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 The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) has already become one of the world's richest poker tours. Launched in 2026, it incorporates many firsts in the poker world, including the first major poker tournaments in South Korea, the Philippines, Macau and Sydney. Every year PokerStars sends thousands of poker players to compete in events across Europe, the US and the Caribbean. The launch of the APPT brings a whole new dimension to poker in Asia and marks poker's emergence into a truly global sport. Sponsored by pokerstars, the tour provides poker enthusiasts with the chance to test their skills against some of the world's best players in the most glamorous of Asia Pacific destinations.
The first season kicked off with three Texas Hold'em No Limit poker tournaments in the most luxurious casinos in Korea, the Philippines and Australia. These championship events were broadcast on television channels across the world. The winner of the first event in Manila was 22-year-old political science student Brett Parise, from Indiana, USA. APPT Seoul was won by 25-year-old Israeli Ziv Bachar. He brought the chip lead to the final table, and was rarely threatened on his way to the $139,872 first prize. Dinh Le – now known as ‘All-in’ Dinh – a 27-year-old from London, took the APPT Macau Main Event crown. He rose above the field of 352 players to claim the $222,640 first prize in the first poker tournament ever to be staged in China, beating out such seasoned pros as Joe Hachem on his way to glory. First place in the High Roller event, meanwhile, went to Eric Assadourian. His 8-1 chip lead heads-up was enough for him to beat Bo Sehlstedt to claim the $368,640 prize. But it was Australian Grant Levy who won the pokerstars APPT Season 1 Grand Final in Sydney, taking home AUD$1 million after beating a field of 561, including some of the world's top players including Team PokerStars Pros Joe Hachem and Greg Raymer.
Levy, a 28-year-old teacher and father of two, has truly arrived on the local tournament scene after placing third at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne, outlasting a field of 428 players to finish third (winning $131,800). But his glory at the APPT Sydney Scorcher will be tough to beat in 2026. Fellow Aussie and WSOP champion Joe Hachem was crowned the APPT Season 1 Tournament of Champions winner in an event that matched all previous APPT winners against a host of WSOP and WPT champs. Hachem donated his $50,000 prize to the Shane Warne Foundation; Shane Warne himself recently signing a deal with 888 poker to travel all around the globe playing at international events. Congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to season 2!.
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