The Asian Poker Tour has been very active this year, hosting their 7th consecutive festival since the start of the calendar year. Currently ongoing at Resorts World Manila in Newport City, is the APT Philippines 2016 II running from July 19-27th.
The past two days saw the Main Event wrap up both of its day one flights with a total of 114 entries. Buy-in was US$2,200 creating a total prize pool of US$221,200, with a whopping US$56,600 first place purse to aim for. Coming out on top with the largest stack at Day 1a was Vietnamese pro Linh Tran. Tran also earned the overall chip leader’s status. Korea’s Kimura Jong Yeol Lee took second overall, finishing on top of Day 1b. Below is brief recap on those opening flights.
Day 1a ends with Linh Tran ahead of the pack
Day 1a of the Main Event was not one of those days you would usually expect to see at the APT. The turnout was low despite being at Resorts World Manila, the preferred venue by their constituents. There were 40 entries in Day 1a, and after eight rounds, only 20 were left with chips to bag and tag. Among them was Tran with 240,500 chips. Tran is an APT regular who already boasts of one APT Main Event championship title. He amassed a large portion of his stack after eliminating past APT Main Event champion, Filipino pro Mike Takayama.
Korea’s SJ Kim also had a good run on Day 1a, getting a bit of help from the poker gods early in the day. Kim began by shipping in a very big pile of chips after cracking a player’s pocket aces with pocket kings spiking a king on the river for a very crazy set. Other notable players holding their own to make it through were Japan’s Tetsuya Tsuchikawa, Norway’s Kai Paulsen, Malaysia’s Victor Chong, and Singapore’s Alex Lee. The current leader in the APT Player of the Year 2016 standings, Japanese pro Iori Yogo also survived.
Day 1b sees several past champions make it through
At Day 1b, which ended last night, it was Kimura Jong Yeol Lee who outshined the pack with 224,500 chips amassed. Alike Tran, Lee earned a big pot against a former APT Main Event champion, Vietnam’s Ha Duong, in a set over set situation. There were 45 players out of the 74 entries who made it through, among them were several past APT Main Event champions. Norwegian pro Henrik Tollefsen and Korea’s Jeon Seung Soo, two-time APT Main Event champions bagged up some chips; so did Hong Kong’s Kwan Kit Kwok. Takayama is also in the roster, having had better luck in his second attempt. Despite losing to Lee, Duong managed to get back in the running to be one of the champions who survived the night. Notable players Andrew Gaw and Marc Rivera, though not champions, held their own to secure spots in Day 2.
With a much smaller number of players coming out to the Main Event, there is no doubt that the field into Day 2 will be a very tough one with many champions and notables present. The APT also applied the deeper structure that was introduced back in April which means a much slower grind than usual. This Main Event will certainly be a test of stamina, endurance, and patience.
Day 2 will resume at 1pm today with 65 players returning to the APT Main Event arena. Somuchpoker.com will have an update once they reach the Final 8 so stay tuned in the coming days.
More: Day 2 Chip Counts
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.
Follow Me:
