APPT9 Manila has started!

MANILA, Philippines—Pokerstars Live at City of Dreams

By KomishAirms

Manila is bracing itself for an influx of what is touted to be a record field as the ninth edition of the Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila officially got underway here. The eleven day poker spectacle is expected to draw hundreds of participants from across the globe to see action in fourteen events highlighted by the PhP50,000 (approx. US$1,100) Main Event which commences on August 6th.

Warm Up Event

This early, competitors have already made their way to this posh venue many taking part in the first tester: the PhP10,000 (approx. US$225) Warm Up wherein combatants can get a feel of the field as well as acclimatize to the tournament structures, the players’ styles and maybe even the unpredictable Philippine weather. Day 1A already brought in 126 entries with Day 1B and Day 1C still to be played out.

APPT9 has started at PokerStars Live Manila, City of Dreams

Notable players 

Among the notable players seen at the tables then were local sensations such as two-time Filipino Poker Tour (FPT) champion Kent del Rosario, Flo Campomanes—hendonmob.com’s fifth all-time in the Philippine money list, 2012 Philippine Poker Tour Player of the Year Martin Corpus, online phenom Mark Benasa and the deepest filipino casher in this year’s staging of the WSOP Main Event: Boyet Drilon. The lovely Celina Lin is also leading a phalanx of Team Pokerstars Pros which include Japan’s Kosei Ichinose, Korea’s Young Shin-Im, Aditya Agarwal of India, Bryan Huang of Hong Kong.

93 Satellites qualifiers for the Main Event

Pokerstars Live has also released its list of 93 satellite qualifiers for the Main Event; seats attained through various methods from online freerolls to podium finishes in the recently concluded major tournaments here. Sixteen Filipino entries garnered success in their efforts, among them the Godfather of Philippine poker Wally “The Dream” Sombero, tournament veteran Edwin Marzan, former FPT Final Table campaigner Rey Concepcion and online qualifiers Casimero Balog-ang, Jason Gemanil and Jerwin Pasco.

Sunday will also see a local player catapulted to the Main Event as the PilipinasPoker APPT Tournament Leaderboard Series plays out its finale. From a field of over two hundred participants playing a mix of live and online legs over the last seven weeks, only the top 30 points earners remain to compete for the berth to the Main Event.

More action expected in the coming days

The first of August ushers in the first of the major side events as the PhP20,000 Deepstack NLHE—a known favorite of many who will also be playing in the Main Event while Sunday (August 2nd) not only has the final day of the Warm Up but also brings to the forefront two contrasting events in the PhP2,000 Re-Buy NLHE and the PhP15,000 Deepstack PLO.

The budget conscious player will welcome Monday’s events as the PhP2,500 Bounty NLHE and the PhP5,000 Freezeout NLHE take centerstage while the lone event on Tuesday features the much anticipated Day 1 of the PhP25,000 6-Max Freezeout NLHE.

The eve of the Main Event brings in the second Freezeout NLHE but this time with a buy-in of PhP10,000. The Main Event Mega Satellite (PhP10,000 buy-in with ten seats guaranteed) punctuates the Wednesday festivities. When Day 1A of the Main Event kicks off, the remaining five events will be played out over the final weekend: the PhP10,000 Turbo NLHE (Friday, August 7th), the PhP10,000 Shootout NLHE, the PhP25,000 Megastack Freezeout (both on Saturday, August 8th) and the PhP200,000 High-Roller as well as PhP15,000 KO Bounty (both on Sunday, August 9th).

A multitude of Steps and Satellite tourneys are also scattered all throughout the endeavour where aspirants can obtain that PhP50,000 Main Event seat for as little as PhP1,000 (approx. US$22).