APL Road Series Vol.1 – Schedule – Day 1A Live Updates – Full Coverage
10:10pm: Day 1A ends with Eric Wasylenko as the leader
Day 1A concluded with only 6 players remaining out of the 30 total entries. Big names were sent packing which included Lester Edoc, Min Ho Lee, Mark Amparo, and Mike Takayama. Below are the survivors and their chip counts:
– Eric Wasylenko – Canada – 186,400
– Redentor Edoc – Philippines – 167,200
– Venoni “Bong” Paltep Jr – Philippines – 155,400
– Eun Ho Kwon – Korea – 136,000
– Kevin Han – Korea – 69,400
– Dennis Pineda – Philippines – 29,600
We will have a recap for you shortly so keep an eye out for that.
10pm: Kevin Han eliminates Jae Hung An
A few rounds ago, Korea’s Kevin Han was down to just 17k and managed to double up with pocket twos holding strong against A-J. During the last few hands of the day, he brought that stack up by booting out Jae Hung An with a dominating pocket aces over pocket tens.
9:10pm: Eric Wasylenko shuts the door on Mike Takayama
Mike Takayama’s day ended one round before bagging time with Eric Wasylenko delivering the boot. Takayama put his remaining 20k at risk holding pocket queens but Wasylenko clearly had his number with A-Q winning the race when the ace spiked on the board.
9pm: Jae Hung An survives two shoves
Jae Hung An was highly active early today but with a short stack before him at the later levels, his ability to get in the game was compromised. Maybe with the two double ups we just saw him ship in could get him back in action. The first double up he was all in on a flop of 
and was called big stacked Eun Ho Kwon. An had 
and Kwon with 
. The turn 
and river 
secured the win to bring him up to around 42k.
Prior to the second double up, An lost around 11k to Mike Takayama on a called bluff. On a full board of 
, Takayama called An’s river bet and won it with 
(king high) over An’s 
.
An made up the lost chips and more with a double up through Venoni Paltep. An shoved with 
and won the race against Paltep’s 
with the board running 
two pair.
8:50pm: No brakes for Eun Ho Kwon
Korea’s Eun Ho Kwon may seem quiet at the felt however his stack shows he’s been busy. With a big stack of yellows worth 5k each and several reds at 1k each, he is one of the chip leaders. Luckily we were able to catch one of his well-earned pots. From the big blind seat, Kwon raised it up from 1200 to 7500 putting the heat on the four players that limped in before him. Only Redentor Edoc called and they were off to the flop of 
.
Kwon continued to bet sliding out 10.5k, Edoc called. On the turn, he fired more bringing it up to a 35k bet but this time Edoc opted to fold.
845pm: Dennis Pineda triples up
One of the four local players at the felt is Dennis Pineda who has been sitting with a short stack for quite some time. After a couple of uncalled shoves that only awarded him the blinds and antes, his challenge was finally matched by Redentor Edoc and Mike Takayama. Both players proceeded to check down the board of 
and Pineda tripled up to 30k with his 
top pair.
8:30pm: Chip leaders at Level 10
– Venoni Paltep – 180k
– Redentor Edoc – 170k
– Eun Ho Kwon – 170k
8pm: Eric Wasylenko sends Mike Takayama’s towers tumbling
It has taken us some time to get this next update for you as dinner was calling, and upon our return, a major change in leadership had already taken place. Only 9 players remained with Mike Takayama no longer the chief. His towers of chips was shaved down to just 30k and the player that caused the damage was Eric Wasylenko.
With the help and great memory of the floor manager, he provided us with some of the details. Takayama raised preflop from the utg+1 seat and was called by three players – the button, sb (Wasylenko), and bb (Jae Hung An). At the flop 
, it was checked to Takayama who fired out a bet. The button player folded Wasylenko raised, bb folded, and Takayama moved all in with his massive stack holding 
pair/nut flush draw. Wasylenko called with 
set. The turn improved Takayama to two pair but with the river 
, Takayama lost the gamble and had to pay a huge double up.
6:45pm: Mike Takayama leads at the dinner break
The players are currently on a 40 minute dinner break and leading the 11 remaining players is none other than Filipino pro Mike Takayama with over 150K in chips. There were several hands that sent his stack soaring to the top; the first big one was a double up against Michael Kim Falcon. Takayama had 
, Falcon with and a community board of 
. Moments after, he took the rest of Falcon’s chips.
Takayama also won two hefty pots against Jae Hung An. He called An’s big-check raise on a turn board with three spades showing. Both players proceeded to check on the river and Takayama won with his mid-pair with An missing on a flush draw.
The other hand we caught at the flop of . With blinds at 300-600, An checked, Takayama bet 3k, An check-raised to 6k, and Takayama smooth-called. On the turn no bets came but on the river, Takayama bet 12.5k and An tossed in the call. Takayama won with set.
6:15pm: Mark Amparo hits the rail hard
The ladies in black are proving their worth today with a couple of players sent dejectedly to the rail. Their most recent victim was Mark Amparo of the Metro Card Club. On a jack-high flop with two spades, Amparo was all in with 
against Jae Hung An with 
. With the next two cards running spade-spade, it was a hard fall for Amparo losing to a flush.
6pm: The ladies send Venoni Paltep over six-digits
Local player Venoni Paltep is one of the last to enter before Day 1A registration closed and he worked fast boosting up his stack. Helping him on his way was winning a coin flip against two overcards. Paltep began the hand with a raise, was re-raised, then another player joined in with a four-bet shove. Only Paltep dared to call and turned over his that was ahead of his opponent’s . The board bricked and Paltep shipped it. While this sent his stack to the six-digit range, fifteen minutes later he had much more, charging up to 145K.
5:30pm: Eric Wasylenko stacking it up
Canadian player Eric Wasylenko is not a familiar face in the Asian circuit with his poker skills tested mostly in North America and Europe. Early this month, he ventured to Asia and was seen here in the Philippines attending the Manila Super Series. Although his stats don’t reflect his results on Hendon Mob, Wasylenko took 4th in the Warm Up event and 54th at the Main Event.
At the currently ongoing series, he is at the felt and sitting comfortably with nearly four times the starting stack after claiming one head with pocket kings improving to a set against a player on an open-ended gamble that missed. Shortly after, he picked up another sizable pot to bring him up to around 90K.
4pm: Michael Kim Falcon doubles up
Denmark’s Michael Kim Falcon is undoubtedly one of the more aggressive players at the felt. Always hungry for action, sometimes his style of play can cost him early in the game. Luckily, most events allow for re-entries. At the ongoing Main Event, Falcon is already on his second bullet and we recently caught him shipping in a double up.
On a raised pot preflop, and a board showing , Falcon quickly followed one all in player with his up against 
. With next two cards 
and 
, he avoided the rail with a running two pair.
For a brief background on the Dane, he was once a boxer in his younger years which is likely why he is a hard-hitter at the felt. He attends numerous poker festivals around the Asian region, and among his more recent achievements, he finished 3rd at the APT Kickoff Vietnam High Rollers event in January. He earned over US$16K. His largest score was at the PokerStars Festival Manila 2017 Main Event where placed 3rd for a payout of around US$48,700.
3pm: Cards in the Air
Cards are flying here at the the APL Road Series Vol.1 Philippines with the first three levels of Main Event Day 1A breezing by. So far 18 have signed up however more are expected with registration open until the start of Level 7.
One of the most decorated Asian pros at the felt right now is Philippine player Mike Takayama. Takayama recently crushed the Manila Super Series winning both the opener and the Main Event. He earned himself a PokerStars Players Championship Platinum Pass worth US$30,000. Another well-known figure in the Asian circuit also battling it out today is Denmark’s Michael Kim Falcon.
Information players need to know… we are at the Royce Hotel & Casino at the Clark Freeport Zone in Angeles City. The event is being held at the ballroom, just follow the signs posted all around the facility. Buy-in to the Main Event is P27,500 which starts you off with a 25,000 stack. Blinds increase every 40 minutes. Regulation play for all starting days is 12 rounds, which is exactly eight hours. Halfway through the day there will be a 40 minute dinner break.
For those looking to enter on the the other starting days, you can enjoy one of the side events on offer. The Warm Up event kicks off at 5pm. Buy-in is 5,500. There will also be a High Roller Satellite at 7pm. Buy-in is P3,300.
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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