Tian Zhi Kong - GOP Main Event champion
China's Tian Zhi Kong wasn't in radar at the start of the final day, entering the final 12 lineup as a clear underdog among a field stacked with established pros.
Wedged in the middle of the pack, Kong quietly climbed the ranks, then defeated Li Yin at heads up to become the first-ever Gods of Poker Main Event champion, earning him the right to hoist the Black-and-Gold Gauntlet. Along with the glory, and trophy, Kong locked up the largest payout deal of KR₩ 187,290,000 (~USD 127,000).
| Final 9 Payouts | |||
| 1 | Tian Zhi Kong | 187,290,000 | $128,000 |
| 2 | Li Yin | 111,270,000 | $75,591 |
| 3 | Meng Ling Lin | 112,780,000 | $76,617 |
| 4 | Kazuki Okamoto | 60,530,000 | $41,121 |
| 5 | Elmer Kalaquian | 45,990,000 | $31,243 |
| 6 | Peng Deng | 36,240,000 | $24,620 |
| 7 | Czardy Rivera | 29,370,000 | $19,952 |
| 8 | Jia Xin Wang | 24,340,000 | $16,535 |
| 9 | Joshua Figuerres | 20,550,000 | $13,961 |
Event Recap
The Gods of Poker Main Event took place from December 8–13, 2025 at LES A Casino, anchored by a bold KR₩ 1,000,000,000 (~USD 700,000) prize pool. Debuting the brand’s signature Cronus Structure, the tournament drew 481 entries across four starting flights, with strong representation from China, Taiwan, and Japan, all eager to put the new format to the test.
When the final flight closed, just 67 players remained in the money. And after another day of eliminations, only 12 returned on the final day. In just under 1.5 hours of play, Tao Wei Chang, Dongying Ling, and Jiang Wang all fell to miss their chance at a coveted final table seat.
Final table action was fierce with raises at nearly every deal This led to the first elimination with Joshua Figuerres walking away on a brutal bad beat. Short stacked Jia Xin Wang was bounced out next when Meng Ling Lin's rags improved to outdraw his better opening hand.
Czardy Rivera started the day at the bottom of the counts and laddered up to secure a seat at the final table. His run ended in 7th place with Peng Deng ahead all throughout.
Despite Deng's boost in chips, he met the rail next in 6th place, falling to Lin's straight on the flop. Flipping into 5th place was Elmer Kalaquian, his bust out ended all hope of a Filipino champion.
Four-handed saw the rise of Kong and the crash of Okamoto in 4th place. As one of the most aggressive players of the final day, Okamoto's run ended on a cooler against Yin.
Final three players
The final three battle was action-packed leading to Kong stealing the top spot for the first time. The players eventually struck an ICM deal then played for additional cash and all the laurels that came with the inaugural title.
Lin was stopped by Yin in 3rd place with his kicker in play to establish heads up. Yin started off with 70 big blinds to Kong's 15 big blinds. After Kong landed two double ups, Yin's stack plunged to just 3 big blinds then lost it all on the next hand to finish in 2nd place.
Congratulations to Tian Zhi Kong for his triumph at the Main Event!
Lin