HomeINCHEON CITY, Korea – Before the competition heats up anew in the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Korea Incheon 2022 Main Event, we take this time to acquaint ourselves with the combatants going for the title and the life-changing first prize of KRW198,228,000 (US$138,760) at the Paradise City Hotel and Casino here.
The Main Event Final 8 is now guaranteed KRW24,779,000 (US$17,145)
Seat 1: Chan Yu Hoi (HKG) – 1,050,000 (5th)
He led the charge heading into Day 3 of the competition and is part of a solid contingent from a country making inroads in the game. Not much is known about his poker background but he has shown to hold his own against the rest of the field and is now poised to make a final run for the crown.
Seat 2: Gary Moon (KOR) – 835,000 (7th)
Having had only one live cash on record, this Korean-American will be carrying the hopes and dreams of the host nation. Korea has only bagged one title in these proceedings and the pressure will be on Moon to deliver with the local crowd cheering him on.
Seat 3: Farhad Aghayev (AZE) – 2,145,000 (3rd)
Doing his grind online, Aghayev found success in the WSOP online circuit and has cashed four times in the last two years. He does have one live cash in the WSOP Mini Main Event earlier this year and is now guaranteed his biggest haul in his career. Aghayev is now a resident of Tokyo and this could be the start of his frequenting the APT circuit.
Seat 4: Tadayashi Miyabe (JPN) – 795,000 (8th)
Needing to make a move early to remain relevant in the battle, Miyabe is one of four Japanese players that have made the Final 8. While little is also known about his poker career, he is part of one of the strongest contingents ever assembled to descend upon the APT.
Seat 5: Kono Reiji (JPN) – 2,390,000 (2nd)
Reiji has been among the busiest men in the competition. Only hours after winning the opening Mystery Bounty event, he played in Day 1A and ended up as the session’s chip-leader. A veteran of the WSOP live grind, his lone trophy did come in the United States when he took down a tournament during the Venetian Deepstacks Series just last June. Reiji has a total of ten WSOP live cashes and is now seeking to be the first winner of both the opening event and the Main Event. Reiji is thus far pacing the field in the Player of the Series (POS) race.
Seat 6: Yosuke Takagi (JPN) – 2,910,000 (1st)
The current chip-leader is a true international campaigner having cashes in here in Korea, Macau, the United States, Spain, his home country of Japan and in the Philippines where he took down his one and only APT trophy to date in one of the High-Rollers during the 2017 APT Manila. Takagi has shown to be a deliberate and calculating player that gets away with the same moves in his bluffs and his legitimate hands which makes him dangerous as certainly knows who to wield his stack./
Seat 7: Yashiro Naoki (JPN) – 1,150,000 (4th)
He has only been playing poker for four months and yet he has picked up the game swiftly and is now on the cusp of what could the greatest success story in the history of the sport in Japan. Being at the end “Japanese Row” in the final table could give him an advantage being in position against his countrymen. .
Seat 8: Sua Shung Er (MAS) – 875,000 (6th)
Born in Malaysia but now residing in Taiwan, Sua has had no cashes outside of Taipei City. His largest purse was US$3,595 attained in April of 2021 so he, too, is guaranteed his biggest payday to date.
So who will be declared champion and take home the biggest chunk of the KRW942,840,000 (US$659,740) guaranteed prize pool?