The 2026 Asian Poker Tour Taipei sports a massive schedule, with 172 events on offer inside the Red Space Taipei in Taiwan. The second-largest buy-in tournament of the festival wrapped up on April 26, with Mike Takayama of the Philippines emerging victorious from a tough final table to hoist the trophy.
Takayama outlasted a field of 136 entries in the $330,000 NT (New Taiwan Dollar) buy-in event to earn $309,821 USD. The tournament, which amounted to a $10,000 buy-in when reckoned in US dollars, wound up with a prize pool worth over $1.3 million.
Joining Takayama at the business end of this high-stakes no-limit hold’em affair were established poker stars like Thai all-time money leader Punnat Punsri (18th), Ren Lin (8th), Danny Tang (4th), and Ethan ‘Rampage’ Yau (3rd).
Takayama ultimately squared off against another Filipino for the title, with John Costiniano earning $210,417 as the runner-up. This was the largest payday yet for Takayama, topping the $198,568 he earned for his win in the 2018 World Series of Poker $1,000 super turbo bounty event. He now has more than $3.4 million in career cashes to his name after this triumph at the APT.
In addition to the hardware and the money, Takayama also earned 660 Card Player Player of the Year points for the win. This was his third POY-qualified score of 2026. With 924 total points, he now sits inside the top 250 in the overall standings presented by CoinPoker.
Lin, Tang Surge In POY Race
Takayama was far from the only player to surge in the POY ranks thanks to this event. Ren Lin logged his fifth POY-qualified final-table finish of 2026 with his eighth-place finish for $40,051 and 110 points. He now sits in fifth place on the POY leaderboard with 3,158 points.
Lin’s final hand in this event was a classic preflop race, with A-K facing the pocket jacks of World Poker Tour champion and two-time bracelet winner Konstantin Held. A queen-high runout changed nothing and Lin headed to the rail to collect his latest big payout on the circuit. Lin, who ended 2025 shrouded in controversy, has been red-hot in 2026. He already has three POY-qualified titles on the year, and over $2 million in POY earnings.
Held went on to finish fifth for $92,057, with Takayama landing the knockout blow. He then had A♠10♠ hold off the K♣10♣ of Tang. Takayama made trips aces to win the pot, sending the bracelet winner and five-time Triton Poker champion packing with $114,639. Tang is now sitting just outside the top 20 in the POY race with six final tables so far in 2026.
Closing It Out
Yau’s last stand also involved a coin flip. He had A♣K♣ against pocket nines for Takayama. The pair held again and Yau settled for $138,772. The bracelet winner and popular content creator surpassed $4.4 million in recorded tournament earnings with this close call.
Heads-up play began with Takayama out in front. Costiniano managed one double-up, but was soon all-in and at risk again with A♥Q♠ trailing the A♦A♣ of his countryman. Pocket aces remained best after the board was dealt, and Takayama congratulated his opponent before heading to collect his largest payout yet.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Payout | POY Points |
| 1 | Mike Takayama | $309,821 | 660 |
| 2 | John Costiniano | $210,417 | 550 |
| 3 | Ethan Yau | $138,772 | 440 |
| 4 | Danny Tang | $114,639 | 330 |
| 5 | Konstantin Held | $92,057 | 275 |
| 6 | Chih Wei Fan | $72,220 | 220 |
| 7 | Harry Halim | $54,131 | 165 |
| 8 | Ren Lin | $40,051 | 110 |
| 9 | Fendy Kosasih | $31,006 | 55 |
Photo credit: APT.
