APPT Manila Championship (165,000 PHP)

Lee Wee Liew made the min-raise to 5,000 from the hi-jack and was matched by cut-off Thomas Ward. Alvir Inocentes, at the button, assessed the situation and pushed in a re-raise to 21,500. Liew folded and Thomas Ward matched the chips and made the call. Both players saw a flop of A♣ 9♥ Q♠. Action was checked to see a 4♥ on the turn. Ward fumbled his chips and put 30,000 on the betting block. Inocentes made the call to see a 3♣ on the river. Both players checked for a show-and-tell. Ward hesitantly peeled over J♥ T♥, which had a lot of outs, but missed all of them. Inocentes turned over A♠ J♦ for a top pair of aces that was enough to win the pot and boost his chip stack.

With action folded to the blinds, Liew Lee Wee risked his last 37,000 from the small blind and gets called by Thomas Ward on the big blind.

Liew Lee Wee: J♥ J♠

Thomas Ward: 5♣ 5♠

Board: 9♠ J♣ K♠ 5♦ 4♦

Wee flopped a set. Ward caught a five on the turn and had a very slim chance with a one-outer on the river. But, of course, that was asking too much from the poker gods.

Flight A of the APPT Manila Championship wrapped up after 11 levels and nearly 12 hours of tournament poker. 59 hopefuls out of 165 total entries will be moving on to Day 2, inching their way closer to a payout from the guaranteed prize pool of PHP 55,000,000 (~US$ 960,850). Flight B will play tomorrow with the survivors of those joining the "Flight A Fifty-Nine" for 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: 165

Starting Stack: 50,000

Average Stack: 139,831

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

Remaining players: 59

Here's a look at the Flight A chip counts: