Lee Wee Liew has turned a 17-big-blind start to the final day into the biggest Asian Poker Tour victory of his career, beating defending champion Zhiyi Wang heads-up to win the Korea National Cup at APT Jeju.
The Malaysian collected KRW 70,334,000, approximately $51,900, after coming through a 474-entry field at LES A Casino inside Jeju Shinhwa World. Wang was attempting to win the same tournament at the same venue for a second consecutive year, but had to settle for KRW 44,250,000, around $32,655, after Liew took control of the final table.
It is Liew’s second APT title, although this one represents a considerable step up. His previous victory came in a seven-player Short Deck Triple Chance event at APT Manila in 2024, while the Korea National Cup handed him a Silver Lion Silhouette Trophy and the second-largest tournament score of his career.
The result also gives the APT Jeju 2026 festival its first major winner only a day after the 135-event series began.
Liew Turns 17 Big Blinds Into KRW 70M
Liew was nowhere near the top of the leaderboard when the 67 surviving players returned for the final day. He began with 172,000 chips, worth just 17 big blinds, while China’s Zu You Wang led the field with 602,000.
Four hours later, only 16 players remained and Liew had pushed himself toward the top of the counts. By the time the final nine were set, he had moved all the way into the chip lead.
That mattered because several of the stacks around him were already under serious pressure. Liew was able to attack relentlessly, but one extraordinary hand turned a useful advantage into something much more difficult for the rest of the table to overcome.
American Gary Moon and Sweden’s Bo Edengren both got their chips in against Liew, who held pocket nines. The flop brought the other two nines, giving Liew quads and eliminating both opponents in the same hand.
Moon finished seventh for KRW 11,530,000, while Edengren took KRW 15,320,000 for sixth.
It was not even Liew’s first ridiculous hand of the tournament. He later revealed that he had made a royal flush on Day 1, giving him both ends of the poker-hand-ranking chart that most players can go years without seeing.
Korea National Cup Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lee Wee Liew | Malaysia | KRW 70,334,000 (~$51,900) |
| 2 | Zhiyi Wang | China | KRW 44,250,000 (~$32,655) |
| 3 | Furui Wang | China | KRW 31,690,000 (~$23,390) |
| 4 | Bei Shi | China | KRW 24,960,000 (~$18,420) |
| 5 | Zu You Wang | China | KRW 19,610,000 (~$14,470) |
| 6 | Bo Edengren | Sweden | KRW 15,320,000 (~$11,300) |
| 7 | Gary Moon | United States | KRW 11,530,000 (~$8,510) |
| 8 | Hongkun Wang | China | KRW 8,040,000 (~$5,935) |
| 9 | Huang Hongbiao | China | KRW 6,370,000 (~$4,700) |
The KRW 900,000 tournament attracted 262 unique players and 474 total entries across its three starting flights. That created a KRW 358,344,000 prize pool, comfortably clearing the original KRW 200 million guarantee.
Liew Runs Through the Final Table
Huang Hongbiao was the first player eliminated from the final nine after Furui Wang’s ace-eight improved against pocket sevens. Hongkun Wang followed when he tried to steal from the button with ten-seven and ran into Liew’s ace-ten.
The double knockout of Moon and Edengren then put Liew firmly in charge. He followed that by picking up pocket fives against Zu You Wang, who shoved with ace-ten and failed to improve, leaving the former final-day chip leader out in fifth.
Bei Shi was next. Short stacked with seven-four, Shi moved in and was called by Liew with ace-eight, with ace-high remaining good enough to reduce the field to three.
By then Liew controlled around 61 percent of the chips in play.
Furui Wang tried to halt him with ace-four suited after Liew shoved nine-six suited. A six on the flop put Liew ahead, the hand held, and Furui Wang departed in third for KRW 31,690,000.
That left only the defending champion standing between Liew and the trophy.
Zhiyi Wang Falls Short of Back-to-Back Jeju Titles
Zhiyi Wang had already shown that his previous Korea National Cup victory was no one-off. He began the final day with 455,000 chips, fifth overall, and survived all the way to heads-up play with a chance to repeat his Jeju success.
The problem was the size of Liew’s lead. The Malaysian began heads-up with close to four times Wang’s stack, leaving the defending champion with little room for error.
Wang managed to take some chips back during a series of smaller pots before eventually moving all-in with king-six. Liew looked down at pocket threes and made the call.
The board provided no help for Wang. Liew’s small pocket pair survived all five community cards, ending the defending champion’s run and securing the Silver Lion trophy.
Liew later admitted he had not even realized Wang was attempting to defend the title until after their heads-up battle had begun.
“I actually didn’t know that, but I’m glad I stopped him from getting his second consecutive title!” Liew said afterward. “He played very solidly and didn’t make many mistakes.”
A Bigger APT Breakthrough for Liew
Liew has been a regular around Asian tournament poker for several years and was already an APT champion before arriving in Jeju. He won the PHP 50,000 Short Deck Triple Chance at APT Manila in November 2024, collecting a Baby Lion Trophy.
This one felt different.
“I won a small trophy back when I played in a smaller tournament, but this one feels like my true breakthrough,” Liew said. “This is my first trophy from a mid-sized event.”
The victory adds another Malaysian winner to a festival taking place in what has become one of Asia’s busiest poker destinations. Poker Type recently looked at Jeju’s rise as a poker hub, with both the APT and Triton now using the island for major international series.
Liew will have plenty of opportunities to add to his latest result before leaving South Korea. APT Jeju runs through October 7, while the KRW 2.7 million Main Event begins on September 27 with KRW 2.2 billion guaranteed.
After starting this final day with 17 big blinds, making quads in a double knockout and denying the defending champion heads-up, anything quieter may feel slightly disappointing.
