If there was ever any doubt that the Asian Poker Tour (APT) is the premier live poker tour in Asia, you only have to look at the numbers from the recent APT Phu Quoc 2024 festival in Vietnam. Each APT stop seems to smash records, and Phu Quoc continued that trend, with some impressive figures generated during the ten-day festival.
Across the 78 trophy events, some 5,938 entries were processed and VND 104,420,824,349 (US$4,111,055) in prize money awarded. Amazingly, those numbers represent an 86% increase over the same series held in 2023, making it the most successful APT Phu Quoc festival in the APT's history.
Although the festival did not set any new tour country or international records, 12 events set new highs for Phu Quoc tournaments. The Main Event was one of those dozen record-breaking APT Phu Quoc tournaments. It drew in 795 entrants, who created a prize pool worth the equivalent of almost $1.4 million, some 40% more than the advertised guarantee.
Online WSOP bracelet winner, Jinlong Hu of China came out on top and got his hands on US$185,430 after defeating South Korea's Junseok Oh heads-up, resigning the runner-up to a US$112,795 consolation prize. The victory saw Hu, which came at his fourth APT final Main Event final table, rise to 59th place in China's all-time money list.
The other seven finalists captured prizes worth between US$13,860 and $79,725.
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (VND) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jinlong Hu | China | 4,710,000,000 | $185,430 |
| 2 | Junseok Oh | South Korea | 2,865,000,000 | $112,795 |
| 3 | Do Tien Vu | Vietnam | 2,025,000,000 | $79,725 |
| 4 | Truong Thang Minh | Australia | 1,525,000,000 | $60,040 |
| 5 | David Erquiaga | Phillipines | 1,202,500,000 | $47,340 |
| 6 | Wang Haozhao | China | 902,500,000 | $35,530 |
| 7 | Deepankur Gupta | India | 642,500,000 | $25,295 |
| 8 | Chuhao Zhang | China | 445,000,000 | $17,520 |
| 9 | Pham Ngoc Quoc Bao | Vietnam | 352,000,000 | $13,860 |
Jason Lau of Malaysia triumphed in the APT High Roller, which saw 139 high rollers create a VND 9,707,760,000 (US$382,195) prize pool, the largest ever high roller at the Phu Quoc stop. Having reached the final table of the APT High Roller in Manila and Taipei, Lau made it a case of third time lucky as he bulldozed his way to an impressive victory worth $91,730.
Lau's haul pushed his live poker tournament earnings closer to $350,000, and his rankings in Malaysia's all-time money list to 34th place.
| Rank | Player | Country | Prize (VND) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jason Lau | Malaysia | 2,329,880,000 | $91,730 |
| 2 | Yu Chung "Nevan" Chang | Taiwan | 1,582,360,000 | $62,300 |
| 3 | Amit Kaushik | India | 1,043,580,000 | $41,085 |
| 4 | Seon Ooi | Malaysia | 862,050,000 | $33,940 |
| 5 | Biao Guo | China | 692,160,000 | $27,250 |
| 6 | Hayato Kitajima | Japan | 542,660,000 | $21,365 |
| 7 | Jennifer Cassell | Australia | 406,760,000 | $16,015 |
| 8 | Yita Choong | Australia | 300,940,000 | $11,850 |
| 9 | Phanlert Sukothachartnant | Thailand | 232,990,000 | $9,170 |
The APT Phu Quoc 2024 was the last scheduled festival of the year, meaning the staff who work tirelessly behind the scene get to enjoy some much deserved downtime. However, a teaser post on the APT website suggests the 2025 schedule is not far from being released, leaving players wondering where the tour will head in the New Year. On this latest showing, Phu Quoc is nailed on to be one of the stops in 2025.