Kevin Tang

Inside Red Space, Taipei, the final chapter of the opening stages of the National Cup Championship unfolded as Flight E took its seat under the bright Friday night lights. Across 23 fast-paced 15-minute levels, the atmosphere never eased for a moment. A total of 343 entries jumped into the last-chance madness, and by the time chips were bagged, only 48 players had secured their place in Day 2.

Those final bags also confirmed a moment of genuine Asian Poker Tour (APT) history. The five opening flights combined for 2,398 entries (1,157 unique), officially making the APTC National Cup Championship the largest side-event ever run on the tour. The prize pool surged to TWD 29,855,675, shattering the TWD 12,000,000 guarantee and placing this tournament among the three richest non-High Roller events the APT has ever hosted.

Hong Kong’s Kevin Tang topped the Flight E counts with 1,233,000 chips after sealing his night by knocking out Wei Lun Wanh in the closing stages. Ting Chieh Yang followed in second with a strong 874,000, while Nicholas Go secured third place with 776,000 after eliminating Bao Qiang Ho on the bubble, completing a top-three lineup built on decisive late-night knockouts.

With 49 paid spots available, play moved into hand-for-hand mode, and the bubble burst in dramatic fashion as both Wanh and Ho were eliminated on separate tables at nearly the same moment, bringing the curtain down on the final starting flight and closing out a record-breaking start to the 2025 APTC.

National Cup Championship Flight E Top Ten Chip Counts

Tang, who was one card away from elimination in the penultimate level, managed to bag the chip lead in fascinating circumstances. With just ten big blinds left, he got his ace-queen in preflop against the pocket jacks of Ryuichi Ikeda. Ikeda stayed ahead until the river, where an ace appeared to spark Tang’s late-night surge all the way to the top of the counts.

Hand-for-hand play then produced a rare double bubble. On one table, Wanh moved in from the cutoff with six-five and was called by Tang in the big blind holding ace-eight. Wanh paired up after the flop but was still trailing Tang’s flopped ace, and he could not find the improvement he needed to survive.

Nicholas Go

At the same time, on a different table, Ho was all in with pocket jacks against Go's pocket nines. Ho remained ahead through most of the board, but a devastating nine on the river sealed his elimination and locked up the money for the rest of the field.

For Go, the moment was unforgettable. His rail exploded the instant the nine hit, cheering so loudly that a couple of chairs were knocked over in the commotion. The timely knockout capped off a strong showing in Flight E and propelled him into a top-three finish with 776,000, giving him serious momentum heading into Day 2.

Nicholas Go's rail erupting after he hit a set on the river

Other notables to make it through to Day 2 include Alan Lau (753,000), Konstantin Held (742,000), Matthias Lipp (603,000), Alan Pham (326,000), Joseph Sandaev (222,000), Nishant Sharma (210,000), and Dylan Foster (186,000).

For a full National Cup Championship Flight E Survivor List: Click here.

Day 2 gets underway at 11:15 a.m. with action resuming on Level 21 (8,000/16,000/16,000) and will play down to a winner with 30-minute blinds throughout the day.

Be sure to keep checking the APT blog for the latest updates and to see who can get their hands on a Pewter Lion trophy.

That's a wrap for the fifth and final flight of the National Cup Championship.

Stay tuned for a recap of the day's action.

Nicholas Go & Bao Qiang Ho

After a few double-ups in hand-for-hand play, two players were eliminated simultaneously, bringing the rest of the field into the money.

First, Wei Lun Wanh shoved the cutoff for around 240,000 and big-stacked Kevin Tang called in the big blind.

Wei Lun Wanh: 6 5

Kevin Tang: A 8

Wanh needed to connect, and despite catching a pair on the K 5 A flop, he was still behind to the ace of Tang. Nothing changed on the 9 T runout, and Wanh was eliminated.

On another table, Bao Qiang Ho had moved all in for around 200,000, and Nicholas Go had put him at risk with a bigger stack.

Bao Qiang Ho: J J

Nicholas Go: 9 9

If Ho could hang on with his pocket jacks, he would be in the money and hold a healthy stack. Go was screaming for a nine, but didn't find one on the 6 K 8 flop. A 2 was also a brick, but a miraculous 9 river sent Go and his rail insane as he binked a set, sending Ho to the rail.

Nicholas Go's rail could barely contain their excitement

Winson Ho

On the direct bubble, Winson Ho shoved his last 36,000 from early position and An Chi Tsai called without looking at his cards in the big blind.

Winson Ho: K T

An Chi Tsai: 8 4

Ho was ahead, and he stayed there through the A 7 7 3 6 runout, earning him some much-needed chips.

Kevin Tang

Ryuichi Ikeda was on the button and shoved around 240,000. Kevin Tang was in the small blind and committed his 200,000, and the two found themselves in a coinflip

Kevin Tang: A Q

Ryuichi Ikeda: J J

If Ikeda's jacks could hold, he would be within touching distance of a stack worth 500,000, and he was looking good for it through the 3 5 K flop. A 9 on the turn left Tang with one shot at survival, and he came in clutch as the A river gave him a pair of aces.

"Not the Barry Greenstein," joked Dylan Foster on the same table.

Bao Qiang Ho

Bao Qiang Ho was one card away from elimination, but found a river card that kept him alive.

Ho had his stack of around 115,000 in the middle preflop and had been put at risk by Austria's Matthias Lipp.

Bao Qiang Ho: A K

Matthias Lipp: A 9

Ho had the best of it, but fell behind on the 9 J Q flop as Lipp paired his nine. Ho did pick up a gutshot, and added some chop outs on the J turn. An ace would also do the trick for Ho, but it was the K that gave him a pair of kings and the double-up.

Jung An Chuang

Dylan Foster just talked himself into a call, that he said even his mother would be proud of.

Jung An Chuang opened middle position and then called a three-bet from Foster, who was in the hijack.

"Let's battle," said Chuang.

They both saw the 8 4 2 flop and checked through to the J turn, where Chuang announced a bet of 3,000, but put 30,000 in. Foster was actually conversing in quite impressive Chinese to Chuang, and said, "Let's stick to Chinese," before he called.

When the 5 river dropped, Chuang correctly announced his bet sizing in English and stuck out 50,000.

"I'm gonna give you a gift, I think," said Foster. "I'm very nice," he added.

"I think even my mother would be proud of this call," were Foster's final words before he finally put in the call.

Chuang then revealed A J for a pair of jacks, and Foster said "You win, of course" before he mucked.

Chih Wei Cheng

Pocket aces are two cards that every poker player loves to see, and Chih Wei Cheng just put them to good use. He got his stack of just over 100,000 in from the small blind and was put at risk by Juwon Kim in the big blind.

Chih Wei Cheng: A A

Juwon Kim: K T

Cheng was hoping for a clean runout, and the 3 5 5 flop was as safe as they come. A 5 on the turn meant all was said and done, with the T river giving Kim a little needle as he improved to an inferior full house.

It's not all bad news for Kim, though, as he still has around 275,000 to play with.

Ben Gur

Players are heading on a 15-minute break.

When they return, the field will play down until just 49 remain, then the survivors will bag up ready for Day 2.