Like all good things, the inaugural Asian Poker Tour Online has come to an end, so let us look back and reflect on the Series. The measure of success is always in the numbers, and by whichever metric you measure it the first APTO was a winner. Several milestones were set over the 24-day Series as the well-established Asian-based live poker tour made its first official online foray in partnership with Natural8.
Running from February 12 to March 7 and boasting USD $10 million in tournament guarantees (including side events), the APTO Series comprised 17 title events – each of which awarded a real-life APTO trophy to each respective winner.
Including the side events, the Series comprised of 267 events and crushed every single prize pool guarantee on offer, attracting a total of 270,914 entries who competed for an eye-watering USD $18,552,513 in prize money.
If you count just the 17 title events, then these drew an impressive 37,994 entries, who battled it out at the virtual baize for a massive USD $8,294,932 in prize money. Just over a third of the Series prize money (33%) was awarded in the APTO Main Event, which saw 2,738 unique players compete for USD $2,744,360 prize pool.
By far the most popular event in terms of player numbers was the two-day marquee USD $88 Event #7 APTO Mini Main Event, which saw a sizable 8,505-strong field fight it out at the digital felt – all looking to earn their share of the USD $688,564 prize pool.
From a country perspective, it was the Netherland’s who proved the most successful over the Series, providing four champions including the in the most important event of all – the $800 APTO Main Event so congratulations are in order, especially for the newly minted Main Event champion ‘Sioul17’!
The Netherland’s also provided the only double champion of the Series, with ‘ZijnWeWeer’ taking down the USD $660 Event #13 Asia 6-Max Championship for $55,213 and following this up by winning the USD $330 Event #16 Asia Deepstack Championship for a further $45,711 to bring their total haul for the Series up to $100,924.
Both the APT and Natural8 would like to say a big thank you to all the players who supported us during the Series – posting the numbers for massive fields and juicy prize pools would not be possible without their continued support. And thank you to both the APT and Natural8 for hosting the event, and to all the online commentators who provided their dulcet tones to make the live streamed coverage on the Natural8 YouTube channel that much more exciting.
APTO TITLE EVENT PLAYER NUMBERS AND PRIZE MONEY
| Event | GTD ($) | Players | Prize Pool ($) |
| Opening Day #1: 2023 Bounty Kick-Off | 202,300 | 1,613 | 320,987 |
| #2: Superstar Challenge [2-Day Event] | 250,000 | 270 | 641,250 |
| Vietnam Week #3: Phu Quoc Love Island | 85,000 | 2,689 | 114,293 |
| Vietnam Week #4: Da Nang River’s Bounty | 107,000 | 2,141 | 187,937 |
| Vietnam Week #5: Hanoi Enter the Dragon [Bounty 6-Max] | 128,000 | 1,434 | 188,814 |
| Vietnam Week #6: Ho Chi Minh City Cup | 213,000 | 1,592 | 338,331 |
| #7: APTO Mini Main Event, $500K GTD [Final Day] | 500,000 | 8,505 | 688,564 |
| International Week #8: Manila Metro Million | 75,000 | 2,562 | 94,220 |
| International Week #9: MILLIONAIRE MAKER | 62,000 | 1,931 | 118,217 |
| International Week #10: Bangkok Grand Palace Bounty | 153,000 | 2,025 | 180,750 |
| International Week #11: Taipei Poker Classic | 263,000 | 1,111 | 345,874 |
| #12: APTO MYSTERY BOUNTY – $50K Top Bounty | 1,000,000 | 6,000 | 1,200,000 |
| #13 Asia 6-Max Championship | 200,000 | 452 | 283,404 |
| #14 Asia Bounty Championship | 200,000 | 686 | 343,000 |
| #15 Asia Omaholic Championship | 100,000 | 121 | 121,000 |
| #16 Asia Deepstack Championship | 250,000 | 1,251 | 383,931 |
| #17 APTO Main Event | 2,000,000 | 3,611 | 2,744,360 |
| TOTAL | 5,788,300 | 37,994 | 8,294,932 |
APT LIVE ACTION
If you guys enjoyed the online APTO action, then think about how much more exciting all the events would be in a live environment. Players looking to dip their toes into the live poker arena should consider checking out the upcoming APT Phu Quoc 2023, running March 24 – April 2 at the Corona Resort & Casino in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.
Then there is the upcoming APT Taipei running April 28 – May 7 at the Asia Poker Arena in Taipei, Taiwan. This will be the biggest poker festival in the history of the Asian Poker Tour with the action-packed poker series featuring the TWD $50,000 (~USD $1,700) buy-in Main Event which boasts a TWD $30 million (~USD $1M) prize pool guarantee. Join us there as we usher the Asian Poker Tour into the new era!
NATURAL8 EXCLUSIVE LIVEX WINNERS
Congratulations are also in order for the Natural8 exclusive LiveX winners. In conjunction with APTO, Natural8 awarded more than USD $57,000 worth of prizes through its exclusive promotions, with every Natural8 player who won an APT Trophy also receiving an additional LiveX package worth up to USD $2,500.
Any player who won a trophy from any of the 16 numbered events received a LiveX package worth USD $1,500, with each LiveX package containing a USD $1,500 Main Event ticket, which can be used in the live APT Taiwan event in April 2023.
In addition to this, Natural8 also awarded a further 15 LiveX packages ranging in value from USD $2,500 to $1,000 for the top 15 Natural8 players who played in and scored points for as many APT Online events and side events as it was possible to play.
Congratulations to the prolific ‘Pete Chen’ who topped the leaderboard to claim the top USD $2,500 package after topping the Player of the Series Leaderboard – congratulations Pete and we will see you in Taipei in April!
APTO PLAYER OF THE SERIES LEADERBOARD
| Rank | Nickname | Country | Points | Prize |
| 1 | Pete Chen | Taiwan | 3,349.79 | $2,500 LiveX Package |
| 2 | NATURAL FRUITs | Singapore | 2,227.74 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 3 | Nevan Nn | Taiwan | 2,074.70 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 4 | Macadelic | Thailand | 2,043.87 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 5 | EDDIE LI | Taiwan | 1,509.74 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 6 | RaulGonzalezz | Austria | 1,508.39 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 7 | Lan_2140 | Hong Kong | 1,369.36 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 8 | Rondog | Costa Rica | 1,301.99 | $1,500 LiveX Package |
| 9 | Arcimboldo | Austria | 1,286.96 | $1,000 LiveX Package |
| 10 | JustGamble | Taiwan | 1,171.40 | $1,000 LiveX Package |
| 11 | SoyBoyCuck | Mexico | 1,158.98 | $1,000 LiveX Package |
| 12 | sh4m3l3ss | Austria | 1,157.49 | $1,000 LiveX Package |
| 13 | Liuxiaoyu_ | Taiwan | 1,090.56 | $1,000 LiveX Package |
| 14 | sickodoggy | Hong Kong | 1,017.84 | $1,000 LiveX Package |
| 15 | Tykei | Austria | 1,017.63 | $1,000 LiveX Package |