Back-to-Back Hong Kong Champs As Stephen Pang Wins APT Incheon Main Event

Stephen Pang rivered a club flush to seemingly defeat Shoumin Zhang to win the Asian Poker Tour Incheon main event title. Pang ran to the rail and celebrated as though he won, but after the chips were counted down, Zhang was found to have just over one big blind. Zhang proceeded to double up four times and pull back into contention, before Pang avoided a remarkable comeback and closed out the victory.

Pang, who is from Hong Kong, won $293,700 and the APT Incheon main event title in his biggest career live tournament result. After a three-handed deal with Zhang, and third-place finisher, American Yifu He ($183,570), Pang survived a chaotic finish to cross the finish line and claim the 24K gold APT main event lion trophy at the Paradise City Casino resort in Incheon, South Korea.

Despite limited live tournament experience, Pang credited his online work for his success.

“I’ve been preparing for this event for over a year, refining my strategies and fine-tuning my game by playing online poker against the best possible players,” Pang told APT media following his victory. “I didn’t play much live, so it’s a completely different dynamic, but online games really helped with my main event preparation.”

Pang joins Lau Chun Shing, who won the 2026 APT Taipei main event back in May, to make it back-to-back winners from Hong Kong. Along with their cash prizes, Pang, Zhang, and He also won $10,000 seats to the APT Championship main event in Taipei in November.

Path To Victory In Incheon

The largest APT main ever held in Incheon drew 1,393 total entrants, and 807 unique players. The KRW 1,500,000,000 buy-in (~$1,785) main event generated a total prize pool of 2,966,540 ($2,118,960). That sum was shared by 207 in-the-money finishers.

Multi-time Triton Super High Roller champion Kiat Lee (152nd), Thailand’s all-time money leader Punnat Punsri (75th), and Irish World Series of Poker bracelet-winner Toby Joyce  (41st) were among the notable players to reach the money, but fall short of a final table run.

Heading into the final day of action, Pang held a solid chip lead over the rest of the field, with Zhang comfortably in second place. Japan was well-represented at the final table, with five of the final nine players hailing from that country. Phachara Wongichit, who has multiple APT trophies to his name and over $2.6 million in total career earnings, was the most accomplished player at the final table, and finished in seventh place ($50,530).

By the time the field reached three players, Zhang had taken over the chip lead, and He was a fair distance behind. The trio made a deal to flatten out the last three payouts, and He fell shortly thereafter. The third-place finisher, who has multiple PokerGO Tour final table appearances and made the final table of the Millionaire Maker, eclipsed $1.8 million in career tournament earnings.

One Final Push

Pang’s rivered club flush and ultimately premature celebration set Pang up for a close call with a devastating reversal of fortune. His 78:1 chip lead shrunk to 3:1 after Zhang doubled up four times, and clawed his way back into the picture.

On the final hand, Zhang’s K♥10♣ was live against Pang’s pocket nines. A coinflip win would allow Pang to pull even closer. The jack-high board ultimately offered no direct help, and Pang breathed a sigh of relief as he locked down a victory, for real the second time around.

Along with his first-place payout, the trophy, and the $10,000 seat, Pang earned 960 Card Player Player of the Year points in his first qualifying result. Yifu He claimed 640 POY points for third place. That elevated He to just outside the top 100 in the yearlong race presented by CoinPoker.

The next APT stop moves the tour south, back to Jeju, South Korea, in late September. The tour wraps up 2026 action with the APT Championship in Taipei in November.

Final Table Results

Photo credit: Asian Poker Tour