Yixian Chen Conquers Jeju Opening at KPC x LPT Jeju; Mystery Bounty and High Roller Underway

It would be hard to imagine a better way to kick off 2026 than by taking down the inaugural event of one of the year’s first major poker festivals. China’s Yixian Chen has done exactly that. After returning to the felt for an arduous eight-hour grind, more than half of which was spent navigating the final table, Chen overcame a formidable field of over 400 entrants to secure the title and the KRW 64,000,000 (USD 44,265) top prize.

The first major event of the KPC x LPT Jeju Festival 2026 series exceeded all expectations, kicking off the festival with an incredible turnout. Across three opening flights, the event drew a total field of 429 entries, including 222 unique players. This massive response effectively doubled the initial KRW 180,000,000 guarantee, resulting in a total prize pool of KRW 333,590,000.

The energy surrounding this opening event reflects the immense excitement for this historic collaboration between KPC and LPT, set inside the grand LES A Casino, setting a high bar for what could be a record-breaking festival and a landmark start to the 2026 poker season.

Final Table Results

Place	Player	Country	Prize KRW	Prize USD
1	Yixian Chen	China	64,000,000	44,265
2	Yaoyu He	China	43,200,000	29,880
3	Yanbo Du	China	31,600,000	21,855
4	Long Jin	China	24,110,000	16,675
5	Chien Chih Weng	Taiwan	18,200,000	12,590
6	Xialin Li	China	13,800,000	9,545
7	Kai Cheng Hsu	Taiwan	10,600,000	7,330
8	Guangdong Dai	China	8,200,000	5,670
9	Ledong Zhou	China	6,410,000	4,435

 

Chen’s Reaction to the Win

Chen, who also goes by his English name Eason, is originally from Ningbo, Zhejiang, and is currently living there.

“I started playing poker online on PokerStars in 2018, and after about two years, I began playing live tournaments,”

Chen said when asked about his poker journey.

“Nowadays, I rarely play online because I still have my own business to run. I’m a fashion designer. I’ve just started building my own brand, so I have comparatively more free time now. Also, it’s really convenient to travel to Jeju from Ningbo; it only takes about one hour by plane.”

From the first flight, Chen experienced a dramatic swing, at one point dropping to just 11–12 big blinds before finishing the day as the chip leader.

“I didn’t feel too much emotional fluctuation because it was only Day 1A. When I was really short, I was already mentally prepared to be eliminated, so I just relaxed and played. Luckily, I doubled up a few times.”

Despite the ups and downs, Chen said his mindset remained steady throughout.

“Yes, when I’m short-stacked, I play more aggressively because I want to accumulate chips and go deep, so I have to accept more variance. But honestly, I think I was also quite lucky. When my stack became healthy again, I switched back to a tighter and more stable style.”

“I think my general playing style is more loose and aggressive”

Chen reflected when asked how he would describe himself as a player. Looking ahead, Chen already has his sights set on his next destination.

“APT will be my next stop after this. I really like the APT trophy. They’ll be hosting a Jeju event next month, and if I have time, I’ll definitely be there.”

Day 2 Action

From the starting field, only 54 players returned for Day 2, each having already secured a min-cash and ready to battle for a spot at the final table. Kai Cheng Hsu led the returning field as the overall chip leader with a massive 782,000 stack from Flight C, followed by Flight A leader Chen (670,000) and Guangdong Dai leading Flight B (582,000).

The action was fast-paced from the get-go. Playing out the remainder of Level 17, short-stacks began to move their chips in quickly, thinning the field from 54 down to just 34 players before the end of Level 18. A defining moment of the early sessions belonged to eventual finalist Yaoyu He , who scored a spectacular double knockout.

After calling the shoves of Chunhao Zhang and Liangjian Cheng , He found himself behind Zhang’s flopped set; however, his ace-jack turned a flush to scoop a massive pot. This early momentum served as a springboard for He, who utilised that momentum and boosted stack to navigate through to the final table.

Several other notable players made deep runs during the day’s progression, including Jason Li , Daming Kang , Jun Li , and Mengqin Wu .

The final table was set after Hao Wang moved his short stack into the middle with king-nine suited, only to be looked up by Dai holding ace-ten. The board ran out relatively dry, offering no help to Wang and sending him to the rail in 10th place. With his departure, the final nine players officially moved into final table play.

Final Table

Long Jin held a marginal chip lead heading into the final table with 2,125,000 (43 BB), with Chen nipping at his heels with 1,835,000 (37 BB). Bringing up the rear was Ledong Zhou , who sat on a short stack of 400,000 (8 BB). Zhou struggled to gain any momentum out of the gates and watched his stack dwindle with each passing orbit.

Zhou eventually got his remaining 275,000 into the middle and was looked up by both blinds, Jin and Yanbo Du . After Du folded to a turn bet from Jin, Zhou tabled his hand only to realize he was drawing dead; Jin had turned a straight to dominate Zhou’s second pair, sending him to the rail as the first final table casualty in ninth place.

Dai, who had finished Day 1b as the chip leader, was the next to fall in brutal fashion. After calling Du’s three-bet shove, he looked primed for a double with pocket kings against Du’s pocket threes. However, a devastating three appeared in the window, and Du’s flopped set held to eliminate Dai in eighth place.

The start-of-day chip leader, Hsu, was next to depart. Having fought valiantly throughout the day, Hsu lost momentum in the latter stages and found himself crippled to just 25,000 after a major clash with Jin. After scraping back to roughly 100,000, he moved all in with nine-eight offsuit, but he was no match for Du’s ace-jack, which made top pair on the river to send Hsu to the rail in seventh place.

Li took sixth place after a deep run that saw him transform from a middle-of-the-pack contender to a major final table threat. Throughout the day, Li was responsible for several eliminations, applying relentless pressure and pulling the trigger at key moments to bolster his stack. However, his run ended when he, like Dai before him, fell with pocket kings. After calling He’s shove on a flushy flop, Li’s fears were realised as He completed his flush on the river, ending Li’s respectable run in sixth place.

Chien Chih Weng staged an extraordinary comeback to reach the final table. At one point in the day, she was down to just three big blinds, but a crucial double-up with pocket kings against Xiang Zhang’s pocket eights allowed her to battle back into contention. Her tournament life eventually ended when she was short-stacked again and moved all-in with queen-six. Chen made the call with jack-eight and found a favourable flop, making two pair that held to eliminate Weng in fifth place.

Jin, who held the chip lead entering the final table, narrowly missed out on a podium finish. After a raise from He, Jin three-bet shoved his short stack with ace-queen. He failed to connect on a low board that favoured He’s pocket nines, resulting in a fourth-place finish, a deep run he will undoubtedly be pleased with.

Shortly after, Du moved his stack into the middle. Chen had limped from the small blind and then called Du’s shove from the big blind, revealing that Chen had him dominated with ace-jack suited against king-queen suited. The rainbow board offered no flush possibilities and paired Chen’s ace on the flop. The hand held up, officially sending the Jeju Opening event into heads-up play and marking Du’s departure in third place.

Heads Up

The heads-up battle between Chen and He was a short-lived affair, lasting less than ten minutes. Chen entered the duel with a commanding lead of 7.5 million chips against He’s 3 million, and he wasted no time putting that advantage to work.

In the very first hand, Chen set the tone by aggressively defending his big blind and check-raising the flop to take control of the pot. He never let off the gas, firing heavy bets on both the turn and the river to put He under immense pressure. After a long tank on the final street, He eventually folded, surrendering a massive portion of his stack without a showdown. This single hand swung the momentum entirely in Chen’s favour, leaving him with a 5:1 chip advantage and effectively deciding the match before it had even truly begun.

The final blow came just moments later. After a standard pre-flop raise and call, both players found a piece of the flop. He checked his middle pair, only for Chen to move all-in, putting He to a decision for his remaining tournament life.

He made the call with his pair of sevens, but found himself trailing Chen’s superior pair of tens. The turn and river brought no help for the short stack, allowing Chen’s tens to hold up and secure the victory. He was eliminated in second place, taking home KRW 43,200,000 (USD 29,880) for a hard-fought runner-up finish.

High Roller and Mystery Bounty Take Center Stage on Day 2

Action continued at the KPC x LPT Jeju Festival with multiple headline tournaments progressing on Sunday, as the Mystery Bounty kicked off with its first two opening flights, the High Roller played down to its Day 1 survivors, and the Venus Event crowned its champion.

Mystery Bounty Draws Big Fields Across Day 1A and Day 1B

The KRW 1,000,000 Mystery Bounty opened with two strong starting flights, combining for 335 total entries across Day 1A and Day 1B. The popular format generated immediate interest, creating a growing prize pool and setting up an exciting Day 2 battle.

Day 1A attracted 225 entries including re-entries, with 28 players securing a bag and moving forward. China’s Haonan Tian topped the leaderboard after accumulating 518,000 chips, followed by Yufeng Lou (399,000) and Zhifan Ye (363,000).

Day 1B added another 110 entries, sending 14 players through. Denghao Chen finished the night as chip leader with 345,000, narrowly ahead of Zhongyan Sui (335,000) and Pingfeng Wu (223,000).

With additional opening flights still to come, the Mystery Bounty is shaping up to be one of the marquee events of the early festival schedule.

High Roller Day 1 Ends With 55 Survivors

The KRW 5,000,000 High Roller drew a tough field of 92 total entries, including re-entries, building a net prize pool of KRW 406,272,000. After a full day of play, 55 players remained in contention, each locking up a spot in Day 2.

Hong Kong’s Ka Lok Lam emerged as the chip leader with 626,000, closely followed by Chao Duan (572,000) and Chenxiang Miao (543,000). The survivor list features a deep international lineup, including Michael Allen, Mike Takayama , Weiran Pu, Martin Sedlak , and Yu Lei, highlighting the depth and competitiveness of the field.

Day 2 promises plenty of pressure spots as the remaining players push toward the money and the final table.

Lili Tang Claims Venus Event Title

The Ladies-only Venus Event concluded on Sunday, drawing 20 total entries and generating a KRW 6,720,000 prize pool. After the dust settled, Lili Tang emerged victorious, earning KRW 3,700,000 for her win.

Tang defeated Ting Wen heads-up, who collected KRW 2,020,000 for second place, while Huang Lu rounded out the podium with KRW 1,000,000 in third.

More updates from the KPC x LPT Jeju Festival 2026 will be posted on Somuchpoker as results come in throughout the series.

Daily live streams are also available on the official KPC YouTube channel.