The Singapore Poker Championships
SPC XX
Event Report
March 6–8, 2026 | MV Aegean Paradise
The Singapore Poker Championships marked a milestone weekend with its 20th edition, as SPC XX once again set sail aboard the MV Aegean Paradise. A packed schedule, deep fields, and no shortage of dramatic showdowns ensured the landmark installment lived up to the occasion. When the dust settled, three new champions had etched their names into SPC lore. Henry Hoo finally broke through for his first SPC title by taking down the Mini-Roller, Jeff Chang stunned the field by overcoming SPC legend Lim Yan Ming to win the Natural8 Main Event, and Edwin Tan powered his way to the Mystery Bounty trophy.
The Mini-Roller
The Mini-Roller got the weekend underway at 8:30pm on Friday night, attracting 51 entrants and assembling a final table packed with familiar SPC faces. Among those in the money were Muthukumaran “Kumar” Govindasamy, Danilo Perisic (making back-to-back Mini-Roller final tables), Liew Kok Kong, defending champion Samson Yu, Poh Leng Wee, and Henry Hoo, who had finished 4th in the same event just one edition earlier.
Henry began six-handed play with the chip lead, but it was Samson Yu who quickly seized the initiative after the bubble burst. Paul Wee was the first to fall in 6th—his pocket eights unable to outrun ace-king—while Samson methodically chipped up by picking off several small-to-medium pots with his trademark aggression.
Samson’s momentum, however, would prove short-lived. After two costly hands dented his stack, he was forced all-in holding A8, only to find Kumar’s KJ waiting. The board of 6-6-T-J-5 gave Kumar the decisive pair, and the defending champion exited in 5th.
Kumar rode that momentum into the chip lead four-handed, but the action soon swung back Henry’s way. SPC powerhouse Liew Kok Kong was next to depart when his K♣8♣ all-in pre-flop picked up a wealth of outs on a 4♠ T♣ 6♣ flop. Henry’s A♠J♠ suddenly had plenty to sweat, but the turn and river bricked out to send Kok Kong to the rail in 4th place for S$4,400.
Moments later, Henry struck again. Danilo Perisic’s back-to-back Mini-Roller final table run came to an end when his 88 ran into Henry’s TT pre-flop. The tens held, and Danilo walked away with S$5,700 for 3rd.
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Holding a 2:1 chip advantage entering heads-up play against Kumar, Henry wasted no time closing things out. On the very first hand, the chips went in pre-flop with A5 for Henry and 77 for Kumar. The A-6-3 flop flipped the script instantly, leaving Kumar drawing thin. The 3 turn and T river sealed the result, awarding Kumar S$10,000 for his runner-up finish.
For Henry Hoo, the victory marked a long-awaited milestone. One of the most consistent performers on the SPC circuit finally claimed his first SPC title, along with S$17,000 and the Mini-Roller trophy.
The Natural8 Main Event
The Natural8 Main Event began at 2pm on Friday, with the final flight closing in the early hours of Sunday morning at 3am. Across four starting flights, a total of 203 runners took their shot at SPC glory. In a first for the series, Flight 1A played down to the money, adding an extra layer of intensity from the outset. As usual, players who qualified more than once collected a S$1,500 bonus for each additional bag.
The final table assembled a fascinating mix of SPC veterans and rising contenders: Jeff Chang, Triple Crown winner Alphonse Lim, Oliveiro Marc Christopher, Dixon Pang, Adam Seyer, John Koh, Woon Bao Sheng, Siarhel Chukapal, and Dickson Chew.
Short-stacked Dickson Chew was first to fall, his AQ unable to connect against Alphonse Lim’s AK. Alphonse was just getting warmed up. An orbit later, he repeated the trick, once again tabling AK to dispatch Siarhel Chukapal’s AQ, sending Siarhel out in 8th place.
Next to go was Woon Bao Sheng, whose attempted Q4 button steal ran into Adam Seyer’s AK in the big blind. The board brought no help, and Bao Sheng exited in 7th. Shortly after, John Koh’s JT ran squarely into Dixon Pang’s A9, ending Koh’s maiden Main Event final-table appearance in 6th.
With five players remaining, Alphonse Lim had firmly established himself as the table captain. His third knockout soon followed when Adam Seyer’s A6 failed to outrun Alphonse’s 33, sending Seyer to the rail in 5th. Not long after, Dixon Pang joined him, his K7 falling victim to yet another AK from Alphonse—the third time the hand had been tabled by him at the final table.
The final hand soon followed. Jeff opened from the button and Alphonse made the call. The flop came A-7-5, and Jeff continued with a bet which Alphonse called. Jeff fired again on the 6 turn, and Alphonse once more stuck around. When the 2 hit the river, Jeff moved all-in. After burning through three time banks, Alphonse made the crying call—only to see Jeff table A7 for two pair.
With that, Jeff Chang toppled one of SPC’s greatest champions to claim the SPC XX Natural8 Main Event title, along with S$22,400 and his first SPC trophy.
