The Manila Megastack run by PokerStars is always one of the key events on the calendar when it comes to live poker in Asia and this latest edition has been no exception.
The final river card has been turned and the final trophy has now been awarded, so allow us to bring you all the action from PokerStars Live Manila, Philippines.
₱33,000 Main Event – Winner: Hiroshi Naito
While not always providing the biggest buy in of the festival the Main Event is still the event everyone wants to win.
The fact that the Main Event at the Megastack offered over ₱2 million to the winner only strengthened its status in that regard, with 435 players paying the ₱33,000 (US$636) required to occupy a chair. This helped the prize pool to grow to ₱12,531,915 (US$241,346).
It is only fitting that an event of this size hosted in the Philippines should have one of its country’s stars of the game taking a seat at the final table. This tournament offered exactly that, with John Tech putting together an excellent run to reach the final chapter of the event. He was not able to have the final word though, busting out in a creditable 6th place.
Two more challengers soon fell away to leave just three potential champions, and the players soon agreed to reduce the variance with a deal for the money. With a huge payout secured, the trio resumed their battle. Korea’s Hosung Jang was the next to fall, leaving Japan’s Hiroshi Naito and Joven Huerto, with Huerto set to contest the title in front of his home crowd. Despite the best efforts of his opponent, it was Naito who ultimately emerged with the cash and the glory.
The final table payouts are as follows:
1st – Hiroshi Naito (Japan) – ₱2,040,000 (US$39,287)
2nd – Joven Huerto (Philippines) – ₱1,934,000
3rd – Hosung Jang (Korea) – ₱1,721,000
4th – Thomas Ward (New Zealand) – ₱835,000
5th – Kensuke Koizumi (Japan) – ₱600,000
6th – John Tech (Philippines) – ₱480,000
7th – Barsbold Batkhishig (Mongolia) – ₱390,000
8th – Yu Hsien Lin (Taiwan) – ₱330,000
9th – Rick Jason Ambata (Philippines) – ₱270,000
Event 14 – ₱100,000 Single Day High-Roller
The Single Day High Roller carried the highest buy in of any event in this series, with players required to pay ₱100,000 (US$1,926) to get involved. 19 players chose to do just that, creating a prize pool of ₱1,704,755 (US$32,831). The relatively small field saw just 4 of its entrants go on to get paid.
As the tail end of the tournament arrived and the bubble burst, the final four players were each guaranteed a minimum of ₱204,575 (US$3,940). The pay jumps were significant however, and by the time two more had been sent to the rail, the final two players were set to battle it out for a top prize of over ₱700,000. China’s Bin Sun soon got the upper hand against his compatriot Yake Wu and went on to finish the job, claiming the title and top prize.
The final payouts are as follows:
1st – Bin Sun (China) – ₱716,000 (US$13,789)
2nd – Yake Wu (China) – ₱477,300
3rd – Alex Xiang Lee (Singapore) – ₱306,900
4th – Wing Choy (Canada) – ₱204,575
Event 16 – ₱55,000 NLH Freezeout
This event came with an ambitious guarantee and a significant buy in of ₱55,000 (US$1,059), and with only 53 runners taking part it ended up providing an overlay to players. The prize pool which was guaranteed at ₱3 million (US$57,775), stayed at that figure, with total buy ins not being enough to surpass it even before the rake was taken.
After the early exchanges had seen two players fall at the final table, the remaining 7 players all found themselves in the money and from there, play loosened up. The number of survivors continued to shrink until just two players were left standing. New Zealand’s Thomas Ward gave his best to stamp his own name on the trophy but could not overcome Taiwan’s Fu Bang Wang, who was able to sweep Ward aside and take the title.
The final payouts are as follows:
1st – Fu Bang Wang (Taiwan) – ₱990,000 (US$19,066)
2nd – Thomas Ward (New Zealand) – ₱630,000
3rd – John Carlo Sayo (Philippines) – ₱420,000
4th – Henrik Tollefsen (Norway) – ₱330,000
5th – Richard Marquez (Philippines) – ₱240,000
6th – Kawanishi Kohei (Japan) – ₱210,000
7th Kanishka Samant (India) – ₱180,000
Other Events
Event 6 – ₱6,000 (US$116) Mixed NLH/PLO
Prize Pool: ₱204,864 (US$3,945)
Entries: 40
Winner: Rick Jason Ambata (Philippines) – ₱73,800 (US$1,421)
Event 7 – ₱20,000 (US$385) NLH Double Stack
Prize Pool: ₱646,020 (US$12,441)
Entries: 37
Winner: Shi Hong Li (Taiwan) – ₱258,400 (US$4,976)
Event 8 – ₱10,000 (US$193) NLH Bubble Rush
Prize Pool: ₱273,152 (US$5,261)
Entries: 32
Winner: Tetsunori Saito (Japan) – ₱109,300 (US$2,105)
Event 9 – ₱6,000 (US$116) NLH SuperStack
Prize Pool: ₱ 419,971 (US$8,088)
Entries: 82
Winner: Kang Feng Lien (Taiwan) – ₱113,400 (US$2,184)
Event 10 – ₱25,000 (US$481) PLO
Prize Pool: ₱545,625 (US$10,508)
Entries: 25
Winner: Min Ho Cho – ₱198,980 (US$3,832)
Event 11 – ₱15,000 (US$289) NLH 6-Handed Turbo Freezeout
Prize Pool: ₱288,090 (US$5,548)
Entries: 22
Winner: William Overmire (UK) – ₱121,000 (US$2,330)
Event 12 – ₱6,000 (US$116) NLH Knockout
Prize Pool: ₱292,634 (US$5,636) *Excluding Bounties
Entries: 71
Winner: Henrieto Acain (USA) – ₱96,600 (US$1,860)
Event 13 – ₱20,000 (US$385) NLH SuperStack
Prize Pool: ₱2,322,180 (US$44,722)
Entries: 133
Winner: Pasion Christopher (Philippines) – ₱531,544 (US$10,237)
Event 15 – ₱10,000 (US$193) NLH Knockout
Prize Pool: ₱399,408 (US$7,692) *Excluding Bounties
Entries: 53
Winner: Wataru Shoji (Japan) – ₱90,534 (US$1,744)
Event 17 – ₱15,000 (US$289) NLH Turbo
Prize Pool: ₱471,420 (US$9,079)
Entries: 36
Winner: Jung Woong Park (Korea) – ₱158,350 (US$3,050)
Event 18 – ₱15,000 (US$289) NLH Freezeout
Prize Pool: ₱563,085 (US$10,844)
Entries: 43
Winner: Jian Yang (China) – ₱202,700 (US$3,904)
Event 19 – ₱75,000 (US$1,444) NLH Deepstack Freezeout
Prize Pool: ₱261,900 (US$5,044)
Entries: 4
Winner: Yake Wu (China) – ₱261,900 (US$5,044)
Event 21 – ₱65,000 (US$1,252) Megastack Challenge
Prize Pool: ₱851,175 (US$16,392)
Entries: 15
Winner: Tou Ta Wei (Taiwan) – ₱346,000 (US$6,663)
Event 22 – ₱8,000 (US$154) Knockout Deepstack
Prize Pool: ₱547,907 (US$10,552) *Excluding Bounties
Entries: 94
Winner: Ming Nan Chou (Taiwan) – ₱147,900 (US$2,848)
Event 23 – ₱15,000 (US$289) Turbo Edition Main
Prize Pool: ₱929,745 (US$17,905)
Entries: 71
Winner: Fukotomi Shinya (Japan) – ₱306,800 (US$5,909)
Event 24 – ₱100,000 (US$1,926) Turbo High Roller
Prize Pool: ₱1,566,550 (US$30,169)
Entries: 17
Winner: Alex Xiang Lee (Singapore) – ₱658,000 (US$12,672)
Article by Craig Bradshaw
