Following a staggering turnout across its starting flights, this season’s Manila Megastack 17 Main Event serves to be the biggest to date with a total of 870 entries recorded. This record-breaking attendance pumped up the prize pool to a massive PHP 26,582,850 (~USD 480,080), well-smashing the tour’s PHP 10,000,000 (~USD 180,830) listed guarantee.
Each flight played down to 15% of the field and saw 132 runners return to the felt for yesterday’s Day 2. It took over eleven hours of play before the day wrapped up with China’s Wu Shenghao leading the final nine in today’s games. A champion will be crowned by the end of the night, taking with him PHP 5,005,000 (~USD 90,390) in winnings, the trophy, and a PHP 105,000 (~USD 1,890) 2024 APPT Event Package taken from the prize pool.
Manila Megastack – Coverage
Manila Megastack – Festival Results
Manila Megastack – Schedule
Main Event action resumes at 13:00 on Level 29: 50,000 – 100,000 ante 100,000. Also on today’s schedule are side events SuperStack, Knockout Turbo, and Hyper Turbo, for those looking to bag the last few spade trophies up for grabs.
Main Event Day 2 Recap
Day 2 of the Main Event kicked off with 132 runners back on the felt, ready to claim a share of the PHP 26.5 Million (~USD 480K) action. Each survivor was already guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP 53,000 (~USD 950) which fast tracked eliminations left and right. By the first break, tournament runners William Teoh, Alexis Cruz, John Dela Cruz, and chip leader Monziar Villariaza appeared quick on the rise and landed amongst the top spots. Midday however, saw a different pack of contenders take the stand with local runner Philip Reyes in the forefront having knocked out John Carlo Sayo in a cooler situation.
International runners Bonil Koo, Yamamoto Kaji, and Hyeon Junho similarly dominated the games and stacked healthily by the evening. The field eventually drew down to its final two tables and saw Japan’s Matsushita Masafumi hold a significant lead. Matsushita played aggressively and punished his opponents with hefty bets and relentless triple barrels. Not only was he packing in the action but he was also running good, having eliminated Alexis Cruz and John Dela Cruz in 13th and 14th place respectively. Matsushita amassed a massive stack yet it only took one hit for him to lose the advantage. Matsushita slipped a few places away from the lead after doubling up Wu Shenghao in a blind vs blind battle. Folded to Matsushita on the small blind, he shoved all-in right into Wu’s 
to double up his opponent’s 2.4 Million stack. Wu rose to the chip lead minutes before the day wrapped up and brings with him 4.8 Million in chips (48 BB) into the final table.
Bubble time saw Yamamoto Kaji get his remaining 7 BB in with 
against Teo Zi Sheng’s 
. Yamamoto missed to connect with the board and left Teo’s ace-high good for the win to cap the day.
Date: December 7 – 11, 2023
Buy-in: PHP 35,000 (~USD 630)
Guarantee: PHP 10,000,000 (~USD 180,830)
Prize pool: PHP 26,582,850 (~USD 480,080)
Entries: 870
ITM: 133 players
Flight A: 167 entries, 26 qualified
Flight B: 235 entries, 36 qualified
Flight C: 468 entries, 71 qualified
Final Day: December 11, Monday
Final Table Chip Counts
| Pos. | Player | Flag | Chip Count | Big Blinds |
| 1 | Wu Shenghao | China | 4,880,000 | 49 |
| 2 | Garcia Jonald | Philippines | 3,295,000 | 33 |
| 3 | Jeon Seungsoo | Korea, South | 3,235,000 | 32 |
| 4 | Matsushita Masafumi | Japan | 3,070,000 | 31 |
| 5 | Bulaong Raphael | Philippines | 2,745,000 | 27 |
| 6 | Hidaka Yusuke | Japan | 2,615,000 | 26 |
| 7 | Teo Zi Sheng | Singapore | 2,250,000 | 23 |
| 8 | Leoncio Jan Jason | Philippines | 2,225,000 | 22 |
| 9 | Reiji Tsuchiya | Japan | 1,780,000 | 18 |
Remaining Payouts
| Place | Prize (PHP) |
| 1 | ₱ 5,005,000 |
| 2 | ₱ 2,985,000 |
| 3 | ₱ 2,090,000 |
| 4 | ₱ 1,570,000 |
| 5 | ₱ 1,220,000 |
| 6 | ₱ 905,000 |
| 7 | ₱ 648,000 |
| 8 | ₱ 461,850 |
| 9 | ₱ 365,000 |
