Manila, Philippines, January 2017 – After five days of APT Main Event action, Japan’s Takumi Samejima entered the Final 8 running second in chips, and after a stellar performance at the heads up round, he captured his first-ever championship title. Samejima earned the US$38,020 first place purse, the APT championship trophy, and the APT Championship Ring.

APT Kick Off 2017 Main Event Champion, Takumi Samejima

Samejima has been playing cash games and home games for a few years but impressively, this is just his third live tournament appearance. He learned poker through Japanese player GACKT who was also at the Final 8 today. Before Samejima headed for celebration, we were able to have a short Q&A with the champion.

APT: Entering the Final 8, what was your strategy coming in second in chips?