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Marc Rivera, Michael Soyza and TZai Wei Phua among latest winners at APPT Manila

The Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) Manila continued this week with 2 new Platinum Passes awarded.

Marc Rivera wins APPT National for ₱4.55M

Marc Rivera
Marc Rivera – Photo PokerStars Live Manila

The PHP30,000 buy in APPT National event ran between August 5th and 8th, and had a guaranteed prize pool of PHP5,000,000. With a fantastic turnout of 829 players, this guarantee was more than quadrupled, with PHP21,711,510 (US$408,827) eventually finding its way into the prize fund.

The field included numerous big names from the Asian circuit, with Mike Takayama, Lester Edoc and Marc Rivera all making it to the final 15 players. Unfortunately for Takayama and Edoc, they could not progress much further than that point, and went on to fall in 15th and 12th respectively. Marc Rivera however, powered on to the final table and swept everyone aside, taking down the title and PHP4,559,000 ($85,843.69) in prize money. In addition, he was awarded a PSPC Platinum Pass valued at USD$30,000. He joins Lester Edoc and Mike Takayama as the third player from the Philippines to win a Platinum Pass.

Talking to PokerStars TeamMarc Rivera said:

“”I’m feeling very happy because I have with me my two friend’s Mike Takayama and Lester Edoc, who have both won a Platinum Pass to the Bahamas. I’ve been wanting to go with them, although I did not have a Platinum Pass

Final table payout

1st: Marc Rivera (Philippines) — ₱4,559,000 ($85,843.69 )
2nd: Akshay Nasa (India) — ₱2,822,000
3rd: Charalampos Lappas (Greece) — ₱1,737,000
4th: Seojin Lee (Korea) — ₱1,257,000
5th: Siyou Cao (China) — ₱847,000
6th: William Ysmael (Philippines) — ₱651,000
7th: Masahiro Yamada (Japan) — ₱499,000
8th: Yi Ye (China) — ₱434,000
9th: Soo Jo Kim (Korea) — ₱370,510

Single Day High Roller:  Michael Soyza triumphs

Michael Christopher Soyza
Michael Christopher Soyza – Photo PokerStars Live Manila

The Single Day High Roller event attracted 86 runners, each paying PHP150,000 to take their seat. This created a prize pool of PHP11,511,960 ($216,797) and a 1st prize of PHP3,166,000 ($59,623). The event drew in some top-quality players, with several notable names going deep and a familiar face picking up the top prize.

By the time the action got down to the final 10, the field still had more than its fair share of quality. Celina Lin, Randy Lew, Wayne Weiyi Zhang and Victor Chong joined Mike Takayama and GPI Asia number 1 player Michael Soyza in battling it out for top spot. Lin and Lew went on to finish 7th and 6th, before Chong, Takayama and Soyza eventually got three handed. Once Chong had fallen it was down to his countryman Michael Soyza and Philippines legend Mike Takayama to sling chips for the title. Soyza triumphed, netting himself PHP3,166,000 while Takayama had to settle for PHP2,251,000.

Final table payout

1st: Michael Soyza (Malaysia) — ₱3,166,000 ($59,623).
2nd: Mike Takayama (Philippines) — ₱2,251,000
3rd: Victor Chong (Malaysia) — ₱1,472,960
4th: Vincent Kwun Ngai Li (Hong Kong) — ₱1,134,000
5th: Wayne Weiyi Zhang (China) — ₱898,000
6th: Randy Lew (USA) — ₱702,000
7th: Celina Lin (China) — ₱552,000
8th: Tsolmon-Erdene Ochir (Mongolia) — ₱432,000
9th: Chen Jiaqi (China) — ₱328,000

Mega Stack Shot Clock Big Blind Ante: Tzai Wei Phua wins Platinum Pass

Tzai Wei Phua
Tzai Wei Phua – Photo PokerStars Live Manila

This event saw 650 players pay the PHP20,000 entry fee, which helped the prize pool rise to PHP11,349,000. As with all the events at APPT Manila, competition was fierce, with many accomplished players vying for the title. It’s eventually Singapore’s Tzai Wei Phua who triumphed in the heads-up duel for the title, defeating China’s Yisha Chen. Phua collected a payday of PHP2,440,000 for his victory.

Final table payout

1st:  Tzai Wei Phua (Singapore) — ₱2,440,000
2nd: Yisha Chen (China) — ₱1,512,000
3rd:  Ming Hong Teoh (Malaysia) — ₱936,000
4th: Konstantin Pogodin (Russia) — ₱709,000
5th: Bertrand Ortiz (Philippines) — ₱482,000
6th: Darian Kok Tan (Malaysia) — ₱369,000
7th: Masakazu Miyamoto (Japan) — ₱306,000
8th: Wang Meng (China) — ₱255,500
9th: Piet Pape (Germany) — ₱216,000

Article by Craig Bradshaw