APPT Manila Championship (165,000 PHP)

After Lee Seokjun of Korea opens from the HJ for 25,000, Japan's John Matsuda 3-bets it to 70,000. Lee makes the call.

The flop comes 5♠ K♥ J♥ as Lee checks. Matsuda continues for 50,000 and gets the call from his opponent. The turn is the A♠ and this time, both players decide to check. The river card is the 4♣ and Lee bets 75,000. Matsuda makes the call.

Lee turns over J♠ J♦ for a set on the flop. Matsuda mucks his hand and now is now left with a stack below 12 BBs.

With some newly acquired ammunition, Kim Youngjun of Korea attempts to wage war by raising from the CO to 22,000. However, Japan's John Matsuda bought out some heavy artillery of his own as he makes a 3-bet to 55,000 from the D. Kim decides to call.

The flop comes T♥ J♦ 2♦ as Kim checks. Matsuda sends an ICBM towards his Korean opponent in the form of a CBet to 35,000. Kim opts to surrender.

The action is getting more tense at the PokerStars poker room at Okada Manila with the action of Day 2 at the APPT Manila Championship about to reach the bubble. 16 one-hour levels have been played so far and 75 players of 416 entries are still competing for a chance to take a chunk from the PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000) prize pool. 63 players will be guaranteed a payout, and there is still a lot of poker to go.

Australian John Edward Perry currently stands out as the chip leader from the 75 players that remain with 963,000 chips. Korean Kim Kiyoung has been consistent and ranks second with 700,000. Irishman Patrick Clarke holds the third spot with 630,000 so far.

APPT Manila Championship (Day 2, October 25)

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000)

Entries: 416

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 277,300

Blinds: 2,000/5,000 Ante 5,000

Remaining players: 75

ITM: 63

With the action folded to the CO, John Matsuda of Japan makes a raise to 10,000 and gets called by South African Edgar Antezana in the SB and Malaysian high stakes specialist Michael Soyza in the BB.

The flop is Q♣ A♦ 7♦ as the blinds check. Matsuda continues for 14,000 as Antezana folds but Soyza sticks around. The turn is the 7♥ as Soyza checks and the Japanese player fires again, this time for 35,000. This time, the Malaysian unloads a check-raise to 80,000. Matsuda tanks but folds.

Two Day 1 flights including some last minute Day 2 registrants brought the final total entries to 416, each of whom coughed up the buy-in of PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) to take part in APPT Manila Championship main event. The total entries built the prize pool to PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000), surpassing the PHP 55,000,000 guarantee. 102 players are still competing with 63 guaranteed a minimum payout of PHP250,000 (~US$ 4,285). Of course, all eyes are focused on the grand prize of PHP 11,610,000 (~US$ 200,000).

Of the 102 players remaining, Moses Saquing of the Philippines stands as the chip leader with 744,000 chips. Flight B chip leader Kim Kiyoung is staying on course with the second biggest stack with 711,000. Rounding up the top three is John Edward Perry with 538,000. 14 Levels have been played so far with 7 more to go before the survivors bag their chips for another leg on Day 3 tomorrow. There's still a lot more poker and anything can happen.

APPT Manila Championship (Day 2, October 25)

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Prize Pool: PHP 59,922,720 (~US$ 1,027,000)

Entries: 416

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 203,900

Blinds: 1,500/3,000 Ante 3,000

Remaining players: 102

ITM: 63

Patrick Clarke raised to 8,000 from the button and Matsuda defended the big blind for both players to enter a A♦ 9♠ Q♦ flop. Matsuda checked. Clarke made an enticing 6,000 c-bet, but Matsuda didn't bite.

After the storm in the city subsided, so did the action settle down at Okada Manila where Flight B of the APPT Manila Championship concluded for the day. 194 entries made the buy-in of PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850) to compete for their share of the PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850) guaranteed prize pool. 80 players were still on their seats to bag their chips at the end of 11 levels and nearly 12 hours of poker. Those 80 players will be back tomorrow to compete again in the Day 2 leg and will be joined by the 59 players who advanced from Flight A.

Among the 80 survivors of Flight B, it was Kim Youngkim of South Korea who bagged the largest stack with 452,500 chips. Moses Saquing of the Philippines was at a distant second with a very healthy 295,000. Rounding up the top three chip leaders is American John Joseph Panish who bagged 277,500 to carry onto Day 2.

Date/s: October 23 to 27, 2024

Buy in: PHP 165,000 (~US$ 2,850)

Guarantee: PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850)

Entries: 194

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 116,867

Blinds: 1,000/1,500 Ante 1,500

Remaining players: 80

Meanwhile here are the top 10 chip counts

Patrick Clarke made it 800 to play from under the gun with Khia Ngo calling from the cut-off and John Matsuda defending from the big blind. The three players enter a flop of A♣ 7♦ 7♣. Action is checked around to see an 8♥ turn. Action is checked to Clarke, who fires out 1,000 with both players calling to see an 8♠ river. Option is checked once again to Clarke who puts in 2,500 to the pot, but doesn't get any callers this time around.