI MIYABE | 795,000 | JPN | 4 |
Meanwhile, (Event #14) the Short Deck tiff saw Martijn Gerrits of the Netherlands finally taking down a title after a strong showing in APT Philippines 2022 wherein he finished second in the Player of the Series (POS) race.
Martijn Gerrits wins his second Short Deck title, replicating his feat from APT Philippines 2022
Gerrits also pocketed KRW9,461,000 (US$6,546) and is proving to be quite the expert in this event after triumphing in the same variant in APT Philippines 2022.
American Bloch Evan Aaron Lennon took second place for KRW6,308,000 (US$4,365) while third went to Ryutaro Suzuki of Japan for KRW4,385,000 (US$3,034).
In a rare occurrence, the Japanese were shutout of the podium in (Event #15) the fourth KRW3.2M (US$2,237) single-day High-Rollers as Hong Kong’s Ng Hiu Man emerged victorious and also nabbed the KRW54,597,000 (US$37,777) top prize.
Ng Hiu Man (HKG) finally ended Japan’s High-Roller dominance
Second place went to Ryan Yu of Canada for KRW36,396,000 (US$25,266) while Australia’s Meerwasi Hussaini took third for KRW25,302,000 (US$17,522).
Finally, in (Event #16) the second staging of the Deep Stack Turbo, Louis Bilodeau of Canada outlasted Hong Kong’s Lau Hing Kin in the Heads-Up duel for the crown and also garnered KRW13,458,000 (US$9,321) for the win.
Bilodeau, who now resides in Japan, attained his second APT title after taking down a NLH Side Event during the 2019 APT Manila.
Louis Bilodeau was unable to choose which flag to hoist so the Canadian national now residing in Japan paid homage to both
Lau earned KRW8,976,000 (US$6,216) while Naoya Kobayashi of Japan finished third for KRW6,240,000 (US$4,322).
The penultimate competition day here ushers in two two-day tilts with (Event #17) the KRW4M (US$2,771) High-Rollers at 1:00PM followed by (Event #18) the two Day 1 flights of the favorite Monster Stack that carries a guaranteed prize pool of KRW70M (US$48,495).