China's Dongli Shen has won the inaugural WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship, taking home KRW 252,378,000 (around $185,000), the trophy and a $10,400 WPT World Championship package. Shen entered the final table as the dominant chip leader and closed out a hard-fought heads-up battle against Japan's Yosuke Sekiya to claim the title at the INSPIRE Entertainment Resort in Incheon, South Korea.
The event drew 1,033 entries across four starting flights and generated a prize pool of KRW 1,561,896,000 (about $1.15 million), comfortably beating its KRW 1 billion guarantee. It is a strong debut for the inaugural WPT Seoul INSPIRE Championship and another sign of how quickly the Asian live poker market is growing.
Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Payout (KRW) | Approx. USD |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dongli Shen | China | 252,378,000 | $185,000 |
| 2 | Yosuke Sekiya | Japan | 246,238,000 | $180,000 |
| 3 | Jun Li | China | 124,950,000 | $91,500 |
| 4 | Tomoharu Hikino | Japan | 92,310,000 | $67,600 |
| 5 | Juhyun Lee | United States | 68,720,000 | $50,300 |
| 6 | Myagmardorj Batsukh | Mongolia | 54,670,000 | $40,000 |
| 7 | Andrew Tomoya Matahira | Japan | 45,290,000 | $33,180 |
| 8 | Hayato Nagasawa | Japan | 36,700,000 | $26,800 |
| 9 | Yumi Hanzawa | Japan | 28,900,000 | $21,170 |
A total of 128 places were paid. The gap between first and second was only KRW 6,140,000, a sign of a close heads-up finish. Shen's extra value came from the trophy and the WPT World Championship package.
How the Final Table Unfolded
Shen began the final day with 13,300,000 chips, almost double the 6,775,000 held by Jun Li, the next-biggest stack. That cushion gave Shen the freedom to apply pressure while the shorter stacks fought among themselves.
The Early Eliminations
- Ninth, Yumi Hanzawa: Hanzawa flopped trips with ace-eight, but Tomoharu Hikino's pocket sixes filled up on the turn and made quads on the river. It was a cruel way to start the final day's eliminations.
- Eighth, Hayato Nagasawa: After losing a pot with ace-five against Myagmardorj Batsukh's pocket queens, Nagasawa got his last chips in with ace-four against Li's pocket kings and missed his flush draw.
- Seventh, Andrew Tomoya Matahira: His pocket sevens ran into Hikino's pocket kings.
- Sixth, Myagmardorj Batsukh: The Mongolian player's ace-queen lost to Sekiya's pocket kings.
- Fifth, Juhyun Lee: The American's king-four suited could not overcome Shen's ace-nine suited.
Kings Cracked in Fourth
The most painful exit came in fourth. Hikino got his chips in with pocket kings against Li's jack-deuce suited and was a big favourite until the turn and river delivered a runner-runner flush for Li. Hikino had already held pocket kings and sixes to win pots earlier at the final table, but this time the cards turned against him.
Third Place
Li's run ended when his pocket queens lost to Sekiya's ace-king on a king-high flop, setting up a heads-up battle between Shen and Sekiya.
A Back-and-Forth Heads-Up Battle
Heads-up play swung several times. Shen won a key pot when his ace-six beat Sekiya's king-queen after an ace came on the turn, then made a straight on the river to beat Sekiya's top pair in another big pot.
Sekiya fought back, doubling up with king-queen against Shen's ace-five. But the final hand went Shen's way: Sekiya's ace-seven was ahead preflop against Shen's ten-nine until the turn completed Shen's straight. A blank river confirmed the title.
A Japanese-Heavy Final Table
Five of the nine finalists were from Japan, along with two from China and one each from the United States and Mongolia. That reflects a trend we have seen across Asian festivals in 2026: Japanese players have become one of the most visible groups on the regional live circuit.
Japan's growing poker community and strong amateur tournament culture have produced a steady stream of deep runs at events across Asia. Sekiya's runner-up finish and Hikino's fourth place continue that pattern.
WPT Seoul in Context
This was the first WPT Seoul Championship, held in INSPIRE's new poker room. We covered the venue's 70-table poker room ahead of the festival, along with WPT Global's satellite routes into the event.
A field of 1,033 entries for an inaugural event is a strong result. It beat the guarantee by more than 50%, which signals strong demand for live poker in the region. The WPT's fall calendar, which we outlined in our WPT fall schedule preview, includes several international stops ahead of the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas in December.
South Korea has historically had restrictive gambling laws for its citizens, with casino access for locals limited to a single domestic venue. Integrated resorts such as INSPIRE, which cater to international visitors, have opened the door for major international tournaments. The strong turnout from across Asia shows that well-run international events can draw large fields even without a big local player base.
The WPT World Championship Package
Shen's win includes a $10,400 WPT World Championship package. The World Championship is the tour's flagship event, and Championship winners across the WPT calendar receive a package like this one as part of their prize. Shen will now head to Las Vegas with a free shot at one of the biggest prize pools in poker.
What This Means for Players
The WPT Seoul Championship is a reminder of several things for players thinking about the Asian circuit:
- Guarantees are being beaten. A 56% overshoot on the guarantee means real prize pool value for players.
- Satellites matter. Many players in fields like this one qualify online. If you want to target international WPT events, satellite routes on online poker sites are the most cost-effective path.
- Strategy fundamentals still decide titles. The final table featured multiple premium-pair coolers. Understanding poker odds and when to commit your stack is essential in these spots.
For players who want to follow the tour, our tournaments hub covers the major live and online series, and our poker on TV guide explains where to watch WPT final tables.
The Bottom Line
Dongli Shen's victory caps a successful debut for WPT Seoul. A field of 1,033 entries, a prize pool of more than KRW 1.56 billion and a dramatic final table show that the World Poker Tour has found a strong new home in South Korea. Shen now carries a WPT title and a World Championship seat to Las Vegas, while the inaugural event looks likely to become a permanent fixture on the Asian poker calendar.