APT Joins WSOP 2026 as Official Livestream Partner, Launches $15,000 Taipei Championship Giveaway
The Asian Poker Tour (APT), Asia's largest regular tour, has joined the official livestream coverage of the 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP). On May 21, the APT announced a new partnership with the WSOP, under which it will feature its brand on official broadcasts and send guest commentators throughout the 2026 WSOP, running May 26 to July 15 at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas casinos. Alongside the partnership, the APT also launched a $15,000 (approximately KRW 20.4 million) package giveaway centered on its APT Championship 2026 in Taipei this November.
APT Logo Featured on WSOP Livestream
The centerpiece of the partnership is exposure on the WSOP's official broadcasts. The 2026 WSOP will be streamed for free throughout the summer on the official WSOP YouTube channel, and under the partnership the APT logo will appear on featured livestream tables. Special guests from the tour will also join selected commentary broadcasts. By attaching its name to the WSOP — the world's largest poker brand — as an Asian tour, the APT has created an opportunity to significantly raise its international profile. The APT is sponsored by online poker room Natural8.
A Paris Las Vegas Booth and a Lion-Themed Giveaway
The APT will operate a dedicated booth inside the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino throughout the WSOP. Players and fans visiting the booth can sign up for the tour and enter a special competition for a $15,000 APT Championship 2026 package. The package consists of a $10,000 seat to the $5,000,000 (approximately KRW 6.8 billion) guaranteed APT Championship 2026 Main Event Freezeout, plus $5,000 in travel and accommodation support. Entry is open to everyone worldwide, regardless of whether they are attending in Las Vegas, by creating and posting a lion-inspired image on Facebook, Instagram, or X using the hashtags #APTContest and #APTC2026 between May 26 and July 15.
APT Championship 2026 Heads to Taipei
The giveaway's final destination, the APT Championship 2026, runs November 13 to 29 at Red Space in Taipei, Taiwan. The Main Event is a $5,000,000 guaranteed freezeout, the pinnacle of the APT's flagship festival. The tour set a non-Championship record at its Taipei festival earlier this year with 26,009 entries and a $19.1 million (approximately KRW 26 billion) prize pool — a seventh consecutive festival record — raising expectations for the November Championship.
Why It Matters: An Asian Tour Goes Global
The partnership reflects a broader trend of Asian poker tours expanding their footprint on the global stage. WSOP coverage has long been centered on the United States and Europe, so an Asian regular tour earning an official partner role signals a shift in the standing of Asia's poker scene. At the same time, the lion-themed social media giveaway is read as a strategy to channel the global player base gathering in Las Vegas toward the November Taipei stage. By promoting the APT Championship through the world's biggest poker stage and offering its seat as a prize, the structure aims to serve as a bridge connecting the Asian and global scenes.
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