The stage has been set! What began with 671 players chasing a dream has now become a reality for the nine remaining players who have secured a spot at the Asian Poker Tour Championship Main Event final table.

It was a hard-fought battle spanning four full days of action, but each of the final tablists has now secured a spot into the fifth and final day. Everyone left is now guaranteed payday of at least TWD 3,047,100 (~USD 97,660) — stemming from a record-breaking TWD 194,080 (~USD 6.2 million) prize pool — however, the job isn’t done, and all eyes will surely be on the TWD 37,030,773 (~USD 1,186,880) first-place prize. In addition to becoming an instant-millionaire, the soon-to-be champion will take home the coveted Gold APT Main Event Lion Trophy and be forever immortalized in APT history.

To re-live how they got here, check out the APT blog here.

Without further adieu — here’s a peek into the nine finalists:

Seat 1: Dominik Nitsche (Germany) - 7,125,000 (119 big blinds)

Inarguably the most-accomplished player at the final table, Dominik Nitsche has over USD $21 million in live-tournament earnings and will be seeking his first APT title. However, the German poker phenom is no stranger to final tables or taking down titles, with four World Series of Poker bracelets, a World Poker Tour title and numerous podium finishes in European Poker Tour events. As the only other player (aside from Nishant Sharma) with over 100 big blinds, Nitsche is a likely favorite to take home APT Main Event Gold Lion Trophy.

Seat 2: Hao Shan Huang (Taiwan) - 1,395,000 (23 big blinds)

A local representing Taiwan, Huang enters as the second-shortest stack after a tumultuous Day 4 saw his once chip-leading stack get cut in half. Huang is a former Magic the Gathering professional with plenty of card-playing experience and had a great series at APT Jeju last year with two runner-up finishes in the Korea National Cup and Micro Main Event. Huang has already more-than doubled his previous best live cash of USD 40,580 by making the final table, which is made all the more impressive by the fact that he qualified for the Main Event via a Step 1 satellite for just USD 350.

Seat 3: Neng Zhao (Australia) - 4,195,000 (70 big blinds)

Never shy for a bit of table talk, the boisterous Neng Zhao of Australia enters the final table third in chips and has also secured his best-ever live cash depiste winning several Australian Poker Tour titles. With just under USD 500,000 in tournament earnings, a win for Zhao would vault him into the top 40 on the Australia All-Time Money List.

Seat 4: John Niko Costiniano (Philippines) - 3,700,000 (62 big blinds)

Coming in fourth position is John Niko Costiniano, a prolific online grinder that hasn't let that stop him from stepping his toes into the live arena. All of his live results, which amount to just over USD 400,000 in earnings, have come from Asia, including two APT titles from a side event in the APT Hanoi Billions in 2023 and the APT Manilla Classic in 2025.

With plenty of experience and chips to work with, Costiniano has a chance to earn his first-ever seven-figure score to his poker resume.

Seat 5: Martin Finger (Germany) - 635,000 (11 big blinds)

One of the more experienced players at the final table, Martin Finger boasts over USD $8 million in live-tournament earnings with multiple EPT title and a WSOP bracelet. However, Finger will have a lot of work to do as he enters the final table as far and away the short stack with just 11 big blinds.

Finger's previous high score from an APT event came earlier this year in APT Taipei, wherein he finished fourth in the Superstar Challenge for USD 120,504. An eight-place finish or higher will surpass that figure, but an outright win would be be Finger's second seven-figure score.

Seat 6: Nishant Sharma (India) - 9,125,000 (152 big blinds)

Nishant Sharma will enter the final table with a substantial chip lead and is in pole position to take down his first APT title and add significantly to his over USD 1.6 million in live-tournament earnings.

Sharma was responsible for bursting the final table bubble after picking up jacks at the perfect time against Jun Hao Wu's tens. With momentum and a pile of chips at his disposal, Sharma will be the man to beat.

Seat 7: Matas Cimbolas (Lithuania) - 2,370,000 (40 big blinds)

Sitting in seat 7 (just behind chip leader Nishant Sharma) is Matas Cimbolas, who will enter the final table in the bottom half of the counts but still with plenty to work with with 40 big blinds. Another proven crusher on the felt, Cimbolas sits second on the Lithuania All-Time Money List and has just over USD 7 milllion in live-tournament earnings, but he has yet to catch the elusive seven-figure score that winning outright would provide.

Cimbolas also stands to have one of the highest ROIs in the tournament as he got into the Main Event via a Step 2 tournament for USD 1,700.

Seat 8: Alexandru Papazian (Romania) - 1,530,000 (26 big blinds)

Alexandru Papazian will enter the final table as one of the shallower stacks, but any result help solidify his position as Romania's All-Time Money leader by adding to his USD $4,000,000 in live-tournament earnings.

Although he has multiple titles, including wins at both the WSOP and EPT, Papazian has yet to win an APT title. Should he come from behind to claim victory in the Main Event, it would be his second seven-figure score and further cement his position as Romania's top live-tournament player.

Seat 9: Hao Chuang (Taiwan) - 3,345,000 (56 big blinds)

Filling out the table in seat 9 is another local, Hoa Chuang, who will enter middle of the pack with 56 big blinds. Chaung will be looking for redemption after placing fifth in the Ultra Stack Championship earlier in the festival. No matter where Chuang finishes, this final table appearance will give him a new high score and a massive boost to his USD 400,000 in live-tournament earnings.