IAPLC 2026 Results: Chuanwei Yu Wins Grand Prize

The International Aquatic Plants Layout Contest announced its final world rankings on October 10, 2026. This year’s competition received 1,452 entries from 78 countries and areas, according to the official results announcement.

For aquascapers and enthusiasts, the reveal opens a new gallery of work to explore. The seven leading photographs offer striking variations on planted woodland scenes, with roots, branches, light and fish contributing to very different impressions of space.

Here are the principal results, a closer look at the award-winning aquascapes and the competition stories to follow next.

IAPLC 2026 Top 7: the leading awards

China and Vietnam each have two representatives in this group, with Japan, the Netherlands and Thailand completing the seven leading positions. Names and ranks follow the official IAPLC 2026 results; China is listed there as People’s Republic of China.

Grand Prize: Chuanwei Yu — 万物自然

The winning photograph creates a woodland scene anchored by substantial tree-like forms on either side. Roots extend into a foreground of planted stones, while finer branches overlap across the middle. A brighter opening behind the wood gives the eye a destination beyond the nearest structures.

Much of the visual interest lies in the changes of scale. Heavy trunks provide the principal silhouettes; smaller branches, low green growth and scattered foreground details make the spaces between them worth exploring. Blue-red fish remain conspicuous against the shaded timber, particularly on the right.

Viewed at full size, the work invites a slow journey through its layers. It is a photograph to revisit after the excitement of the ranking announcement has settled, following the routes between roots and noticing where planting connects one surface to the next.

Gold Prize: Ha Le Trinh — Fallen Genesis

Fallen Genesis establishes an intimate, shaded environment. Large wood forms frame the sides, while lower branches and planted surfaces overlap through the middle. Small openings behind the hardscape suggest further space without exposing the entire route at once.

The fish group is especially readable across the lower middle, where bright markings contrast with dark timber. Fine greenery and varied leaf shapes soften the roots while preserving their outlines.

For Ha Le Trinh, this result follows 15th place in IAPLC 2025. Readers can revisit that earlier work in the AquaLibs 2025 gallery and explore the creator’s recorded competition history through the linked profile above.

Silver Prize: Takashi Hosoda — Unseen Path

Unseen Path uses a pale central passage to draw the eye beneath a curtain of slender, hanging forms. Dark banks, leafy planting and an arch of branches frame the opening. Warmer foliage near the upper margins adds colour above the predominantly green lower scene, while fish form a visible line across the shaded middle.

Silver Prize: Marco Kowal — The Geometry of Weightlessness

This photograph gives horizontal space a prominent role. Long wood layers stretch across the aquarium, separated by bright openings and finer planting. The dark upper silhouettes contrast sharply with the light water behind them, while a pale fish group crosses the middle-left. The result rewards attention to the gaps between structures as much as to the timber itself.

Bronze Prize: Fan Zhe Min — 重生

A bright rear opening becomes the focal point of this layered wood composition. Long, fine leaves curve around it, while green-covered timber creates sloping surfaces below. Small reddish planting accents and blue-red fish introduce colour within the dominant greens. Their distribution helps connect the darker foreground with the lighter area beyond.

Bronze Prize: Minh Toan Nguyen — Adrift

Adrift surrounds a bright upper opening with a dense arrangement of trunks and branches. Dark wood on both sides makes the lighter centre feel distant, while finer fallen pieces create additional layers near the ground. The fish group occupies the darker middle-left, providing small flashes of colour within a scene dominated by green planting and timber.

Bronze Prize: Nobphacha Yimyou — MAGIC LEAVES

MAGIC LEAVES introduces a conspicuous canopy of broad red leaves near the surface. Below it, sweeping wood, fine branches and varied green planting create a richly layered setting. Small warm-toned fish are visible against the darker middle, while the pale foreground offers a quieter entrance into the composition.

These design observations are AquaLibs’ editorial reading of the published photographs, rather than explanations of the judges’ scoring.

A proud result for Vietnam, with depth beyond the leading awards

Vietnam’s two Top 7 finishes are accompanied by three more places in the Top 27: Minh Tran at rank 13, Quan Nguyenquang at rank 15 and Vo Truong Nghia at rank 16.

Our count of the official ranking gives Vietnam:

• 2 works in the Top 7
• 5 works in the Top 27
• 13 works at ranks 1–100
• 29 works at ranks 1–300

These figures describe ranked works within each band, not the number of submissions from Vietnam. The official list leaves rank 61 vacant, so the 1–100 band contains 99 ranked records overall.

The wider award group also provides plenty to explore. Across the Top 27, China has six places, Vietnam five, Japan four and the Republic of Korea three. India and Great Britain have two each, with one place each for the Netherlands, Thailand, Brazil, Malaysia and Germany. That makes 11 countries represented in the Top 27, based on the country labels in the published results.

Every one of those positions belongs to an individual creator. The numbers offer a starting point for discovery; the photographs provide the reason to keep looking.

Explore the works, then follow the creators on AquaRank

Start with the official IAPLC 2026 gallery to examine the newly revealed photographs, and consult the complete world ranking for the published results.

Then visit AquaRank to discover aquascapers and explore their recorded competition journeys. A single result tells us where one aquarium finished; earlier records and galleries offer a wider view of a creator’s work across seasons and contests.

For a comparison with the previous season, return to the AquaLibs IAPLC 2025 gallery or our 2025 style review. Compare how different works handle light behind wood, the transition from foreground to middle ground, and the space given to fish. Those details often become clearer on a second viewing.

Congratulations to the award winners and to the wider international community that contributed to this season. The announcement gives us the rankings; the coming days give us time to discover personal favourites throughout the gallery.

IAPLC 2026 WORLD RANKING