The first event on schedule for the APL Manila series currently running at 2Ace Poker, Pasay city, has set the tone for the rest of the festival. One of only three tournaments with a listed guarantee, APL Tip Off has smashed its PHP 2,000,000 (~USD 36,090) advertised pot and proudly reached the PHP 3,000,000 (~USD 57,470) mark following today’s turnout. The weeklong affair will continue on through Sunday, December 3rd and will complete twelve trophy events, headlined by the PHP 20,000,000 (~USD 361,280) guaranteed Main Event.
Aside from the opener, the first two festival trophies were lifted by South Korea’s Kwon Taekwon and Philippines’ Terry Gonzaga after outlasting the much smaller side event fields. Kwon takes home PHP 105,765 (~USD 1,910) in winnings for topping Event #2: Single Day NLH, and Gonzaga, a healthier PHP 261,500 (~USD 4,720) for dominating Event #3: Pot Limit Omaha Hi.
APL Tip Off Recap
A total of 328 entries were recorded across three starting flights, more than half of which were collected in today’s concluding rounds. With 15% of the field surviving through the Final Day, 25 qualifiers from Flight C joined the 23 players from yesterday’s games. South Korea’s Kang Myeonghwa leads the pack with a 356,000 chip stack, followed closely by Flight A chip leader Juanito Ibarra having bagged 349,000.
Two local runners busted right on bubble time with Renniel Galvez being the shorter stack of the two. Action firstly on him, Galvez pushed his chips in with 
and was called by Cho Taejoo a seat after with a better 
. Dominated and at risk, Galvez quickly headed for the rails following a jack high flop rolled on the board. Looking at the other tables, Jeffrey Calonge likewise found himself in trouble after running his 
against John Clyde Tan’s for the former’s timely exit.
The day wrapped up with a total of 48 qualifiers set to return to the felt tomorrow for the Final Day. All survivors are now guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP 15,600 (~USD 280) with the top prize listed at PHP 649,000 (~USD 11,720). Action resumes on Wednesday, November 29th, 2:00 p.m. following a schedule change.
Top 10 Chip Counts
| Player | Chip Count | Table – Seat |
| Kang Myeonghwa | 356,000 | 6-1 |
| Juanito Ibarra | 349,000 | 1-3 |
| Lee Dongho | 341,500 | 2-8 |
| Jayvon Carreon | 319,500 | 6-5 |
| Norbert Kho | 318,000 | 3-2 |
| Moses Saquing | 316,000 | 5-1 |
| Youngwook Jang | 300,000 | 6-4 |
| Belljohn Perez | 295,000 | 6-8 |
| John Clyde Tan | 287,000 | 4-1 |
| Michael Bueza | 262,000 | 2-1 |
APL Tip Off Chip Counts & Seat Draw
APL Tip Off Review
Date/s: November 27-29, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 10,500 (~USD 190)
Guarantee: PHP 2,000,000 (~USD 36,090)
Prize pool: PHP 3,181,600 (~USD 57,470)
Entries: 328
ITM: 49 players
Flight A – 49 entries, 7 qualified
Flight B – 105 entries, 16 qualified
Flight C – 174 entries, 26 qualified
Event #2: Single Day NLH: Kwon Taekwon – PHP 105,765 (~USD 1,910)
Date/s: November 28, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 10,000 (~USD 180)
Prize pool: PHP 285,665 (~USD 5,160)
Entries: 31
ITM: 5 players
Event #2: Single Day NLH Full Payouts
| Rank | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1st | Kwon Taekwon | South Korea | ₱105,765 |
| 2nd | Jeurg Mangalindan | Philippines | ₱72,800 |
| 3rd | Niroshan Loganathan | Canada | ₱46,400 |
| 4th | Kim Younghun | South Korea | ₱33,600 |
| 5th | Tony Khoang | Netherlands | ₱27,100 |
Event #3: Pot Limit Omaha Hi: Terry Gonzaga – PHP 301,500 (~USD 5,440)
Date/s: November 28, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 40,000 (~USD 720)
Prize pool: PHP 717,800 (~USD 12,960)
Entries: 20
ITM: 4 players
Event #3: Pot Limit Omaha Hi Full Payouts
| Rank | Player | Flag | Prize (PHP) |
| 1st | Terry Gonzaga | Philippines | ₱261,500* |
| 2nd | Eduardo Ligon | Philippines | ₱241,000* |
| 3rd | Jung Hwanki | South Korea | ₱129,200 |
| 4th | Jie Chang Yong | South Korea | ₱86,100 |
*Denotes deal was made
Festival Articles
APL Manila: 23 qualifiers move on to PHP 2M (~USD 36K) GTD Tip Off Final Day; One more flight to go
APL returns to the Philippines! ₱25 Million in guarantees from November 27 to December 3
APL returns to international stage starting with Manila, Philippines in one week
