HomeINCHEON CITY, Korea – Fresh from capturing (Event #1) the Mystery Bounty tournament Japan’s Kono Reiji now sits atop the leaderboard at the conclusion of Day 1A in the Asian Poker Tour (APT) Korea Incheon 2022 Main Event while three more crowns were bestowed in this staging’s busiest leg thus far at the Paradise City Hotel and Casino here.
Reiji has already amassed a total of over KRW27.8M (US$19,500) for his conquest of yesterday’s opener, finished the initial session with 107,200 in chips.
He is followed closely by American Rob Kiss with 105,900 while Heung Tsz Kim of Hong Kong ended in third with an even 87,000.
In all, 33 of the 58 entries advanced to Day 2 which happens on Sunday (23rd October).
Day 1B commences later (21st October) at 1:00PM (UCT+9).
| APT Korea Incheon 2022 Main Event | |||
| Day 1 A Chips Counts | |||
| Rank | Name | Country | Chips |
| 1 | Kono Reiji | JPN | 107,200 |
| 2 | Robert Kiss | USA | 105,900 |
| 3 | Heung Tsz Kim | HKG | 87,000 |
| 4 | Hidenari Tomita | JPN | 84,000 |
| 5 | Chi Jen Chen | TPE | 77,900 |
| 6 | Kanjuro Sato | JPN | 62,400 |
| 7 | Tae Hoon Han | KOR | 57,500 |
| 8 | Kintaro Naito | JPN | 56,600 |
| 9 | Takuya Shimabukuro | JPN | 55,300 |
| 10 | Tai Hsing Hsiung | TPE | 51,100 |
| 58 Entries | |||
| 1,450,000 Chips in Play / 44,000 Average |
In the last three Side Events that concluded later in the evening, the Japanese players continued to slay the competition.
Yoshihito Shijima received the biggest payout of the staging thus far by triumphing in (Event #2) the 2-day KRW4.3M (US$2,994) High-Rollers, coming out as the last man standing in a field of 66 entries and pocketing almost KRW74M (US$51,775).
Yoshihito Shijima (JPN) got the biggest payout of this leg and of his career
Campaigning in Russia for the better portion of last year, Shijima garnered the biggest haul of his young career with his win here.
Local bet Calvin Lee settled for the runner-up prize of KRW49,275,000 (US$34,460) while Taiwan’s Chang Yu Chung got third for KRW34,255,000 (US$23,952).
It was an all-Japan affair in (Event #4) the single-day NLH where Yuki Sako outlasted Hiroshi Matsumoto and Nonaka Toshzki for the championship and the more than KRW15M (US$10,536) top prize.
Yuki Sako emerged victorious in an all-Japan final trio
Earlier this year, Sako cashed in the WSOP and also had a profitable run in Spain. This is his first ever trophy and also got his largest monetary reward as he bested a field of 171 entries.
Matsumoto took home KRW10M (US$7,019) while Toshzki got KRW6,984,800 (US$4,887) for ending up in third.
Finally, (Event #5) the first of the five KRW3.2M (US$2,237) single-day High-Rollers had Makoto Miura topping a field of 43 entries for the title and the top prize of KRW39,266,000 (US$27,505).
All of the career cashes of Makoto Miura (JPN) have happened here in Incheon
Miura has had all his career cashes in this city, including an APT crown in 2018 in the Deep Stack Turbo event. This is his biggest career win.
Coming in second was fellow Japanese Shoji Ito for KRW26,126,000 (US$18,364) while Johan Francois Guilbert of Malta came in third for KRW18,197,000 (US$12,766).
Running alongside Day 1B of the Main Event later are (Event #6) the Super Deep Stack Turbo (S-DST) at 2:00PM and (Event #7) the second of the KRW3.2M (US$2,237) single-day High-Rollers at 3:00PM plus the last chance satellite, known as the “5-in-1” wherein aspirants have a one out of five chance to nail a seat with the buy-in at KRW440K (US$308).