The Ace Poker League (APL) is a Korean-founded live tour that runs mid-stakes festivals across Jeju, Osaka, Taipei and Manila, with Main Events usually priced around $1,000–$1,200 and guarantees in the ¥35M–₩1.2B range. It sits a rung below the Asian Poker Tour on price, and it’s one of the few Asian circuits where a ¥20 online satellite on Natural8 can realistically put you in a seven-figure-guarantee Main Event.
APL started life in 2016 as the Asia Poker League under founder Judic Kim, with a stated goal of getting more Koreans onto the international circuit. Its first stop was a tie-up with the Beijing Poker Cup; the Philippines followed in 2018, then Vietnam and Taiwan. During the pandemic it became Korea’s largest domestic live tour, running events in Seoul, Daegu and Seongnam, and it later rebranded to the Ace Poker League while keeping the APL initials.
How big is APL now?
Bigger than most players outside Korea realise. According to tour stats compiled by Somuchpoker, APL’s 2025 season paid out roughly $5.6 million across 206 events and flights, from 14,433 entries. By mid-2026 it had already passed $4.3 million across 213 events and flights. The 2026 Jeju stop was the tour’s 10th-anniversary festival.
| 2026 stop | Dates | Venue | Headline number |
|---|---|---|---|
| APL Jeju | June 19–28 | LES A Casino, Jeju Shinhwa World | ₩1.5M Main, ₩1.2B GTD |
| APL x P1 Osaka II | Aug 12–16 | Hilton Osaka | ¥35M Main GTD, ¥100M total |
| APL Seoul Series | Oct, Nov & Dec 2026 | Seoul | ₩2.3B GTD across three legs (₩400M, ₩400M, ₩1.5B) |
Taipei and Manila are recurring stops too: APL Taipei 2025 carried NT$45 million (about $3M) in guarantees, and Japan’s Mitsuki Sakimoto won the 2025 APL Manila Main Event for roughly $166,700. Check the official APL site for the next dates. It publishes schedules in English, Korean and Chinese.
What an APL festival actually costs
Jeju 2026 shows the usual price ladder. The ₩1,500,000 (~$1,150) Main Event ran six Day 1 flights (standard and turbo) from June 23–26 and finished on June 28. The festival had 38 events in total. Above the Main sat a ₩3M High Roller and a ₩6M Super High Roller, plus a ₩1M “GGPK Zodiac” Mystery Bounty with a ₩200M+ guarantee and a WSOP Main Event package as one of the envelopes.
Budget realistically. At a Jeju stop, a traveller firing two Main Event bullets plus a couple of sides will spend $3,000–$4,000 in buy-ins before flights and a Shinhwa World room. That’s still well under an APT stop, where the Jeju Main is ₩2.7M. If you’re weighing both tours, our Jeju poker rooms guide covers the casino floors outside festival weeks.
The cheap route in: Natural8 satellites
APL’s online partner is Natural8. For Jeju 2026 it guaranteed 200 Main Event seats through daily satellites running up to the festival’s start. Step entries started from ¥20 CNY, and online qualifiers who cashed got a 10% bonus on their payout for the anniversary. Two “Road to WSOP Glory” satellites on site each awarded a seat to the WSOP.
The satellite lobby usually opens a few weeks before each stop. Seats are awarded as tournament entries, so book your own travel. Want to get a Natural8 account funded in time for the next satellite run? Message @PAGDaddyBot and it’ll walk you through deposit options for your country.
The Korea catch nobody mentions
Jeju’s casinos, LES A included, are foreigner-only, so Korean passport holders can’t simply walk in and register. That’s why the domestic APL Seoul Series matters: its three legs, hosted with the Korea Tournament Holdem Association, are where most Korean regulars play, and the December leg alone carries a ₩1.5B guarantee. For the overseas stops, APL also runs with “Overseas Day One” flights at domestic venues such as ES Studio Balsan and Poker Son’s Seomun branch. Koreans should read each stop’s rules before assuming a seat carries over. For everyone else (Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Filipino and Southeast Asian players), Jeju is visa-light and routinely produces the biggest APL fields. Our Seoul poker rooms and Osaka poker rooms guides cover the local scenes around the other two stops.
Ace Poker League FAQ
Is the Ace Poker League the same as the Asian Poker Tour?
No. APL (Ace Poker League) is a separate Korean-founded tour. The Asian Poker Tour (APT) is a different organisation with higher Main Event buy-ins, though both run festivals at Jeju’s LES A Casino.
How much is an APL Main Event buy-in?
Usually about $1,000–$1,200. APL Jeju 2026 charged ₩1,500,000, and Osaka stops are priced in yen with a ¥35M Main Event guarantee.
Can I qualify for APL online?
Yes. Natural8 runs APL satellites before major stops. For Jeju 2026 it guaranteed 200 Main Event seats, with step entries from ¥20 CNY.
Can Korean players enter APL Jeju?
Jeju casinos are foreigner-only, so Korean nationals generally can’t register on site. APL runs “Overseas Day One” flights in Korea instead. Check the specific stop’s rules.
Where does APL run in 2026?
Confirmed 2026 stops include Jeju (June 19–28), Osaka with P1 (Aug 12–16) and a three-leg Seoul Series from October to December with ₩2.3B guaranteed. Taipei and Manila have been regular stops in past seasons.
Who founded the Ace Poker League?
Judic Kim founded it in 2016 as the Asia Poker League. It later rebranded to the Ace Poker League and kept the APL name.