APT Philippines II pays out over US$ 1.5M; Hernan Villa wins Main Event, David Erquiaga tops Championships Event and Player of the Series; highlights inside

 

The recently concluded Asian Poker Tour (APT) Philippines II 2022 saw its guaranteed prize pool of PHP 29M triple to nearly PHP 90M (~US$ 1.57M), courtesy of 3,103 entries from players, professional and recreational, alike. The series ran from September 6 to 18 at Newport World Resorts featuring 26 events. Topping the headlines was Filipino pro David Erquiaga who, fresh from his victory at the WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event, put up a tremendous performance with a runner up finish at the Main Event and a victory at the Championships Event. He was also awarded the Player of the Series. Another top performer was local Hernan Jaybee Villa who clinched the Main Event. We’ve got those stories for you. 

Festival review

Festival prize pool: PHP 89,996,800.00 (US$ 1,568,148)
Entries: 3,013
Flags: 40
Main Event prize pool: PHP 24,104,500 (~US$ 422,800)
Championships Event prize pool: PHP 17,605,500 (~US$ 308,800)
Largest earner: David Erquiaga (PHP 9,220,000)
Two time winners: Hernan Jaybee Villa, Martijn Gerrits

DAVID ERQUIAGA continues the hot streak with 1st and runner up finishes

Filipino pro David Erquiaga aka Dave Spade was just in the news for his victory at the WPT Prime Cambodia Main Event and has now returned for his stunning performance at the APT. Erquiaga reached his first ever APT Main Event final table and proceeded to take it all the way to 2nd place, falling only to champion Hernan Jaybee Villa for a PHP 3,850,000 payout deal. Following that finish, Erquiaga entered the featured Championships Event and clinched it in dominant fashion for his first ever major APT win and a higher payout of PHP 3,925,300. Combined, Erquiaga walked away with PHP 7,775,300. He also cashed at three other events for an overall total of PHP 9,220,000 (~US$ 161.700). 

The Championships Event saw 242 entrants for a prize pool of PHP 17,605,500. The final table was formed with Erquiaga running second in chips, just behind local player Edilberto Gopez Jr., and two well known poker figures WSOP bracelet holder / two-time APT major winner Mike Takayama and India’s Kunal Patni.

As the chase progressed, Patni was out in 6th place, while Takayama tangled with Erquiaga several times to eventually pack up in 5th place. Malaysian talent William Teoh took care of the next two busts to face Erquiaga for the title. It was a hard fought day for Teoh who came from the second smallest stack at the start of the day to challenge for his first major APT win.

Despite Teoh’s impressive rise, Erquiaga made quick work of the Malaysian, finishing him off in two hands to add another trophy to his rack. The victory also assured Erquiaga the Player of the Series title and the status of being the series largest earner. 

Buy in: PHP 82,500 (~US$ 1,400)
Guarantee: PHP 10,000,000 (~US$ 175,400)
Entries: 242
Prize pool: PHP 17,605,500 (~US$ 308,800)
ITM: 25 places

Final table payouts

1st	David Erquiaga	Philippines	Php 3,925,300*
2nd	William Teoh	Malaysia	Php 3,186,000*
3rd	Chang Jae Lee	Korea	Php 1,977,500
4th	Edilberto Gopez Jr	Philippines	Php 1,428,300
5th	Mike Takayama	Philippines	Php 1,068,100
6th	Kunal Patni	India	Php 824,400
7th	Kim Jun Hee	Korea	Php 654,600
8th	Fang Po Wen	Taiwan	Php 533,400

*Heads up deal

Main Event: HERNAN JAYBEE VILLA – PHP 4,560,300 (~US$ 79,900)

Big win for local player Hernan Jaybee Villa who defeated hot running David Erquiaga at heads up of the Main Event. Villa snagged his first ever major APT title and a payout deal of PHP 4,560,300 (~US$ 79,900).

The Main Event attracted a large crowd of 497 entries to easily breach the guarantee for a larger PHP 24,104,500 prize pool. On the sixth day of competition, the final table was set with several well known pros in the lineup – Sweden’s Sofia Lovgren Fullmer who carried in the chip lead, Hendon Mob’s Philippine All Time Money List top ranked Marc Rivera, and Erquiaga who was fresh from his victory in Cambodia. 

Despite the loaded table, Villa made his presence quickly felt by eliminating Bonifacio Mondalo on the first hand with Nine-Three offsuit both pairing up to crack pocket Kings. Building off his good fortune, Villa eventually took the chip lead when erstwhile chip leader Fullmer turned her hand into a bluff and forced Villa to call for his tournament life. It took three time-banks but Villa eventually found the call with a winning set of Aces. Villa later sent Fullmer packing in 3rd place to enter heads up against Erquiaga backed by a significant lead. It took two attempts to forge a deal and just under as many hours for Villa to emerge victorious. 

To close out the series, Villa also clinched the Deep Stack Hyper Turbo event for an additional PHP 146,900 (~US$ 2,500) in winnings. 

Buy in: PHP 55,000
Guarantee: PHP 15,000,000
Entries: 497
Prize pool: PHP 24,104,500 (~US$ 422,800)
ITM: 50 places

Final table payouts

1st	Hernan Jaybee Villa	Philippines	Php 4,560,300
2nd	David Erquiaga	Philippines	Php 3,850,000
3rd	Sofia Lovgren Fullmer	Sweden	Php 2,338,800
4th	Hwany Lee	Korea	Php 1,689,300
5th	Jun Ho Young	Korea	Php 1,263,300
6th	Jacques Le Guennec	France	Php 975,000
7th	Marc Rivera	Philippines	Php 774,200
8th	Bonifacio Mondalo	Philippines	Php 630,800

*Heads up deal

Martijn Gerrits wins two side events

The only other player to win two events besides Main Event champion Villa was Dutch pro Martijn Gerrits. Gerrits topped a small field of 20 entries at the Short Deck event for PHP 189,700 then on closing day, he added a larger PHP 380,200 payout for his win at the High Rollers Single Day. 

Other big winners

Event #1: Mystery Bounty
Buy in: PHP 16,500
Guarantee: PHP 2,000,000
Entries: 346
Prize pool: PHP 5,034,300
ITM: 35 places
Winner: SON JANGWON – Korea – PHP 746,100

Event #2: VIP High Rollers
Buy in: PHP 215,000
Entries: 21
Prize pool: PhP4,074,000
ITM: 4 places
Winner: LESTER EDOC – Philippines – PHP 1,992,800

Event #11: High Rollers
Buy in: PHP 107,500
Entries: 69
Prize pool: PHP 6,693,000
ITM: 12 places
Winner: VICTOR CHONG – Malaysia – PHP 1,892,400

Event #14: High Rollers Single Day
Buy in: PHP 76,000
Entries: 34
Prize pool: PHP 2,308,600
ITM: 6 places
Winner: FANG PO WEN – Taiwan – PHP 758,900
*Fang Po Wen also finished 8th at Championships Event for an added PHP 533,400 to his series winnings

Event #20: High Rollers
Buy in: PHP 160,000
Entries: 19
Prize pool: PHP 2,764,500
ITM: 4 places
Winner: ALEKSANDR MERZHVINSKII – Russia – PHP 1,352,200

Event #21: Monster Stack
Buy in: PHP 27,500
Entries: 184
Prize pool: PHP 4,462,000
ITM: 31 places
Winner: MASATOSHI EZAWA – Japan – PHP 997,500

Up next for the APT

As APT Philippines II wound to a close, poker players looked forward to the next action for another chance at glory and realizing their dreams.

The circuit heads north for APT Taiwan 2022, which will be held in CTP Club Taichung from September 23 to 25 and at the CTP Club Taipei from September 27 to October 5. The festival features 22 events with a NT$ 3 Million guaranteed Main Event. This is the first time the APT returns to Taiwan since the pandemic in March 2020. 

*Article by Aris Aquino