APT Philippines 2022 pays out over $1.1M; locals Renniel Galvez, Moses Saquing, Mike Takayama top the charts

Last April 27 to May 8, the Philippines experienced its first full-fledged Asian Poker Tour festival in three years with APT Philippines 2022 taking place at Resorts World Manila. Throughout the twelve day series, players were treated to all the crowd favorites resulting in guarantees surpassed and over US$ 1.1 Million paid out. Hoisting unique APT lion trophies were 23 of the brand’s newest champions. The most highly revered were local players Renniel Galvez (Main Event), Moses Saquing (Championships Event), and well known pro / WSOP bracelet holder Mike Takayama for topping the Player of the Series leaderboard. Opening the series with a win was Norwegian pro Henrik Tollefsen. We’ve got those highlights for you and more. 

*All photos by APT

Festival review

Overall prize pool: Php 59,581,300 (~US$ 1,137,145)
Entries: 2,235
Flags represented: 43
Main Event prize pool: Php 17,945,000 (~US$ 342,535)
Championships Event prize pool: Php 11,785,500 (~US$ 224,415)
Largest earner: Niroshan Loganathan (Canada) – Php 4,202,800 (~US$ 80,440)
Multi side winners: Jose Marquez Cheung and Niroshan Loganathan 

Main Event: RENNIEL GALVEZ – Php 2,482,200 (~US$ 47,265)

The festival’s crowning event was the Main Event, and for its return to the Philippine live felt, the guarantee was bumped up a third for a lucrative Php 15 Million pot. New faces and regulars from all over came out to generate a 370-entry field which easily crushed the guarantee for a richer Php 17,945,000 (~US$ 341,700) prize pool. Among the players that reached the money were locals David Erquiaga (22nd), Christopher Mateo (24th), and Mike Takayama (32nd). Fellow pro Lester Edoc missed the official final table by one spot, falling in 9th place.

Emerging victorious was Filipino Renniel Galvez for his career first major APT title. Galvez defeated highly decorated Korean player Jae Chang at heads up. Due to a three-way ICM deal, Galvez walked away with Php 2,482,200 (~US$ 47,265), his biggest personal score. In addition, Galvez cashed at three side events, finishing runner-up in two of them, for a combined Php 3,014,400 (~US$ 57,695) series payout. This catapulted him to over US$ 100K in The Hendon Mob tracked live tournament earnings. 

For runner-up Chang, his quest to add an APT major to his portfolio, which includes a WPT side event trophy and WSOPC ring, was denied in 2nd place. Despite the loss, Chang still walked away with the largest payout of Php 3,061,600 (~US$ 58,597) having had the biggest stack during the deal. Chang boosted his THM live tournament earnings to over US$ 580K.

Buy in: Php 55,000 (~US$ 1,050)
Guarantee: Php 15,000,000 (~US$ 287,139)
Total entries: 370
Prize pool: Php 17,945,000 (~US$ 342,535)
ITM: 37 places

Briefly recapping the final 8 race, three Filipino players fell in succession, local pro Richard Marquez (8th), Ryan Jerico Platon (7th), and Fil-Am Moses Saquing (6th). Down to the final five, it was an all international lineup. Hong Kong player Kai Tse Lee struggled to match up with the big stacks and fell in 5th place. Japanese online poker personality “Shunpoker” made his APT debut by reaching the final table. After suffering a full house over full house defeat against Chang, he proceeded to fall in 4th place to another APT newcomer, Niroshan Loganathan with A-K unable to improve against pocket Sevens. Loganathan entered the final 8 with a commanding lead and held it until the final three. He fell to Chang in 3rd place and earned the second largest ICM payout of Php 2,895,300 (~US$ 55,414). At heads up, Chang had the initial advantage which switched a couple of times until Galvez was able to close it out. The defining hand was Chang , Galvez , the board . 

Final 8 payouts

1st Renniel Galvez – Philippines – Php 2,482,200*
2nd Jae Chang – Korea – Php 3,061,600*
3rd Niroshan Loganathan – Canada – Php 2,895.300*
4th Shunpoker – Japan – Php 1,340,300
5th Kai Tse Lee – Hong Kong – Php 1,002,300
6th Moses Saquing – USA / Philippines – Php 773,600
7th Ryan Jerico Platon – Philippines – Php 614,300
8th Richard Marquez – Philippines – Php 500,500
*Three way ICM deal

Championships Event: MOSES SAQUING – Php 3,008,400 (~US$ 57,285)

Running back to back with the main was the Championships Event, considered the festival’s second major tournament. With buy in a third higher, it attracted a tight field of 162 entrants for another guarantee crushing prize pool of Php 11,785,500 (~US$ 224,415). Among the players that reached the money was Singaporean pro Feng Zhao who nearly won a WSOPE bracelet last year, placing 2nd at the €550 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed. Zhao fell in 15th place for Php 186,800 (~US$ 3,575). At the final 8 table, Fil-Am Moses Saquing was the player to catch, and throughout the race, none managed to get there. Saquing shipped the Php 3,008,400 first prize for his largest career takedown. This bumped up his THM tracked live tournament cashes to US$ 125K. 

Buy in: Php 82,500 (~US$ 1,570)
Guarantee: Php 8,000,000 (~US$ 152,300)
Entries: 162
Prize pool: Php 11,785,500 (~US$ 224,415)
ITM: 17 places

At the final 8, the first five to go were all the international players with New Zealand pro Thomas Ward exiting in 4th place. The final 3 lineup was all Filipino with live and online decorated pro David Erquiaga back for his third APT Championships final table visit. Once again, Erquiaga could not go the distance and departed in 3rd place when his was outdrawn by Czar Ian Marcos’ four hearts on the board. Marcos entered heads up against chip leader Saquing behind by 2:1 and despite scooping up a couple of big pots, he was unable to overtake. The final hand was Saquing full house, Marcos , the board . 

Final 8 payouts

1st Moses Saquing “moe jiggy” – Philippines / USA – Php 3,008,400
2nd Czar Ian Marcos – Philippines – Php 2,065,600
3rd David Erquiaga – Philippines – Php 1,435,900
4th Thomas Ward – New Zealand – Php 1,037,200
5th Ahmed Ibrahimi – Morocco – Php 775,600
6th Enrico De Rosa – Italy – Php 598,600
7th Lam Cheuk “Nam Jai” – Hong Kong – Php 475,400
8th Thijs Hilberts – Netherlands – Php 387,300

APT Player of the Series: MIKE TAKAYAMA

One of the Philippines’ most celebrated players, Mike Takayama, added another title to his name. Takayama cashed in an astounding 8 events to claim the APT Player of the Series title and US$ 800. This was reminiscent of his 2019 APT POS win. He cashed in seven and won Event #8: High Rollers for Php 1,160,300. In total, Takayama collected Php 2,244,300 (~US$ 42,658). 

Largest earner: NIROSHAN LOGANATHAN

It was a very lucrative series for Canadian player Niroshan Loganathan who emerged the overall largest earner with a cash collection amounting to Php 4,202,800 (~US$ 80,440). Loganathan was a newcomer to the APT. He came in 3rd at the Main Event for Php 2,895,300, and won two side events on the festival’s final day – Single Day High Rollers for Php 651,800 and Monster Stack for Php 655,700. He is one of two players that won two events. This will certainly be a series to remember for Loganathan who also placed 3rd at the Player of the Series race to earn an extra US$ 100. 

High Rollers winners

Event #2: High Rollers
Buy in: Php 107,500 (~US$ 2,043)
Entries: 22
Prize pool: Php 2,134,000 (~US$ 40,562)
ITM: 4 places
Winner: WILLIAM TEOH – Malaysia – Php 1,043,800 (~US$ 19,840)

Event #5: Single Day High Rollers
Buy in: Php 65,000 (~US$ 1,235)
Entries: 28
Prize pool: Php 1,629,600 (~US$ 30,975)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: AHMED IBRAHIMI – Morocco – Php 696,300 (~US$ 13,235)
*APT newcomer Ahmed Ibrahimi also cashed at the Championships Event in 5th place for Php 775,600. 

Event #8: High Rollers
Buy in: Php 107,500 (~US$ 2,043)
Entries: 28
Prize pool: Php 2,716,000 (~US$ 51,623)
ITM: 5 places
Winner: MIKE TAKAYAMA – Philippines – Php 1,160,300 (~US$ 22,054)

Event #11: Single Day High Rollers
Buy in: Php 65,00 (~US$ 1,235)
Entries: 74
Prize pool: Php 4,306,800 (~US$ 81,860)
ITM: 13 places
Winner: YUTA MURAKAMI – Japan – Php 1,193,300 (~US$ 22,681)

Event #17: High Rollers
Buy in: Php 107,500 (~US$ 2,043)
Entries: 8
Prize pool: Php 776,000 (~US$ 14,750)
ITM: 2 places
Winner: SHUNSUKE TOKOO – Japan – Php 543,200 (~US$ 10,325)

Event #21: Single Day High Rollers
Buy in: Php 86,00 (~US$ 1,635)
Entries: 12
Prize pool: Php 931,200 (~US$ 17,700)
ITM: 2 places
Winner: NIROSHAN LOGANATHAN – Canada – Php 651,800 (~US$ 12,390)

Other event winners

Mystery Bounty: HENRIK TOLLEFSEN

The Mystery Bounty event opened the festivities with Php 2 Million guaranteed. Across two flights, it attracted 254 entries for a larger prize pool of Php 2,425,700 (~US$ 46,100). Norwegian pro Henrik Tollefsen claimed it for a substantial payout of Php 583,300. In addition, he collected Php 291,000 in bounties for a combined takedown of Php 874,300 (~US$ 16,618). Tollefsen also went on to cash at two other events – 10th at the Single Day High Rollers and 9th at the Super Deep Stack Turbo. 

Event #7: No Limit Hold’em
Buy in: Php 19,800 (~US$ 376)
Entries: 77
Prize pool: Php 1,344,400 (~US$ 25,553)
ITM: 13 places
Winner: JOSE MARQUEZ CHEUNG – Philippines – Php 372,700 (~US$ 7,085)
*Jose Marquez Cheung also won Event #20: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo for Php 89,700 and cashed in 10th place at the Championships Event. Cheung was one of two players to win two events. 

Event #12: NLH Single Day
Buy in: Php 16,500 (~US$ 314)
Entries: 83
Prize pool: Php 1,207,600 (~US$ 22,955)
ITM: 14 places
Winner: TETSUNORI SAITO – Japan – Php 328,000 (~US$ 6,234)

Event #15: No Limit Hold’em
Buy in: Php 22,000 (~US$ 418)
Entries: 63
Prize pool: Php 1,222,200 (~US$ 23,230)
ITM: 11 places
Winner: RICHARD MARQUEZ – Philippines – Php 352,800 (~US$ 6,706)

Event #18: Monster Stack
Buy in: Php 27,500 (~US$ 523)
Entries: 120
Prize pool: Php 2,910,000 (~US$ 55,310)
ITM: 20 places
Winner: NIROSHAN LOGANATHAN – Canada – Php 655,700 (~US$ 12,463)

Event #3: Head Hunter – FENG ZHAO – Singapore – Php 353,300 (~US$ 6,715)
Event #4: PLO Hi-Lo Split – DARREN YU – Philippines – Php 69,100 (four way even chop)
Event #9: Short Deck – WEBSTER CHIN WEI LIM – Malaysia – Php 194,000 (~US$ 3,687)
Event #10: Pot Limit Omaha Hi – REYNALDO MANLANSAN – Philippines – Php 253,400 (~US$ 4,816)
Event #13: Super Deep Stack Turbo – TAKAHIRO KIDOKORO – Japan – Php 256,300 (~US$ 4,870)
Event #14: Hyper Deep Stack Turbo – FEDERICK CRUZ – Philippines – Php 135,600 (~US$ 2,577)
Event #16: Deep Stack Turbo – DEXTER SALMINGO – Philippines – Php 121,900 (~US$ 2,317)
Evevent #19: Deep Stack Turbo – RAMDRICK AZNAR – Philippines – Php 111,400 (~US$ 2,118)
Event #20: Deep Stack Hyper Turbo – JOSE MARQUEZ CHEUNG – Philippines – Php 89,700 (~US$ 1,705)

Up next for the APT

With the conclusion of this event, the APT preps up for their next fully loaded festival happening on June 7 to 19 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Coined APT Vietnam Hanoi Loyal 2022, this is the brand’s first venture to the bustling capital city. Games are held at the Grand Loyal Poker Club within the premises of the Grand Loyal Hotel. The 13-day event features 25 events and VN₫ 10 Billion (~US$ 433,745) in guarantees. Event buy ins range from VN₫ 7,700,000 (~US$ 334) to VN₫ 108,000,000 (~US$ 4,685). Key events to mark down:

Mystery Bounty
Dates: June 7 to 8
Buy in: VN₫ 8,800,000 (~US$ 382)
Guarantee: VN₫ 1,000,000,000 (~US$ 43,375)

Main Event
Dates: June 9 to 14
Buy in: VN₫ 22,000,000 (~US$ 954)
Guarantee: VN₫ 5,000,000,000 (~US$ 216,872)

Championships Event
Dates: June 15 to 19
Buy in: VN₫ 38,500,000 (~US$ 1,670)
Guarantee: VN₫ 4,000,000,000 (~US$ 173,498)

Full APT Vietnam Hanoi Loyal 2022 schedule