APPT Manila 2019 is in the books and to say it was a huge success was an understatement. For the first time, the festival took place in Okada Manila at the PokerStars LIVE newest hub. Over the course of ten days, running from July 26 to August 4, the poker area overflowed with every seat taken up daily. According to the APPT final wrap, it was the richest event ever held in the Philippines. The series drew 5,740 entries amassing a grand prize pool worth ₱ 210,185,984 equivalent to US$ 4M.
Late last night, Florencio Campomanes clinched the coveted Main Event title thus becoming the first Filipino player to ever do so. Campomanes overcame a field of 1,135 entries and shipped the lion’s share ₱ 11,092,500 (US$ 213,600) out of the incredible ₱ 64,405,575 (US$ 1,240,000) prize pool. Several events also concluded with players awarded the last of the trophies.
We’ve got those results for you below along with completed events of the days prior.
₱200,000 APPT High Roller NLH Re-entry
The second largest prize pool of the festival was the ₱200,000 buy-in APPT High Roller NLH Re-entry event running from August 3 to 4. It drew a star-studded 175 entries with pros from all over the world in attendance. Only 27 players were guaranteed a piece of the massive ₱ 31,403,750 (US$ 607,900) prize pool. Among the pros cashing in were Wayne Heung (11th), Xingbiao Zhu (17th), Phacahra Wongwichit (22nd), Pete Yen Han Chen (24th), and Wayne Weiyi Zhang (27th).
Running deeper and into the final elliptic were a couple of well known Korean players, Jeonggyu Cho and J88Poker owner Ji Woon Kim. While Cho would finish in a respectable 6th place, Kim went much further, pushing his stack to 4th place. For a large part of the final two tables, Kim held a commanding chip lead, however at five-handed, India’s Kanishka Samant picked up a couple of sizable pots, one with a set to overtake Kim. Samant eventually became Kim’s downfall to grow to an enormous lead.
At three-handed, Samant railed China’s Tianliang Guan with 
spiking an ace on the river to defeat 
. Samant and China’s Ruihong Tao immediately struck a deal that guaranteed Samant ₱ 6,484,420 (US$ 125,000) and Tao ₱ 5,166,580 (US$ 99,500). With no money to play for, it was a battle for the trophy. Samant went on to win it to capture his first-ever APPT title and the largest live score of his career.
The final 9 payouts are as follows:
1st Kanishka Samant (India) – ₱ 6,484,420
2nd Ruihong Tao (China) – ₱ 5,166,580
3rd Tianliang Guan (China) ₱ 3,231,000
4th Ji Woon Kim (Korea) – ₱ 2,635,000
5th Hao He (China) – ₱ 2,101,000
6th Jeonggyu Cho (Korea) – ₱ 1,614,000
7th Tsun Ming Chan (Hong Kong) – ₱ 1,175,000
8th Jiayu Ruan (China) – ₱ 851,000
9th Kian Chan (Malaysia) – ₱ 703,750
₱150,000 High Roller One Day Event: Winner – Ivan Hon Cheong Lee
Event 15 was the ₱15,000 buy-in (US$ 2,900) High Roller One Day Event which ran on August 1. It drew 115 runners to generate another lucrative series pot worth ₱ 15,728,550 (US$ 304,500). The top seventeen players grabbed their respective share. Earning the victory was the only Hong Kong player at the final table, Ivan Hon Cheong Lee. After a deal was struck with runner-up Gary Joseph Thompson, Lee went on to win and became ₱ 3,631,500 (US$ 70,300) richer. This was another great result for Lee who also shipped a High Roller title at last year’s APPT Manila.
The final 9 payouts are as follows:
1st Ivan Hon Cheong Lee (Hong Kong) – ₱ 3,631,500 (US$ 70,300) – deal made
2nd Gary Joseph Thompson (Ireland) – ₱ 3,000,000 (US$ 58,100) – deal made
3rd Yuwen Pan (China) – ₱ 1,738,000
4th Jiang Wang (China) – ₱ 1,439,000
5th Tian Jin (China) – ₱ 1,161,000
6th Bobby Zhang (Australia) – ₱ 915,500
7th Soo Jo Kim (South Korea) – ₱ 700,000
8th Daniel Furnival (Ireland) – ₱ 527,000
9th Kaitan Tang (China) – ₱ 392,550
₱33,000 Saturday Superstack NLH Freezeout ₱2,000,000 Guarantee
One of the last events drawing a big crowd was the two-day Saturday Superstack NLH Freezeout event. For a mid-sized buy-in of ₱ 33,000 (US$ 640), players had a chance at a ₱ 2M guaranteed pot. With 347 ponying up, the prize pool was more than they bargained for as it quintupled to a much sweeter ₱ 9,996,723 (US$ 193,500). After a grueling final day battle running past the midnight hour, the final four players opted to split the money evenly and award the big stacked Kei Takazawa the win + ₱ 100 more. The event saw 41 players in the money.
The final 9 payouts are as follows:
1st Kei Takazawa (Japan) – ₱ 1,574,400 (deal made)
2nd John Niko Costiniano (Philippines) – ₱ 1,574,300 (deal made)
3rd Vamerdino Magsakay (Philippines) – ₱ 1,574,300 (deal made)
4th Liang Song (China) – ₱ 725,000
5th Kim Michael Enriquez (Philippines) – ₱ 525,000
6th Alexis Wenceslao Lim (Philippines) – ₱ 425,000
7th Da Quan (China) – ₱ 335,000
8th Sandro Bruni (Italy) – ₱ 285,000
9th Sean Chung Howe Tan (Singapore) – ₱ 233,723
Other events
Event 14 – ₱15,000 (US$ 290) NLH Megastack Turbo Freezeout
Entries: 161
Prize pool: ₱2,108,295 (US$ 40,800)
Winner: Kang Fang Lien (Taiwan) – ₱ 448,000 (US$ 8,600)
Event 17: ₱10,000 (US$ 195) NLH Hyper Turbo Re-entry
Entries: 62
Prize pool: ₱529,232 (US$ 10,250)
Winner: Ronald Morfe (Philippines) – ₱ 174,600 (US$ 3,380)
Event 18: ₱15,000 NLH (US$ 290) NLH Hyper Turbo Freezeout
Entries: 121
Prize pool: ₱1,584,495 (US$ 30,700)
Winner: Teck Heng Chua (Singapore) – ₱ 419,900 (US$ 8,130)
Event 19: Re-buy Charity Event ₱300,000 Guarantee
Entries: 240
Prize pool: ₱1,024,320 (US$ 20,000)
Donation: ₱ 228,000
Winner: Sunmoon Kim (Korea) – ₱ 266,300 (US$ 5,160)
Event 22: ₱5,000 Flipout
Entries: 90
Prize pool: ₱ 392,850 (US$ 7,600)
Winner: Masaru Abe (Japan) – ₱ 114,900 (US$ 2,200)
Event 23: ₱ 25,000 NLH Shot Clock Single Re-entry
Entries: 200
Prize pool: ₱ 4,365,000 (US$ 84,500)
Winner: Fukutomi Shinya (Japan) – ₱ 1,069,500 (US$ 20,700)
Event 24: ₱10,000 6+NLH Turbo Re-entry
Entries: 163
Prize pool: ₱ 1,391,368 (US$ 27,000)
Winner: Seongsu Kong (Korea) – ₱ 296,650 (US$ 5,730)
Event 25: ₱200,000 High Roller 6+ NLH Shot Clock Turbo
Entries: 9
Prize pool: ₱ 1,658,700 (US$ 32,100)
Winner: Kagami Bokuto (Japan) – ₱ 829,400 (US$ 16,000)
Article by Tricia David
Louis Hartwell
Graduated in Media Communication at the University of Lausanne, Louis Hartman is a co-founder of somuchpoker.com. He began his career in Cambodia as freelance journalist. In same time he was making his living by playing poker every night at that time. Intense learner, he read dozens of poker strategy books to improve his skills during many years. With a strong interest about poker "behind the scene" in Asia and his communication skills, Louis launched Somuchpoker in 2014.
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