Tomoya Tsubouchi Makes History in the Korea National Cup

Japan’s Tomoya Tsubouchi opened APT Incheon 2026 with one of the festival’s first major stories.

Tsubouchi won the Korea National Cup, defeating a record field of 709 entries from 28 nations.

The tournament generated a prize pool of approximately $290,400, more than twice its original guarantee.

Tsubouchi entered the final table with a massive chip advantage, holding more than three times the stack of any other finalist.

He maintained that advantage throughout the final table and eliminated four of his eight opponents on the way to the title.

The final hand ended in dramatic fashion, with Tsubouchi involved in a three-way all-in against Ian Rudolph and Phuong Ngoc Nguyen.

For Tsubouchi, the victory was particularly meaningful because he revealed that this was only his second tournament outside Japan.

He had initially traveled to Korea primarily for a vacation combined with poker.

Instead, he left with an APT trophy.

Tsubouchi said the victory made him love poker even more and encouraged him to travel internationally to play more tournaments.

His win set the tone for an APT Incheon festival that has continued to produce international champions and record fields.

photo credit to Asian Poker Tour