Stars, Regulars, and Fresh Faces Light Up GOP Incheon Day 1

Gods of Poker has officially arrived in Incheon, South Korea with Day 1 of GOP Incheon: The Prophecy Unfolds now in the books.

Taking place inside the luxurious Paradise City Casino, opening day drew a mix of stars, regulars, and newcomers with several finding success.

As expected, the Japanese contingent immediately made their presence felt in both numbers and results, capturing four of the festival's first six trophies. We've got those highlights and more down below.

Yamamoto, Edoc Bag Big at GOP Olympians

The first major multi-day event of the series got underway with the GOP Olympians attracting 145 entries across four entry flights.

With only the top 13.5% per flight advancing to the ITM stage, the cumulative 22 survivors were set and now guaranteed a piece of the KRW 83,520,000 (~USD 57,000) prize pool.

Bagging the biggest stacks were Japan's Ryoma Yamamoto and Filipino star player Lester Edoc, both positioning themselves strongly for a deep run when play resumes.

Ryoma Yamamoto

GOP newcomer Yamamoto topped Flight A with a stack of 1,302,000 worth 108 big blinds entering the final day. Yamamoto was the demise of numerous players including the knockout bubble blow to Whan Benjamin Heisler with pocket Aces over pocket Kings, both players landing sets on the board.

Lester Edoc

Edoc also caused a shocker at Flight B. After he cleaned out Takashi Abe on the soft bubble with pocket aces over ace-jack, Edoc muscled with his big stack then got lucky on Boris Sun during the bubble stage.

Edoc four-bet shoved with King-Five suited and Sun called for his tournament life with Ace-King. The board dropped two Fives on the flop for instant trips to Edoc and a stack of 1,280,000 (106 big blinds) after the runout.

Yohn Paredes

Also slipping through was Yohn Paredes, and by his own admission, he barely made it.

"I was short stack all day and was surprised I even made it through. I really don't even know why I was still there."

Paredes has been fiercely hunting the GOP Olympian title ever since he finished runner-up at the brand's launch in Jeju back in December, and the hunger to go one better has followed him to every stop since. Paredes bagged up 126,000 (12 big blinds).

For the survivors list and seat draw, click here.

Unlike Paredes, not everyone made it through. Joseph Cheong, Dylan Foster, Bo Jin, and Haibo Yang were among the notable fallouts — with Yang falling on the bubble at the final flight.

Action resumes on Saturday, May 16 at 12:30 PM and will play until a champion is crowned. Everyone is guaranteed to earn a minimum KRW 1,085,000 (~USD 740) while up top is a juicy KRW 20,442,000 (~USD 14,000).

For the prize pool and payouts, click here.

Day 1 Winners

Toda Miyuki

At the side events, Japan's Toda Miyuki emerged victorious at Event #3: Single Day High Roller. Trailing at the start of heads-up play, Toda mounted a comeback and defeated Kenji Arai. She became the first player in GOP Incheon to capture the cool Spartan trophy.

Alfie Adam

Not to be outdone, UK's Alfie Adam continued his extraordinary run that started back in December, adding another trophy to his collection. Adam shipped Event #7: 6-Card PL Omaha Hyper Turbo and is now at par with back-to-back GOP Player of the Series winner, Martijn Gerrits, both players with 11 GOP trophies.

Something tells us, Adam isn't done. His sights are set for #12.

Demigods Challenge Up Next

The festival’s first major high roller showdown is up next. The Demigods Challenge which runs on May 16. This is the most expensive event in the GOP Incheon lineup with a buy-in of KRW 14,700,000 (~USD 10,000).

As the first Gauntlet event of the series, the winner will earn the newly upgraded Black Gauntlet trophy, which exudes every measure of mightiness and is one of the prestigious hardware of the GOP.

So far, only three players have ever captured one:

• Nam Michael Seunghyun (GOP Jeju)
• Marc Rivera (GOP Taipei)
• Wouter Beltz (GOP Phnom Penh)

Rivera is expected to arrive in Incheon with history on the line as he attempts to become the first player ever to win two Gauntlets.

Main Event Is Coming, Unlock 50% Rake Reward

The biggest prize of GOP Incheon is just around the corner. The GOP Main Event — carrying a KRW 700,000,000 (~USD 480,000) guarantee and the coveted Black-and-Gold Gauntlet trophy — gets underway on May 18. Two more days to warm up before the flagship event takes center stage.

Good news to all, there is extra value on the table, a 50% rake reward! This applies only to the first GOP Main Event Flight A entry.

To claim it, create a GOP Player Account at godsofpoker.com/sign-up, submit proof of attendance before the reward expiry, and prepay your Flight A entry on or before May 17, 2026. The reward is yours instantly upon registration.

The clock is ticking. Get registered early and get rewarded.

For the GOP Main Event rewards, click here.

For the GOP Main Event Flight A info, click here.

Links:

GOP Incheon - Schedule
GOP Incheon - Photos
GOP Incheon - Champions